Randoms From The Phone

Here are a bunch of random photos from my phone!  Most of these were taken to send to Nick, my mom or my sister.

Mackenzie sleeping on my lap at a hockey game this past winter.

Rylan in the Sing and Ring group at church.  They sing, play the chimes pictured below and other instruments.  He's the littlest one, but I love that he's learning to read music already.  He wishes he could practice every day, he loves it so much!

My dinner one night - fried egg on toast.

Mackenzie at gymnastics

Rylan with a piece of his artwork (the one right above his head) at the city-wide elementary art show.

Both Ace and Jack in the car with me one day.

Play-Doh!

Legos!

First Lake Weekend

Our first weekend at the lake was a little chilly, but wonderful.  It was peaceful and relaxing, but lots of fun - the perfect combo for lake life.  We did a lot of fishing and had so much fun.  The kids did so well in the boat and we hope this will always be a favorite family activity.

Mackenzie got the $1 for first fish caught - she caught a northern right off the bat.

Rylan was so patient - he so badly wanted to catch something!

When Mackenzie got bored, we gave her the job of checking on the minnows.  She had to get the dead ones out and throw them overboard.  I know it sounds terrible, but she is not squeamish at all about that stuff and loved it.  Nick just beamed with pride at his little outdoors girl!

Rylan did eventually get a little bored with the trolling we were doing, so Nick got him set up with a lure so he could just keep casting off the front of the boat.  He loved it and now he's probably better at casting than I am!  He didn't catch anything that way, but he's turning into a true fisherman - content with the actions even when you don't catch anything.

After lunch we took a little break from fishing and the kids wanted to go tubing.  It was a decently sunny day, but only about 70 degrees and the water is still only 60 degrees, so it wasn't very pleasant in the water, but they enjoyed a tube ride.

As always they played in the sand.  Ace was so excited to be at the lake - he turns into an energetic puppy when he can jump off the dock to fetch tennis balls.  I'm surprised he sat still this long for a picture with Kenzie!

Concentrating so hard on burying herself.

Rylan, the ever busy builder, found some wood scraps and built a castle.

My handsome hubby

We went out fishing again in the afternoon and had a bit more luck.

My first sunny

And then my first walleye!  I know I looked a little freaked to hold it, and it's not that I'm afraid of fish, I'm just afraid of getting poked or bitten.  I know they have sharp teeth and sharp fins, so when they start wiggling all of a sudden, I just let go.  I actually did that right as Nick was opening the live well for me to put him in and I dropped the fish on Nick's shoulder and face.  Thankfully he just got slimed and not stabbed.  Sorry honey! 

It didn't take long in the afternoon for our sweetie girl to fall asleep in the boat.  When she is tired, she will fall asleep wherever she can - I love it!  She took a good nap and we all enjoyed more fishing.

I like this one with just her legs showing. :)  I wanted Nick to be looking out over the front, but just as I took the picture, he was scolding me for not watching our lines.  Whoops!

Rylan's first sunny!  No wait, it was actually his second.  The first one had swallowed the hook so it took Nick a few minutes to get it out and when he finally did get it out, he just chucked him overboard and forgot about a picture.  He apologized to Rylan but the second one was just as exciting for him!   I just love this picture too - with a huge coat over his life jacket and that sweet sweet grin!

And here's my catches of the day!  I was the only one to catch any walleye and they were both keepers.  18 and 20".   WooHoo - dinner!

You can't really tell it in this picture, but I was super freaked about holding these.  I've never held fish by the gills and even though its the safest place to hold them, I only had one glove on and I fully expected that I'd have to drop them before we got the picture taken.  But I made it!!  Nick told me that I HAD to hold my fish - it's like a rule or something!  Maybe Mackenzie can hold them for me next time!  :)

We obviously had a great time because we had super tired kids on the way home.

This was Mackenzie's first long ride in just a booster seat.  She has been asking to use one to be like Rylan and she is big enough, but we've still just kept her in her 5-point-harness.  I think she decided after this that her carseat isn't so bad - it's so much more comfortable than this.  I think we'll stick to the carseat on long trips and the booster around town.  

Baseball!

While visiting my parents on the farm we played lots of baseball. Well, Rylan had lots of batting practice - we never really played a game.  Our dog, Ace, is the perfect out-fielder!

Rock Jar Date!!!!!

