Northern Minnesota 2009

Here's our Vacation in rewind.......

We decided to go up north to Bear Paw Resort, this is our third time there....it's a great retreat for the kids....they constantly play in the beach and water....it doesn't take much to entertain them!!

We were up there for a week with Generations #1, #2, and #3 of friends.

Then we broke up our drive home by stopping at the Mall of America and checking out Lego Land and Nickelodeon friends.........

C-man's 2ND favorite part of the vacation: Lego land! The kids filled up a bucket each of new Lego's to bring home to their collection.
C-man meets Sponge Bob and Patrick! We just participated in the meet and greets, we didn't go on any rides.

Miss-O love Dora the Explorer and loved meeting her.....she was a wee bit shy, as you can see.....but afterwards she was really excited!

The last day at the lake, the kids played until they could play no more. Swimming was Miss-O's favorite part of vacation when we asked her.

C-man and Little Bear getting their lake fix......this was number 1 favorite part of vacation for C-man.

Adoring the Lake.......

Roberts' (Generations 1,2,3) that made it to the lake.

Sunset on Lake Washburn

Tim made us a fire and C-man's wish came true.....SMORE'S! and ghost stories....

Paul's first day on the lake and he caught a nice sized Northern, two bass, and a rock bass. He was definitely in his glory, as he got up early each day to hit the lake and land some fish. This was his favorite part of vacation.

Thursday, we made our annual golf-outing at Pirate's Cove. Dad won and C-man came in 2ND.....Miss-O, played about 5 holes and her technique was the best, she walked up to the hole and put her ball into it.....she had quite a bit of hole-in-one's.

Daddy and Miss-O fishing.....she caught a cute little fish just like her.

Wednesday morning, I woke up early with Paul and we set out to his fishin' hole. I caught 8 fish, but they were all about this size that I'm holding......on the other hand, Paul caught 5 fish and 2 keepers.

Tuesday evening we took a boat ride out to check out the turtles, retrieve water toys and enjoy the sunset.

Lovin' the boat ride while Daddy drives the boat around.

Tuesday after our dollar burger night out to eat, we stopped for ice-cream......here are the kids window-shopping.

This is the cabin that we stayed at for the week......."Beaver House." I was glad that mosquitoes were not roaming inside, but the ants were.....oh well, I can co-habitate with ants.

Pat works with C-man in his back floating......good work my little man....you'll be set for swimming lessons next month!

My favorite picture of them all.....C-man, Miss-O, and Little bear.....playing on the beach.

Meet Zach, a dragonfly that C-man adopted for the evening. Other things he saw was a frog, a toad, garter snake, the life cycle of the dragonfly in action......he was in bug and reptile heaven!

The three girls are enjoying the pontoon ride.......all three would raise their arms up and say "wheeeee!"

Pat, Gabe, and C-man driving the Pontoon. Ahoy Skipper!

Loving the water.....little beach babe.

It was fun to watch Marin get comfortable with the water each day, by the end of the week, she was jumping into the water for Daddy to catch her.

Floating in the lake.

Sneak Preview......

Here's our little princess watching the balloons set sail.
My friend Kim and me.


The wedding was nice, a bit HOT! O went down the aisle with the ring-bearer as I escorted them along. At the end I dipped my hand into the basket and threw some flowers out. It was a dream come true for me, I've never been a flower girl!

The wedding was held in a cute chapel on a Fort.
A little history now....

It was established during the First World War. It was the U.S. Army's first and only officer candidate class for African American men. Then in 1942, it hosted the formation of the first Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and trained female officers for non-combat duty until 1945.

The reception was held in the museum.......the day was a blur of decorating the reception area, getting O dressed and ready for the wedding, entertaining her for hours on end without a nap before the ceremony started.

It was a beautiful day and I'm so excited for my friend, Kim. She's found a great husband and she's on her way to a great life.......

There will be more pictures but my camera-man has placed them in raw footage so he can edit them....these were the only jpeg's I could share.....so a little sneak peek. Can't wait for you to see our little princess all decked out in her pretty, pretty dress!

Crocodile Dock

C-man, Miss-O, and I have been on a wonderful journey this week. We visited the Bayou and made new friends and learned things about God.

