The Farm July 10th - 14th

We spent the next part of our trip out at Papa Pat and Gramma Kelly's farm, aka Torin's favorite place on the planet.

 The best part of this trip was that Logan learned to walk!  He took off quickly once he started!

 Ella loves Hunter!  She couldn't get enough of the dog.

 Logan and Ella received their first 4-Wheeler rides.  Logan loved it but Ella wasn't so into it yet.

 The kids found every water and mud hole on the yard which prompted many middle of the day baths.

 Logan's face is what Mommy was thinking too...YUCK!

 Torin received his first motorcycle ride on the grandkids' motorcycle that Pat and Kelly bought them for Christmas.

 The rules are that you have to be 9 to ride it and wear a helmet at all times.

 Unless of course you are Torin who gets to ride it at 2 without a helmet, I guess.  He loved it just as much as Papa Pat I think!

Mill Lake July 2nd - 9th

I was able to take the kids to Mill Lake, near Alexandria, MN, over the 4th of July with my parents, brother, and aunts and uncles.  The kids had a great time and I found out how hard it is going on vacation as a single parent to a lake with three kids under 3. This was the place I went every summer as a kid, so it was great for me to have the opportunity to take the kids to our family vacation spot.

 Torin fished for the first time and caught lots of fish on the trip.  This was his first catch in the boat off the dock with his cousin, Skyler.

 He was so proud of his first fish!

 Mike and I decided to take the boys out fishing on the boat and the fish got bigger!

 And Bigger!

 On shore, the kids spent lots of time running up and down this hill and playing toys.

 I tried for a cute photo in their beach chairs, but alas I still don't have that 'perfect' shot of all three.

June 2011 - Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Cousins in the Tub!

The Athertons came up for dinner at the end of June and the boys decided to have a bath together since they had been playing outside all evening and were dirty.

It started out so calm...

then as the water began to rise so did the splashing,

 and a third decided to join in the fun.

 A good time was had by all three,

but the water wasn't so clean by the end, nor was the floor dry.  It was the perfect bath for our crazy boys.

June 2011 - My Hope-Hope

This is our next door neighbor, Hope.  Torin and Hope have been friends since birth and it has been awesome to see such a wonderful friendship blossom.

 Now that it is summer we play outside almost every evening before dinner.

 The two have so much in common living next door to one another on the same street, in the same style of house and sharing the same age of 2 currently (Torin is 9 months older). 

 They also both happen to be the eldest children in the family and we just found out one other thing they'll share in common...

they both will be big siblings to twins!  Congrats Kinner family on your upcoming additions!

June 2011 - Summer Fun!

We love summer here in Colorado.  The kids want to be outside all day long.  It is wonderful!

June 2011 - Mowing

Everyone loves to be outside to watch and 'help' Daddy mow the lawn.  Torin is practicing  for his future years of mowing our lawn as a teenager.

 There are those who follow Daddy everywhere as he mows.

 And those who are a bit more tentative of loud noises.

 And those who aren't afraid of anything, let alone big noises.

 In any case, we have three future lawn mowers on our hands and Daddy can't wait to pass this job along.