Aedan's 2010 Spring cello recital

6th grade spring concert--Aedan

Aedan and Emmett at the Talent Show

Wisconsin Dells

The kids like this big gnome, or whatever it is! He was talking to them, but then fell asleep and started snoring. :o)

The boys enjoyed hunting for gems. Amara decided she would do it the clean and easy way and just select her favorite polished rocks instead of "mining".










Amara wasn't too crazy about go-karting, but she was a bumper car fanatic!




Amara was very nimble at crossing these wobbly lilly pads, or whatever they were. She showed up piles of kids far bigger than her. Being little probably is the key, though.
Aedan and Emmett preferred the lazy river and invented all kinds of imaginary games to play while they floated around in circles...

We actually had a spring break this year! St Louis Park (the kids' school), Shakopee (where I'm teaching), and Capella (where I'm taking courses) all aligned and we could actually relax! Well, mentally anyways. Besides that we were running from one ride to the next for four days straight!

Amara wanted a picture with "Cyclops", though she preferred the faster and steeper "Zeus" rollercoaster. I went on each one time, and that was enough for me...I would wait in line with her and then send her on her merry way!

The boys spend much time on the go-karts (Brian too!), though it was often a 30-60 minute wait in line for a 5-10 minute ride. They enjoyed learning how to "drive", though. I went a couple of times with them, then decided they were a little too extreme for me...driving up to the sky, then careening down in circles with limited brakes...The boys were more concerned about taking first place to worry about the height or speed!

Building the Annual Snow House

Every year we try to take all the snow from our driveway and build a huge mound of snow that we later dig out. We use sticks that are just over a foot long that we push into the sides so we know how much to dig out on the inside. Several years ago we had one that we were able to get4 adults and 5 kids inside. This one could have been larger but the kids started out building two piles so we didn't get all the snow onto this one. We haven't started to dig this one out yet but it is now cold enough to dig it out and maybe one night we will sleep out there when it is -10 or lower. It will stay about 35° on the inside even when it is colder outside.

2009 Montana/Yellowstone Vacation--Wildlife/Firestone River Canyon

We decided this would be the perfect time to see Yellowstone since we were finally there in the summertime. It was also the perfect time age-wise. The kids really enjoyed seeing all of the wildlife, scenery, and odd thermal stuff.

We saw LOTS of wildlife. Our first find was a little grizzly bear. We saw 5 other bears over the course of 3 days (luckily none at our campsite!). We saw a few elk, lots of buffalo (I mean bison, Brian would say), a few marmots, piles of prairie dogs (or some similar rodent--way too prevalent at our campsite), and lots of the usual stuff, like birds and chipmunks.
Brian likes it when other people take pictures of flowers (Joel and Alayna), so he thought he'd give it a try. Nice work!

Don't ask me why Brian is sitting there holding sunscreen. Usually I'm begging him to put it on! He must be wrapped up in watching the lovely Firestone River. Our first outing in Yellowstone was to take a side road to see the Firestone River Canyon. It was beautiful and turned out to be Amara's favorite place...or maybe she just wasn't tired out yet!

We all hiked down to the base of the Firestone River Falls...I wouldn't do it again. The rock is all crumbly and you could slide all the way down the hill. I attempted it, holding a video camera and Amara's hand...not such a great idea. Our main goal at Yellowstone was to get off the beaten path and to get away from the crowds. That we did! Doesn't take much, actually. A few steps away from the main trail and you're all alone. I think most people just drive to the next parking lot, get out, take a picture, and hop back in the car again!

2009 Montana/Yellowstone Vacation--Manhattan

After traveling to Montana several times for weddings and winter vacations, we decided quite last minute to go in the summer for a change. Our main reason was to be able to go to a church convention in Manhattan, where Joel and Alayna would be, as well as Vern and Lorene. It was wonderful to feel the same spirit and fellowship even though we hardly knew anyone there.

Joel and Alayna were in charge of the water pourers, which mostly involved keeping a whole bunch of kids calm, collected, and quiet while the servers got the meal on the table. I thought it was great!

It was nice to have a little family time afterwards since we were all pretty busy at convention. We went out for pizza with Vern and Lorene, Joel and Alayna, and friends Nicole and Mike. We kind of had to eat and run since we still had a drive to get to Yellowstone and a campsite to set up.