Meet Clifford at the Children's Museum

Clifford was at the Minnesota Children's Museum today. We listened to a story and then stood in line to meet the big, red dog. When we got to the front, Owen developed a case of shyness. Evan almost tripped over his own feet walking away because he couldn't take his eyes off him.




We didn't get far before Evan jumped in and painted his face.





Owen didn't want to, but he did let me paint a sailboat on his cheek, which he was quite happy with... can't you tell?

Afterwards, we went into the Exploration Station for Red Creation Station. Evan made three paintings! Owen was still being a bit crabby and decided he didn't want to paint with all these really cool, patterned utensils they had out. He did draw a picture on a letter for Clifford, though, and we put it in Clifford's mailbox.

Owen finally came out of his shell when he saw the boat in the Clifford room. This child is addicted to the sea. While we were in there, we met up with some friends from our moms group.

The boats caught his fancy again in the World Works. Owen, Evan and their friend Johnathan never seemed to tire of racing boats.

The boys love to create storms in Earth World, but if they can't create the storm, then their second favorite thing to do is to hide in this log while somebody else's storm blows through.

Our friends left at lunchtime, but new ones came. Still Owen was kind of reserved. Some kids love to run and scream through the ant tunnels in Earth World. Owen likes to sit on this "rock" and help the Mama animals back to their nests.

*Dressing the kids the same shirt and bright colors really helps me keep track of them in places that are crowded like the MCM. Thanks for the shirts, Mom.

Trail Camera

Our trip Up North was full of outdoor fun and with that came a lot of wildlife. On the way up, we were driving down Hwy 29 when I looked out my window and saw a small bear tearing across the field. I said, rather excitedly, "Bear!" Jim says, "Where?" I point towards the side of the road where the bear is bounding in and out of site through the tall grasses heading straight for the freeway and say, "Bear!" Jim still does not slow down. Finally I yell, "BEAR!" Jim slams on the breaks just as the bear bursts up out of the ditch. Out tires squeal and the bear turns around in response and heads back down the bank. PHEW!
We also saw several deer, two fawns, a porcupine, a turtle, a very friendly sunfish and a raccoon over in Eagle River. Ellie, our niece, on her maiden fishing excursion, caught a huge small mouth bass that leapt from the water as she pulled it up with her Dora the Explorer fishing pole. On our way back home today, we got detoured and ended up stopping at my parents place. There we saw two loons with two babies having a swim lesson right off their dock. On the way home from there, we saw many more deer and two beautiful sandhill cranes stretching their necks towards the road from the safety of their field. But nothing could have prepared us for what we would find on the trail camera at our property.

Here's a teaser. We found this on the road coming into the property.
*Note: this is Jim's large hand next to some very large canine poop.

Jim hiked back to the trail camera and found the culprit. We knew there was a wolf pack that included our land as part of their territory. And last time we did find a dead deer near this trail that appeared to have been dragged off and had suspicious fur with it, but we never thought we'd get a picture of one of them in the first month our camera was up. Needless to say, the boys were required to hike between us as we explored the rest of our **newly cut trails.

Even more amazing? Less than an hour later, on that same day, this guy shows up. The trail camera has a 5 second delay on it, so senses movement, takes a shot and then 5 seconds later, takes another shot. The next shot was of a massive black, furry arm. This curious fella was trying to mess with our camera!

We have about 8 shots of various deer, but I like this one the best. I think this young buck has a brother because we have a few shots with two bucks coming in and both have little stubs for antlers.

We think this morning must have been foggy or misty. We have another one with an Eagle that is in color, but you can tell from the feathers on the closer bird that they are wet. The closer bird also appears to have a mouse in her mouth.

Well, our property definitely is wild. It's what drew Jim to it and what keeps me a bit at bay.

Due to construction, a highway blocking parade in St. Germain, and stopping at Ya-ya and Bumpa's, our 1 1/2 trip to the property already had taken us almost 5 hours. We let the boys run in the field at the front of our property for awhile before we loaded up for the next 4 hours. We didn't get home until 11 p.m.! It was a great trip, but we are all exhausted!

**Thanks, Tom, for helping Jim cut trails. They are great!

Letts Family Fireworks Display

We always did fireworks when I was growing up. Jim is a bit of a safety boy, so I didn't ask, I just picked some up with our groceries and packed them without a word. I was glad the Letts Clan was up for a short display before bedtime tonight.

Ellie mostly wanted to do sparklers.

Evan held a couple sparklers, but stayed way back for the rest of the show. He was very worried about his cousins getting too close.

Addie did not like the fireworks at all and buried her head in her moms shoulder the whole time.

