MN Summer - Week 6 (Part 2)

Wed - after the cousins left, we spent the remainder of the day with Lilly (shopping at Ruttger's, dinner and game night)

Thurs - Rylee went to her library class, then we spent the day crafting and playing games  (we needed a lazy day!)

Fri - the kids spent the day with Gaga and Papa so I could have a girl's day with my high school besties

(Tonya, Sara, Jessie, Me, Leslie)

Sara and I met Tonya in Crosslake for some shopping and lunch at Ye Olf Wharf, then we met Jessie & Leslie in Nisswa for drinks at The Pickle Factory.  After that we dropped our car's off at Tonya's house and continued to on to Breezy Point for more drinks and dinner.  Lots of fun catching up!

MN Summer - Week 6 (Part 1)

Tues - Rylee went out to spend the day on the lake with her cousins, Jace stayed home with Gaga and Papa, and I hit the road with Chelsie (and her dog) for a roadtrip that included a round trip to St. Cloud, and a side trip to Fifty Lakes to see the renovations on her cabin, and a quick jaunt to Aitkin  to drop her son off for his baseball game.  It wasn't exactly the day we had planned, but we had a blast.  8 hours of gabbing with Chels is always a good time!

Wed - took Jace & Rylee to storyhour then headed out for the annual cousin's photo shoot.  I keep thinking that as the kids get older the photo shoot will be easier... yeah right!  Luckily, we still managed to get a couple of keepers.  :)

The cousins were leaving that afternoon, but I had grabbed our swim bag and thrown it in the car just in case.  Of course, when I actually looked in the bag Rylee's swim suit wasn't in there.  

In case you were wondering if an almost 7 year old girl can fit into her brother's 3T swim suit...

the answer is yes!

It was another fantastic vacation with the cousins.  The kids are already counting down until next year!

Embroidery

These are just cell phone pics and I didn't take the time to iron them first, but I wanted to show off our skills!

This is one of the mini's that Rylee made.  She put it in this cute photo album for her cousin, Maddie.  Then we filled it with photos of the two of them from birth until present.  It turned out so cute!

I made two dish towels.  This is my favorite.

This one turned out really cute too.

Such a fun and relatively easy craft.  Plus it reminds me of my Grandma Sandstrom (I have a set of her embroidered dish towels).  I still enjoy plastic canvas too (which reminds me of my Grandma Mooers).  I made a set of plastic canvas coasters for Big Grandpa Bob this summer as well.

MN Summer - Week 5 (Part 2)

Sun - Jace and I went to pick up Rylee from her sleepover and she didn't want to leave (good sign!) so we hung out there for a while, then we brought Maddie back to the resort with us since the girls weren't ready to be apart!

They played on the slip and slide...

and did crafts.

We took Maddie home after dinner since a storm was rolling in.  It did quite a lot of damage all over the area, but our property fared pretty well.  My parents had just had all the dead trees limbed and cut down so that probably helped.  After my Dad walked the property he did discover one tree that split and was hung up kind of high.  He told my Mom that he and our neighbor were going to get some ladders and get after it.  My Mom almost lost it, but then she realized he was just kidding! Lol!

Mon - my Mom taught Rylee and I how to embroider (we both love it!), Rylee had dance, that night Rylee went with Laurie to Maddie's ice skating lesson and out to Caribou Coffee after (she loved her time with the girls)

MN Summer - Week 5 (Sleepover)

Sat - the kids and I hung out with the cousins in the afternoon, then I left Rylee there for her 1st ever sleepover!

 Rylee had the best time.  The kids spent the evening on the lake: riding the hotdog...

...jumping off the trampoline and swimming until almost 9 pm.

They had S'mores and watched TV until 10:30 pm.

Since Rylee was going to be gone, I left Jace with my parents and went out with Sara.  We went to Brainerd for a quick errand, then hit the shops in Nisswa.  Afterwards, we drove up to Crosslake for a lakeside dinner at Manhattan Beach.  It was a delightful evening!  On the drive home, we happened upon a sky full of lanterns.  We pulled over to watch them light and launch them.  Not as many as the scene from "Tangled," but they were beautiful just the same.

MN Summer - Week 5 (Part 1)

Tues - Jon golfed, we spent the day/evening with the cousins

The kids enjoyed playing on their floaties...

The girls tried canoeing for the first time.

It started out well...

...but ended with them being towed back in by Grandpa Chip (no surprise there!).

It wasn't a total disaster, Rylee even came up with another use for her paddle.  :)

Wed - Jon & Rylee went fishing (no keepers), Jace had a fever so he and I stayed home, but Jon & Rylee went hiking with the cousin crew, relaxing dinner and movie for Jon's last night (the kids spent the night cuddled up with their Dad in pretty much the same position they started his trip out with)

Thurs - dropped Jon off at the airport in the am, took Jace to the doctor while Rylee went to her summer reading program, lazy sick day

Fri - I left the kids with Papa so I could go garage sale-ing with Mom and her crew (Jeanne & Karen), both kids were ecstatic with our finds (they LOVE garage sale loot!), Rylee spent some time outdoors on the slip and slide

MN Summer - Week 4 (Part 2)

Fri - day with the cousins, Gaga and Papa babysat the kids so Jon & I could attend his 20th class reunion and street dance afterwards.  We stayed out till midnight.  That's pretty rare if it isn't New Year's Eve.  :)

Sat - was the 4th of July.  We started with the parade...

...then spent the day with cousins, came back to the resort for dinner with my parents, plus Howard & Lil, and Don & Jan.  As for the fireworks: Jace chose to go to bed, Lilly and I watched them from the parking lot and Jon & Rylee watched them from the boat with the cousins.  I'm pretty sure this was Rylee's first time seeing them from the boat - she loved it!

Sun - Jon golfed in the morning, the 4 of us had lunch and spent the afternoon with Matt & Val, dinner with my parents + Howard & Lilly, pontoon ride, fireworks (Howard's big show)

*During the beautiful pontoon ride, Howard and Lilly rescued a dragonfly from the lake (he was tangled in some weeds and drowning).  He needed to dry his wings so we got to see him upclose and personal.

Mon - after Rylee's dance/gymnastics lesson we took the kids to a new bounce house place in Brd. (Jace finally conquered his fear of bounce houses!  He loved it.  Now if I could only get him to ride the carousel...), fish fry with my parents