WI--day 2

Sunday, 6/17/12

6;00 a.m.  The oldest 3 kids are fishing.  This is all they caught.

7:30 a.m.  Eating delicious Father's Day coffeecake that Amy made.

9:00 a.m.  Mike and Jeff going on a shopping run.  Amy, kids, and I heading to the beach.  Saw a turtle laying 5 eggs!

12:00 p.m.  sandwiches
1:00 p.m. playing pool and Wii in the basement, making Father's Day cards.  Fathers are napping.
2:00 p.m.  playing Clue with my own and my nephews.

4:00 p.m.  playing pool with my oldest nephew.  I can still beat him, but probably not for much longer.
6:00 p.m.  Jeff is grilling steak and potatoes.   Cousins are playing badminton in the yard.

7:30 p.m.  taking oldest and youngest nephew and my kids out in the canoe to fish. One adult and four kids in one canoe.  We didn't catch any fish, but we didn't capsize, so I consider it a success.

9:15 p.m.  starting the long process of getting kids ready for bed and figuring out where they're all going to sleep.  Sarah ended up on the couch in the living room, Ben and Noah in bunk beds and Sam on the floor in that room, Paul in his parents' bed.

WI--day 1

Saturday, 6/16/12

11:05 a.m.  left home.  Listening to Mr. Stinky's Feet's Road Trip.
11:08 a.m.  home.  Noah forgot his hat.
11:10 a.m.  leaving home again.
11:14 a.m.  home.  forgot fishing stuff.  Mr. Stinky Feet reminded us.
11:22 a.m.  leaving again.
11:40 a.m.  talking about all the different ways we like potatoes (baked, fried, mashed, au gratin, etc.)
11:43 a.m.  we're driving through Eureka, and Noah yells excitedly, "Hey, there's the Ronald McDonald Museum!" and Mike said, "Ronald Reagan. Not Ronald McDonald."
12:00 p.m. El Paso McDonald's.
12:20 p.m.  back on the road.

1:06 p.m.  gas at Casey's in Dwight  $3.59/gal.  $24.  Kids went in the store, and Noah saw a water gun that he wanted to blow all his vacation money on.  I talked him down.
2:15 p.m. paying $1.90 at a toll booth.  Didn't tolls used to be more like 40 cents?  We accidentally skipped the last toll booth.
3:35 p.m. arrived.  Unpacking and moving in.
5:00 p.m.  eating pulled pork that Grandma made.

6:00 p.m.  walking to the beach which is supposed to be a block away, but in reality, it's pretty far.  Kids dug in the sand and got in the lake fully clothed.   Played some basketball.

8:30 p.m.  showers all around.
9:15 p.m.  devotions
9:45 p.m.  kids starting to head for their various beds.  Sam, Noah, and Ben in the treehouse, Sarah and Paul in the bunk beds.

Steamboat

Noah joined a running group, and their first race was the Steamboat Classic this morning.

The pack taking off.  Can you find Noah?

The girls during the race.

He did it!  I didn't get a picture of him running during the race, because he was a lot closer to the front of the pack than I thought he would be. 

The post-race party.

Art

I bought a bag of art supplies at a garage sale, and the kids were happily creative for an hour!

Noah making a still-life drawing of his apple.

Star Wonder and Ferdinand

Neighbor kids caught a bunny and invited us to come to the park and see it.

  It had a little white star on its forehead, and the girls named it "Star Wonder". 

The poor thing managed to get away, and a line of kids chased it, yelling, "Star Wonder!  Come back!"

I love to glimpse moments of kindness in my growing-up boy. 

Sarah and her buddy holding hands

Marty the housecat with no claws somehow managed to catch a little rodent. At first I thought it was a vole, but after some research, now I think it's a shrew. Marty brought it into the garage and yelled until I came out to admire her prowess.

She batted it around the garage for awhile, then smugly cleaned herself.

The kids were very interested in the cute little thing.

They took it to their friends' house down the street, and someone named it Ferdinand, for some reason.  We kept him in a shoebox all afternoon and then released him last night.

Animals

Marty making her daily visit to the catnip patch.

catnip hangover

Marty looks like she's saying something, but I don't know what.  Leave a comment with your caption ideas.

Snickers is frisky without catnip.

Grabbing the Pet Pantry menu, looking desperate.

Maybe I should check her food bowl and make sure it's not empty.

 

Noah's pet frog.  They're full grown at this size.  He has several of them.

Ok, so this may not belong in the "animals" post, but she IS pointing out animals in the clouds.

Cherry festival

We love the Washington Cherry Festival.  It's our favorite one.

We always compete in the cherry pit spitting contest.  At least one of us used to win every year, but we've been in a slump the past couple years.  Mike spit this one over 30 feet but didn't place.

I love this guy, because he was dressed exactly like me! I wonder if he's a melanoma survivor too?

Sarah and her new friends waiting in line for a ride

Sarah and her current BFF riding the rollercoaster

Sarah and new BFFs on the scrambler. Where is Noah, you might be wondering?

Click on the picture to see his face.  That sums up his attitude.  He had spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's with two of his cousins the night before and didn't get enough sleep.  Then he had a baseball game earlier, and by the time we got to the festival, he was unbelievably grouchy.

Exhibit A.

Poor Sarah had to look elsewhere for riding buddies.

They did ride together a few times.

The one and only smile out of this kid all day.  We had a good time in spite of him.