Impatient Bather

He just couldn't wait until I got his clothes off. I went to get a drink and came back to find him sitting in the tub fully clothed. What I can't figure out is how he got in there without falling flat on his face in the water. His shirt is still dry in the photo.

SCIENCE CENTER

We spent Monday at the Science Center with the boys' friends, Lucas and Logan. From left to right, Lucas, Carter, Owen and Logan. Kerrie and I thought we'd wear the boys out, but I think we got worn out instead. They were bouncing off the walls the whole time!

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Here are the boys being weathermen. You can see them on the TV screen.

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Watching a ball go on a roller coaster.

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Excavating dinosaur bones. Lewis loved this, and Owen was set on building a whole dinosaur, but he didn't have enough time or the right pieces.

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The Budding Artist and The Monkey

Owen got a little drawing lesson from Uncle Keith at our family reunion on Saturday. He loves to draw and says he wants to be like Keith when he grows up. Check out my brother's art at www.keithnelsonarts.com.

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Carter is our monkey, and he found the perfect climbing tree at Keith and Tomi's house.

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Resting with Dad in the hammock.

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Lewis enjoyed the bounce house we borrowed for the day.

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A conversation with my son

Carter - "Mom, I need help with something."

me - "With what?"

c- "I don't know."

me - "How can you not know what?"

c -"There's a toad in the van."

me -"How did a toad get in the van?"

c -"Well, he's not really in the van."

me -"Then where is he?"

c - "He's where the gas goes."

He actually ended up being stuck in the gas compartment, but not actually inside the gas tank. He was saved by Corey and is now living happily ever after in my mop bucket that the boys stole and turned into a toad aquarium.

Swimming Lessons & Happy Meals

On Friday, the boys officially passed Level II of swimming lessons - and with that came a trip to McDonalds for Happy Meals. I am not a mom who often splurges on Happy Meals. We usually buy a couple things off the dollar menu, and they live without the little plastic piece of junk. However, TRANSFORMERS are the current toy and I would classify them a couple steps above a little plastic piece of junk. This incentive worked so well for the boys. After having a bad first day, Carter did AWESOME for the rest of lessons and Owen just had one more bad day. By the end of the two weeks, they both swam across the deep end of the pool. I was so proud of them. I think it would have been worth 5 Happy Meals, but don't tell them I said that!

My First TOAD

It's hard to see in the picture, but Lewis has a little toad in his right hand. This is technically the second toad he has held, but I didn't have a camera the first time. Thankfully, he didn't try to stick it in his mouth like he does most things.

One of the Big Boys

My baby likes to hang with the big boys now. They are watching a toad they caught and put in a bucket.

Once Upon a Time

I've been going through some photos for a family reunion we will be having next weekend. The above picture is my brother and I about 31 years ago. I can't believe I used to think 30 was old!!

Family Night in the Pool

Lewis loves the water and even voluntarily puts his face in.

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The pool seems to have shrunk a little this year, or more likely, my boys have grown a little. But it's still big enough to have fun in.

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Carter and Owen have had three days of swimming lessons, and have five more next week. After a HORRIBLE first day of lessons, they have been doing great the past two days. They've even jumped into the 5 ft. water and swam out to their teacher. Yey! They are figuring it out.

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I took this picture of Owen and didn't realize until I downloaded it that Lewis is "backfloating" in the background.

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The Maker of the Messes

This is why I don't get anything done when Lewis is awake. If I am the cleaner of the house, he is the uncleaner. At least it was lotion. It's probably good for his dry skin.

Backyard Fun in Fremont

The boys had fun in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard pool. Our nephew Shaan was splashing Corey with water, and when Corey would splash some back on him, he would say, "No thank you. I don't like that!" It was very cute!

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Grandma always lays a blanket out in the sun for the swimmers to wrap up in when they are through in the pool.

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Playing with Fire

LEGAL FIREWORKS. Nebraska is the place to be on the Fourth of July. What could be more fun than playing with fire (supervised of course), and not getting in trouble for it? The boys are waiting for an explosive to do its thing.

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Corey and Owen lighting a parachute.

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Carter and a morning glory.

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Some of the fireworks were too loud for Optimus Prime #1 and #2 (aka Owen and Ian).

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From left to right - Ian, Owen, Carter, Garrett and Amina watch the neighbors light some off. Doing your own fireworks is way more entertaining than sitting in a park waiting for it to get dark enough for the town fireworks display to start. (Thanks to my sister-in-law Gretchen for the pictures. I was cameraless.)

LOST

It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times...

A few things I learned or was reminded of on our journey:

1. God is a God of tremendous beauty.

2. God is big enough to make lakes so big you can't see across them, but he still cares about little things like lost cameras (ask Corey about the extra 6 miles he hiked for me).

3. God provides. - Thank you to Kristin and Amos, who allowed two stranded hikers to set up camp on their site.

4. God, not the weatherman, is in control of the weather. Rain was forecasted for our whole trip, and we had sunny upper 60s and 70s all day Saturday and Sunday.

5. I am capable of more than I thought. I hiked 16 miles in one day!!

6. Flush toilets are a beautiful thing. I almost cried when I sat down on an indoor toilet with FOUR rolls of dry toilet paper just waiting there to be used!!

7. The $50 you save by getting a cheap motel at the end of the hiking trip is NOT WORTH IT!

8. My husband is my VERY BEST FRIEND.

Rain was forecasted for the entire weekend. Friday night did not disappoint. The rain started in Duluth, where we had an incredible last meal at Grandma's Grill, and it didn't end until long after we were snug in our little tent. Needless to say, we got a little wet. I'm so glad Corey made me get gortex shoes.

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Our first campsite was about 50 feet from a rushing river and about 50 yards from the above pictured potty.

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We hiked through muddy valleys so thick with trees that you almost couldn't see the sky, up steep rocky inclines that led to beautiful overlooks of Lake Superior, along rocky cliffs with beautiful, untouched lakes and forests below, over fallen trees, across streams and rivers...It was a physically exhausting yet incredible journey.

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Here I am pushing the boulders out of the way so Corey could get through. Oh, what I have to do for that man!!

Lake Superior