Strawberries Anyone?



Not sure why Calvin looks crabby...he actually did have fun. (:

The kids and I headed to the strawberry farm today!  It was the first time I have taken them to pick and we had so much fun!  We stopped by the resort first and picked up Alyssa so I would have a little adult help.  I wasn't sure how much the kids would pick and my mom wanted some too.  We got a tractor ride out into the field and the kids all loved that!  I forgot my camera in the car, so no pictures of our ride.  Turns out Calvin was a fabulous picker and Jillian didn't do bad either.  Nathan had NOTHING in his bucket.  However, they should have weighed him before and after.  That kid ate his weight in strawberries!  Soon after we got there I looked over to see his bucket tossed on the ground and him sitting in the middle of the row just eating like crazy.  When we got back to the resort and the rest of us had lunch Nathan said, "Um...I don't want anything...I'm not really hungry."



This little cutie ate a few too...check out that face!



We Love Baseball!

And it's a good thing!  We are at the field for ball 4 days a week this summer.  Calvin has baseball  Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Nathan has Tball Monday and Wednesday.  It gets to be a lot sometimes, but I truly do love watching them play.  This week Marc's mom and dad came down to watch a couple games.  They came to Nathan's game on Wednesday.

His games are very entertaining.  He hits the ball every time, but we need to work on his base running and his fielding skills!  If the ball doesn't come RIGHT to his glove he just assumes it's somebody else's responsibility.  One time last week the ball came somewhat close to him and he actually kicked it.  Interesting.  He has a great time out there though.  He LOVES it when we cheer for him.  He gets so excited.  When you ask Nathan what his favorite part of playing tball is he says, "Sitting in the dugout!"  That's my boy.

Today was Calvin's game.

It's amazing what two years will do for you.  There is no comparison between 5 year old tball and 7 year old baseball.  Things are much more serious now.  They still only let them run one base for each hit unless it's a really long hit.  Calvin actually got a double today which he thought was pretty awesome! He loves to play catcher.  He's played it pretty much every game and I finally remembered my camera today!

I realize this video is sideways and very short, but for some reason it makes me laugh every time I watch it!

You might ask yourself, "What does the little sister do while spending all this time at the ball field?"

She looks good and eats snacks.  What else would you expect?

4th of July Finale...

This past weekend was so long and packed with activity it has taken me until now to recover!  Sunday morning we started the day with church.  One of my favorite parts was during worship...we were singing a song and I looked down to see Jilly right by my side with both hands straight up in the air worshiping Jesus with all of her heart.  Love it.

When church ended we headed into town to find our spot for the big parade.  It's become a tradition that we get there early and eat our lunch while we wait for the parade to start.

There is always plenty of people watching to keep us entertained.  My favorite thing we saw this year.....a couple pulled up in their truck and began to unload what we thought were their chairs.  Turns out it was their entire outdoor table and chairs set....complete with umbrella.  They set it up right on the sidewalk to enjoy the parade in their own shade.  Cracked me up!

This next picture is Calvin with his lunch bag on his head.  I told him I was looking forward to showing it to his girlfriend some day.

Everyone enjoyed the parade.  Well....almost everyone.  Nathan really doesn't enjoy parades.  He REALLY doesn't like the noise.  This year I brought ear plugs which helped a little, but he still gets very nervous and cries when the fire trucks or anything else really loud comes by.  The poor guy.  It was an improvement though...last year he was in the car for the whole parade.  This year we were able to throw him a tootsie roll every once in awhile and keep him distracted.  When we were talking about going to the parade the day before Nathan said, "I don't want to go...I just want to stay home and mow."  He's not kidding.  God bless him.

When the parade ended we headed home for about an hour, and then we were right back out again to see the movie Cars 2.  The boys (and me too) had been dying to see it.  It was okay, but not nearly as cute as the first one.  It was, however, Jilly's first time at a movie.  She enjoyed a little popcorn and lemonade, and then went to sleep on my lap for the whole movie.  So I got to watch a movie and snuggle a baby.  My favorite.

Monday we went to the resort to swim for awhile in the afternoon.  That night the boys and I headed to the lake front in Bemidji.  It's been a tradition for a couple of years that Calvin and I go to the carnival and then to fireworks.  This year Nathan decided he wanted to go with us.  I wasn't sure how this would go since he REALLY dislikes loud noises.  I explained everything we would do and he still wanted to go, so we took him along!  We had a great time at the carnival.  Calvin LOVES to play games....so we did that and got a few cheesy prizes.  Then they went on a couple rides.  All Nathan wanted to do was ride the race cars.  He got his wish!

Then they went on the roller coaster...



I love the look on this little girl's face!


And finally the whales.

Good times.