By the end, Owen and Ellie were dancing, jumping and cheering for more!
(This one is pretty dark, but you can hear their excitement.)

Rainy Summer Day in Eagle River

When it's rainy Up North, we usually all curl up in a cozy spot and do some "light" reading. Owen's whale fascination has no limits.

As if Moby Dick wasn't enough of a challenge, he later curled up with Gina's boyfriend Adam to check out his latest medical journal: Plastic Reconstructive Surgery.Ellie brought her new Dora the Explorer fishing pole. Of course, the bait was left at the other cabin so we had to make due with bread balls until Jim got back from Wayside with the real stuff. While I was in putting the boys down for a nap, Jim came running up to the cabin to get his camera because Ellie caught a fairly large small mouth bass with that little fishing pole. That was the end of Owen's "quiet rest time," but is there really anything more peaceful than sitting on the dock with your best cousin and a pole?

When the rain finally let up, we headed to the woods for a walk amongst the mosquitoes. On the way we saw a turtle in the middle of the road. Jim picked it up to show all the kids, but then forgot which way it was heading. You're always suppose to put a turtle back down in the direction it was heading. J & I disagreed. Hopefully he was right and the turtle was heading away from water and towards the woods, otherwise, this turtle has another long and dangerous trek ahead of her.

The best park about forest hikes for Owen is finding sticks & running. Owen found this awesome stick that I said was much like a baton. I gave him a very brief description of what a relay race is and we began a long game of practicing relay passes. At one point he said to me, "Mom, you don't even have to look. Just put your hand back and run when I put it in your hand." He came up with that technique all on his own after about 3 passes!

Evan caused me a lot of itchy suffering on this hike. He is a lollygagger in the woods. Some of it could be that, although he's tall for his age, the ferns still come up to his chest!

Owen's First Franklin Camping Trip

Tonight we all met over at Franklin Lake Campground for dinner and s'mores. Connie brought hot dogs, beans, salads, chips, drinks... a huge spread! It was a beautiful evening. The weather was warm, the breeze was slight, the bugs were minimal...

and the sunset was beautiful off our campsite.
The kids could not fight the urge to get back in that glass-like lake. Connie let them paddle around on their own in the kayaks near shore. The sandy bottomed lake is very shallow.

Owen got pretty good at turning in a circle and pushing himself off the rocks.

Evan patiently waited his turn by the shore. It's hard to be the youngest.

The kids had a fun time and were entertained by the magic of nature, which gave us adults a nice break and some much desired adult conversation.
After dark, the rest of us left, while Jim, Owen, Tom, and Ellie stayed to camp. I think Tom & Jim pumped up the slim possibility of a bear a little too much and they had to talk Ellie down. I guess the mission was nearly aborted. Owen was asleep within 15 minutes. Ellie was still up an hour and a half later! It didn't help that soon after they went into the tent, they had a masked visitor making a lot of noise out by the picnic table. Owen slept right through the raccoon's visit!

Hot Summer Day in Eagle River

Jim's Uncle Louis and Aunt Shelley let us stay in the old family cabin this weekend when we went up for our family's vacation. We have so many fond memories of 7 Mile Resort and Cabin Number 9. The boys had their breakfast together while gazing out the window, discussing whether or not the little red squirrel (which they called a chipmunk) was looking for it's mama. Whenever Evan sees an animal, he says, "He prolly looking for his Mama." Owen was arguing that not all animals have Mamas. Ah, Owen, already a master debater in true Letts style.

Jim's parents rented a campsite on Franklin Lake for two nights. Franklin Campground has the best sites because many of them have lake access with sandy beaches. Evan could dig in the sand for hours.

And Owen could stare off into the waves for hours.

Later, Evan took a nap at Grandma & Grandpa's cabin and Jim's brother, Tom, and his family came over to swim at Seven Mile. Jim and Tom decided to take the big kids out to the floating dock this year. They played a few rounds of "Push Uncle Jim Off the Dock." Look at the glee on their faces. Ellie is great at jumping in. She leaps off the end of the dock and into the water.

Owen's lessons at FOSS are really paying off. He never would have done this 6 months ago.

Addie is a little young for jumping off the dock. We have to get her to walk on her feet first. But, she loved floating on the raft with her Daddy.

It was a full day, and it's not over yet. Tonight, Gina and Adam are joining us and we're all having a campfire over at Franklin. Then Jim, Owen, Tom, and Ellie are spending the night at the campground. Owen is pumped!

Thanks Louie & Shelley!!!

