Wednesday, July 25, 2007

What's Cooler than a Toy Airplane...



One that is also a fan and lights up of course!

Nana gave me and my brother one of these delightful little gems. I got a red one and Ben got a blue one. You might just be asking "What in a box of jelly donuts is so fabulous about this toy?" Well, let me explain. First of all, it's an airplane...how cool is that?!? It even has little foam propelers that whip around at the speed of light. You can put your fingers in there when they are spinning around and they don't even get hurt. I know this because I watched my brother do it a million times. He's a boy, you know...one of those kinds who is just so curious about everything that they try all sorts of silly things. Second, this gadget lights up like a 4th of July sky. It starts spinning and the lights start whirling. If you get really close and stare at it real hard, all sorts of pretty pictures will start to appear. Third, and a surpise to me...the bottom is actually a sucker!! My mom told me I couldn't have it because my teeth would fall out. I'm pretty sure I don't believe her, but I'm not a risk-taker so I'll just let that one go. If you ever decide you just can't live without one of these wonders, just get yourself a Nana...and I'm sure she will buy one for you too.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Lovin' Summer


We had such a great day today. The weather has been beautiful so we spent a majority of our day outside. Actually, we were only in the house for naps and supper...other than that we were busy enjoying the sunshine. This morning we met our friends at the community pool. I know...what sense does that make when we have our very own pool right in our backyard. Well, when you have a two and a half year old and a one year old...it tends to make a lot of sense. The community pool is perfect for little kids since it starts with just a half inch of water and gets deeper very slowly.
Ben loves the water, as does Ella. But there is a difference. Ella will mostly stay by me, get caught up watching all the other little kids playing, and just sit nice and still. Ben on the other hand has no fear. No fear. No fear. I'm not sure how many times I had to scoop him out of the water. He would come up coughing and sputtering and then go right back at it. Luckily my friend could help watch Ella because I could hardly take my eyes off of Ben. Not even for a second. It was tiring and a bit stressful, but the kids had a blast.
After we finished supper tonight, Jason and I took the kids back to the community pool. I figured since we actually had to pay for admission, we should make the most out of it. It was a little easier this time as we had a one-to-one parent to child ratio. They both splashed and splashed. And they both squealed with delight as they flew down the waterslide. It was a lovely day...now I hope we get some lovely sleep out of the deal!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Lake Kabetogama

















Vacations....aren't they wonderful?!? We had such a great time this year up at Lake Kabetogama. Jason's family goes up there every year and rents a cabin on this particular lake...they've done it for over 25 years now.

We had our own little cabin just for us. It was perfect. It was a one-bedroom cabin overlooking the lake with a sleeper-sofa. It was so nice to have a quiet place to go when the kids went to sleep or needed a little downtime...or I needed a little quiet me-time for knitting and relaxing. The view was perfect with the big picture window facing the lake and a little rocking chair to sit in and enjoy it with. I got a lot of recharging time while up there.

The kids loved to go down to Nana's cabin. She had so lovingly worked on a toy box for them. She had been collecting books, color crayons, art projects, coloring books, toys, etc for awhile and brought the whole stash up to the lake with her. The kids loved going through all their "spoils" picking what they wanted to do each day. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure who enjoyed each other more...the kids or Nana! There was also a large playground right outside her cabin as well as the beach so there was always something fun to do. It was the perfect set-up.

Ben and Ella each had boat rides as well as rides on the paddleboats. I think they enjoyed being on the water. We took a particular trip to see the Ellsworth Rock Gardens one day. The water was quite choppy, the boat was bouncing, water was spraying, and Ben slept through it all! As soon as Jason would slow the boat to avoid a back-crunching wave...he would wake up and start crying.

We had a variety of weather while up there...just one of the pleasures of living in Minnesota. It was so beautiful and lovely. When we first arrived, it was hot. The sun was beating down and it was just a little too warm to be out in it. That night's sleeping was a little rough because of the heat. Then some cooler weather rolled in and it felt like a wonderful fall day. We all had sweatshirts on and the family had a campfire that evening. Then some warmer weather again...actually, it was perfect weather that came our way. It was around 80 degrees, sunny, and the water was like glass. Everyone put aside the fishing poles for awhile and got out the tube and waterskiis.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. It was hard to leave the peacefulness of the lake and the quietness of the cabin to come back to city life. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Not to be out-done...



Ben is ready to go biking with Dad too. Just like big sister, Ella. I may just be the only "non-biker" in the family. Hmmmm....maybe that's okay. Maybe I can work this to my advantage. Let's see...if Daddy and the kids love biking....then Daddy can take them out on little adventures...and Mommy will get the house all to herself!! :) Not a bad plan, now that I think about it!