We learned that God is always with us.

God is powerful.

God does what he says he'll do.

God gives us life.

God will take care of us.

FEAR NOT!

We learned about the story of Moses, the burning bush, the 10 plagues (can you name them?), Passover/Last Supper and how Jesus is our Lamb of God, and Moses separating the Red Sea.

Again, the kids make crafts, play games, snacks, watch a movie, and interact in a bible story, and gather to worship. Everything we did, ties into the stories. Let me tell you, these kids are quick and they know their bible stories!

Here's a snap-shot of most of the kids singing. There were 146 kids and 100 volunteers! This was C-man's and my 2nd year and Miss-O's first year. We absolutely LOVE it! There's a sort of energy that surrounds you and it saturates the kids........by the way, I loved my group. What a great group of kids and awesome examples when it was time to huddle and do group discussions.

Miss-O was in a nursery this week and she did well, considering this was the first time she was separated from me with strangers. They made crafts, played, snacked, and played outside. She was excited to tell me about her day too. The older girls took to her as she did to them.

Just a little example of a craft C did. it's a stepping stone.

Another example of crafts, both the kids made bird feeders out of plastic bottles....(gotta remember this idea for Earth Day next year)

Miss-O gained the courage to get up front and dance and sing with all the kids!

"I get down, he lifts me up." C-man in the front of the church singing.

Hanging out at the dock.

celebrations!

Happy Birthday Uncle Rob!
Happy Anniversary to Chris and Angie!

A mystical experience!

Tonight I met with our "lake friends" to coordinate menus and have a cup of Jo. While drinking my Chai frosty (YUMMO!), we chatted, laughed, and planned.

We were about to wrap up our stay at the coffee shop, when a woman came over. She asked my mother-in-law if it was her birthday yesterday, and we corrected her and told her it was Tanya who left earlier. Then she took out her fancy notebook and told us Tanya's fortune and challenge.....then she went around the table and told us about our personalities. She asked for our birthdays and with the combination of astrology, numerology, a deck of cards, elements, and mystic---ology.

Angie, my sister-in-law is full of blessings....she is a teacher of blessings....which she IS a teacher! she is also going to be blessed financially......I'll have to get her lotto numbers later!

Michelle, my mother-in-law is wise and has a spiritual creativity, she should think of the now for the future.....I think she is a wise mother and VERY creative and spirited woman.

Then she looked at me and I gave her my birth date and she said I was a border of a Leo and Virgo.....she kept looking at me trying to figure me out.....she said I had some fire in me but you could tell I was of the earthly mother figure.....as she waved her hands as if she was demonstrating a "womanly" figure. (I might have been looking earthly because my make-up was about off my face, I need my brows tweezed, my hair was a bit frazzled, and I can't help that I'm womanly in my figure)

She continued to tell me that I can't control my emotions very well, and that I'm an intellect and curious and like to do things of service........okay, she got me....I am animated with my emotions, I'm an analyzer, and as a nurse and teacher I'm a curious person of service......interesting...then she mentioned that I have good ideas......hmmm....interesting...I'm not sure when I have time to think of any ideas....but I'll take it............

So the whole time I was waiting for her to charge us, but she was very nice to share her interesting talents with us for free. Quite the experience, you just don't know what will happen when you go out for a cup of coffee.

Happy 44 years!

Look at these love-birds....and now have been married for 44 years and together for 49 years.

It's a good thing that Mom bought your picture to start all of this......what a journey the two of you have experienced.....did you ever think it would turn out this way when you started???

Happy Anniversary and here's to many more years together.

Love ya!

Rookie!

Well, here they are....aren't they beauties? I know, these just look like shoes to you.....but these shoes represent a new me. They represent a new challenge in my life. A new freedom and a CHANGE.

I'm taking up running......wait! come back don't faint on me.

I know, it's out of my character. I've always hated running. But I've become inspired. A patient of mine who was 78 years old and has run 6 marathons......has changed my perspective. He didn't start running until his 50's. If he can do it, surely I could start in my 30's. I then have talked to some other runners that I know and I'm even more excited about it. It's amazing to see "the look" on their face and the goose-bumps I get just talking about it. I want "that look" on my face too.

