Maiden Voyage 2010

Finally! We took our boat for the first time in 2010. Nate got home a little early from work and got Kaitlyn and the boat ready for it's Maiden Voyage. So, when I got home we loaded up and headed to Lake Minnetonka. We bought our season trailer parking pass and for the swim pond, so we are all set for a great summer.

The weather was perfect. 85 degrees, sunny, and calm. Kaitlyn was so excited to finally go on the boat. Actually we all were. Nate and I have the launching of the boat down to a T. I back the boat in, while Kaitlyn and Nate get everything in the boat. I than park the truck and trailer and head down the HUGE hill back to the lake. Same goes for when we leave. I walk (or try to hitch a ride) up the HUGE hill and get the truck and trailer. We can get the boat out of the water and onto the trailer in about 5 minutes. Which is nice if there is a line.

Daddy and his co-captain Kaitlyn. We decided to bring some Subway sandwiches and had dinner on the lake.

Kaitlyn and mommy happy to be enjoying the nice weather. We decided to just cruise around the lake. We stopped to see a co-worker that lives on the lake too. Kaitlyn always wanted to go fast in the no wake zones, so we had to explain to her about Slow buoys.

Every time we would come to a group of buoys, Kaitlyn would say: "Mommy, look at all the Boobies or BooBoo's". So Cute.

Finally going fast!

Nate and I enjoying our cruise around the lake.

So, Kaitlyn is pretty much potty trained now which has added a new scenario into our boating season. We don't want to teach Kaitlyn she can go potty in the lake, since she may think she can in the pool too. We have a built in cooler in the front bow (we only use this to hold Kaitlyn's toys), so we have decided to use this as Kaitlyn's potty since it drains right into the lake. (We all know that people pee in the lake. LOL.) So, we now have toilet paper and Clorox wipes on the boat to clean and disinfect our unique kids potty on the boat. (Don't worry we won't be using it as a cooler in the future.)

A Little Bit of Everything

This past weekend was pretty busy. Nate's parents came down to help finish the deck. Friday evening Nate and his dad finished laying all the deck boards, so Saturday they could focus on the railings. The weather was perfect for building the deck especially since Saturday was a little cool and cloudy. My dad also came to help Saturday and Sunday, so we were able to get most of the deck done. (No pictures yet... We are waiting to do before and after pictures.)

Kaitlyn, Grandma Sue, and I went to some garage sales on Saturday morning and found some great things. We came home at lunch time with a car full of new junk. Saturday afternoon the three of us went into Waconia for the annual High School Marching Band parade. We had a great time watching them perform and Kaitlyn did awesome even though we were there for over 3 hours.

Grandma Sue and Kaitlyn waiting for the parade to start.

Kaitlyn sporting her new princess outfit and skirt we found on Saturday. She wanted to be like daddy and have her tape measure on her belt too.
Kaitlyn riding her bike. She loves to copy other kids, so she has decided to try riding no-handed. Of course she fell off, so we are hoping that was just a phase. We are trying to focus on riding on the side of the road and watching for cars.

Winstock aka "Mudstock"

This past weekend Nate and I went to Winstock. Winstock is only 15 minutes west of our house in Winsted, MN. The weather wasn't perfect, but we had a great time listening to all the country artists and hanging out with friends. Some of my favorites artists that played were: Blackhawk, Sara Evans, Dierks Bentley, Jake Owen, Phil Vasser, Josh Turner, and Alan Jackson.

Friday morning we set-up camp. We shared our campsite with our friends Angie and Michelle. They loved being in a camper instead of a tent in all the rain.
Saturday we had a good amount of rain, so we dressed to impress with our over sized mud boots and rain jackets. I bought a cowboy hat that really helped keep the rain out of my face.
Karrie, Aimee, Adam, and I enjoying Saturday night's concerts. Since we got a lot of rain on Saturday we spent a lot of time watching people fall in the mud. The good news is we all made it through the weekend without too much falling or slipping in the mud.
Here is part of the group from Mayer Fire. It was so much fun to spend time with such great friends.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

It's officially summer! Too bad we have yet to take the boat out for it's 2010 maiden voyage.

