Being One With Nature

Dave and Tommy went on a high adventure for a week to a place north of us called Boundary Waters. It is where they make men out of boys, or so I've been told.
They canoe along these lakes (no current, mind you) against wind and biting rain at times. Then if you think that is tough, they then have to carry their canoes across these small inlets of the islands and coastline. First unloading all the supplies of the week out which means several trips back and forth across the same area. Tommy wrenched his neck pretty severely.

They found a sweet spot of fish.

This is a beautiful place that they try to keep as natural as possible. There is wildlife everywhere. They saw bald eagles right next to them; a moose as well.

A lot of the time, the weather was overcast, but that didn't stop them from cliff jumping in the freezing water. I wish there were photos of Dave, but he was taking them.

I don't know if Tommy came home a "man" but they did have a great time.

Belated Birthday Photos

We celebrated my 29th birthday....again. (I'm really 34 for those of you who are curious....I would be!)
Look! I can get Jane's hair into two sweet little ponies.

Of course, our adopted family was there...we love Joe and Kelsi!

I'm not sure why Dave has to help me...I mean, there are only two candles! I'm not THAT old!

The girls put on a fabulous dance in my honor, and I was treated to all sorts of foot rubs and special meals and such. It was a great day!

Tommy's Last Swim Meet

So football is going to start in a couple of weeks, so this is the last of swimming. I love going to the meets. My stomach gets all knotted up, though, watching those kids swim their hearts out!
You can't tell, but Tommy is swimming in the water.

Not the best photos, but the facilities were really neat to see. I'll miss watching him swim.

Wisconsin in the Summer

Jane's new place to hide and put things...the phone, remotes, whatever...
She thinks she helping me, and really, how can you get mad at that face?

Here's a shot of our house in the summer. It is amazing how full the trees are!

This is our side yard....more leaves to rake up in a few months.

This is looking out from the front door. Some people have been asking me what the area looks like. I may take the camera around the neighborhood and downtown to show what it is like.

Happy Fourth of July

Jane is such my water-baby! She has no fear and could spend hours in it.

A family in our ward lives right on the lake so it is a tradition in our ward to have a 4th of July party there. They do a nice ceremony, pot-luc dinner, water-tubing and skiing, games and such.

(Tommy playing some V-ball)

That night we went on a boat tour of the lake and rounded it out with some fireworks. I have to admit I was a little blue...I missed my friends and family quite a bit.

Deer in my Garden

If you look carefully, you can see where the deer munched off the big leaves to my zuchinni plant. The deer tromped through leaving hoof prints and stepping on top of my garden.
So we set out a scarecrow and strung up some string with noisemakers. We'll have to be on guard!

I did NOT work this hard to have a deer benefit!

***as a side note...our cat hasn't come home for the last two days...we are very upset about it...

Summer Fest

Here in Wisconsin, they have a two-week long party called SummerFest. Some pretty big-name singers come and perform. Really it's just like a state-fair minus the animal exhibits. (It's also an excuse for people to get drunk) But we took the kids there during the day for some of the kid-activities.
These were the science guys who were playing with dry ice and such.
They had free hair coloring

Don't they look attractive!?

I didn't get a lot of photos, but there was a lot to see. The kids really liked this guy who was a yo-yo expert. He was amazing and funny.

Wisconsin Dells

There was a little putt-putt. $5 for anyone who beat Dave. No one beat him, but Tommy and I both came close!
A little wet from the log ride. Jane even went on it a few times!

I can't believe how many times the kids went on this ride.

You can see the roller coaster in the background. It was a really fun ride...all rickety and scarey old. I seriously had whiplash for a few days after.

We found a candy store to the delight of us all!

Jane was in heaven combining slides with water...her favorite!

This is a classic Jane face, so I'm glad I caught it on camera. She isn't naked, but just has a swim diaper on.

This was a really neat feature as well. She loved the wave pool and the lazy river.

This is a really cute photo of Dave and Michael. What handsome boys!

The girls were so brave. They were nice enough to let their mom hang out with them for a while on the big slides.

I'm told EVERYONE goes to the Wisconsin Dells. So we got a good deal and gave it a try. It is a huge tourist town. It's like going to a little Las Vegas with Billboards and eye candy everywhere. We went to a waterpark called The Wilderness. It was a lot of fun. The highlight was the Skycraper ride. The girls even went on it and loved it.