I've been athletic all my life, ever since I can remember I've been playing some kind of sport. BUT... the last 10 years, I've not been up to par. Work and kids have taken up some of my time. Not to mention, I was at one time getting paid to exercise....what an incentive that was! (Wish I could get paid for that again)

Why running? I find it fascinating, not to mention, I here there is instant results....that's what this 30+ year old body needs is a swift kick in it's metabolism. Also, I hear you can eat what you normally eat.....not that I'm a greasy burger and fries girl....but it's nice to have that cookie and ice-cream once in awhile and not worry about depriving.

From a cardiovascular look at it, I need this activity to keep my heart healthy for the rest of my life, I want to live to enjoy my kids and their kids. Endorphins alone is a great benefit, who doesn't enjoy a natural high from their own body???? Stress relief.....running is something I can do all by myself....after interacting with people, children day in and out.....it's nice to go solo.

So, today I'm fitting for my shoes and I come in vulnerable. (I went to a professional sport shop and fell in love with the atmosphere.) The lady before me is picking her shoe and doesn't try it on.....I, on the other hand admitted, I'm a rookie. The sales person said that my foot would widen with running, especially if I was doing a marathon.....I giggled and told him I'd like to do a mile right now.....marathon would be my long term goal. The kids had a blast at this store, each shoe I tried on I got to go way back and run up and down the hallway, they ran with me....they didn't want to leave!

That's the kind of inspiration I want for my children is to show them how fun exercising and staying active is so that it will become natural for them........maybe someday my husband will join me.............????????

Tomorrow, is my second run......learned that I need to go to the high-school track and try out the new track instead of side walk. Can you say SHIN SPLINTS????? Now that they have subsided, I'm ready to run again. My bugs are ready to plop into my ears and I'm ready to do my run/walk.........wish me luck, and if you see someone wheezing and hunched over and jiggling on the high school track......don't be scared, don't call the rescue squad, please don't laugh.......it's just me trying out a new challenge...

Birthday Party Time!

A quick wink from the birthday boy.
Make a wish! May all your wishes come true this year my little man.

Little Bear loved dressing up in Miss-O's clothes....she sang and sang...she reminds me of Fancy Nancy.

How's it hanging, Austin?

AW, another brotherly, sisterly love picture.....Jeremey and Jaydin must never fight by the looks of this pic.

Jake getting into the playground fun.

Miss-O shares her toys with Emma.....(lovin' the snow boots with her outfit!)

Star Wars Cake.....with a Star Wars themed menu.....Sloppy droid sandwiches, Chubaka chilli snack mix, Jar Jar lemonade, Han Solo corn and much more that we munched on. This cake by far was the easiest cake to decorate for C-man's birthday parties...with the exception of the cakes that I didn't make.

What a busy First week of Summer!

Monday and Tuesday were rainy days, so they consisted of legos, movies, books, coloring, and journaling.

Wednesday, we were ready to get out of the house!......in the morning C-man started his lego creations.....

Before we went to the park, he hitched a ride on the teeter-totter with the neighbor girl and her friend. He has played with them three times already this summer and he's looking forward to some great times with them......we hope she never moves....she's such a cool little girl and a cool family.

Miss-O did a little chalking and bubble blowing before we headed out to the park.

We headed to Colby park to meet with my friends from nursing school....it's amazing that we are in the place in our lives.....that place that we used to dream about during our study sessions.........all married and with families......so there were 6 kids oldest 5 and youngest 6 months.

We headed to Mustards for lunch and all did so well.....we had a hungry bunch!

Going ga-ga over baby I......he loved the attention!

Hold hands on the way out of the Restaurant! Too Cute!





Almost nap time for Miss-O and our routine is that C-man reads her books to her.....everyone benefits.

Thursday, we went to the Lake and walked around it, and C-man scootered around it with his friend, E-man. They had fun playing Star Wars........Then we went to Mickey D's and the kids ate and played some more....and then back home to play with the neighbors........after Dinner, we went to Library Family Story Time and hung out at the library.....baths and bedtims....phew! Whatta Day!

We need to get ready for our busy weekend; Grandpa's retirement party and C-man's birthday party..........Happy Friday everyone.