Our small vacation started early on Saturday morning. (Nate had to take is National EMT test on Friday evening.) We headed to Perham, MN for my cousins son Trace's graduation party. It was HOT, but so much fun to see family. We had a great lunch and than we headed to Fargo, ND for my cousin Jenna's Graduation Party. On our way to Fargo, I gave Nate a tour of MN state, Moorhead campus. I can't believe that it has been 9 years since I graduated from college. Wow, time sure does fly by!

After our long day we headed back to Detroit Lakes to my Aunt and Uncles cabin. We arrived right at sunset, so it was perfect for some relaxation by the lake. Kaitlyn got to sleep on the top bunk with Aunty Anny. She even slept in until 8:45 the next day.

Sunday was a little chilly in the morning. So strange that it was 95 degrees the day before and than to wake up and it is only 50 degrees. Nate mowed the lawn for my uncle, while Kaitlyn played in the sand with Nana building and destroying sand castles.

Kaitlyn having a tea party with sand and lake water.

Nate and I also visited my friends Mike and Jen in DL to see there new house. Actually, it's not new and they have lived there for 2 years, but we had yet to see it. Nate was pretty jealous because they have 2 huge garages and several acres of land. We invited them to come back to the cabin for a little BBQ and bonfire.

Kaitlyn and Bailey posing for the camera. They just finished eating blue and red ring pops, so they were showing off there bright red and blue lips. It was so fun to see them play together.

Kaitlyn enjoying your Ring Pop from Bailey.

We also did some fishing off the dock on Sunday evening. We bought Kaitlyn a new Dora Fishing Pole, since we forgot her Barbie one at home. Kaitlyn wasn't too interested in fishing. She said she just wanted to watch. I caught the first keeper, so we decided we need to have a little fish fry.

The first keeper was a sunfish. We ended up catching several more, so we had fish for an appetizer before dinner. We used the paddle boat as our live well. It worked pretty well, but had a few escapee's during the course of our fishing.

Nate was convinced that big fish seem to be caught with a kiddie fishing pole. So, he spent about an hour fishing with Kaitlyn's new Dora Fishing Pole.

After about an hour, Nate finally figured out this urban legend..... The answer is.....

Yes, big fish are caught with little kiddie poles. Good thing Kaitlyn shared her new fishing pole with daddy.
My mom decided to fish the conventional way with an adult size pole and caught this nice sized crappie off the dock.

All the girls enjoying the nice evening at the lake.

Kaitlyn and my cousin Liz enjoying the bonfire.

Kaitlyn and daddy enjoying the sparklers. We had to keep telling Kaitlyn that she couldn't so this "all by herself."

My new favorite family photo!

Awwww!!! The fire! So peaceful!

Swimming Lessons

Kaitlyn started swimming lessons this week. We signed her up for the Parent/Child class. She was so excited especially since it was suppose to start last week, but the pool was broken. Kaitlyn kept telling people "swimming lessons were broken".

Kaitlyn did awesome. There are about 8 families in the class. The first day we learned how to float on our tummys and on our backs. Kaitlyn wasn't a big fan of floating on our back. Practise makes perfect. We also learned how to jump into the pool into mommy's arms. At first she wanted to hold mommy's hands, but after a few attempts she was jumping in without holding hands and mommy catching her.

Mommy also dunked Kaitlyn which wasn't the funniest part of the lesson. The good news is that Kaitlyn was more shocked than upset. The teacher would start to talk to Kaitlyn and she would tell me: "I don't like him." I have to keep telling her that we have to be nice to the teacher because he is going to teach us how to swim. Hopefully she will get used to him by the end of the class.

At the end of the lesson when it was time to get out of the pool, Kaitlyn decided she wasn't done. The only way I could get her out was to ask her if her fingers were pruny. She said yes. So, I told her that means it is time to get out of the pool. That seemed to work.

I don't have any good pictures of us in the pool. Nana and daddy have come to watch, but all the pictures are dark and hard to tell where we are in the group.

Kaitlyn waiting for swimming lessons to begin. She didn't want to look at the camera. At least she is smiling.

Fun Pictures

Here are some fun pictures we have taken over the past few weeks.

Kaitlyn kissing the turtle by the Farmer's Market in Minneapolis.

