Hi All,
Here is my belated August video. Yup, I'm still not good at downloading these timely! Here, you will see Drew and Bree displaying their latest gymnastic move - headstands. And later, Drew is offering Bree a car ride. It gave both me and Bree a jolt, which is why the video ends abruptly. Note, the push handle on the car has since been removed!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
The Artful Anglers
Hi All,
Opa and Cooper stopped out today for a day of fishing. They successfully hooked some big ones! And Jim and Drew enjoyed joining them when Jim got home. Looks like there is a lot of fishing in the future for this bunch!
Opa and Cooper stopped out today for a day of fishing. They successfully hooked some big ones! And Jim and Drew enjoyed joining them when Jim got home. Looks like there is a lot of fishing in the future for this bunch!
The proud anglers
"I'm so good at this, I can stand backwards and catch 'em!"
Drew giving Jim a helping hand
Friday, August 27, 2010
18 Months
Hi All,
Happy 18 months to Drew and Bree! It's unbelievable that they are now a year and a half old. We are busy as ever, but having lots of fun! So much so, sometimes I wish for time to stop and freeze them at this age. (Have I said that before?)
The picture above is a favorite, as it illustrates that Drew and Bree are very into hugging and kissing now. Someday they'll hate me for this, but isn't it sweet? Here is more of the fun from the 18 month "birthday".
18 months and sassy as ever
Like father, like son
"Heck yeah, I know how to work this net."
"I specifically stated no more pictures!"
Closest thing to a chair shot for the day
"No, I will NOT be wearing this bow in my hair!"
"MY turn with the camera!"
According to our unofficial weigh-in, Drew is now 27.5 pounds and Bree is 22 pounds.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tons of Teeth
Hi All,
I returned home from our trip to find Bree is really going to town on some teeth! She has a total of four teeth working their way out at the moment - three upper (right and left lateral incisors and right central incisor) and one lower (right lateral incisor). It's surely bothering her some, but she is keeping fairly good spirits about it. Thank goodness!
I returned home from our trip to find Bree is really going to town on some teeth! She has a total of four teeth working their way out at the moment - three upper (right and left lateral incisors and right central incisor) and one lower (right lateral incisor). It's surely bothering her some, but she is keeping fairly good spirits about it. Thank goodness!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Yogurt
Hi All,
The kids love to feed themselves now, and we are practicing with eating utensils. I expected the learning process to be messy, so I basically just let Drew take it away with his yogurt. The result? He enjoyed himself thoroughly!
The kids love to feed themselves now, and we are practicing with eating utensils. I expected the learning process to be messy, so I basically just let Drew take it away with his yogurt. The result? He enjoyed himself thoroughly!
Plus, dressed in only a diaper and seated in a wipe down chair made for fairly easy cleanup!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Holding Down the Fort
Hi All,
As you can imagine, Drew and Bree (with my parents' help) did a great job of holding down the fort while Jim and I were in Wisconsin. It appears fun was had by all!
As you can imagine, Drew and Bree (with my parents' help) did a great job of holding down the fort while Jim and I were in Wisconsin. It appears fun was had by all!
Brotherly/sisterly love
Aunt Sarah teaching Bree the ways of designer purses
Drew in a thoughtful moment
Refreshments after lots of play!
Happy to be reunited!
Have Kayak, Will Paddle
Hi All,
Jim and I had a nice little getaway. We traveled to the Apostle Islands, where we embarked on a three day, two night kayak trip. For anyone not familiar, the Apostle Islands are a cluster of islands located in Lake Superior, north of Wisconsin. I learned of them through a travel feature in the local paper back in 2008. (We briefly considered the trip then, but not for long, since I was pregnant with the twins.) Anyway, we like to visit nature when we travel, so this spot never really left my mind. We found a guided kayak trip which boasted, among other things, awesome food. Admittedly, Jim and I were skeptical. How good could camp food be? Well, it did not disappoint! The excursion was called Beaches, Waves, and Caves with the group Living Adventure. Our kudos to their crew, as it was an awesome trip!
