Tot Trot & 10 Mile Run

Jack & Daddy were busy running on Saturday morning. Daddy is well on his way to running again and did very well in the 10 mile run for Lumberjack Days in Stillwater. He finished in 1:16. Jack did very good too. He ran his very first 1/2K. It was about 4 blocks along the St. Croix. Daddy ran along side him and mommy cried while she video taped it (sap!!). It was exciting to see Jack be so excited to get to the finish line. He only needed one water stop about half way through. Good job Jack & Daddy!!!

Goo

Recipe: Cornstarch Goo

Equal Parts Water & Cornstarch

The Latest...

We enjoyed a great night of catching up with our pals, Ken & Kim Schmidt, and their boys Calvin & Teddy. How wonderful to connect in conversation and fellowship. It is great that we can just pick right up where we left off a year ago and it seems like no time has past.

Jack & Mommy spent some time at our friend's cabin. It was very relaxing and a great time for rest. Jack loved playing in the lake, taking a boat ride, watching Michael catch fish - then touching them and giggling. He loved going on the swing and splashing in the hot tub. He even went underwater several times. Go Jack!

Happy Birthday Daddy! Jeremy celebrated his 29th birthday on Sunday. We celebrated with gifts and a yummy breakfast. We headed to church and were excited to hear our friend Ken preach. Later that day we celebrated again at Nana Jeanie's house for shrimp on the grill and yummy white cake with butter cream frosting from Sam's Club - Jeremy's favorite!

We went on a nostalgic camping trip with my family. As kids we had visited "The Old Barn" camping resort near Lanesburo, MN. It is a great location with excellent bike trails and even river tubing. We relived the fun of our childhood and enjoyed each others company.

The bridesmaid dresses have been selected! Picture these beautiful dresses in "Juniper" which is a nice shade of blue. The complementary color to juniper is black. It will be beautiful!
Oh, and I got my final paper back from my advisor at the U. I got an A and will officially have my Master of Education in Curriculum & Instruction with an emphasis on Social Studies Education by mid-August. Yeah!

4th of July Fun!

We had a great Independence Day Celebration! We were so honored to have some friends from out of town stay at our house for the weekend. Then we had our friends from church join all of us for good old fashioned 4th of July BBQ.

It started with a First Lady Cookie Bake-Off. I made Cindy McCain's Butterscotch Oatmeal cookies & Michelle Obama's Shortbread cookies for each guest to taste (recipes thanks for Family Circle Magazine). The guests were asked to taste one of each cookie (recipe owner not identified) and vote for which one they liked best. The Butterscotch Oatmeal ones won by a landslide. We enjoyed each others company, the kiddos splashed in the pool and put on temporary tattoos, had delicious food and ended our celebration with a fun relay race.

After the celebration was over at our house we headed to church to serve at the 4th of July Outreach and watch the fireworks. Jack and I went to the park and went for a long walk too. As we walked along the path in the park Jack would stop to say "Hi" to lots of people. He would also point out all the fun things he saw like motorcycles, balls, etc. On one particular stop along the path Jack not only greeted his new friends with a friendly, "Hi!" but he also decided that it was important to tell them, "I poop." That is his newest phrase. He lets us know, and apparently perfect strangers too, when he poops or toots. It is very cute!

Here are fun pictures from the day:

Delicious Desserts - Notice the beautiful trifle that Tanya brought...

Some hungry guests in line.

My sister Stephanie, her fiance Tim, and their new puppy Cassius.

Grandma Shelly & Jack have lunch.

Splashing in the Pool!

Dinner Time...




The Relay Race
(First to fill the bucket with marshmallows...there was definitely some cheating going on though...Mike & Ruth, oh - Jack & Jeremy too!)

Go Abby!!

Family Time at the Fireworks!

Our Guests, the Wagner Family

Auntie TeeTee made it home from the Challenge Conference in time to watch the fireworks with us!

Jack LOVED the fireworks. Once they started he only took his eyes off the sky once to look back and see if we could see what he was seeing! He would point and say, "Oooh."

Swimming Lessons

Jack & I went to "Tiny Tots" swimming lessons this last week. It was more like an introduction to water and swimming technique. Jack has been swimming since he was two weeks old, so the intro to the water was not too scary for him. We did learn some great ideas for slowly getting wet, getting used to going under water slightly, and for getting into the swimming positions that he will use as he progresses in lessons. More than anything it was a great time in the pool to splash! He loved to bounce up and down in the water like popcorn. He did a great job climbing out of the pool (with a little help holding him up) and he was even blowing bubbles in the water before the end of our lessons.