Summer Camping!

I'm a bit behind on my blogging, so I'll be catching up in the next few days... several events to share. First, summer camping with the family! This is the first time we've been camping with my parents and my sister's family- great time! We went to Kettle Moraine State Park and spent a few days camping, swimming, fishing, and of course eating. No pictures of the "hurricane" that came through one afternoon, only to say that I was glad our camp site was still standing.

Loaded up and ready to go...

...and I really mean loaded up!

This was our stomping ground for the weekend.

"Roger that... we're ready for the next tent, back it up a bit... easy does it..."

Cousin Sadie and Elin were inseparable.

My Dad and I brought our bikes along... how could we miss the opportunity?

And, of course, a little pickin' and grinnin'

Two beautiful cranes wandered by our path.

Mmmmm... nothing beats old-fashion dutch oven cooking. I'm still an amatuer, but I'm learing.

Just enjoying the shade on a hot afternoon.

This game was a hit with the kids, and we only had to get the balls out of a tree once!

We visited a nearby swimming lake twice... it was a popular spot since it was so hot out. April found a comfy seat.

Papa and Sadie.

Mama and Lexi

Ha! I beat my sister to the picture.

Lunchtime! The kids always come running for lunchtime. It seems like a much busier time as an adult now.

Like I said earlier... inseparable.

Papa and Dylan.

Nate and Dylan fishing... we didn't have much luck that day.

Mike and Dylan... not much luck here, either.

Dylan on the monster truck.

Breakfast time- pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Why does breakfast always taste so good when you're camping?

The troops (minus Dylan).

And here's the gang just before we left. It turned out to be a great weekend, especially for our first family camping trip. I can't wait to do it again next year!

Vegetable Stand

Nate has wanted to do a lemonade stand, a limeade stand, a boat building stand and it goes on. Today we compromised on a veggie stand. I let him have all the produce he wanted as long as he picked it. After two hours of picking and sign making he was ready. Here are some pics of the fun. He had two customers, (thank you for coming!) and was quite pleased with the entire process. Perhaps we will do it again sometime.

He decided to pick beans. For some reason he just sat down in the middle of them. I can tell I have picked enough this year - I shrugged that his bum was on my plants and went to get the camera.

His amphibian assistant.

The sign. It took a lot of work to keep that in place with the wind.

1st Day of 1st Grade!

Our little boy is not so little any more. He is going to a "big" school. Here are some pics before and after.

All packed up and ready to go!

Here is one picture without the thumbs up.

Pretty cool guy.
Are you sure he has to go mom?

Let's go E.

Nate gives a "thumbs up" after his first day in his new school. What's up with the pose?

Too many tomatoes

After giving away as many as we could, we made some salsa with all our tomatoes this year. We forgot to take any pictures, probably because we had gloves on from the jalapenos and crying from the onions. I wouldn't have gotten it done if it weren't for my friend Andrea coming and chopping! I found a great blog with food storage etc. tips. Here is the link to their salsa recipe.

You Know

Elin is at a pretty funny stage. She is giving out lots of advice. I have no idea where she got that from . . . ;) Her newest vernacular is "you know." Here are some examples.

Sebastian likes those treats, you know.

You know mom that was not nice.

'Cause I like those, you know.

The car is green mom, you know.

I like soup, you know.

and on and on and on you know.

More Zoo!

We had a fun family outing at the zoo the other day. It was rather hot as you might be able to tell from the pics. Here are some pics of all the fun.

Here are Nate and Elin feeding the animals.

Some rather large tortises.

Penguins - above water.

Penguins below water.

This is totally cool - you get to feed the giraffes and pet them if they are in a good mood.

While the kids loved the zoo - they were totally enamored by the train. They had to tolerate a few boring things - like the wolves and big cats before we they got to go on the train.

Here are the happy train-riding faces.

Elin's Zoo Trip

Elin got to go on a field trip to a zoo recently. I just got some of the pics of her - here are my two favorites. Miracle of miracles she even agreed to wear shorts (read not a dress) because there is a climbing park at the zoo.

Elin is an animal lover just like Jason. The mean cat in my mom's neighborhood followed her around and she said, "Oh hi, nice kitty . . ." and proceeded to pet it like nothing else. She just is quite natural with animals and the animals like her. Maybe she can really talk to them . . .

This is really the zenith of the trip for Elin. She missed the first field trip because she was sick and was so disappointed she didn't get to ride the bus. Well, second time around she finally made it on a school bus. She was thrilled for days - what a smile, huh?

Nate turns 6!

Nate turned six this past month. I can hardly believe he is actually six years old. Time really does move so fast. Nate is headed to first grade in a big kid school and I will have to say it scares me a bit. We had a rocket themed party and it was lots of fun!

Popcorn refreshments by request.

Two of the little guys were involved in an intense frisbee match!

Here is the throw moments before the frisbee nailed Jase and the camera - too bad we didn't have video camera going!

In line for the pinata.

Elin meant business as far as candy was concerned.

Love those smiles!

Nate trying out his skates.

The berries!

We love berries this year with the rain we have quite a few large blackberries coming in!

Nate and his friend getting lost in the bushes. They go out there and eat cupfuls.

We love blackberries, but after picking them you can understand why the stores charge for them. They can be wicked!

Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

I had to share this recipe with you because it was soooooo tasty. The perfect summer-time dinner! I've had several fish tacos in the past, but this was definitely one of the best. If you like fish and melon, try it!

Recipe:

Grilled Salmon- season however you like. we use olive oil and a salmon seasoning or just salt and pepper. (about 1 lb fish is plenty for our family of four. also you may use tilapia if you don't like salmon. but who doesn't like salmon?)

Salsa-

3 cups of 1/4 in. diced melon (whatever melon you like, we used mango and watermelon)

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 Tbs honey

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbs fresh cut-up cilantro

Mix together. Make this fresh as it will turn soupy over time.

Tortilla- we like wheat flour tortillas. Spray each side with a little vegetable spray and cook in a pan on stove 1 min. each side. (This is a must as the toasted/soft texture of the tortilla adds a lot to the taco)

Put it all together in the tortilla, top with some fresh greens, and bon appetite! Very tasty and full of healthy bits (and, Janet, lots of colors just for you!)

4th of July Cabin Trip

Over the 4th of July weekend we took a trip up to Mimi's cabin for a few days. We only have a few pics since we actually forgot our camera. It was a fun weekend- rowboats and paddleboats, fishing, biking, lots of good food and ice cream, mini-golf and pony-riding, and even some dutch-oven cooking. And of course LOTS of fireworks- we actually brought our own and Nate had a blast. Just wish we had more time!

Our car loaded up and ready to go...

It was an interesting game of mini-golf with these two. Elin looked like she was playing a game of curling more than put-put, but they both had fun.

One evening Aunt Kathy gave Elin a treat- nail polish on hands and feet, and even some little girly decals- she loved it, of course. Apparently she even showed them off to her teachers at school.

And, of course, fishing. We had a lot of good luck on Kathy and Mick's lake.

Here's Nate's big catch- he was very proud! I think Nate's patience level for fishing will develop over time (I had the same problem, just ask my Dad), but overall I think he did great! Good job, Nate!