North Shore

We got out of town last weekend for a few days of R&R up on the North Shore.  We enjoyed all that Mother Nature had to show us up there - the waterfalls, the big lake, the rocks, the trails, and lots of fresh air!  We took our sweet time getting up there and getting home, making quite a few pit stops along the way.  We were in no rush and had no agenda, the perfect kind of getaway :)

Two Harbors

Gooseberry Falls

We stayed at the Lutsen Resort on Lake Superior.  It was great!  Henry played out by the lake, throwing rocks, for many, many hours.  It was a little chilly, but we stayed dry, so no complaints there!  

Here's our attempt at a family selfie on our 7am hike the first morning. 

They had the fire-pits going out on the beach at all hours of the day; we were the only ones out there bright and early in the morning!

Phil and Henry went down the Alpine Slide together.  They took a chair lift up to the top the mountain and rode down the 1/2 mile track.  I found a YouTube video of the Alpine Slide for Henry to see before they got up there.  He saw that there were 2 tracks and he said they had to go on the FAST one! 

We all went on the gondola ride to the other side of the mountain, enjoyed some hot cocoa at the ski chalet, then headed back to the other side.  It was beautiful up there!

We ventured up to Grand Marais one day.  Once again, the boys skipped and threw plenty of rocks into Lake Superior.  There was a tiny little place called "World's Best Donuts" - those are some pretty big shoes to fill!  Well, the title lived up to it's name - they were FABULOUS - the best donuts I've ever had.....in the world.  Phil said they reminded him of the Linton Bakery :)

There's the main lodge in the background.  We stayed a short hike's distance away in the condos.  We came over here a few times a day to go swimming at the indoor pool, have dinner, roast marshmallows, and play on the beach.  

Here was our last stop on the way home - one last waterfall sighting at the Temperance River State Park.  

9 months

9 months old already!  I feel like she's grown up way too much this month, boo :(  She's cruising all around the house, half actual-crawling and half low-crawling still.  She's becoming quite the tornado lately, getting into everything!  Most of the time, Henry will join her in the tornado fun, but other times when she's getting into his business, he's not such a fan!  She can pull herself up now and loves to stand at anything - chairs, cupboards, toys, you name it.  The Tupperware cupboard is one her favorites at the moment.  She'll have it emptied out in a matter of minutes, then crawl in and hang out.  Henry and Lydia do love their bath time together.  They just laugh and laugh and laugh at each other in there - neither of them ever want to get out.  I think she'd be ok just hanging out in the stroller all afternoon some days.  Henry and I will play T-ball in the yard for a little while, and she's perfectly content just sitting there and watching us.  She's becoming a little more chatty - saying "hi" and waving, also waving good-bye; she says "mama" and climbs up on me but only in a 'sad, whiny, I need something' kinda way; also has said "dada." 

Lydia has 8 little pearly whites now.  Still wearing size 3 diapers and in mostly 9 month clothing, a few 6 or 12 month pieces here or there.  Sleeping habits are the same - to bed around 7:15pm and up at 7am, naps around 9am and 1pm for a couple hours each time.  She's really upped her food list this month, still nursing 4 times a day - and now having big girl food like chunks of chicken, blueberries, edamame, mango, kiwi, sweet potatoes, and eggs.  I made a ginormous batch of chicken soup (chicken, rice, and about 10 different veggies), pureed that up, and she's been eating that quite a bit, as well.

She had her appointment with Dr. Sakkal today.  He gave her a gold star!
length: 27"(30th %ile)
weight: 17 lbs (20th %ile)
head circumference: 17 1/2" (65th %ile)

4th of July

We spent the 4th of July up in Grand Forks, visiting Phil's grandpa, Old Papa.  Old Papa only had to lift Henry up about 30 times so he could "touch the elk" in his living room!  Old Papa and Uncle Matt always have quite a spread for us, and this visit was no different.  We at every meal we could outside, enjoying the nice weather.  

Here the boys are, reminiscing.  Henry loved seeing old pictures of Oma and Opa!

Lydia was working on those steps every chance she could get.

On the 4th, we checked out Grand Forks' festival downtown.

Lydia went right to Old Papa and he was loving it!

I do love taking the kids on campus whenever we get back there.  Phil asked Henry if he would rather go to UND or the U of M and he made the wrong choice :) 

What's that Lydia?  You want to go to UND?  Good choice!

Gotta love the Sioux head :)

Henry's fireworks consisted of snaps, and he couldn't have been more excited!  He went through a few boxes in the couple days we were there.

Henry and Uncle Matt :)

Always a good time in Grand Forks!

t-ball

Henry's playing t-ball this summer through the Blaine Park & Rec.  He has it on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  He gets up everyday and asks, "do we get to do t-ball today?" just like he would ask about school during the year.  Sometimes when he's playing around the house, I'll hear him yell "foul ball" like he's up to bat!  He plays for the Stingers.  I think there are about 12 kiddos on his team.  The games consist of one team goes through the batting order, then the other team does the same, and that's it!  They're "getting the concept" quite a bit more each time, and this week they actually had time to play 2 innings!  He definitely gets an "A for effort" when he's there.  It doesn't matter what position he's playing in the field, he's going for that ball!  This week, he was playing 3rd base, and sprinted out to right field 3 times to go for the ball.  He cracks me up!   

Batter up.....

.....and he's off to 1st base.....

.....he's safe!  (Well, if we're getting technical, EVERYBODY is safe when coming into 1st).

This is the sprint back to the bench after "good-gaming and high-fiving" the other team.  Snack time!

Henry's buddy, and our neighbor, Blake is on his team.  They'll love this picture in 13 years when, who knows, maybe they'll be playing high school baseball together?  We'll see!

Go Stingers!

summer fun

We've sure been keeping ourselves busy this summer!  Here's a little rundown on what we've been up to.....

We try to eat our picnic lunches on the lawn out front and our picnic dinners on the deck out back when the weather will cooperate.  I think Henry's going to take after his dad, winning "Best Smile - Class of 97!"  

Henry requests "water day" quite a bit, which means kiddie pool, water table, and a sprinkler toy of his choice!  

Today, he picked "the carwash" for his sprinkler toy!

Phil and I went and saw the Twins play the Yankees last Sunday.  She was a hot one out there!

We had a great morning at Como Town with Henry's buddy, Harrison, the other week.  Harrison gave Henry a giftcard to check out the rides for his birthday; they rode on the trains, fire trucks, boats, and race cars - boys!  The two baby sisters, Lydia and Alice, hung out in their strollers like little angels :)

We went down to Auntie Sonja's pool the other day.  Lydia hung out in the water for an hour - she had quite the prune feet going on after that :)

The summer wouldn't be complete with a good 'ol Blaine festival before the 4th of July!  For his carnival entertainment, he chose a carousel ride, a fishing game.....

.....and a snow cone for dessert :)

Check out this beach babe!  Pretty sure she ate plenty of sand for dinner that night :) 

Of course, there's always plenty of fun to be had at the park!