outdoor entertainment

while camping i broke out the video camera, wow!! this will be so fun to watch when he's like 16, trying to be super cool, impressing the ladies......reality check, it's always a good thing!

i like to ride my bicycle

okay, this is coming to you a little late (long pants and a vest, definitely not summer attire), ha! i must have forgot about it.

quinn, once again, has surprised us with her amazing capabilities! she, like ryder, learned to balance on her little wooden bike (thanks again ny mangos), which she rides like a maniac! so, when ryder's friend wanted to give quinn his old two wheel pedal bike, she was just thrilled, and that is all it took, she wanted to ride! so here she is, her first ride down the road, at age 3!!! now, we only let her take it out on occasions, with us running close by, cause, we just can't trust our three year old quinny, she's a little dare devil;)

more camping pics

popcorn and conversation......or, are they plotting???

always time to play dress up, even in the middle of the woods!

not sure what i love the most in this pic, the cute smiles, the very large stick, the many vibrant colors, or shoes on the wrong feet.......it's all so "perfect"!!!

summer vacation #1

we have started our summer with a little trip to minneapolis to kick it with the loes family (delivered a painting, saw their new house-which is gorgeous, and played), then on our way back to madison we camped at devils lake (which is by far one of our fav places to hang and cool off, during the hot summer days).

we rolled into camp, after a very long car ride (note to self: don't do that again, or create a large space divider to separate back of car from front of car...ugh!!!) we were all quite exhausted, so after dinner we basically got ready for bed, played a few card games, and snuggled in for the night. it was so cozy, us four, snuggling together in our little 3 person, low profile, back packing tent, ha ha! it truly was cozy and we all slept great, i think we went to bed at like 830pm and woke up around 8am (which is truly sleeping in, in our family).

the next day we woke, and enjoyed the beautiful day around us! i love waking up, having coffee outside, and just being in nature....ah! our good friends came later that day to join us for a night of camping, more pics and videos to come (but, for now, you will have to be content with these....time to hit the pool with the kiddos!)

last day of school

i still can't believe that ryder has completed kindergarten, where did the year go? gosh, we just loved his teacher, melissa, she was so sweet, patient, understanding, and so fun! i think his next teacher certainly has some big shoes to fill.

before heading to school, we all go up early, put on our midvale elementary shirts, and went to"mickies dairy bar" for breakfast...yum yum yum! it's like the best diner in town (chocolate chip pancakes are by far the best thing there....okay, i think everything is the best!)

the final walk.....his teacher was in tears;( it was a bittersweet moment. but, we were certainly eager to get our summer started!!

summer growth

with lots of care and diligent weeding/watering/fertilizing/pest control, the garden is certainly lookin good. jesse and the kiddos are out there every day, looking after our lovely produce, what a great activity for the kids and jesse to share together;)

the master gardener

the apprentice

and our box o' flowers

whoops, back burner.....

okay, i just realized that our last post was like a month ago, what can i say, besides, whoops! schools out, for both jesse and ryder, so we've been enjoying our time together, so say the least:) i will try and back track with some photos and get you all caught up, ha!