We flew into Duluth, MN on Thursday evening and drove onto Bayfield, WI (a two hour drive) to spend the evening in a hotel. We embarked on our trip Friday morning. We met up at the headquarters, met the group, packed our dry bags and received some introductory instruction and information. Then, a van/trailer drove us to a state park which served as our jumping off point. We got off on the right foot with a delicious lunch of sandwich wraps, homemade hummus and chips, fresh fruit, chewy bars and homemade cookies. We received some "on the beach" instruction and then wasted no time entering the water and practicing tipping the kayaks. If I recall correctly, Lake Superior temperature measured somewhere in the 50s. Yes, we were none too excited about tipping on purpose, but felt much better with the confidence of knowing how to vacate the kayak and skirt in the event of future mishaps. Our group contained a mix of single and double kayaks. Jim and I took a double for the first leg of the trip, probably a good choice for the first leg since it was a sturdy ride. When we arrived, we set up camp and enjoyed dinner - whitefish on the grill and smores for dessert (another delicious meal!). We island hopped to York and Raspberry Islands on day two. We enjoyed a nice day on the water in good paddling conditions. About half way through, Jim and I switched into single kayaks. The singles were definitely more "tipsy", but also more fun and easier to maneuver. We stuck with them for the rest of the trip. The islands we visited were mainly uninhabited. We saw only park rangers and other kayakers. We had cell phone service on some but not all of the islands. I was very happy to arrive on York Island to find my cell worked, as I was anxious to check in on the kids (Bree had gotten sick not long after we left). We also took in some of the sea caves on day two. There are some beautiful sandstone caves that have been carved out by the pounding water. It reminded us a lot of the formations we saw when hiking Pictured Rocks in the U. P. While the paddling was a workout, the setting was serene and made for a good break from modern civilization. We parked ourselves on Oak Island for our second evening. We ran into a small issue with a group of girl scouts that took our campsite for the second night in a row (we had a permit to be there, they did not). But our guide was very diplomatic about it and polled the group as to how we would like to proceed. We ended up letting them stay put and shared the campsite. The girl scouts were thankful and offered to do our dishes. :) Our last day was a nice, leisurely paddle back to the mainland. Along the way, our guides pointed out shipwreck remains and even offered up some tall tales surrounding the details. Speaking our the guides, Brian and Bjorn were first rate and incredible in every way! They were excellent instructors, friendly, funny and engaging, and awesome cooks to boot! Back at headquarters, we unpacked and cleaned the kayaks, said our goodbyes, and Jim and I grabbed a quick bite to eat in Bayfield before heading to Duluth for the evening before our early morning flight. We reflected on what a nice spot it was and how well run the Living Adventure operation is. It was a nice getaway, but I was also more than ready to get back to my little sweethearts at home!
Jim and I had a nice little getaway. We traveled to the Apostle Islands, where we embarked on a three day, two night kayak trip. For anyone not familiar, the Apostle Islands are a cluster of islands located in Lake Superior, north of Wisconsin. I learned of them through a travel feature in the local paper back in 2008. (We briefly considered the trip then, but not for long, since I was pregnant with the twins.) Anyway, we like to visit nature when we travel, so this spot never really left my mind. We found a guided kayak trip which boasted, among other things, awesome food. Admittedly, Jim and I were skeptical. How good could camp food be? Well, it did not disappoint! The excursion was called Beaches, Waves, and Caves with the group Living Adventure. Our kudos to their crew, as it was an awesome trip!
We flew into Duluth, MN on Thursday evening and drove onto Bayfield, WI (a two hour drive) to spend the evening in a hotel. We embarked on our trip Friday morning. We met up at the headquarters, met the group, packed our dry bags and received some introductory instruction and information. Then, a van/trailer drove us to a state park which served as our jumping off point. We got off on the right foot with a delicious lunch of sandwich wraps, homemade hummus and chips, fresh fruit, chewy bars and homemade cookies. We received some "on the beach" instruction and then wasted no time entering the water and practicing tipping the kayaks. If I recall correctly, Lake Superior temperature measured somewhere in the 50s. Yes, we were none too excited about tipping on purpose, but felt much better with the confidence of knowing how to vacate the kayak and skirt in the event of future mishaps. Our group contained a mix of single and double kayaks. Jim and I took a double for the first leg of the trip, probably a good choice for the first leg since it was a sturdy ride. When we arrived, we set up camp and enjoyed dinner - whitefish on the grill and smores for dessert (another delicious meal!). We island hopped to York and Raspberry Islands on day two. We enjoyed a nice day on the water in good paddling conditions. About half way through, Jim and I switched into single kayaks. The singles were definitely more "tipsy", but also more fun and easier to maneuver. We stuck with them for the rest of the trip. The islands we visited were mainly uninhabited. We saw only park rangers and other kayakers. We had cell phone service on some but not all of the islands. I was very happy to arrive on York Island to find my cell worked, as I was anxious to check in on the kids (Bree had gotten sick not long after we left). We also took in some of the sea caves on day two. There are some beautiful sandstone caves that have been carved out by the pounding water. It reminded us a lot of the formations we saw when hiking Pictured Rocks in the U. P. While the paddling was a workout, the setting was serene and made for a good break from modern civilization. We parked ourselves on Oak Island for our second evening. We ran into a small issue with a group of girl scouts that took our campsite for the second night in a row (we had a permit to be there, they did not). But our guide was very diplomatic about it and polled the group as to how we would like to proceed. We ended up letting them stay put and shared the campsite. The girl scouts were thankful and offered to do our dishes. :) Our last day was a nice, leisurely paddle back to the mainland. Along the way, our guides pointed out shipwreck remains and even offered up some tall tales surrounding the details. Speaking our the guides, Brian and Bjorn were first rate and incredible in every way! They were excellent instructors, friendly, funny and engaging, and awesome cooks to boot! Back at headquarters, we unpacked and cleaned the kayaks, said our goodbyes, and Jim and I grabbed a quick bite to eat in Bayfield before heading to Duluth for the evening before our early morning flight. We reflected on what a nice spot it was and how well run the Living Adventure operation is. It was a nice getaway, but I was also more than ready to get back to my little sweethearts at home!
