Tadpole Hunt

B's preschool was in need of tadpoles for their aquarium, so we volunteered to look for some in our pond.

We invited B's best friend and her family over to help us out and the girls had a fantastic time playing together.



Creatures found included snakes, tadpoles, dragonfly nymphs & giant water bugs.



The boys enjoyed some time in the sun and grass.



I think all the adults had fun wading into the pond.



To see more pictures of our tadpole hunt visit http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=pond%202010&w=17038679%40N00

Gooseberry Falls 2010: Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day!!
Originally uploaded by Sunshine C.

This is the third year that we've gone to Gooseberry Falls for Father's Day. I guess we've started a tradition.

We started the road trip by heading north on gravel country roads and we got to the falls by 9:30. We loaded the boys in the stroller and headed down to the middle falls. We were able to take the Bob down the stairs to the falls, which was what we were hoping to do. Bea had her shoes off in no time and after a quick nurse, the boys each had a turn putting their toes in the water. In fact, Simon & Oliver would have crawled right into the falls if we let them.

After hauling the stroller back up the stairs, we headed home. We grabbed a quick bite in Two Harbors and then continued on our way. We were home by 12:30.

What a great day! Happy Father's Day Clay!

To see more pictures from our Gooseberry trip, go to http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=gooseberry+falls+2010&w=17038679%40N00&s=int

Olde World Renaissance Faire: Twig, MN

Bea and her friend S
Originally uploaded by Sunshine C.

Last weekend we had a fabulous time at the Olde World Renaissance Faire in Twig,MN. The Faire isn't advertised much in the Duluth area, so we wouldn't have known about it if our friends hadn't mentioned it to us.

We arrived around 11:30 and stayed until 6:30.

We saw a joust, ate turkey legs, drank lemonade and mead, watched belly dancers, ran away from fairy catchers, cowered at the steam-breathing dragon and marveled at the character actors and their performances.

Bea had her face painted, which was the highlight of the day for her. We went on our own, but ran into three families we're friends with and we ended up spending the rest of the day with them.

The best part was the proximity from our house (30 minutes), the size (not too large), the shows and performers (numerous and varied). It was an honest to goodness renaissance faire!

We're fans now.

To see more of our Faire photos, go to http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=faire&w=17038679%40N00

What Ollie & Simon have been up to.....

Ollie and Simon are just over ten months old. They are still such happy little babies. Their most recent accomplishment is crawling. Yes, our days of peaceful bliss (ha ha) are over. We are going to seriously re-baby proof the house this weekend.

On the sleeping front, they are on the verge of sleeping through the night. They've been testing that out, and everyone (mom & dad included) think it's a grand idea. They've been sleeping around 6:30-6 each night. They hadn't been getting up to eat in the middle of the night until last night. It will happen someday soon.

Oliver is a big eater and loves baby food still along with puffs. Simon won't eat baby food, but sometimes he gets a hankering for his finger food. Daycare said both he and Ollie loved their mashed potatoes the other day. They both are practicing drinking out of cups with spouts and do okay with that until they decide to toss them over the side of their highchair.


Simon in a predicament.


Ollie enjoying the mirror.