SPAM Meet & Greet

Today was the rain back-up day for the St. Paul Area Moms Meetup Group's Meet & Greet. Jim was not happy since it was also the day we were to head up to Eagle River for a Letts Family vacation, but he obliged to let us go and said he'd have everything ready to load by the time we got back.

More than 31 moms came with their kids. This is the first Meet & Greet since I have been Organizer, so I was trying really hard to talk to everyone and remember names. Luckily, I have two AMAZING friends who whisked my kids away to the big kid park so I could "Meet & Greet." I didn't even ask. They just said, "We're taking your kids, K?"
The event was pot luck style at Central Park in Roseville. Here's just a small sample of all the moms that were there and the delicious spread.

The weather did get hot, especially for 3 and 4 year old boys who run, run, run. Owen tends to get red in the head anyway, thanks the genes he got from Ya-ya. Luckily, Jonathon, who may actually be taller for his age than Owen!, had a misty fan that he gladly sprayed in his older friends' faces.

And where was Evan? Belly up to the table, eating fruit and flirting with Samantha. Or was she flirting with him? It's hard to say. Does scooting closer and closer until the boy almost falls off the end of the bench count as flirting? I think so.

They were all having so much fun, I wasn't sure if I could get them into the car in time to get home by Jim's deadline, but all I had to say was, "Time to go see Grandma & Grandpa!" and away we flew.

*Guess who was not ready when we got there. ;o)

Father's Day in Osseo

They went by boat, they went by train...



They went by wagon, they went by...












golf cart?

Father's Day morning, the boys gave Jim their homemade string-of-muskies-on-a-hook card, opened a couple gifts, and headed to Osseo for a Father's Day picnic at my Grandparents' house and the annual Lake Martha Days Parade. Even though the whole town of Osseo is about 8 blocks long, everyone drives around in golf carts on parade day... and on most other days, too. But today, it made sense. Jim and I spent about 10 minutes trying to drive the two blocks it takes to get to my Grandparents' because each of the 3 cars in front of us had to stop and talk to some V.I.O. (Very Important Osseoite) who was holding a clip board and jestering in that "Ya, you betcha" kind of way and apparently giving a not-so-brief history of the day's events thus far.*

Evan loved the parade. He was just excited that all these people were driving by, waving at him. He was so busy waving, he forgot about collecting fallen candy.

No Wisconsin parade is complete without the Zor Shriners and their Midget Cars. Is there anybody who doesn't watch these guys and wonder how fun it would be to drive one of those little cars?

You can also see in this video that in WI, you get more than candy at parades. You get milk! Once Evan had his strawberry milk, his candy bag never left the ground.


Meanwhile, Owen was learning a thing or two about candy collecting from Graham.




The most important thing he learned was that all gum goes to Graham; everything else goes in his bag. I think his techniques have slightly improved since last year. Evan is now the one reluctant to run into the street. Good!

This Sons of Norway float was Owen's favorite. "Vikings!" he yelled as they came down the road. "Yes," I thought, "Those vicious, blue haired Vikings wielding homemade pies. Beware! They may pillage your spice cabinet!"

When we got back to my Grandparents', Peggy took all the kids for a ride on the golf cart. Then they coaxed Jim into giving them another ride. When they got back, my mom and Grandma had root beer floats for them. We always had root beer floats for a treat at my Grandparents' growing up.

When they got back from their ride with Peggy, they monkey piled on Jim and wished him a Happy Father's Day.
They love their Daddy.

*I really need to get out of the city more. Last weekend in St. Peter, I was appalled that somebody had parked horizontally across the street while they were doing yard work. Their driveway was completely clear and nothing seemed to be being loaded or unloaded, but to a local, this would most likely make perfect sense.

Father's Day with the Letts's

Today we celebrated Father's Day with the Letts's over at Neil and Connie's condo. It was so hot outside, we couldn't wait to get into the pool.

Owen and Ellie had a lot of fun soaking Grandpa.

Jim and Tom, brother and two AMAZING dads!!!

Currently my littlest niece, soon to be big sister, climbing up to tease me. See the mischief in her eyes? Love that smile!

Out sister-in-law, Jen, made strawberry shortcakes for everyone for dessert.
(Evan did actually get one. I don't know why that star fish is sitting at his place.)

Em's Birthday

Owen's best buddy at preschool had a birthday this weekend. Jim and I spent the weekend in St. Peter, visiting some of Jim's old high school buddies, but my parents were nice enough to take Owen all the way to Minnetonka for his first solo birthday party. It was a pirate party, of course. This was the only picture they snapped before they took Evan to a nearby park.

Owen said his favorite part was when the "soldiers" walked the plank, which was laid across the little pool.

We'll miss you, Emerson, you scurvy dog!