After snagging some food (corn dog for me, hot dog for Nathan, pizza for Calvin and mini doghnuts for all) we headed to our blanket to wait for the fireworks.  After we had been sitting there for just a couple minutes someone close by lit some firecrakers.  Nathan did not like this AT ALL.  He was holding his hands over his ears, crying, begging me to take him home.  Calvin and I did everything we could think of to distract him.  At one point I was talking to my mom on the phone and he said with his lip sticking out, "Tell Nana to come pick me up...tell her I'm at the lake and I need her to pick me up."  It was very sad.  Well....it turned out there was a big thunder storm coming anyway.  We probably weren't going to make it to the fireworks.  A blessing for Nathan...let me tell you.  We decided to gather our things and go watch from the car for awhile.  After sitting in the car for a half hour with two boys I decided we weren't waiting for the fireworks!  We got home as it started pouring and everyone went to bed.  We'll try for those fireworks again next year!  Maybe inside the car to avoid the noise!

The Start of a Big Weekend...

I love the 4th of July weekend.  I just do.  Always have.

Here in Bemidji it always includes a few days of fun!  Today was the kids race...a .5K, and the kiddie parade.  Calvin ran the race and did great!  Here he is before it started...

And just for fun, here he is the first time he ever ran it.  He was three!

How cute is that?  He has always loved running this race.  Here are a couple of shots of him at the starting line and an action shot!

When the race ended it was time for the kiddie parade. (When we told Nathan about it he asked how many kitties were going to be in the parade...get it?)  In past years we have always just watched, but this year the kids wanted to be in it!  We decided to go for it and they had a ball!

 We originally were just going to have the boys ride, and let Jilly watch with Daddy.  It wasn't a surprise when that didn't last.  Before it started she decided she wanted to ride too!



All the parade participants lining up!



 Nathan was just hilarious during the parade.  He had his hand straight up in the air waving at people the entire time.  He actually came close to running over people's toes a few times because he went so close to the edge of the street.  I was a nervous wreck as he was always looking to the crowd and NOT in front of him.  I yelled, "Nathan Stop!" or "Nathan, Look Out!"  more times then I can count.  He loved it though.  When we got done I was commenting to Marc that I think he waved to everyone in town.  Nathan said in a very excited voice, "That's because I LOVE people and kids!"  So so true.

Here are two more pictures from when we were waiting for things to start today.

We had such a great day as a family.  Lots of laughs and just good fun.  What a blessing.  Can't wait for tomorrow when we'll go to church and then watch the BIG parade!  Happy 4th!

Piano Man

Calvin has been taking piano for about a year and a half.  Tonight was his first recital and it was SO cute.  His teacher is this wonderful,  sweet woman named Kiki.  She was able to pull a few strings and have the recital in the recital hall of Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex at Bemidji State University.  Pretty Cool.  The kids played on a big grand piano in front of many seats....with only a few people in them.  Very cute.  Calvin probably had the most guests there.  Besides all of us, Papa was there and Grandma Lona, GG (great-grandma), and Grandma's friend Bonnie.

Here is Jillian on the way to the recital....all dressed up.

And here is my boy.  Playing like a REAL piano player.  He thought he was SO cool......we did too actually.

Calvin played two songs.  The Bells of Great Britain and The Piano Playing Skeleton.  I know I'm his mom, but I'm really impressed with the way he can play for a seven year old....who doesn't practice as much as he should.

Here is a little clip of him playing alone, and the second clip is him and Kiki.  They played together for part of the song.

I love the way when he's not using the pedals he sits with his feet crossed.  Makes me smile every time.

Here is Calvin receiving his certificate from Kiki and a group shot of all the piano kids, Kiki, and her daughter Katrina who often fills in for her.

What a fun night.  I gotta tell ya...even though the entire concert lasted about 15 minutes...the feeling of pride and accomplishment Calvin took away from it will last for a long time.  On the way home I tried to very discreetly make the point that while practicing is not always fun, it's worth it in moments like this.  He agreed.  Hooray!  It sure does feel good to watch your child try something...keep at it even when it's not fun, and enjoy it.  I really hope he continues.
Just because we were all there and looking half way decent...we decided to do a family picture, so I will leave you with that!

Flashback Friday...Me and My Dad

My Little Escape Artist

Well....one little girl in this house didn't go to bed until 10:00 last night.  Up until that point she was doing this.....repeatedly...

This of course was a re-enactment this morning.  I don't think it will be helpful that the boys were cheering her on.  Last night she was actually climbing over the end of the bed.  And she was fast.  One time I put her in bed, shut the door...and kept my hand on it.  I opened it like one second later and she was already on the floor.  Turns out when she's crying and mad she's actually a very good climber.  The boys never did this, so I'm not sure what we're going to do now.  I REALLY don't want to put her in a big bed yet because I know she'll be out in the living room ALL THE TIME.  I also don't want her to get hurt escaping, so we'll have to see.  She did go right down for a nap today, so that is a good sign!