Mommy and Kaitlyn posing by the turtle.
Kaitlyn standing our big dirt pile in our backyard. Kaitlyn and a milk mustache.

Girls Weekend

This past weekend my mom, sister, Kaitlyn, and I headed up to Two Harbors. My sister is planning a destination wedding at Gooseberry Falls this fall, so we wanted to go and check out the area.

We left bright and early on Saturday morning. We got to Superior Shores Resort just in-time to meet with the coordinator to show us around. The views of Lake Superior were amazing from the rooms. After our tour we headed up to Gooseberry Falls.

Kaitlyn wasn't too sure about the people who offered to take our picture. Later she asked us if one of them was Santa because of his long beard.

Kaitlyn loved riding on mommy's shoulders. It helped keep her from jumping in all the puddles.

The weather was a little chilly, but the sun was shining so it wasn't that bad. Kaitlyn loved watching the waterfall and climbing all the stairs.

The whole time Kaitlyn kept asking when we were going swimming. So, after much waiting we went back to Superior Shores and went swimming.

Kaitlyn was watching Nana and Aunty Anny doing hand stands and somersaults in the water, she kept telling me she wanted to do that too. I had to explain to her that she didn't know how to swim yet. Good thing we start swimming lessons this week.

Sunday we woke to a beautiful sunny day. We decided to walk down by the Lake and look at all the cool rocks. A fun past time from our youth. We could have stayed for hours looking at all the rocks.

My mommy and me on Mother's day!

Kaitlyn and nana by the lake.

Terrific Two's Part 2

This past weekend we were in Mora again for our Nephew's Baptism. It was a perfect opportunity to take pictures of all 4 cousins. These pictures are posted in chronological orders.

Here is Kaitlyn (2), Hailey (5), Darren (3), and Gibson (3 months). Several people were trying to capture this moment so it was hard to get them to look at one camera. At this point Kaitlyn is loving the attention until....

She realized that she wanted to hold Baby Gibson. It was quite the scene. After some bribery we convinced her to smile for a few more pictures. We told her that she could hold Gibson next.

All smiles again.... who says bribery doesn't work in the right occasions.

Happy that she got to finally hold her cousin Gibson.

Busy April

I can't believe that April is almost over. We have been busy! We are working on re-doing our deck and patio in the backyard, Nate started work, Anniversary Party, Baptism, and Nate completing his EMT classes.

A few weeks ago we decided it was time to start Phase # 2 of our landscaping projects. We aren't sure how many phases we will have, but we are on Phase #2. Since this phase is a big one, we have all the heavy equipment at our house. We have a back-hoe, Bob-cat, and a cement mixer. Kaitlyn loves to ride with daddy when he is working. Our good friends the Eggimans came over to see all the big equipment a few weeks ago. Here are some pictures:

Here is Kaitlyn, Brayden, and Kaylee hanging out in the Bobcat bucket. This was the best picture I could get. I love how not one of them is looking at the camera.

Nate had all three kids in the "Big Digger" (per Brayden). They loved to watch Nate move the dirt around. It was hard to get them to get out after their ride.
I have been taking pictures during the process, but you will have to wait until it is completed before I will post them. Also start planning to attend our "New Deck" party sometime in the next two month.

Terrific Twos!

We sure have been spoiled with such a beautiful spring. Above average temperatures, no snow in March, and not a lot of rain. This means lots of outside time. My mom has been watching Kaitlyn during the day while Nate and I are at work. They spend lots of time going to the park, story time at the library, meeting up with my sister and her nanny boys, and a ECFE class on Wednesdays.

Lately Kaitlyn has been choosing to go potty in her underwear instead of going inside to the potty. She is afraid that if she goes inside she won't be able to come back out. We are hoping this will change soon, since we are doing lots more laundry.

Easter we went to Mora to spend the day with Nate's family. Saturday we started a new tradition with our great friends the Nehrings. We hid over 100 eggs for all the kids. It was fun to watch all 10 kids searching for the eggs. Kaitlyn had to pose for this picture during the big egg hunt. Once she realized that there was candy and monies in each egg she wasn't much for posing for pictures.

Sunday we went to church and had a wonderful breakfast and service. Kaitlyn and her cousins had fun coloring and reading books during the service.