Carol's Cabin, Part???

Last week, we had our annual "girls only" outing at Carol's cabin on Lake Zumbro, just north of Rochester. This has been a tradition for years - we're all current or retired CF teachers, and it's a great way to unwind after all the craziness of the last week of school, although I'm the only one still teaching. I guess the rest were unwinding in my honor (or sympathizing?). Four of us went down in the pouring rain on Wednesday afternoon, so there were no outdoor activities that day. We chatted (a lot) and read our June book club selection, Life of Pi. It was actually kind of funny since we were all reading the same book, but we were in different spots so we couldn't talk much about it. Jo was the farthest along, and when I was frustrated with all the philosopical discussions at the beginning, she said, "Just keep reading - it gets better and better!" She was right, and by Friday I couldn't put it down until I was done.

Thursday was a gorgeous day, with lots of sunshine and comfortable temps. After a morning of reading, more chatting, kayaking, and walking, Mickey and Linda joined us in the afternoon. Dinner is always outside, and always wonderful!

We also found some time for a pontoon boat ride. Carol has become a pro at maneuvering the boat around the lake, and it was even easier this year because we didn't have to worry about shallow water. She did have to watch out for lots of floating debris since the Zumbro River flows through the lake and we've had lots of heavy rains recently.

We went out later in the afternoon so we didn't have to worry about sunburn, either.

It was nice and sunny again on Friday morning, but starting to get a bit humid. Jo and I headed out in the kayaks for a tour of the back waters that Carol and I had discovered the day before. We saw lots of fish jumping, a turtle sunning itself on a log, and some interesting vegetation as we paddled through a swampy area not too far from the cabin. We felt like quite the explorers! Thanks, Carol, for another fun getaway! We'll be back next June!

Happy Birthday, Andy!

We had another celebration this week as Andy caught up to Jenna and turned 28 on the 13th. These kids are getting OLD!

We had a great dinner at Spaghetti Factory,one of our favorites for family dinners. I'm afraid my camera batteries were just about dead and we could only get one picture, but at least Andy's birthday is documented. Happy Birthday to a great son-in-law!

Happy Birthday, Corey!

Yikes! Corey turned 32 on June 2nd! I can't believe my little guy is that old! We celebrated by going to the 5-8 Club in Minneapolis for Juicy Lucy's (cheese stuffed hamburgers - mmmmmmmm, good!), and then back to Corey's place for ice cream and cake.

The birthday boy and his best little buddy.

The guys :-)

We were eating out on the patio, and since the restaurant is really close to the airport, Charlie was very interested in the planes going overhead. Kinda looks like he's ordering another round. I had just finished my last day of school, so it was fun to relax!

Charlie kept everyone busy - he doesn't like to stay in one place for very long.

Maddox helped entertain Charlie by reading to him. He read the whole book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do I See?" and Charlie actually sat and listened! Good job, Maddox!

Corey's request was yellow cake with butterscotch frosting. We could only come up with 23 candles, but they still made quite a blaze on top of the cake.

He needed a little help blowing them all out. Good job, again, Maddox!

The smoke was a little thick!

Here's Corey's first birthday! (Looks like the same cake pan - I haven't upgraded my bakeware in a LONG time!)

Happy Birthday, Corey!

Maddox's Pre-school Program

Maddox has been going to pre-school two days a week at the Pre-school/Daycare program at my school. It's been so much fun for me to see him in a school setting and touch base with him a couple times a week. My 1st graders gave him high-fives when we'd pass his class in the hallway, and they also reported in to me whenever they saw him at the bathrooms or on the playground. I usually stopped in for a quick hug before I went home, and he always had something funny to tell me about his day, and once in a while, he stopped at my classroom to visit me! Last week, his class put on a great end-of-the-year program, which consisted of singing goofy camp songs. Pre-schoolers are sooooo funny, and it was a real treat for me to sit back and watch and not have to be responsible for the show (or the behavior)!

Here he is, flip-flops and all. The little guy on the end was sitting in Maddox's spot, and it didn't take him long to let him know!

There, now he has his own chair. Got an itch??

It was kind of hard to sit still, but he tried!
I missed it when he was picking his nose - good thing, or I'd probably have a picture of that, too.

The favorite song was "Tootie Tot." The actions keep building with each verse, until everyone is singing with their eyes closed and tongues out.

Yep, Maddox was getting in to it!

Here's a shot of Phebe singing the same song at her Cannon Kids Kindergarten program two years ago - go Phebe!

Maddox was also in a song about three little skunks (he obviously wasn't a skunk).

Maddox was the first one to get his certificate at the end of the program, and he gave Miss Megan a big hug. By the time she passed out all 20+ certificates, kids were using them as spyglasses, whistles, and sticks to bop themselves on the head. Gotta love the creativity of 4 and 5 year olds!

Congratulations, Maddox! He'll be graduating from high school before we know it!

Memorial Day Weekend

We decided to take a quick trip to Two Harbors with Jenna, Andy, and Charlie for some fishing and relaxing over Memorial Day weekend. Since we've had such a cold, rainy spring, Chuck never got the boat out for a trial run before taking it up north, so he finally bought an attachment for the hose that runs water through the engine, and he did a little test drive right in the driveway. He looked pretty silly driving the boat down the cement.

It worked, though!
All set! He hooked the boat to the Explorer on Friday morning and I drove it to school while he took the car to work. My kids were really impressed that I had our boat in the school parking lot. After school, I met Chuck at Jenna and Andy's, where we left our car, and then we all headed "Up North." Traffic, of course, was pretty bad, but we made it!
The weather was iffy on Saturday, but Chuck and Andy took off fishing (they actually caught 7 or 8 - fish fry coming up!), and Jenna, Charlie, and I went up the shore to Gooseberry Falls.

Charlie wasn't too impressed by the Falls.

He just wanted to get down and...

RUN!

What he really wanted to do was play with two sticks he picked up along the way.

He refused to keep a hat on his head, and we were worried that he'd get a sunburned scalp. He didn't like the hood, either. He's starting to show his independence!!

Hog pile on Andy!

On Sunday morning, Charlie decided to climb right into Crosby's kennel.

and then he waited while I ran to get my camera. A little poser already!
I love taking pictures of Gooseberry Falls, so after Jenna and Andy left for home on Sunday afternoon, I drove back and took some scenery pictures without the distraction of a 1-year old!

There was a LOT of water rushing through the river.

It was also pretty crowded, so it was a real trick getting pictures without any people in them.

You can walk right across these rocks in the middle of the summer without getting your feet wet. Not this day!

It was a gray day, so the lake and sky seem to blend right together on the horizon.
I'm sure we'll be back again later in the summer!