Evening Reflections

I've been experiencing technical difficulties with my blog for the last couple of days. Nothing major, just difficulty getting photos posted. So, I am posting what I can for now...here are a couple of my favorite photos from the last couple of days...

Aidan & Colin having fun on a big rock in Grandpa's yard:

The surface of the lake looks like glass in the evening. Isn't it beautiful?

More of the lake...

My dad and all the kids out on the end of the dock:

Becky searching for the turtle:

The sunset pinks starting to peek through:

Pretty, isn't it?

I'm listening to the sounds of the lake and the breeze as I write this, and it brings me an amazing feeling of peaceful calm, even as the boys have their "sword fights" with the Star Wars sound effects!

Greetings from Minnesota!

We arrived in Minnesota last Monday, just in time to celebrate my birthday. The boys enjoyed helping Grandma decorate a cake for me.

Next year's going to be a big one!

The boys really had fun visiting a playground nearby. The Twin Cities area has the greatest parks! I wish we had some like this where we live!

Wednesday, our dear friends from Nebraska arrived, and we went with them to the Science Museum in St. Paul on Thursday. There is a cool Star Wars exhibit going on there right now. Aidan and Colin really enjoyed trying out the hover craft:

And seeing Yoda and all their other favorite Star Wars characters...

Colin always loves the "table with the floating balls."

This thing was just cool...I guess it's a glass orb filled with water.

Our friend, Becky, in the wildflower maze in the Big Backyard...

Aidan panning for fossils with his aunt Jeni...

Friday we drove to my dad's house on the lake. The kids immediately wanted to go fishing. I can't believe how my dad manages to keep 4 kids with fishing poles and hooks on a narrow dock under control. Nobody lost an eye, although Aidan DID fall in!

Aidan enjoying a conversation with Grandpa Jim...

Becky enjoying the breeze...

"What kind of cool creatures can we find under these stepping stones?"

Colin got a hook caught in his thumb, and was really upset. He started laughing when Grandpa showed him all of the scars on HIS hands, though!

The pain was quickly forgotten when Colin caught a nice, big fish!

That's a sheephead, though(shhhh.... don't tell Colin that!), so when the kids wanted to let it go, we happily threw it back.


Clearly, all the kids enjoyed fishing. Here's Michael getting the hang of casting with the big rod...

Here is a lovely sunset from the dock...

Saturday, the kids caught a baby turtle...aww, isn't he cute?

The future veterinarian examining her catch...

Look how pretty his belly is!

Becky told Colin to let the turtle crawl on his arm, so of course he had to try it!

The turtle was safely released back into the lake after all the kids had time to check him out up close.

We've also been boating and swimming, and have not made it into town yet. I expect we'll get there sometime today, even if it's just to replenish our refrigerator!

A Few Final Photos From Our Vacation

I have a couple more photos to share from our trip. There really is no story to them, it's just the boys with a couple of their friends, and I just think they happen to be cute pictures.

Here are Colin and Amelia, who became fast friends and "super-spies" on this trip:

Conversation overheard by myself and Rita:

Amelia: "Hey cutie pie!"

Colin: "Don't call me cutie pie! Just call me handsome."

Amelia: "Okay, handsome!"

Colin: "Or, you can just call me Waldo."

This next photo is Grace and Aidan. I don't know what we would have done on this vacation without Grace and Emma. They spent SO much time with my boys and made SURE they were always entertained. They were so good with them, always patient, always fun.

Needless to say, I think my boys are in love.

Here is what I think our "logo" for this vacation should be:

I think I'm going to make some t-shirts on CafePress with this one!

(Grin!)

An Evening at the Beach

Last night after dinner, the weather was still just too nice to stay home. We are walking distance from the beach here, so we took a walk over to see what the beach was like in the evening, and to see if we could find any crabs for the boys. Here are some images from our evening on the beach.

We were all amazed at how quiet and empty the beach was during the evening hours.

Colin and Amelia walking hand in hand toward the ocean...

The beautiful, pre-sunset sky...
Don't you wonder what Aidan and Fred are talking about in this photo?

Sarah looking for the perfect shot...

Jim as I usually see him on vacaction, whether here or in Paris (I'm talking about the camera in front of his face!)

Colin feeling peaceful, thanks to the lulling sound of the waves...

Aidan practicing to be a movie star resisting paparazzi...

Sarah enjoying a peaceful stroll...

Jim enjoying the feeling of the sand on his bare feet...

Aidan filling his backpack with shells. He did NOT want to leave the beach until his backpack was FULL!

A bit of the sunset...

At last! It got dark enough that the crabs were out running around. Aidan caught a small one, and Colin wanted one, too, so Fred caught one for him. Colin's feelings (and fingers) were VERY hurt when his little crab pinched him! Here is a big one that we found, which the boys were wise enough NOT to try to pick up...

Heat Wave

First, have to share this cute photo...here is Colin and his good friend picking flowers during Aidan's last t-ball game:

We've had a real heat wave here. Maybe we're not breaking records, but we're definitely coming close. We do not have air conditioning in our house (there are generally only a few days per year where it would be nice to have), so we've spent the last couple days at our beach to stay cool. Here are the kids looking for salamanders.
As I was considering LAMENTING the fact that we don't have AC in this heat, I had to examine the last couple of days. I'm convinced that if we had AC, the boys and I would NOT have left our house on these hot, hot days. But, because we do NOT have air conditioning, we were forced to get out of the house to get cool, and instead of sitting indoors, we spent those days in the sunshine and fresh air, playing with friends and getting lots of exercise. I've decided that it's not a bad tradeoff!Here is Aidan happily showing off his swimming skills:

Here is Colin, determined to keep up with his big brother:

Yes, that's a giant bullfrog tadpole in her hand!

Each day at the beach has had my boys sound asleep by 6:30 p.m. Wow!

Next, here is some bizarre, fast-growing tree fungus on a giant oak tree near the beach that appears to be healthy otherwise. I'm sharing these pictures for my fungus-loving friend, and she knows who she is! Enjoy!

We have a cold front coming in tonight, so relief is on the way.