Summer vacation

We'll be loading up the "Family Truckster" and

heading north to the hunting camp for the Labor

Day weekend. I couldn't believe when I searched

"Family truckster" and found an abundance of

pictures of the actual car from Nat'l Lampoon's

Summer Vacation which of course is a classic movie!

It looks like this is a picture taken from a museum of

some sort...what kind of cool museum is this?

Anyway, back to our little trip away...we'll be enjoying

the nice weather that's predicted and will be swimming,

fishing, etc. Hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend!

Yummy!

I've really be enjoying the cookbook, Deceptively Delicious by
Jessica Seinfeld...it has great recipes that Paul enjoys!
It incorporates sneaking veggie/fruit purees'into "kid favorites". So far, we've liked the tacos,beef stew, spaghetti pie,and Paul's favorite,the zucchini oatmeal raisin cookies. They each have a variety of veggies added and you don't even know they're in there! We tried the sloppy joe's but they were a little weird. Anyway, it's a great cookbook and very easy to follow!

Great read!

I just finished the latest Krueger thriller and it was excellent!

I think it may have been one of his best and I plowed through it

in 2 days. If you haven't read him before, these are excellent

suspense novels set in Minnesota. I highly recommend them if

you want an easy but great read. He's actually coming

to the bookstore for a signing which is great because

he's a really well-known author.

I'm also trying to read The Shack which has really

been the big fiction hit of the summer but I'm having

a hard time staying with it...might have to start over or

try again later. Anyone else read this book?

I tend to read lots of fiction and not much for nonfiction which is

why Screamfree Parenting is still sitting on the nightstand

with a bookmark placed, oh maybe after the foreword? Oh well.

To "TV" or not to "TV"?

Those darn Baby Einstein DVD's! Up until about

2 months ago, Paul wasn't really showing interest in

watching TV...well, that's changed! He knows where

the DVD's are stored, where the machine is and how to

turn on the television. I used to think, quite

arrogantly,MY child doesn't even LIKE television.

Ha! I think he "gets" its appeal now!

These pictures reflect his displeasure when I have cut him

off from watching. I try to limit it to letting him watch

one DVD a day which I have

of course increased if I'm trying to get

supper or some other task completed! Oops!

Anyway, these are the pictures of my wounded warrior

being told it's time to shut the TV off...mean Mommy.

Future chiropractor!

Ryan has been adjusted Paul since the day he was born but it's really neat now
because Paul loves to get adjusted. We sing "Adjustment, adjustment" and he'll run
to the table whether we're at home or the clinic. Usually I'll get adjusted first and then
he can't wait to get up for his turn!
Yesterday I noticed Paul was taking a few of his stuffed animals one at a time
into our office at home and I thought I'd better check on him to see what he was
up to. I watched in amazment as he would carefully lay each toy on the table
and push down on them with his hands while making a "crunch" sound with his

mouth each time. He would lay them on their back and then facedown and even on

their side. He did this to each toy and of course, I had to call Ryan right away to tell

him about our future chiropractor! It was pretty amazing!
By the way, Ryan has a great website for his clinic if anyone is interested in checking
it out...it has lots of great info!

All right bear, relax!

I will now adjust your neck Turtle!

Catch of the Day..."Ish Ish"

Ryan caught this monster walleye in Mid-July on Trout Lake. It is a huge fish...30 inches and he took it right to the taxidermist! It's the biggest fish he's caught and another piece of
"wall art" for our house. Sure wish we had a nice basement for all his animals to reside!
The fish is already home much to the delight of Paul. He loves to say "Ish, Ish" every time he
sees the fish on the wall. His latest game is to hand his pacifer to Ryan and then Ryan puts it in the fish's mouth...this game can go on for a LONG time! Also, if we're reading a book and he sees a picture or drawing of a fish, he immediately points to Ryan's walleye and cries, "Ish Ish"!
Please note this is a TEMPORARY home for our "ish"...he'll be heading elsewhere soon. Maybe Ryan's office??!

DWTS!

