Parade

Coleraine celebrated its centennial this weekend and we enjoyed the many festivities! Julie and her kids, Peyton and Megan, came to watch the parade on Saturday. It was one of the best parades I've been to...we hardly had to walk over a block from our house and they handed out SO much candy (as you'll see in the pictures below)! Paul loved every minute of the parade because all the surrounding towns brought over their fire trucks/emergency vehicles. He was in heaven watching all the different trucks and hearing their sirens and horns. He didn't really care about getting out to collect candy and was content to stay in his stroller the whole time. Peyton and Megan did a great job collecting their candy and like I said, they took home a huge haul!

We also ate lunch in the park and watched the Irish step dancers. It was so fun to see Julie and her kids...I'm so glad they were able to join us for a very fun day!

Just a cute picture!

Auntie Maira and Uncle Brian

Maira and Brian stopped by for a visit last Saturday night and Paul was in a really great mood! He started "performing" the minute they walked in the door and didn't really stop until they left. He attacked (tickled) both Maira and Brian as soon as they arrived and loved playing hide/seek with Maira! He was also really chatty with both of them and it really shouldn't have been a big surprise that he was so energetic because he was coming off a huge nap that lasted past 6:30. It was a really fun and unexpected visit!

Summer fun

Here's a few pictures of what we've been up to this past month...we've been strawberry picking, enjoying lunch outside and taking many trips to the park!

The Hanson's

The Hanson's came over last week to have supper and we had a great time! Anthony and Paul got along really well and only had a few squabbles over some toys...they quickly became "buds" and it was really fun to watch them play together. I always enjoying visiting with Tonja and Mark and I wish we could see them more often. It's definitely time to plan a trip to their house in Becker!

Paul chasing Tonja up the hill...this went on a few times.

The boys hugging it out after a little disagreement!

Washing up for supper...I love the pensive, thoughtful look on Anthony's face


Tonja and Anthony

These last three pictures don't really capture how funny these two boys were near the end of the evening...they were getting a little crazy and also tired which made for a funny combination! They were singing/screaming and would egg each other on with their noises. We really should have got it on video because it was really funny to hear them!

Thanks, Hanson's, for a great night and I hope we can do it again soon!

Myself!

Paul has gotten pretty independent lately and wants to do most things "himself"! Or as he says, "No, my-self, my-self"! This includes many actions throughout the day...putting his hat/shoes on, fixing a toy, getting into his chair, and the list goes on. One particular morning, he insisted on taking his pajamas off by himself and we weren't going anywhere so I let him give it a try. Well, he tried for a long time and eventually got his shirt and shorts off. He got his shorts off first which for some reason went immediately on his head...I even removed them so he could get his shirt off but he put it right back on his head once his shirt was gone. He walked around with his shorts on his head for quite some time and loved checking himself out in the mirror until that got old and he moved on to checking out the books on the bookshelf...the potty-training book of all things!

Fourth of July

We had a great Fourth of July weekend using Bob and Diane's new pickup camper! We stayed at Shana and Wade's (Ryan's cousins) house on Pokegama where we always have a fun time. Ryan's grandpa also gave us a boat that he no longer wanted so we now have our own boat to use for cruising with Paul! Paul loves taking boat rides and also really loves being in the water! We spent the weekend swimming, boating, EATING, and watching the fireworks on the lake...Paul had an awesome weekend and enjoyed all the different activities. Moments after arriving home Sunday afternoon, I snapped this picture of Paul. He was definitely worn out from all the fun!

Outside fun

We've been having fun with the sprinkler and the hose on this warm summer days. Paul loves to get wet and he doesn't care if he's in his swimsuit or full clothes...it also doesn't matter how cold the water is, he'll run right into the hose/sprinkler at full speed without flinching! We've really been enjoying the great weather!

Whoops, I've been absent from the blog for awhile! As I've seen others refer to this as "neglect-o-blog"! I have a few good pictures to post of Paul and will do so soon.
We've had a fun and busy start to the summer. I'm about six weeks into my marathon training program and it's going well. I meet with two other women who are also running in October once a week for our "long" run. It's been fun to be a part of a small running group and it helps to pass the miles!
Ryan is busy with the clinic and gym and has been fishing a little bit as well. He heads to Chicago in a couple of weeks for a seminar and then it's off to Wisconsin Dells for our family trip!

Paul is at a really fun stage...we marvel at his sentences and story-telling as well as his pretend play. His latest thing is to play "Baby Sierra" (Laura's new baby) which is a riot. If we refer to him as Paul when he's playing this game, he'll say "No, I'm Baby Sierra". He also likes to carry around my purse/or gym bag and tell us, "I'm going to work or I'm going shopping". Too funny!
He's also beginning to understand how to be cunning or crafty which was on full display in our garage last week...we bought Grandpa Bob's riding lawnmower because he got a new one and Paul was thrilled to see the lawnmower in our garage. He likes to sit on it and play with the steering wheel and pretend he's driving. One night, I saw him eyeing up the key and I told him the key isn't to touch, etc. Well, I had to remind him a few times about the key but he did keep his hands away but I could see him looking at it (and me) out of the corner of his eye. I could see him thinking hard then he looked at me and said "Go away, Mommy" and "You go inside, Mommy"! He figured as long as I was removed from the situation, the key was all his! After I explained that it didn't matter if I was physically in the room or not, the key was still off-limits, he again said, "Bye Mommy". Ryan and I had a good laugh later about our little mastermind!