Yard Makeover

I'm beat. Worn out. Doggone tired. But I now have a lawn.

The landscapers started Wednesday night and worked until Friday night, plowing down all the weeds and pouring some nice topsoil. We laid the sod ourselves, all 15 pallets of it. Thank goodness for a few scouts who needed a fund raiser -- we definitely couldn't have done it all alone!

The boys wanted to get in on the action...

After we laid the sod we set out the sprinklers and the kids were excited to have an excuse to wear their swim suits.

And here is the video of the (almost) final results, we did some more touch up afterwards.

Chris says there were 14 pallets in the video, but when we counted again there were 17. We had two leftover pallets that a few people in the ward took off our hands, so that means we laid 15 pallets -- a lot of sod!

We are eventually going to build a little "island" for a fire pit in the back corner since my temporary one got demolished in the scrape, and also landscape the creek with rocks and maybe a little bridge... but for now, I think we'll take a break. We need it.

Loopy for Lupines

We have a childrens book about a lady who lived by the sea and tossed lupine seeds everywhere; I could swear she must have visited our neck of the woods. These flowers are everywhere right now and are so unique and beautiful. I've never been a sucker for typical flowers like roses or daisies, but for some reason I really like odd shaped ones. I was excited to see them growing in our yard and if I can get the courage to cut them I might score some nice bouquets....

Merry Time at the Maritime...

I borrowed some boys to keep mine company and we ventured to Canal Park last Monday. We started at the Bayfront park (I am so sad they are tearing it down! I hope the new one is as fun as the old wood one) and then jaunted over to the Maritime Visitors Center where we gave our bon voyage to a ship heading out to sea, chased seagulls and threw rocks in Lake Superior.

And a video of the kids "getting their energy out"

Breakin' Out the Boat

Our poor boat. Sitting there, neglected in the garage. It was time to take her out for a spin.

The lake we chose is about 25 minutes from our house, it's called Island Lake Reservoir. Reservoir? Really? Did they need another lake in Minnesota? Anyways, I had driven by it when I took Caden to scout camp and found a free boat launch, so we thought we'd try it out.

When we arrived on Saturday, we found a few hundred people -- mostly kids -- fishing, swimming and playing volleyball near the boat launch. They looked at us curiously, as if they had never seen a boat before, I thought it was a bit odd. I don't know if it was because of the weather or what, but we had the lake practically to ourselves, other than a few fishermen.

Our depth finder soon revealed some uncomfortable readings. One second it would read 20 feet, and the next it would jump to 40... or 30 and then 6...a little scary for a lake we hadn't travelled before. Apparently not all of the islands are above water.

We decided to join the locals and try our hand at fishing. We didn't catch anything (we found out later that we were trying for the wrong kind of fish) but had a relaxing afternoon with the kids and dog.

The water was 60 degrees, the air was 63, but the girls weren't afraid... Sierra pulled out the kneeboard and Solei revived the wakeboard, while the rest of us were content to stay warm in the boat and watch. The sunset was beautiful.

It's great to be back in business.

And here are some videos....

Adapting

I love waking to the sounds of the forest every morning, and watching the wildlife out my back door. Ever since I was a little girl I've been intrigued by the woods and the critters that inhabit them.
.
There were some wooded areas by my home in Redding where we would ride our bikes, but they weren't the lush thick forests like we have here. I feel like I am living in one of those Serendipity storybooks from my childhood, except there are no princesses and unicorns to play with. There are plenty of bunnies, squirrels, deer, and colorful birds though.
.
I think the animals are adapting to having us here, a few days ago I threw some leftover bread out the back door and made this little bunny very happy...
.

Isn't he adorable? Taron and Ella want to catch one to keep as a pet -- I just laugh and say "Good luck with that!"

The only downside here is the cold, I've never liked the cold -- unless I had a snowboard on my feet. The other day it felt warm though, warm enough to make me sweat-- I even took my hoodie off and tied it around my waist. When I got in the car, the temperature said 58 degrees! 10 years ago anything less than 80 was freezing to me, and here I was sweating at 58!

I guess wild animals aren't the only ones who adapt to their environment!

A Jealous Wife

Just imagine...

Your plane lands on the water of a secluded Canadian lake adjoined by a fancy resort where you spend a week fishing. Every cast catches huge fish, and your personal guide sets your hooks and untangles your lines. Native Americans teach you their tricks, and in the evenings a five-star french chef (accent included) cooks your meals...

Just imagine....

Well, that's all I can do because Chris left his camera in the car! Even after I told him over and over again, "I want tons of photos!" I don't even get to see proof of the 43 incher he caught.

