Don't give that Sam a reed...

Cause...

and Effect.

Kid Wisdom

Patrick and Isaac were asking who was going to meet us up at the lake cabin. "I'm going to give everyone a big hug who wants one!" exclaimed Patrick. "That's nice, Patrick!" I replied, "I think most people want big hugs!" "Most people?" Patrick asked, "I think ALL people want big hugs." Huh. I thought. I bet they do.

Big Boat with Steam Engine

Don't worry be happy now

Walking out of a busy store I said to Patrick, my lone walker at the time, "Hold on to my hand Patrick, there's lots of cars out here. I worry about you getting hit by a car." "You worry?" asked Patrick. "Yes," I replied. Patrick paused and said, "I don't worry about anything." Perfect! I thought, smiling. That's why I'm here, so you can grow and learn and be free from that burden for now. If only I could do that! Oh, to be 3 going on 4 again...

Consider the lilies that bloom and grow...

Patrick finds the Climbing Wall

All Hail the Bottle of Wonder

The twins. While I was upstairs, getting clothes this morning. (After they had just told Daddy they would be double good for me.)

red sharpie marker.

on themselves.

and the window. the windowsill. and window casing. the vertical blind slats. the desk. their big trucks. the big ball spiral. their books. their library books. their pajamas. the walls. the outlet plates. the coffee table. the light beige CARPET.

[period of excitable angry mom yelling a lot]

...All hail the power of the internet and an old bottle of isopropyl alcohol from the first aid kit. After an hour and a half, the marker came off of everything except the pajamas, which I didn't even bother with. That little bottle made my day (and as a result, the days of the people who live with me...) Wow- bottle of wonder.

Clever for Cats ONLY

[Mom's sick today, which means the three and under set are running the house..]

See this?

It's the Clevercat top entry litter box. Pretty cool. Very clever for cats. Best litter box ever.

Guess what it looks like if you're a toddler?

Yeah...

enough said.

You look like you know where you're going...

Fabulous 4th of July weekend! Hiking on the north shore and relaxing in Grandma and Grandpa's ultra-peaceful all-inclusive cabin resort. Eating good food and sitting around talking. Super triathlon action and beautiful swimming and picnics with the cousins! Lovely and exciting fireworks with the ore docks, the lighthouse, and the big round moon in the background.

Of course, we had to go home again. With half the rest of the Twin Cities on a Sunday holiday afternoon. Predictably we ran into traffic before we even passed the half-way point. The driver and the official navigator made the call: bail from the freeway. One problem: neither of us have lived in MN for many years, and we only had one map: Of a campground on the upper peninsula of Michigan. Not exactly prepared I guess.

We wheeled off the exit with many other cars eager to escape the traffic. As we sat in line on the ramp, I surveyed the cars ahead of us. Some turning right, some left. "There!" I told Mike, "That guy pulling the pontoon boat! He looks like he knows where he's going!" Either my enthusiasm was catchy or Mike decided lost was better than traffic, and we started following. At first many cars that had gotten off at our exit were visible, but as we followed the very decisive pontoon boat through a maze of state and county roads, we found we were the only ones following the pontoon boat.

Mike wasn't so sure pontoon guy was going to the twin cities. Maybe he was a member of BAPEC (the Braham Area Pontoon Enthusists Club) and was going to turn into a farm somewhere and leave us in the middle of a corn field. But we kept getting closer to the cities. And I trusted pontoon boats completely. And then, when we were least expecting it, pontoon guy turned into a gravel driveway and drove up to his farm. Ooops.

Luckily he left us only a mile from hwy 65, and we found our way home easily. Beat the traffic!

Chicago: the good, the bad, and the ugly

the good.
Great time. Wonderful hosts the second night (thanks Lisa, Tom & M.t.d.!!) Beautiful scenery. Riding buses, boats, trains and watching bridges that move! Being able to greet baby Imi for the first time!

the bad.
Too many mosquitos the first night camping in WI to really enjoy the night (liked watching the fireflies though.) Not enough time to explore the windy city. Lots of potty stops ;)

the ugly.
The kid that got a little too relaxed in the tub and let a poop slip out. Dad slams the water off the wrong way and jams the water on. Tub won't stop, kids naked, Daddy not happy.

Luckily, the open bar at the hotel that night prepared Mom wonderfully for cheerful poopy-tub cleaning. The hotel maintenance dude was prompt and very nice. And the boys slept in the other room of the suite :)

Sam-bot

You can just see his personality in this shot...