Cass Lake 2011

Sorry for the delay on this post!  We got back from Cass and had a wedding to go to and then I went to Minneapolis to do the Warrior Dash (I'll post pics when they put them online - or at least post a link to pics).  So we're finally getting back to a normal schedule again now.  So - I give you - CASS LAKE 2011!

Boozers.

Another boozer.  We had to though.  The weather was skitzo!

We totally planned this coordination. ; )

Need your baby to nap?  Throw em in a bike cart and voila - NAP!

Seriously - the weather was wacky.  It was the hottest week of the year in Minnesota and don't get me wrong - it was hot at Cass too, but there were strangely cool moments too.

The babies were braver than the bigger kids when it came to tubing.  Perhaps they are too young to know better.  The older kids are just smarter.  Easton is included in that group.  He refused to tube!  Thatta boy!  Way to use your smarts!

Not this one tho - she loves to tube!  And FAST too.

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on the 18th.  Had our usual morning mimosas - our tradition so far.

And here we are standing in the spot we got married (roughly).  Its now covered in water as you can see.

Dylan tried water skiing for the first time this year.

Got up on his first try!

Super Dylan!  I couldn't believe it.  Actually, yes I could.  He really is able to do a lot for a 4 year old I think.

He only went down cuz he started to get nervous about going any further with the boat motor and the fast speed, etc.  I think by next year he'll be over that part of it and he'll be a skiing machine.  Much to my dismay as the nervous nelly mother.

A gorgeous sunset that got me a few extra mosquito bites.  We all got more than a few this trip.  They were BAD this year.  The infamous SWIMMERS ITCH also made an appearance this year.  Previously, Eric had referred to it as a "myth" but it is a "myth" no more.  Cuz he got it, Dylan got it, Avery got it and a few others too.  There, it has now been documented here.  He'll still try to deny it I bet as I did not take a picture of their legs.  Tho, Avery's bumps are still visible so there is still time to provide proof!

Cousin picture time!  Reed ducked down so he's not pictured.

The first annual "Chase the Blues Away Margarita Party."  Everyone was kinda crabby that it kept raining and raining and raining that day.  It was 120 degrees with the heat index in Minneapolis this day, but we were wearing sweatshirts and pants.  It was seriously bizarre.  Especially since we too, were under the high heat index warning.  Never happened!  We're thinking this will be an annual party as the drinks were awesome!

So awesome that some people double fisted.

Messin' around at Cedar Island.  I was worried about my beverage!

And finally, our yearly family photo at Cass Lake.  Another good one!

That was well worth the wait, wasn't it?!

 

Big Blob Hat

Our weekend started out with a visitor.  Eric's friend Chuck came up for the night on his way to Alexandria.  The kids were immediately his best buddies.

Eric was pleased to have a stand in Daddy!

The lake was SUPER warm this weekend.

What?!  Trying to drown the stand in Daddy?!  Is that any way to treat a guest, Dylan?

On Saturday, I purchased a new slip and slide after my Zumba class.  Dylan suffered a low blow earlier in the week when he learned that his old slip and slide had been thrown away at the end of last year.  So we upgraded to this one - double lanes even!

Avery does more of an "army crawl" rather than a "slide."

And since it was SO hot this weekend - we spent a lot of time in the blob.  Dylan came up with the idea of converting his floatie into a kayak and using the paddles for his water ball thingy as kayak paddles.  It was pretty much awesome.  So I had to give it a try.

And this is the famous, "big blob hat."  I think he's referring to the big splash that the ball makes in the water?

Anyway, he kept yelling at us to watch the "big blob hat!!!"

I also made margaritas in the Vitamix yesterday.  FANTASTIC.  It makes PERFECT frozen margaritas.

All in all, a good weekend at home!  We go camping at Cass Lake starting on Thursday.  Hoping for good weather and good times!

 

Summer is in full swing!

Ahhhh, only the 9th day of summer (for us anyway - that first month didn't count as it was like April all over again here) and we've had such a good time.  The kids and I went to the strawberry patch near our house the other day.  We went to one last summer and Dylan really enjoyed it so he was pretty excited to go again.  Wasn't sure how Avery was going to do, but there was only one way to find out!

It was a slow start.  Dylan had to sample the product before he could get serious about picking.  Avery had to take it all in.

Like her brother, she did more sampling than picking.

Finally, I had picked enough to fill two cartons (they didn't do as much picking as I had hoped they would!) and asked them to pose for a picture.

Avery was mid taste and took her strawberry out of her mouth to showcase it.  Perfect!

Back at home in the BLOB.  We sure are loving the BLOB.  It gets pretty hot up on our patio (aka, our second living room) so its nice to sit in our adirondaks and get super hot and then jump in the pool.  We've really been enjoying it.

Here they are taunting their daddy who is upstairs working.  HA HA DADDY!!!!  We're in the pool and you're working!!!

They both do pretty well in the pool.  Dylan is working on floating and he loves to swim underwater.  Avery is doing pretty well at walking around and when she goes under, she pops right back up.  She still needs constant supervision of course.

Here they are playing in our second living room.  Dylan was playing cars and Avos was taking pictures of me.

And I was taking pictures of her!

She was in a real "picture-y" mood so I took advantage.

D had to come over and get his picture taken too.

Here I bribed them with ice cream to get them to pose with me.  SUCKERS!

Last night we went on a boat ride as it was hot, sunny and there was just a light breeze on the lake.  PERFECT conditions for a cruise on Pontunia.

And perfect conditions for a dip too!  The water was nice and warm!

Our neighbors Lingy and the Winercheskies cruised by and we hooked up together and dropped the anchor.

More swimming occurred.

Eric has been wearing Dylan's hat lately to keep the horseflies from landing on his head.  We all especially love it when he pairs the hat with his skin tight camouflage waders.  Its a goooooood look.

It was a lovely evening until we learned the hard way that we shouldn't bring our cell phones on the boat anymore.  The kids were tossing ice cubes into the lake one by one out of our soft sided cooler.  Dylan got sick of tossing them in one by one and decided to dump all the ice cubes out at once by holding the cooler upside down.  Guess what was in the side pocket of the cooler!?!?!  Eric's blackberry.  UH OH!  500 dollar mistake and lesson learned!  He had a new one coming from Ebay, but its still no fun! : (  So if you need to reach him, please email!

Another fabulous day is on tap!  : )