SuMmEr VaCaTiOn 2009!

We found a deal for a 3 night stay up North, at Chase on the Lake, that we couldn't pass up. One word: AWESOME!

First, we stopped at the MN Zoo with some old friends. Thanks for the fun, Stockdales & Charpentiers!

We arrived at our condotel on Sunday. The accomodations were well above our expectations, and this was the amazing view from our balcony.

While we were there, we enjoyed a morning out on the boat - although it was a bit chilly!

a lot of fishing - Ryan was a bit disappointed with the size, but we did catch quite a bit! Leech Lake is the 3rd largest lake in MN, so it's not real easy to go out on a boat and search for the best fishing spots.....without the fear of getting lost! We stuck pretty close to what we knew, and actually, Ryan's biggest catch was off the docks by the resort - of course, I didn't get a picture of that! Cale's favorite things were casting and throwing the fish back, but nothing is better than checking out Dad's tackle box - he could look in there for hours! I was constantly saying, be careful - those are SHARP!

In this picture, Cale is using Maren's Barbie fishing pole because he could cast that better. Towards the end of the trip, he was casting like a pro with his big SUPERman pole!

The kids had a blast on the beach...

...especially Maren - we made sure she wore her swimming suit after this!

We also enjoyed the indoor pool (the water was so warm!), city park & shops in Walker, and all of the beautiful scenery and wildlife. I especially enjoyed watching and listening to the Loons - a rare experience for this SE Minnesota girl! We hope we're lucky enough to return to Chase on the Lake next year -- and stay for a week!!

What we've been up to...

In May, we went to Dora Live and spent a few nights at a Holiday Inn waterpark in Owatonna.





On June 1, Maren turned 2! TWO - ALREADY! She's not a baby anymore!
*She loves playing babies and polly pockets - polly pockies, in two year-old slang.
*She's really getting into pretend play with the play kitchen - her specialties are mac and cheese and coocoos (cookies)... and when she's the Mom, she always has plenty of Dora fruit snacks for everyone!
*She's very much into: "me, mine, myself, my do it!"
*She finally has hair so she's into ponies (pony tails) and pretties (barrettes). And she loves wearing her pretty dresses and sandals, too!
*Her favorite thing to do right now is probably copy her big brother -- good in some ways - not so good in others (see previous post).
*We've started potty training but haven't gotten too serious yet. We tried underwear one day - 15 minutes, 3 changes...I think it was too early! :-)




In July, we've been relaxing and having fun:






As of yet, we don't have any big summer vacation plans, but we've been tossing out a few possibilities. North Shore? Dells? Maybe we'll just stick around here and save up for another time? I've finally taken up golf again, and I'm loving it...so we've been on the course as often as we can - taking days off here and there to take advantage of the irresistably nice days. All in all - Life is good!

Yeah, we're still here...

So, it's been awhile. We've been busy trying to effectively discipline a 4 year old and trying to prevent a 2 year old from copying the aforementioned 4 year old. Seriously, Y'all (that's for you, my southern friends), Parenting is hard work! Cale's latest logic: since Grandma and Grandpa are my Mom and Dad, that means I'm still a kid.... so, he doesn't have to listen to me! HA - good try, Honeybun!!

My guess on the latest score:
4 year old - 50
Parents - 5, but those 5 victories are oh-so-sweet!

It's kinda like golf: total frustration one minute, and the next, utter satisfaction! One of these days, we'll consistently hit it in the fairway, figure out how to chip, and sink the putts....Right?? Practice makes perfect - and lately, we've had A LOT of practice!

So, needless to say, the kids are growing up way too fast!!

**Apologies to my husband & family for not keeping up with the posts. I will strive to do better, I promise!

Breakfast with Santa

As we walked toward Santa, Maren clung to Ryan for dear life and screamed as if we were going to drop her there and run! Cale, of course, was all talk beforehand but was hiding behind me as we made our approach. So, this year, a family picture with Santa… and probably next year, too!

Sleepover!

Last month, cousin Jay spent the night. Cale idolizes Jay and had sooo much fun!