Yes, they've revealed the next round of A-list, (Okay, C-list!) celebrities and
athletes that will be in the next season on Dancing With the Stars! This is
my huge guilty pleasure show...every season I tell myself I'm not going to
watch until near the end when the dancing actually gets pretty good BUT
I get sucked in every time right from the start! I then tell myself not to watch
both Monday and Tuesday's episodes but I do every week.
Ah, the drama of this show! Who will be the best? Who is having a "showmance"
with their partner? Who will be the pouty, whiny one? Who will have the
disadvantage, i.e. missing leg, hearing problems?
And of course, who totally sucks?
Will any of you being caught up in this whirlwind adventure starting September 22nd?
Which I just noticed is a 3-day event! Yes!!

Click on the picture to see who made the cut! Just figured out how to
link to the website.

A little race, a little shopping

Right after our county fair adventure, Sara Pender and I went to Duluth to run the 8K on the Bay. We were able to stay at Marissa's house Friday night so we didn't have to leave by 5 am Saturday morning like we thought we were going to have to do...thanks Marissa!
We stayed up a little too late watching Michael Phelps win another amazing gold, it was actually the most exciting race. You know, the one "did he win or did the other guy reach the touch pad first". We then watched numerous replays to see who touched the pad first!

We had a great race on Saturday but it ended up raining from pretty much the start. Oh well, better than being way too hot or humid. Sara is always kind enough to run with me til about the halfway point during all of the races we do together...then leaves me in the dust! Wish I could keep up with those long legs of hers! I really enjoy all the runs we do, it's a great way to catch up on everything.

After enjoying some great cookies they had at the finish, it was on to shopping! It's great to go
shopping sans children...we always have a blast! I found some things for Paul for this fall and a few things for next summer but it's hard to know what size he will be next summer. 2T or 3T? Is 24 months the same as 2T? What if he has a major growth spurt before next summer? Argh, so many questions.

Anyway, we had a great trip to Duluth as always. Sometimes there's nothing better than a girls' shopping/race trip! Thanks Sara!

Itasca County Fair

Sara Pender and I took the kids to the fair a few

weeks ago and it was an adventure...a HOT adventure!

We started with the animal barn which was okay

but the kids could have seen the animals better

if we had taken them out of the stroller but it

was way too hot and crowded to take them

in and out so we pretty much cruised right through. There

was a charming donkey named "Spice" that luckily

started braying like mad after we had passed him...I

think it would have really freaked out Isla and Paul!

The ducks were the highlight for both kids, probably

because they were at a level they could both see.

Then Sara and I debated on going on the merry go round.

It seemed to be going pretty fast and we weren't sure if

they would like it. But we gave it a try and it went great!

Paul didn't want to get off but I didn't want to pay 3 dollars

per time. We will definitely hit "armband" day next

year so we can try more rides...he

had his eyes on the little boats and twirling

strawberries!

Sara and I were pretty much done after an hour but I

think next year will be a different story once the kids'

really grasp the concept of rides and

oh yeah, the huge balloons and cheesy toys!

Stevie Wonder

This photo was taken while I was out running

errands and Ryan could not wait to show me

the camera when I got home.

It is such a goofy picture! For some

reason Paul had his sunglasses on all

morning and happened to pick up

part of the curtain

rod (which is the white stick). Ryan

said it was pretty funny and Paul walked

around like that for quite some time.

Haircuts

We took Paul to get his first haircut a few weeks ago.
It was getting a little long in the back and Ryan had to
get his cut as well so Carolyn did Paul's as well. It was
really funny! Paul was really serious at the beginning until
Ryan showed him how to use the spray bottle!! He's really
starting to look like a little boy...sniff. I even did the typical
mother-thing and saved the clippings in an envelope.

Welcome!

Thanks for checking out my blog! I admit I'm totally addicted to many other blogs...sometimes checking certain ones SEVERAL times a day so I thought it was time to try my own! I will mostly be updating on Paul but will include things about Ryan and me as well. Most of the pictures though will be of Paul!