View from a kayak
Sea caves
Sunset on Superior
Dinnertime!
Cards in the tent - Jim is smiling because he won all three matches
Campsite
Our "cooks" hard at work
Ranchos huevos for breakfast - compliments to the chef!
Colorful kayaks
Trail to fetch water
Yes, we used the outhouse when available (better than the "facili-tree")
Little know facts and park rules posted in each outhouse
My paddle partner :)
More caves, we paddled through these
Out on the open water
Resting on the beach
Jim bilging out his kayak after "challenge by choice" single handed rescue
Kayaking the shipwrecks
Brian telling tall tales on the sea
The group!
Us with our fearless leaders, Brian and Bjorn
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Happy Birthday Uncle C
Hi All,
This week we got to celebrate Chad's birthday - 22 years young. We do a group celebration of the August/September/October family birthdays during September, but somehow Chad still scored dinner and a cake this week!
This week we got to celebrate Chad's birthday - 22 years young. We do a group celebration of the August/September/October family birthdays during September, but somehow Chad still scored dinner and a cake this week!
"It's Uncle's birthday, but WE got the new wagon!"
The prettiest flower in the patch holding a sunflower!
"Ok Mom, you've been humored; off with this hat!"
The birthday boy and his cake
A rare photo including the family photographer, a.k.a. Mom
Monday, August 16, 2010
Just Ducky
Hi All,
We were busy this past week preparing to host a baby shower for my dear friend Erin. The theme was ducks, and Drew and Bree helped by making sure the duck tub was in working order.
And Grandma was here, so we got a pic of me and my babes.....
We were busy this past week preparing to host a baby shower for my dear friend Erin. The theme was ducks, and Drew and Bree helped by making sure the duck tub was in working order.
Ready for the high seas!
Tub for two
And here, Bree and Drew have one of their favorite toys - the cell phone! Although, this particular one has been retired, and they much prefer our active ones. They have made calls on numerous occasions, sometimes unbeknownst to me!
And Grandma was here, so we got a pic of me and my babes.....
And, here we are the day of the shower. We had a great day and enjoyed helping Erin get her "ducks in a row" for their new addition. Drew and Bree were not in attendance, but did show up at the end to help with the unwrapping of the gifts!
Congrats to Erin and Raulie!
Monday, August 9, 2010
At the Lake
Hi All,
We made our annual trip to my grandma's lake. For anyone that especially enjoys our pictures, this is the post for you! Our friends the Fergusons joined us again this year, and as always, we enjoyed their company. It was interesting to compare last year's trip to this one. Some things were easier, like the fact that the kids eat what we do for the most part and no more breastfeeding. But keeping them out of forbidden zones was difficult. They are very curious, and there are few limits to their mobility any more! But, we worked it out and were able to leave the quilt cottage pretty much the way we found it. Drew and Bree especially enjoyed roaming the basement this year. It is a big wide open space, and that is where the toys are stored. And, of course, we all enjoyed the lake and catching up with family and friends.
We made our annual trip to my grandma's lake. For anyone that especially enjoys our pictures, this is the post for you! Our friends the Fergusons joined us again this year, and as always, we enjoyed their company. It was interesting to compare last year's trip to this one. Some things were easier, like the fact that the kids eat what we do for the most part and no more breastfeeding. But keeping them out of forbidden zones was difficult. They are very curious, and there are few limits to their mobility any more! But, we worked it out and were able to leave the quilt cottage pretty much the way we found it. Drew and Bree especially enjoyed roaming the basement this year. It is a big wide open space, and that is where the toys are stored. And, of course, we all enjoyed the lake and catching up with family and friends.
Have wagon, will travel
Our little ballerina
Jim nets a big one!
Can Santa swim?
Master angler Ben
Lakeside on the pontoon
Water break!
Drying off on the patio!
Pure floating pleasure!
Bree and Dad get the paddle out
And more avid kayakers
Mr. Bucket
Gram enjoying the view from the patio
Enjoying Great Gram's lap
And another lap warmer
And one last wagon ride!
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