Saturday, July 26, 2008

Temporary Hiatus

There will be a temporary shut down in the picture department. Someone, under 3'tall hid the memory stick for my camera. I bought a new one, but for some reason we're having trouble getting the computer to recognize it and allow us to open it. So, I'll update with pictures as soon as we get it figured out.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Time to shave?

Is that a five o'clock shadow on Duchess' face?


Nope, just chocolate Nesquick.! Naughty doggy!



Out on the boat









After returning from the cabin, the sun was shining and the temp was warm. We decided to take the boat out onto Maple Lake for some fun and fishing. Joel caught the only fish, and Ryan was really excited but wouldn't touch it. We played in the water, fed the fish marshmallows, and Ryan peed off the back of the boat. He's been potty training, and when you gotta go....well you gotta go.

Another visit to the cabin




This last weekend, I took the boys to mom and Dan's cabin again. We got there before them, and opened it up and started supper. It was a cool evening, and the next day it rained off and on all day. Finally around 5 it stopped raining long enough to go for a boat ride, and be outside for a little while. But it didn't last nearly long enough, and we had to head back in for the night. The next day looked to be a better day, it started out sunny enough to enjoy breakfast on the deck, but then turned overcast again. We decided to make an early exit, and of course as soon as we hit the road, it was blue skies as far as we could see. Oh well, we'll get back up their again soon. Oh-and the bird's nest was empty.

Ice Cream Cones


After playing at the beach, I thought the kids could use a little ice cream to top off their day. We grabbed some on the go and headed home to get a late supper together. Ryan missed his nap that day, and was so tired he fell asleep eating his cone. Jake was hamming it up for the camera as usual.

A day at the beach




Last week, Tina, Theresa, and I all took our kids to the Big Lake Beach. It was a total of 6 kids and 3 adults. We had a ton of fun. The kids made sandcastles, splashed, sat on the tube with me-but didn't bother taking turns....as you can see from the photo.

The Gregerson Campout

"Cousins Playing"
Tug of war over the creek
Bobby is giving the peace sign, not flicking us off. Look closely.
Mud Bog wannabees
Thanks for the ride "gma" Phyllis

Thanks for the ride bro!
Lazy dog days of summer.
Every year, Bobby's family (that's Kendall's boyfriend for those of you who don't know) has a weekend campout. They do it at the same location, and same weekend every year. I've heard stories from Kennie about how much fun it is, seen some pictures, and all that good stuff. This year we were invited....one of the few VIP guests allowed past the gate, okay it's really the more the merrier, but we can pretend. Anyway, it was so much fun. There was tug of war over their creek, mud bogging, dice game, cake walk, swimming, horse drawn hay rides, fireworks, food buffet style every 3-4 hours (man can they cook!), lounging around, and just about every other fun thing you could do with friends and family while camping. The weather was perfect, and the kids had so much fun and behaved well too. We had so much fun, and hated to leave. These people really know how to have a good time, and thankfully they invited us back next year! We can hardly wait.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Fireworks






The city of Monticello celebrates Riverfest the weekend after the 4th. This means there aren't any fireworks, so instead of driving to some, we decided to do our own. Not nearly as impressive, as they were all MN legal, but it was fun for us all, and the boys really loved it. As far as I'm concerned, that's all that really matters.

4th of July afternoon and evening



After playing at the beach, we came home and took naps and Bryce and Sharon came up. The boat we use belongs to them, but is kept at our house for storage purposes. It also means we reap the benefits of using it as often as we want. So we went out for a boat ride, some tubing, and a little sun. It was so much fun. After that, great grandma Peterson came over, and all of us had a bbq supper with traditional corn on the cob, watermelon, and strawberries (fresh picked by me and the kids).

4th of July Morning


On the morning of the 4th, we took the boys to Big Lake beach. We wanted to get the boat there before they filled up, and also to play and have fun. The boys weren't as thrilled with the water as they were at the cabin, but they both ventured in and at least got their feet wet.

More pictures from the cabin




While at the cabin, we discovered a bird nest with 5 eggs in it. I was hoping they would hatch while we were there, but no such luck.

Nana and Papa's Cabin






Recently Nana and Papa bought a cabin near Finlayson on Big Pine Lake. It's a great little retreat, and the boys and I were lucky enough to help them break it in on their first weekend since the closing. The cabin is cozy and clean , and even though it's 50+ steps to the lake...it's well worth it! Plus it makes all the indulging in bbq, sweets, and ETOH a little less glutinous. Anyway, we went from Sun-Wed and had a blast. Boat rides, beach time, book reading, visiting the local towns, relaxing, you name it-we enjoyed it. It's a wonderful thing to have a cabin in the family that's easy to get to, welcoming, and a fun place to go to.

A link to Kaleigh's family Blog

Kaleigh's family recently created a blog. I don't know if I can put pictures of her up yet, even though she's not in our custody anymore. But that won't stop me from giving people the link to hers! It's http://www.zandvliets.blogspot.com/ she's the smallest one with the darker hair. I get to see her again tomorrow for a little while, so I'm very excited.