Remember a while ago when we started the rock jars? The kids finally filled them a few weeks ago so we did a family date and spent an evening at a local indoor water park. We hadn't been there in a while so it was so much fun. The kids played hard, were very well behaved and were tired and ready to go home after a few hours - perfect for us!

It took them a long time because we weren't always the most consistent with the rocks. It seemed we remembered the jars when they were naughty, but not always when they were good. So it was partially our fault. But now that they have been rewarded, they are even more excited and determined to fill them up faster this time, they want to go back to the waterpark!

Just Me And My (little) Guy

Rylan and I had a little overnight date, just the two of us so we could visit an awesome science museum. We stayed up late at a hotel to eat popcorn and watch golf, then had breakfast together and spent the day at the museum.

This particular exhibit had all these mouse cages with fake mice inside and different structures/toys in each one. The question was, "which habitat would you want to live in if you were a mouse?" Rylan and I started looking at each cage and I immediately was looking for the one that had the most "stuff". He took his time and then pointed out the one he chose - the most boring one of all. When I gave him a puzzled look, he said, "this one has a friend." Sure enough, there were two mice in that one. I think he passed that psychological test and I failed miserably. It was a good reminder from my sweet sweet boy that you don't always need "stuff" to be happy.

Looking at brain cells in a microscope

Waiting in the dark for the Omnitheater show! I only had to shut my eyes a few times to keep from getting motion sick.

Opening and closing the T-Rex jaw

Building with blocks

Playing with weights

Lunch time, but too interested in all the stuff around us.

Brain teasers- we had so much fun at this little station. I've always thought I was pretty good at brain teasers, but there were two different things that I couldn't figure out that Rylan did. The guy there was impressed that he was only 7, I'm so proud of my guy and his problem solving skills!

Rylan on the huge chair and me on the tiny one.

The penny machine!!! Rylan had never seen one of these and he was so excited about smashing pennies. I figured it was a cheap souvenir so we splurged on the $3 collector book and I kept caving and letting him get 1 more, 1 more, 1 more - so after a few trips to the cafe to get more change he finally got all 8 designs that were there. It's now been his new obsession and we've already looked up where to find more machines. And I had no idea there were so many! It will be fun for him to collect a penny or two from new places we visit and expand his collection.

And yes, I saw the change machine right there, but it didn't work so that's why we had to keep going back to the cafe.

Standing on a little play area in the dinosaur bone exhibit.

We had such a great time together and even though we spent nearly 7.5 hours at the museum, we didn't even get to the outdoor stuff! (Which we would have done if it had't been raining!). I realized its been way too long since I've spent time alone with Rylan and it was so good to focus just on him. Thanks for the fun day buddy! I love you and your inquisitive mind!

Mackenzie My Dear

I'm going to miss hanging out with just Mackenzie in the mornings now that it's summer.  Her and Rylan fight a lot, so when they're together it's referee Mom and it's exhausting.  On their own they are both great and Mackenzie is just so sweet and funny.  (Don't worry, Rylan and I get our time together too - we just had a great overnight date - more on that to come!)

Here are some pictures of her last week - being a goof and helping me out.  Planking between the furniture.

Posing in her "fancy" outfit for the day.

Helping with the mac n cheese.

She eats mac n cheese a lot, but I figure it's alright if she's still eating fruits and I use this veggie pasta kind I get from Target.   I think it tastes funny, but she loves it!

School's Out!

Today was the kids' last day of school.  They both had such great years and such great teachers!  Here is a little comparison from the beginning of this school year to the end.

First Day                                                        Last Day

Huh, I guess he doesn't look that much taller.  I think in the first picture, I had squatted down so my shadow wouldn't be in the way  - and I know I didn't do that this morning, I just stood further away and zoomed in.  So maybe the different angle is throwing me off?  Because based on the length of his pants, he has definitely gotten taller!

Rylan's wonderful teacher!

Okay, check this out though!  

First Day                                                       Last Day

Holy moly!  The name tag didn't move, but she sure got a lot closer to it!  She just looks so much more grown-up!  And can't you tell she has a little more spunk in her? (well, spunk, sass, the dickens, drama - whatever you want to call it - she's got it!)  She's definitely become our little clown - constantly trying to get people to laugh.

We are so so so grateful for this super awesome teacher - and all the other helpers in the classroom.  My girl is totally different from when she walked into that class two years ago.  She was shy and only said a handful of words.  Now she is a leader and is never quiet!  Way to go Mackenzie!