Duluth

The last day of family camp, Jer and I decided we were so close to Duluth, we should go up for the day. Our friends, Pete and Jess McWilliams decided that they would bring their kids and come too.
It wasn't your typical day in Duluth. I had envisioned a day of cold wind, of quickly sneaking a peek at the water and then dashing into shops or restaurants to warm up and pull the hair off my face. It was, however, so warm when we got there, we had to peel off layers of sweatshirts and long pants. We let the kids play in the water and get wet. It was so much fun and so much better than I expected it would be!

We went to Grandmas for lunch and then headed out for a walk down to the light house. After that, we stopped by the edge of the pier to let the kids play in the rocks.

Here are Jer and Lucy checking the water temp. Cold, but refreshing.

Lucy just had to get her feet in.

Here are Jess and Molly.

Molly decided she needed to get a little more than her feet wet. Just before this she did a belly flop into the water. The boys skipped rocks.
Ryan loved to pose for pictures. It was so cute to see the fun places that he would find.

After the rock beach and a little shopping, we decided to go to a sandy beach to play. Here are Jess and Molly. Cute Mommy, cute baby.

Here is Lucy, laying in the sand. All of the people around us were laying out, trying to get tans, Lucy thought she should lay down too.

Bay Watch Baby?

Molly and Lucy found one last fun spot to play for a few minutes before we had to head for home.

Family Camp

Some of the adult Sunday school classes at our church do an annual Family Camp weekend. Jer and I decided this would be a good year for us to join in the tradition. So, we packed up the mini and headed up to Covenant Park Bible Camp last Friday afternoon.

Lucy and I had a little walk around the camp to explore. Lucy loved picking flowers.

Saturday afternoon we all got to go on a hayride. Here are some of the kids waiting for the ride to start.

Bella, Jocelyn and Lucy

Lucy and Mommy before the ride started.

It was a very long ride. Ryan was asleep in his Daddy's arms just about half way through.

Here we are in the main lodge gathered around the fire. It was a chilly weekend. It was nice to have a warm place to relax.The kids in the middle of the group. We all sang a few camp songs. I think I see Ryan, Lucille, Christina, Colin, Jocelyn, Bella, and Holly.

Doug and Annika Brown.And Bella Carter, showing us how clean her feet were.

We were fed well. Here are Doug, Peter, Molly, Jess, Kimber, Ted, Jer and Lucy (yep, she's in there) enjoying a spaghetti dinner.

The kids table.

Lucy and Molly had so much fun with these booster seats. They would take off after we got them out of the high chairs and go play with these chairs. Look at Lucy's little finger pointing down. I think she is telling one to 'stay right there'.

On Sunday we left the camp and went just about a half hour north to Duluth for the day. I hope to have that post up soon. We'll see how long Lucy naps for. . .

Lazy Days of Summer

Lucy and I have had a slow week at home this week. Several times each day the phrase 'lazy days of summer' passed through my head. It was a hot, sticky, still week. I was so lazy that I didn't even get my camera out. All of the pictures were snapped with my phone.

Here are a few of the fun things we did this week. We tried to stay in the water, the shade or in the air conditioning.

We played with sidewalk chalk.

We played in the pool.

And in the pink sand.

Today, when we got our weekly load of produce from our CSA, we made zucchini bread.
This was the first time that I really let Lucy help me cook. She loved to stir. She also got to pour out the the measuring spoons and cups after I filled them with ingredients.

'Looks Lip Smackin' good Mom!'

When we were done cooking, I pulled the chair over and Lucy helped me do the dishes. She was a very good rinser.

She really likes to help clean up. Here she is wiping down the cabinets after doing the dishes. They were a little wet, so were her clothes, the walls, the floor, the window. . .

Added Bonus: The zucchini bread is good. I'm munching on a piece as I write this.

I'm So Proud of You

No pictures, just a cute story:
Lucy has been using the potty for the past few days, not every time, but about once a day. Jer and I have been telling her 'Good job!' We're so proud of you!' Yea Lucy!' and any other encouraging things that we can think to tell her when she goes.
Today, I went to the bathroom and of course, Lucy followed me in there. She stood in front of me, looked right in my eyes and said 'I'm so proud of you!'.

Girls Weekend

Another fun summer weekend has gone by. Last weekend we were in Viroqua again for 'Girls Weekend'. These happen once or twice a year for the 'Gray' girls. These are the girls on my mom's side of the family. This weekend it was my mom, Auntie Sandy, Mandi, Kelly, Mindi, Lucy and me. Mandi was with us for the beginning of the weekend, before she left for another girls outing in Iowa. Mandi got the girls t-shirts while she was in Italy last month. They say 'Ciao Bella'. Here is a shot of them together.

Sandy got the girls this cute pool to hang out in. Here they are splashing with Gram, Mandi and one of Mandi's friends.

Mindi loved scooping up the water and dumping it out with these cups.

Lucy's version of coming by mommy and saying 'cheese'.

Of course I spent a large part of the day behind the camera. I caught this cute shot while I was spying on Lucy and Gram having a conversation on the steps.

Later that day we got to go visit some of Sandy's friends, The Leum's. They are organic dairy farmers. They had baby cows and baby kittens on the farm this weekend.

Here are some of their cows. They came right up to see us. One of them would moo when we would get close. At first, Lucy was a little scared, but then she thought it was pretty neat. Here she is saying 'Moo'.
And, the kitties. Here Kitty, kitty.

This one climbed this ladder to get up to his favorite spot in the barn.

Mindi liked the kitties the best. She is waiting for one to come by her.

Lucy and Mommy, petting the Mommy cat.

Here are Gram and the Girls walking up the hill to get to the tire swing. And. . . Mindi coming back down. Check out Gram in the background.

Lucy with Auntie Sandy. Mindi and Lucy.

The girls with sweet Charlie.

On Sunday, we had a nice morning at the house before everyone had to go home. Here are the girls with Auntie Sandy. They are wearing Elephant t-shirts in Sandy's honor.

Of course we tried to get some shots of the girls together in their matchy matchy shirts. And, of course, they would not sit still. Here they are being so silly on the chair together.