In case you are wondering why I didn't go with him, well, it was a work thing. His company paid for him to take some clients but they don't pay for little old me...bummer.

So I was hoping to live vicariously through the photos (like I did when he went to the boundary waters with the scouts) but all I have now are the images in my head, and these that I got off of the North Star Resort's website...

OK, it's a day after I wrote this post and I am back with good news... someone sent Chris the photos they took so I can post them now... yay! I also forgot to mention that they were visited by a hungry bear who they shared some of their food with.

Can I Be a Little Boy for a Day?

Caden participated in his first cub scout day camp this week. It looked so fun, I wish I could have stayed. He came home with a target paper proving he had gotten all his BB's on the target, and most were really close to the bullseye. Good aim! They also did bows and arrows, "bottle rockets", egg launching, gold panning, and a bunch of other fun activities.

And So It Begins...

Summer is finally here!!!

The kids are out of school, leaves are back on the trees, flowers are in bloom and... it's 45 degrees???? Hello?? What's up with that???

Oh yeah, we live in NORTHERN MINNESOTA... I guess THAT is what's up with that!

Oh, but I do love it here... I've been googling places to visit this summer with the family, and one idea really fascinated me; sea kayaking in the apostle islands on Lake Superior...it's not actually in Minnesota, but an hour or two south in Wisconsin. It looks incredible, I'd trade a few cold days for this...

This could be our new "Lake Powell".

Ladies Night, and Morning...

Belly dancing, dining at Green Mill, karaoke, pedicures....what do all these have in common? Go ahead, guess....

Well, 10 days ago, I had never done any of these, but in 24 hours time I did them all! Along with a dozen other ladies...


Sandy Bacon is the ultimate hostess, and when she invites you to a party, you know it's gonna be good. When she asked if I'd come to her sleepover, I was definitely in! Unfortunately after dinner, my tummy wasn't, and all through the karaoke session I was hurting something fierce, so I decided to sleep at home and join the group the next morning for the pedicures.

And once again, I am borrowing some photos...my video camera just doesn't cut the cake when it comes to still photos, and it's just so easy to copy and paste from a friend on facebook... Thanks Elsie for these...

Warning: Teenager Ahead

I must be getting old.

When did my bright-eyed, wall-climbing, curious girl turn into a leave-me-alone, I-hate-Minnesota, just-give-me-my-turn-on-the-computer, texting teenager?

Technically, it was May 27th, 2009, but the process seems to have begun well before that.

Moments of comradery seem to slip through my fingers like sand, and part of that is my fault...4 younger siblings take a lot of attention. I long for the days when it was just the two of us, walking to the park or sitting down to read a book. You never realize how good life is until it changes, but it's not worse, just different. You close one door to open another, each room decorated differently, but each room beautiful if you look closely.

So now I have a 13 year old, and I am starting to wonder which room I've wandered into ...

I try to recapture those meandering days with Taron and Ella, going on adventures and watching their eyes fill with wonder. Just to hold on as long as I can. Someday they will be stubborn teenagers too.

Last Friday it was just Solei, Taron, Ella, and I at home. I forced Solei (much against her will) to go exploring with us.

Solei's eyes weren't as wide as they had once been, but we made a few new discoveries... a twig that smelled sweet enough to eat, a spring sprouting from the ground, a frog that really knew how to hide... and who would have thought Solei's origami talents would come in handy like this...

That wasn't so bad now, was it Solei?

Last Hoorahs

Whenever we move somewhere new, we meet another family with five kids and then they move away soon after... in Iowa it was the Denekes, and now the Hammaris (C'mon, do we really smell that bad? :)). We are going to miss the Hammari's, Anna was one of the first people to call me when we moved in and we have been good friends ever since.

Normally I wouldn't choose a cemetery for our last playdate, but the one by our house has a pond full of ducks, and I had a few loaves of stale bread to dispose of. You could say we killed two birds with one stone, but it's more like we fed them with two loaves. There were some brand new baby ducklings this time -- so cute!

On Thursday we went to a farewell potluck party for the Hammaris at Lester Park and dozens of people came to wish them good luck and goodbye. The kids played softball and roamed the playground, Solei explored the trails with a friend and Sierra took a dip in the swimming hole. My friend Tami took some photos, so I am borrowing them for this post.

Anna is in the middle here, Tami on the right. Both are such great friends!

Anna, I hope you'll find great friends and grand adventures waiting for your family in Idaho, we wish you the best! Tell Josh to keep up the blog! :)