Summer Vacation!!!!

We went to Larsmont Cottages for summer vacation with the Jansen Family over the July 4th holiday. It was lots of fun! Larsmont is located just south of Two Harbors on Hwy 61. It is a beautiful place. We really enjoyed the amenities there, especially the nightly smores at the lodge and the fires down by the lake each evening. The first two nights, there were some amazing moon rises over Lake Superior. Dan and I took Emily on the Duluth Scenic Railway, her first train ride. It went to Two Harbors for the afternoon, we took the train back to the resort. We also went to the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth. The kids really had fun there, Emily and Louie especially liked the tank with the river otters in it. Drewman really enjoyed toasting his own marshmellows for the smores. Jared enjoyed eating them.

A view from the second floor balcony. The property that Larsmont is built on, used to be a campground.

In Memory of Hank . . .

On Friday, June 29 Dan and I put our cat, Hank to sleep.
It was a very difficult decision, but one that had to be made. He had twelve years with us.
We will miss our Mr. Fat Cat.

Found a couple!!

I looked and found two pictures on our computer from our wedding and Irvine Park!

Check it out.

Irvine Park, 5 years later. . . .

Sunday was such a beautiful day, we decided to go back to where it all began almost five years ago . . . We stopped by Irvine Park after church and took some pictures of Emily and Louie at the fountain. Oh how life has changed and how Dan and I have changed. . . . Of course, we don't have a digital picture from our wedding to compare it to. Who had a digital camera in 2002?
We had our wedding pictures taken in Irvine Park, it was a beautiful day in August 2002. Very similar weather to Sunday. I haven't been there since our wedding and it was just as beautiful as that day. Irvine Park is a little hidden secret in St. Paul. What a great place for photos!
I'll try and dig around for a picture that might be on our computer somewhere . . . I should probably go to the dry cleaners and pick up my dress too . . . It was there to get cleaned, a bird pooped on it while we were taking picture and they couldn't get the stain out! I remember thinking that having bird poop on my wedding dress was the end of the world and that everyone would see it? Well, looking back WHO CARES?? it's no big deal. We do have the beautiful framed photos from our wedding day hanging aroung the house, as a daily reminder though.

Emily had so much fun watching the fountain and Lou, well he was just tired.

Corn on the Cob

We had BLT's and corn on the cob for dinner tonight. Both Emily and Lou enjoyed the corn on the cob. Emily ate all the tomatoes out of her sandwich and didn't eat her bacon . . . Could she be my child??

Another weekend . . . of rain??

We had a nice weekend, despite a forecast of rain, rain and more rain. In between rain, the kids played outside in the sandbox. They really enjoy being outside and playing, plus they sleep better at night. Everyone benefits!

Louie decided he wanted to quench his thirst with a little Premium after climbing in and out of the sandbox about 10 times. Apparently, it's hard work. Emily thought she needed to try some too, she looked at Dan and said "YUCKY." Tell him that in about 16 years too! On Sunday, Louie and I were outside playing while Emily was napping. He figured out how to climb up the slide of the little play cube, very daring little guy. He got so close to the top and then fell over backwards, laughing. We went around to the front just in time for the "frozen dairy musical delivery truck", as Dan calls it. It was like watching a sea turtle crawling to the ocean, he knew which way to go. Maybe later in the summer we'll try it. It won't become a regular, expected stop like across the street. The truck slows down and backs up and stops, just waiting for the girls across the street. Everyday! It's funny to watch. . . .

We ended the day with delicious "beer can chicken." Fabulous!

More Cathedral at Night

The second night of the Cathedral being lit up, Dan travelled around downtown St. Paul looking for the perfect spot to take pictures. There were LOTS more out photographing that night, than the previous night. First he went back to the other side of the High Bridge, but from a different spot on Cherokee Parkway. Very nice.

Second, he travelled all the way over to the other side of downtown, up by Mounds Park. It was ok, St. Paul has more taller buildings than I thought.

Third, and my personal favorite, the top of the parking garage at St. Joe's Hospital. Great idea, very nice pictures from there.

Last, from the side street just below Summit Avenue. Also, a nice vantage point.

He really took some nice picture. All of the pix were taken with the 70-300mm zoom lens with the f11 stop setting on the camera. I'm so glad he's learning how to use the camera!

The Cathedral at Night

The Cathedral of St. Paul is celebrating it's 100th anniversary this weekend. A surgeon at United Hospital has always wondered why it has never been lit up at night. So, he arranged to have it lit up for a few nights this week.

Unfortunately, the City of St. Paul recently built a huge "transit hub" right down the hill and it now blocks the view of it from many vantage points. Thank goodness for the cropping tool!

Dan went across the High Bridge and took a few pictures of it and then a few from right on Summit Avenue. It looks very beautiful at night.

Memorial Day

We spent the Memorial Day weekend around the house. There was lots of things to do and jobs to finish up. Emily and Louie played in the back yard the whole weekend. On Saturday night, we had a fire in the fire pit and burned up lots of the wood piled up out by the garage. The yard is starting to look good back there.

As you can see, Lou really likes to drive the car. Sometimes, Emily even lets him. Although, she always wants it to be "my turn."

Lou said his first few words this weekend. Whenever he is sitting in his highchair eating, he say "hot." I'm pretty sure that is from his sister who says that everything on her plate is hot, all the time. He also said "Ted" and "cat." He is so different from Emily in every way, it's amazing.

Grandma's 70th Birthday!

Grandma turned 70 on May 24! Grandpa treated to dinner at Casper's Cherokee Sirloin Room. It was a fun time and dinner was delicious. Grandma brought some delicious and fresh cake for dessert. We all had lots of fun celebrating.
Maryhelen is preparing for when she is 70 and trying out the cheater glasses now, very fashionable.