The River

One of my favorite summer places is Buffalo River State Park. It is only about 30 minutes from the Fargo-Moorhead area, and the kids have a great time there. In the past, I would go by myself with the kids but now that we have added a third child to the mix, I am not comfortable with that kid to parent ratio. Plus, the boy swims as well as a rock and Callie is fearless in the water. From year to year Jason forgets how much fun it is, so every summer I have to do a lot of convincing to get him there. A few weeks ago, after much convincing, Jason gave in and we spent a few hours at the river. And not surprisingly, Jason realized that it still is fun.

Callie working hard.

Wyatt taking a break long enough for a picture.

Sadie's idea of workng hard.

It was a pretty hot day, so Sadie is sleeping on a blanket covered ice pack.

Breakfast on the Farm

Today we spent the morning at Breakfast on the Farm. This required us to get up at 6:10 AM to head out to the country for a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage and strawberries. I was not thrilled with the incredibly early wakeup time and wasn't sure how the kids would do. But they did surprisingly well. Callie was thrilled to be going somewhere and Wyatt was pretty excited about going to a farm. Sadie was her usual laid back self and slept until late morning.

The breakfast was held at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, MN. It was a beautiful drive to get there and there was so much to see and do once we were there. Wyatt participated in the kid's pedal tractor pull. He won a terrific door prize. We were able to see many steam tractors, old engines, and a variety of farm animals. The two older kids had a great time (as did their parents). I suppose next year I will be reminding myself of how much fun it is when I have a hard time rolling out of bed in the wee hours of the morning.

Oh, for something fun, I am including a picture of our breakfast last year so you can see how Callie has changed in one year. It is absolutely amazing!

Wyatt pedaling hard.

He didn't get a trophy, but he won a door prize - a die cast metal Ford 8N tractor with a flare box wagon.

Our family - Jason, Kelli, Wyatt, Callie, Sadie, (and Shika the dog) - and an Allis Chalmers WD45 tractor (the first Allis Chalmers tractor available with power steering, you know)

2010 - we've come a long way in a year

Breakfast on the Farm 2009.

Brave or Insane?

Brave or insane? People couldn't figure out which of these we were when we told them we were going camping for the weekend. In a tent. With all three kids. And a dog. To be honest, I didn't know how it was going to turn out but we love camping so we thought we would give it a shot. Since Minnesota and its 10,000 lakes is right next door, we had plenty of options to choose from that kept us close to home just in case things went sour.

Things did not go sour, though. We had an incredibly great time. All three children were wonderful. Our campsite was about 75 feet from a playground so Wyatt had plenty to do. Callie would wander down to the playground then come up to see us and play with some toys and then wander around some more. Sadie just hung out and was content wherever we were - in the tent, out of the tent, in her stroller, or on a blanket on the lake shore.

Early on we did realize that we would have to keep a very close eye on Callie when we realized she wandered across the street to see how other campers were doing. She also managed to quickly climb a picnic table without us noticing. We caught her proudly standing on the top singing to herself.

The weather was beautiful and we spent our days by the lake, fishing and playing in the sand. We also took a walk into town for a visit to the candy shop. Both kids were able to pick out one piece of candy. Wyatt enjoyed his much more than Callie, but at least she tried.

The kids played so hard during the day that nighttime was not a problem. They slept as well as they do at home.

So all in all, our first camping trip was a success and we hope to do it many more times this summer.

Helping put up the tent.

My little southern girl - white dress and a dump truck!

She got some dirt on her hand and couldn't figure out how to get it off. She problem-solved by using her white dress as a napkin!

Callie working hard with the wagon.

Sadie being charming as ever.

Callie's sleeping accomodations. She actually loves the pack n play.

The man, the dog, the fish.

Callie wasn't much for the lake, but she thoroughly enjoyed standing in a pail of water.

Wyatt devoured his lollipop.

Callie liked her candy best with the wrapper still on.

Icecream

What is summer without a visit from the icecream truck, even if the truck used to be an ambulance? Wyatt was thrilled about buying icecream and Callie wasn't sure what to think. She did taste a little of a popsicle, so I was pleased with that.