The State Fair

Crash! Ian wasn't sure what to make of this display at first, but in the end he liked the stunt drivers.

This guy had a great gig: if you can ride his bike fifteen feet, he'll give you $50 cash. Problem is, the steering was backwards! Turn the handlebars right, go left. Turn the handlebars left, go right. I figured maybe I could do it if I focused on countersteering. Nope. He got my $5 just like he did from everyone else!

Zoom zoom zoom!

Is that the happiest kid you ever did see or what!?

Ian the engineer.

Ian in the fun house.

Watch your fingahs!

Colin's favorite animal is, without question, the sheep. He was shouting "Baaaaaaaa!" so hard he almost pulled a muscle!

The circus company was really good!



Well, no fried dough this time out, but enjoyed some good hours and some rides. Of course, the animals are huge with the little guys! It's a great fair and we go every year. Reminds me of home and the fair we have there... good stuff.

Beachin' It

We had a great time being at the beach. Ian kept saying, "Come on, God! Make the waves BIGGER!" We went with Terri, Ashley, and Erin. It was a beautiful day and a welcome break from routine!

Camping, Moosing, and Moxie - Oh My!

There's nothing like a campfire!

A misty morning to start the day.

Pumpkin in a papoose. I wish somebody would carry me around like that!

Beautiful Moxie Falls.

Batman explores.

Ian and I played Pooh Sticks.

Don't know what it is. Never seen one. Love to have one!

Here, Moosey - Moosey!

Jake in deep thought.

The compound. Bringing two tents was a good idea. We used the smaller one as a playroom in the day and as a doghouse at night.


In August we enjoyed a wonderful time camping. We all love to do it and it was a much needed escape from routine and the house. Colin loves to get out and get a change of scenery whenever possible. We made a one night reservation not knowing how Colin would do with tenting and strange sounds at night. (The first night tenting with Ian was a disaster. He seemed to think that camping meant to scream as loudly as possible from 8 to 9:30 p.m.) Not Colin. Didn't phase him a bit. He was happy to be outside so much and away from home. We wound up staying another night and it was great!

It was a good thing we stayed because the first morning I tried to get Ian up at 4 a.m. but could not. One of the main objectives of the trip was to spot some moose. A second morning gave us another chance. The second morning he got up with me and we cruised in the early light. I think hearing about my sightings the morning before motivated him! We were about ten or twelve minutes into it when we saw our first one. The initial excitement had cooled down and Ian was just starting to get bored with it. "Ian, check out this weird lookin' dog up here." "Wooowww! Daddy, look! It's a moose!" We saw a couple more, too. Awesome!

For me, sitting quietly by the fire at night, looking at the stars, thinking....it just does something for me. It's a way to get the knots out, to breathe out, so to speak. I enjoyed having some time to just relax and talk with Steph. Not about school, daycare, the schedule... but about hopes, dreams, things we've shared. It was great. And it's hard to beat just wading around in the water looking for stones or hitting the trail, watching the boys explore.

Skating Away

Ian's first time skating! Well, sort of!

Daddy took him to the local arena and strapped on the skates for the first time in many years. Hockey skates, no less. Kind of a recipe for disaster, I guess, but what the heck. I figured we could crash together!

Some kids (and dads) who were learning were using a chair for balance. You know, to get the feel. It seemed like a decent idea, so I finally got Ian to try it. He did really well and had lots of fun! I did, too. Even though the majority of the time was spent with Ian seated in the chair and Daddy pushing him from behind, trying really hard not to crash or twist an ankle!

It brought back memories of my mom and I. She used to bring me skating and I loved it.

So it was a lot of laughs and I'm glad he tried it. We'll have to go again.

Game On!

Ian loves to play games! Crazy Eights, War, board games, games he invents, or a game Uncle Rick invented. Better watch it, people - he's good!!!

Game On! - Part II

At the end of last Winter we went to the State Championship game with our good buddies Chris and Julian. Ian likes to go to a lot of sporting events: basketball, field hockey, soccer, football.... I think you can see that he gets pretty emotionally involved in the game (our team lost).

It was either that or the piece of pizza that he dropped...