Game weekend

We had our annual (semi-annual?) game weekend with my family at my aunt and uncle's house in Des Moines this summer.  It was a HOT weekend, so Mara was prepared with a fun project for the girls when we arrived.  They made water bombs with sponges and had fun throwing them around.  They were also excited when Bryan set up the inflatable water slide.  

On Saturday after breakfast, we walked to a nearby park to play, then around lunchtime, all but my grandma headed over to their lake house/cabin to spend the day on the water.  We did a little bit of (slow) tubing--the boat wouldn't go too fast with so many people on board--and anchored in the middle of their bay for some swimming.  It was perfect for such a hot day.  The girls of course had to have some hot tub time.  It felt surprisingly good despite the hot weather!  

We ordered pizzas for supper and enjoyed some more games that night.  A new hit was the big bubble wrap/plastic bag/packing tape ball that had random things (Starbucks gift card, beef jerky, sunscreen, etc.) in different layers.  You tried to free items while the person next to you tried to roll doubles with dice.  If they got doubles, you had to pass the ball to them.  Whatever you unwrapped was yours to keep!  It was hilarious and so much fun.

We enjoyed lots more game/family time on Sunday before heading back up in the afternoon.  We are looking forward to our next big game WEEK next summer in Door County!

Little House on the River camp

Abby and her friend Olivia had fun traveling back in time at Little House on the River camp at The Landing in Shakopee.  It was a 3-day, all-day camp, and they did many fun activities to pretend they were back in the time of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Abby loved doing some cooking, making a clothespin doll, going to school in the one-room schoolhouse, and showing us the little village when we came to pick her up on the last day.  Norah and I managed to find some fun in the days that Abby was at camp--she and her friend Henry went to a movie and had a picnic at a nearby park one day, and another day we went up to visit my friend Kristina and her two kids.  We finished up most of the Little House series last summer, but still have The First Four Years and These Happy Golden Years to read.  We just haven't gotten back into the series since last summer, but have really been enjoying reading the Ramona books this summer.  Here are some pictures from the last afternoon at camp:

T-ball

This year was Norah's first year that she was old enough for toddler t-ball through community education.  She was not so excited...very clingy, didn't want to really do anything...  She would only run during the warm-ups if I ran with her, and was not into practicing any of the things the coach was having them do.  During the first night, she did manage to go up and hit the ball when they ended with a little hitting/running bases.  She ran to first, but wouldn't run to second when she was supposed to, because the coach had set down a baseball glove instead of a base since he forgot the bases.  Later she told us, "it's not a base", so she wasn't going to run to it.  The coach picked her up and ran with her to second base.

The last night of t-ball, they spent the whole time taking turns hitting and running bases, and Norah did a great job hitting for not really doing much for the previous few weeks.  She was excited for her freezie at the end of the night, too.

Not sure if t-ball is in Norah's future...we'll see if her feelings have changed at all next summer!

ECFE cabin weekend

Our ECFE cabin weekend was a little smaller than usual this summer--two families weren't able to make it.  The rest of us still had a blast at Andy and Kelly's cabin, but missed our other friends.  The kids enjoyed getting right into the water when we arrived Friday night.  They had s'mores later, then stayed up watching a movie together that night while the adults enjoyed the bonfire.  

Saturday was perfect for being in the water almost all day--swimming, taking the pontoon to a little sandbar area, floating on the lily pad float, stand-up paddle boarding, paddle boat and jet ski rides--it was great!  We also enjoyed Kelly's game of lawn Yahtzee that she had made.

We ate lots of yummy food and had a great time just relaxing and hanging out.  Looking forward to the next time this group can hang out!

VBS

Our church joined up with the Catholic church in town for another great week at VBS this summer!  Abby and her friend Olivia were in a group together, and Norah and I worked in the nursery again, this time with my friend Kaysie.  The theme this year was all about the town of Nazareth during Jesus' time.  The kids in VBS made some neat crafts and even had a little petting zoo on the last day.  They did a great job sharing several songs at their program on Thursday.  Since the nursery kids went to the opening/closing each day and we listened to the CD in the car to/from VBS each day, Norah knew the songs pretty well, too, so she wanted to join her friend Addy up front at the program.  She can't wait until next year, when she's old enough to go to VBS as well!

Fishing

We just got back a couple of days ago from our annual June fishing trip with Dave's family...the laundry is done, the pictures are uploaded, and it finally feels like we are ready to start summer!  This year, Dave and I went to a Twins game the Friday night before fishing with a group from my school to celebrate a friend who is battling cancer for the third time.  Since we were out late, that meant for a later wake-up and start time for our trip up north.  It was no big deal, though, because that Saturday was rainy too rainy to really fish.  Dave and his dad did end up bailing out the boat and going out for a little bit that night.  Dave's sister, Tracy, came for just the weekend, and the girls loved hanging out with her.  We settled into a good routine while we were up there--Abby got up at 6 with Dave and his dad to do some morning fishing while Dave's mom, Norah, and I slept in a little bit.  After a late breakfast, we'd fish until late afternoon when we'd come back to Eagle Lake for naps/quiet time.  After supper, the girls were then up for fishing again until 8:30 or 9 since the evenings were so nice.  The weather was warm enough for the girls and Dave's mom to do some swimming at Eagle Lake, and also for a quick afternoon trip to Buffalo River State Park to check out their sand-bottom swimming pond.  It was perfect for the hot day on Tuesday!  We also enjoyed stopping at a cute little malt shop on the way back.

On the drive home on Thursday, it was beautiful--sunny and 70s--but we knew it was rainy and chilly at home, so we decided to stop and picnic at Charles A. Lindbergh State Park on the way home (and cross off state park #18 on our passport).  It was pretty buggy, but fun to check out a trail and see a couple of historic buildings.