Friday, October 28, 2016

Madeline Island, Lake Superior

After Em's birthday celebration and our trip to Kansas City we came home for a couple of days so Robert could work.  We luckily were asked to head up North with our good friends for some R&R.  We have been several times before, but haven't been able to make it work the last couple years.  I think the last time we were there Noelle was still sleeping in a crib.  Let me tell you taking three kids that can swim well, listen O.K. and can make their own breakfast is a game changer. 
 Crossing over Superior from MN to Wisconsin
 I took tons of sunset pictures....
 Or lake pictures in general
 We had two really great weather days, and two days where it was not best to be on the boat- wind wise
 This is the thing, most kids don't care that the water is 65 degrees at best and the sun is not always shinning, they have fun anyway!



 We don't find many shells, but the rock searching is amazing.  So many neat rocks!
 Leigh found a Norweigen pancake maker (Ebelskiver) so we tried those several times.  These girls helped cook and eat!


 Oh, and we rarely shower at the lake, you can. But no one really does it on the regular...

 Sometimes we eat an entire meal of fried food snacks without plates
 The whitefish from Superior is sooooo good.  All my kids liked it, we did tell Dallas it was chicken, but he gobbled it up. 
 We hammocked a lot

 Smores are always a requirement

 Girl cuddles in bed, we were staying up to watch the stars.  We headed out to the dock at 10:00 pm and laid on cushions and taught the kids how to find satellites and stars. It was my highlight of the week.  Lots of God's work up in the heavens!
8:00 am rinse off crew, I had that coffee cup in my had until 10:00 am everyday, love sipping coffee in nature

 Oscar the Dog likes the water. He also hogs the raft!
 It takes Robert more time to get to relax mode than me.  He found the hot tub to fix so he could be "doing something".
 We boated to the mainland to get ice cream and fish to fry
 We also boated to Anitou Island (one of the Apostle Islands) and we toured an historic fish camp


Also, Robert taught Emily and Dallas how to drive using the golf cart. 

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Emily's 10th Birthday

Emily turned 10 this summer.  It is so fun to have a 10 year old.  She is really helpful. She loves to cook, mostly dessert but she is willing to do just about anything.  We have a ways to go with the clean-up. I like clean while I cook, so I would like her to have that strategy. She is very creative and loves helping people.  Emily seems to like playing with babies.  Our friends up the road have a toddler and she does a great job entertaining her.  She is enjoying piano and learning an instrument this Fall. I would still say one of her favorite ways to pass the time is reading.  She asked for Nancy Drew and Roald Dahl books for her birthday. 

 Part of her present from us was a trip to the American Girl store. We have never been to a store and really, time is ticking so we thought we better do it.  We went to the Kansas City store, mostly because we go to KC less often than we do Minneapolis. The only downside was that the KC store does not have a cafe or restaurant, only a salon.  I was initially envisioning doing the tea service with the dolls, but Emily enjoyed this and didn't know what she was missing.
She received this collection of Roald Dahl books from Robert and I.
From her brother and sister, they found lots of stuff at Hobby Lobby to buy her
Birthday breakfast at the Cafe with Robert
More gift goodness

Emily's 10th Birthday

Emily turned 10 this summer.  It is so fun to have a 10 year old.  She is really helpful. She loves to cook, mostly dessert but she is willing to do just about anything.  We have a ways to go with the clean-up. I like clean while I cook, so I would like her to have that strategy. She is very creative and loves helping people.  Emily seems to like playing with babies.  Our friends up the road have a toddler and she does a great job entertaining her.  She is enjoying piano and learning an instrument this Fall. I would still say one of her favorite ways to pass the time is reading.  She asked for Nancy Drew and Roald Dahl books for her birthday. 

 Part of her present from us was a trip to the American Girl store. We have never been to a store and really, time is ticking so we thought we better do it.  We went to the Kansas City store, mostly because we go to KC less often than we do Minneapolis. The only downside was that the KC store does not have a cafe or restaurant, only a salon.  I was initially envisioning doing the tea service with the dolls, but Emily enjoyed this and didn't know what she was missing.
She received this collection of Roald Dahl books from Robert and I.
From her brother and sister, they found lots of stuff at Hobby Lobby to buy her
Birthday breakfast at the Cafe with Robert
More gift goodness

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Photos from July 2016

Fireworks wonderment

 Collecting cicada exoskeletons and hanging them on your romper is perfectly normal
 Reading books in the shade of the trampoline
 dog watching
 Molar pulling (by the dentist, making room, braces prep)
 when the nine year old labels the boiled eggs
 Summer is full of ice cream opportunities, the kids figured out you can trade in the Chick-fil-a kids meal toy for a free cone
Noelle's first pedicure (my 4th or 5th..)

Birthday meal, homemade macaroni and cheese, made by Emily

 First trip to the American Girl Store, dolls Emily and Mya recieved pampering in the form of painted nails and a new hairstyle. We figured it was now or never to hit up a brick and morter store.
Hit up a Lego playplace/museum as well while we were in Kansas City

And we had dinner at Fritz's the famous burger place that you order at a phone in your booth and a train delivers your meal to the table

 Kansas City War Memorial selfie
 Visit to the TWA Museum flight attendents in Kansas City
 Fourth of July parade
 Dallas and Robert were in a local Ames magazine
 Dallas and Robert at the Newton Speedway
 Emily climbing aboard a Ford tri-motor airplane, a ride on this 88 year old airplane was one of her birthday presents.
 Picture with the Ford tri-motor at the Oshkosh Air Show
 Fighter Pilot
 Her favorite thing ever, riding on a carousel.  This one was a two story carousel in a mall in KC
Photo op with a DC-9 TWA airplane in Kansas City