Kamp Dels 2013

We did our annual trip to Kamp Dels again this year with our friends, the Frasers. We had great weather, although a little cooler than usual, but it was dry. And that was appreciated!  We have trips in the past where it was very wet, so this year being dry and relatively warm was fantastic!

The majority of the trip was planned around playing in the pool and the waterpark. Cailin and Andrew have now become much more comfortable in the 'big' pool, since they are much better swimmers.  So we spent a lot of time there.

The kids also got to participate in the many activities at the campground, scavenger hunts and games.

The kids also rode their bikes a lot and checked out the different playgrounds.

Madeline was able to enjoy it more this year as well.  She liked visiting the animals at the animal barns, and many times would fall asleep in the stroller while hiking about.

We were busy the entire time. The kids had a blast and were already talking about next year's trip!

Beach Day in Ham Lake

In July, we spent the day with Uncle Gary and Aunt Rhonda at their Ham Lake home. We got to spend the day playing in the lake, an awesome bbq picnic lunch and an evening ride on the pontoon.

Everyone loved to play in the lake and couldn't get enough of it.

It was a beautiful day with wonderful company!

Swim, swim, swim....

Goofing Off!

Andrew and Madeline are two peas in a pod. They love to play and they love to get into mischief.

On this particular day, I heard some gigling from the hallway and found the two peas in the hall linen closet. The linens had been removed and replaced with two children.

4th of July

This year, we spent the 4th of July at a new spot. It's actually an old spot for us, we've camped there many times, but not ever over the 4th of July.

We made a trip to Willow River State Park. It was wonderful!  The weather was great for most of the trip and got really, really hot only on the last day or so. 

On the hot days, we stayed cool with water guns and everyone enjoyed that. And we all got wet.

We hiked down to the falls. The water was really high, so we didn't get to climb on the rocks as much but the view was spectacular!

We were able to watch fireworks right from our campsite and we saw at least three different shows (from different towns). We found a great playground in Hudson and even bumped into a friend we had met while camping at another campground. Small world!

All in all, it was a great long weekend, filled with lots of family time and play!

Andrew's 7th Birthday

Andrew turned 7 this June. This was an off-friend party year (we do the big friend birthday party every other year, so this year was a quiet year), so we had a couple of family parties to make up for it.

Andrew loved his cake and loved his brithday present, this electric scooter.  He even lets his sister ride it occasionally.

 

Happy Birthday Andrew!!! We love you!!!

Tractors and Cheese Festivals

Yes, these two things actually do go together.  Mike is from a small town north of Rochester, MN and every year, Pine Island has a their annual "Cheese Festival" (apparently having some connection to Land O'Lakes having a plant there or something).

So we try and make it to the annual Cheese Fest each year.  The highlight of this year (which was held this past weekend) was the riding of the tractors. At least for the big kids.

They even got to DRIVE the big tractors along with Grandma and Grandpa.  Which they thoroughly enjoyed.

Maddy got to ride on the rides at Cheese Fest - which she thoroughly enjoyed!

 

The train was her favorite. She had a look of terror as the ride began, which then quickly shifted to excited bliss.

 

 

 

Maddy also really, REALLY liked sitting in Grandma's old highchair. Like the one Grandma used when she was a baby.  Maddy thought that was pretty fun.

 

Big Girl

She is turning two in a few days. However she thinks she is MUCH older.


She likes to wear her brother and sister's shoes.

She likes to ride her brother's old bike (with training wheels).
She has no fear of the biggest slide at the playground


She plays the piano
And she has the greatest smile ever!

Easter 2013

The kids welcomed the visit from the Easter Bunny this year. Including the ability to eat candy at 6:30am on a Sunday. Which explains the smiles on their faces. What you don't see is that 10 minutes after this photo was taken, they were FLYING around the house on a sugar high. D'oh!

Duluth

For Spring Break this year, we decided to head north again (sometime we are going to go WARM for our spring break I promise!). We spent a day in Duluth and then headed up to Lutsen with our dear friends, the Frasers. The kids are all about the same age as are the adults. So we all have an amazing time together. We stopped at the train museum for our usual trip. Maddy is now at the age where she LOVES this stuff. Last time we were here, she was too little. Now, she is in awe of the trains. She can climb on them and run around the station. She thinks it's so cool! We spent time at the Lutsen Cabin. Playing in the snow, building HUGE snow forts. We spent time running around in Grand Marais and throwing rocks in the lake. Having a BLAST and getting away with great friends for a few days!!