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| Evan age 8, Hans age 7, and Lydia age 5 1/2 |
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| Summer 2011 |
This summer I tried my hand at taking the kids pictures. I took lots. Some of them were goofy, some were silly, some I messed up on, and some caught the kids just as I wish I could keep them forever, my sweet, happy, precious kids.  |
| Elated Evan |
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| Laughing Lydia |
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| Happy, Happy Hans |
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| Look at all the monarchs |
We've been up to Mosquito Hill several time for hiking, geocaching, snowshoeing, and even to learn about bees. This sunny summer day we went to explore the butterfly house. The screen tent was filled with flowers, trees, and thousands of locally caught butterflies. There were also several volunteers to answer questions and educate us about butterflies. With some patience and slow movents each of us had the chance to feel some real butterfly kisses.  |
| We found some wild animals. |
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| Playing with the fun house mirrors |
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| Tiny the elephant and his team. |
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| Silly little doggies and a monkey riding shotgun. |
Let's go to the circus! We decided to do one better and check out the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI. The kids and I had all earned free tickets through our library's summer reading program so we met up with my friends Bekah and Steph and there kids who had the same tickets for a day of circus fun. There were shows under the big top, elephants, dogs doing tricks, acrobats, a carousel to ride, real circus cars to check out, history to discover, and friends with which to enjoy it.  |
| Tubing behind the pontoon. |
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| Nate and Lyd with the boys behind. |
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| Tammy and Jacob relaxing on the boat. |
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| Captain Michael. |
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| Joanna's turn in the tube. |
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| Tammy taking a gentle cruise. |
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| The view of the cabins and some of our group from the boat. |
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| Does anything say "Up North" like the call of a loon? |
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| Happiness! |
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| We caught lots of fish. |
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| Lydia on the beach. |
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| Jacob having some time in the sand. |
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| We love kayaking. |
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| How 'bout you? |
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| Raft jumping is the best summer sport. |
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| Cousins making memories. |
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| "Look we caught a grackle!" (w/ the neighbor boy) |
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| bird retrieval |
Evan and Grandpa Smith built a sparrow trap for Evan's 7th birthday. It lives in our yard during the summer and has caught many sparrows, a few squirrels, and even a chipmunk. One day the kids were delighted to have caught a grackle in it. When a bird is caught it is carefully removed and sometimes put in the small tent in the first picture. The kids "observe and study it" for awhile and then release it so "it doesn't get so scared it has a heart attack." Who says summer vacation isn't educational? |
| Birthday treat filled with berries and topped with ice cream. |
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| Opening gifts and receiving birthday wishes via phone calls. |
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| Excited for presents! |
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| Later in the week we also had a gummy fish filled blue jello bucket. |
On Hans' birthday he woke up at my parents as the kids had been there for a week of "kid vacation." Grandpa made made special breakfast before the kids and I hit the road for home. On the way we stopped at Uncle Michael, Aunt Tammy, and cousin Jacob's place for lunch and a visit. After playtime and presents we made it back to Oshkosh. Here we dined on grilled pizza and fruit topped ice cream cones at Hans' request. While spending the day traveling might not seem ideal Hans was happy to have been able to have breakfast, lunch, and supper all with different family members. That pretty much describes Hans: easy going and happy. Happy Birthday our dear boy, you make our lives happier and better. We love you so much. |
| Lydia and Evan out in the tubes. |
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| Next up Evan and Hans. |
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| Nate and I took our turn. |
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| Brian really, really tried to roll Nate and James as he pulled them around the lake. |
Our last stop on our eleven day journey was my parents' house for a little Independence Day festivities. My younger brother Brian had brought his boat so we spent some time during the afternoon at a local lake tearing up the water. It was a great way to spend the final leg of our fabulous vacation. |
| Silly kids. |
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| Snakes in a bucket=happy boys. |
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| Alyssa and Hans checking out his pictures. |
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| A monkey in the tree by the deck. |
On our way back east we headed on a more northern route through SD. We stopped in Watertown to visit our dear friends who live there. Before the van had even come to a stop the kids were wanting to get out because they could see Ethan and Ryan had caught a snake. I don't think we saw them for the next hour. The kids picked up right where they left off and were again fast friends. It was much the same with the adults. We spent the evening laughing until well after reasonable people head to bed. Sunday we attended church together and were treated to a fabulous brunch before we had to say a too-soon goodbye. Thank you for having us!  |
| Jon and the kids cuddling/wrestling. |
This is the only picture I have of our stay with the Frees. Much like last year's trip, as we gallivanted around playing tourist we were hosted by the Free family. They welcome us like family and make us feel so at home. Thank you for you generosity! You will always have a special place in our heart. See you soon.