2015 Week Twenty-Three | June 1 - June 7

This was the week of the frog. I spent Monday working on opening the pool- cleaning out the debris, getting the hoses hooked up, fixing chem levels, etc. While I was working, there was a frog climbing the side of the pool, and later I found him in the grass by the pool. I went to take replace the brackets around the edge (many were damaged in a hail storm last year), and discovered three living under there, which resulted in Darrin getting a text that HE will be changing the brackets. The next day I discovered three or four in the skimmer basket, and Darrin got another text letting him know he'll be dumping it. I just don't do frogs/toads. They jump.

The rest of the week was some normal stuff around home, a trip to the zoo with friends, and the start of vacation in Duluth.

They look cute... but then they jump. Ugh!

This was gross! 

We went with Marlena and the boys to the zoo. Forgot how much longer it takes to see things with a toddler along. There's lots of construction going on there right now, and Henry was fascinated by all the tractors. And water bottles. Even though Marlena had one along for him, he preferred to drink from Ian or Annaliese's. 

We had cherries for the first time in a long time, and Annaliese loved them. She couldn't figure out how to put it in her mouth and then spit the seed out, so she held the cherry and ate around the seed... which was messy!

We've been reading the Harry Potter series, so we had one happy boy after a stop at Game Stop. 

Annaliese got a toy the same day, a Barbie made for the water, and she got used right away when we got home,
with the first dip in the pool. 

Supper on the scenic train ride in Duluth. 

Excited for the train ride to start. 

Big Manitou Falls in Superior, WI. 

Choosing the 'fun' route to the tower at Enger Park instead of the sidewalk. 

Feeling good about themselves after making it to the top and back down. 

Programming a flight at the Duluth Children's Museum. 

Having fun at Park Point in Duluth. 

2014 Weeky Twenty-Two | May 26 - June 1

I took a jump from where I left off in the weekly summaries to jump to the most recent week, so that I can write it while it's fresh in my mind... granted tomorrow another week will wrap up, so this is barely the most recent week.

Monday, the 26th, was Memorial Day, so we spent the morning at the zoo.  It was packed, and it was actually Ian who spoke up and asked to leave with all the people there.  We did visit the jungle, aquarium, and kingdom of the night before we left. 

Checking out the penguin from the bubble window.

Looking at a specifies of tamarin in the jungle. 

A tortoise grabbing a morning snack.  This was one of the few times the hippos were actually doing something other than snuggled in a corner not moving.

Back at home after the zoo, I caught this sweet moment between father and daughter.  Then we got a call someone wanted to see our house that night (it's on the market), so we headed to the park. Ian snapped this picture of Annaliese. 

During the week, there wasn't much that happened.  The school year was over, but I still had to work Tuesday and Wednesday, so the kids went to day care all week while I finished up there and had the house to myself on Thursday and Friday.   Accomplished a lot of video game playing :)  Friday Darrin and I did get new phones. We were at Verizon for over two hours getting it all taken care of.  It's going to be hard to grab the big camera now with the quality of camera on my phone. 

Picture of Annaliese taking during the week. I'm always amazed she doesn't fall out of bed more often, because she sleeps RIGHT on the edge every night. 

With the upcoming move, Thursday was Ian's last night of jujitsu.  

Saturday we headed to the library for the summer reading kickoff, followed by playing at the spray ground. It was only fitting that we headed to DQ after that for a summer treat. 

Coloring pictures at the library kickoff

Running from the water.

Dilly bars we couldn't eat fast enough before they melted everywhere!

Showing off her mustache prize from the library event.

Showing off his mustache prize from the library kickoff.

Earning those minutes of reading for the summer library program. It's nice when he reads to her, because that time counts double :)

Sunday was another beautiful day, so we did what I love to do on Sundays in the summer, packed a picnic lunch and headed out. This day we opted to go to Platte River State Park.

One of our favorite parts of the park- the outdoor education center. Where you can shoot an bow an arrow for a  half hour for only $3. Annaliese did really well on her own, but only used 20 minutes of time...

so I took the last 10 minutes of her time. Took me back to my Girl Scout camp days.  Ian had a blast, too. 

Then we moved on to pellet gun shooting towards a paper target. The target is on an 8.5x10 piece of paper, which are definitely ending up in the scrapbook.

Trail walking. Annaliese had on sandals that were great for walking in the creek. Ian posing in the teepee near one of the trails.

He didn't have water shoes on, but it was shallow enough he could jump from rock to rock and check out the creek.

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend we had many of Darrin's family members come to visit and we got to meet our niece Oriana for the first time.  We had lots of fun!  They got in Friday after work and Grandpa joined Darrin and Ian at soccer practice. After that, everyone came home and we enjoyed some Parmesan tilapia for dinner (my favorite fish recipe, and oh, so easy!).

Saturday morning we dyed eggs.  The kids always look forward to it, but I think I like it more than they do.  After only two or three eggs, they're ready to be done.

After egg dyeing, we headed to the zoo.  We spent several hours there and had a great time. The kids and I were there a few weeks ago for spring break, but we came in from the south. Coming in our normal way, we could really see the construction changes starting to happen. It will be neat to see how they upgrade what we already think is a terrific zoo in the years to come.

While we were at the zoo, the Easter Bunny visited our house, so we were able to hunt when we got home.

Sunday morning we said our good-byes to Darrin's family and went to church. After service, there was an Easter egg hunt for the kids.

That was followed by lunch at Marlena and Noah's and another hunt. We also opened Easter baskets and the kids had fun playing with their bubble blowers.