A Day At the Beach

It was 87 degrees today at our house, so we went with some friends to Lake Superior - where the temperature dropped 20 degrees, the fog never lifted, and the black flies were truly annoying. Oh well, it was still fun! 6 boys, 3 girls - 9 children under the age of 6. It's surprising how a person can burn and yet not see the sun all day.

The Tree Fort

We have these really great old maple trees in our yard that just scream to be climbed. For the boys' birthday, Rob is making them a tree fort. The process began today - I'll document progress as we go. We've both decided, after spending time "up top", that this fort may be just as much for the parents as for little boys, because it's REALLY cool up there!! Rob was finding old nails in the branches, too, which tells us that we aren't the first to think this tree is perfect for a tree-fort. The house is 95 years old, so the tree is probably about that, too - I wonder how many kids took hammer and nails to the top before us. Kinda fun to think about.

In other news, this is one of those odd-numbered years in which my iris chooses to bloom. I checked it every few hours or so throughout the day - it started out closed, and by this evening..... Yeah!!! AND the lupines are in full force in the field out back. They're so pretty. Man, I love summer up here. And spring. And fall. It's that dang winter that takes some getting used to.

Boating

Went out on the boat the other day, to enjoy some of this sun we've been having. Need to soak as much Vitamin D up as we can, before the snow flies once again ;).

AAAAHHHH Spring!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE spring. The day started out gray, but this evening, the sun came out and WOWZA. We live in an old apple orchard, and the trees are in full bloom right now. The air smells incredibly sweet. Oh, chase those memories of winter away, sweet blooms!!! It was such an idyllic evening. The boys and I went outside and played "kick the can" for awhile, then wandered through the woods behind our house. Colby grabbed my hand, looked up at me and said "I love you so much, Mommy!" You can hear my heart melting, can't you? Can't we freeze time at exactly this moment?

A Project

It's summer break - not that you'd know it by our dreary weather. The neighbor kids were over today, and I set them up with a few boxes, duct tape, jar lids, markers, scissors and glue. The assignment? To make racecars. It kept them busy for about 35 minutes or so, before 3 of the 4 decided they wanted to jump on the tramp instead. Quinn and I finished the final details.

The Big Vacation

Apologize for the little pause in the blog here, as we were on vacation out West to visit my family. What a FABULOUS time!!! 3316 miles round trip in a Buick LaSabre with three children under the age of five. We were packed in there so tight, there wasn't room for ONEMORETHING. But we made it! The kids did amazing. I was so proud of them. What could've been horrendous turned out to be great "family bonding" time. We felt more than a little like the Griswold's on "Family Vacation", but fun was had, none-the-less. I have an over-abundance of pictures to share from our 2 weeks in Spokane, so be patient:). It was the first time all 10 of my parents' grandkids were together, so of course LOTS of pictures were taken. And the weather couldn't have been more beautiful. 80's to 90's there on Silver Lake. We spent lazy days swimming off the boat, fishing, water-skiing and tubing. Saw lots of friends and family. Did a little shopping. Just.... wonderful. Thanks so much all of you out there, for your hospitality!!! We already miss you all!