Ore to Shore

Chad was the race director for the 10 mile Shore Rock and he (easily) convinced Suzanne to be the sweep for the race, so neither raced any event in the Ore to Shore.  However, Henrik raced the 50 yard Littlest Rock for the first time ever (on a tricycle).

He was thrilled with the award he received, but immediately said "I want to do the one around the building like Ida is."  We told him that once he is riding a two wheeler with no training wheels he can do a longer race (hopefully next year!).

 Ida raced in the Little Rock.  The 1-mile untimed race.  She did great and likely would have been able to complete the 4 mile race.  Here she is at the start of the race.

And coming in for the finish!

Happy Birthday to Suzanne!



To celebrate Suzanne's birthday, we took the kids camping at Tahquemanon Falls.  It was a cool August weekend, but great for camping!  We visited lower falls the first day, opting not to take them on the 4 mile (one-way) rugged hike to upper falls.

We did, however, take what we thought was a short hike through the woods, which ended up being a bit over 2 miles.  The kids enjoyed their "walk in the woods", which encouraged us that they might like some short backpacking trips next summer.

We visited upper falls the second day, which was quite impressive.

We even made the trip down to see the gorge from river level.  

 

The kids had no problem making the trek back up the steps!

We stopped at Oswald's Bear Ranch just north of Newberry on our way home and were able to pet the baby bear (who was eating Fruit Loops, by the way) and see a number of grown bears (through both chain link and electric fence protection).

Once home we enjoyed cupcakes and Suzanne got to open some great gifts (including homemade cards from the kids)!

Teal Lake Triathlon

Chad's ready for his big debut in the triathlon! 

Waiting for the start of the race.

He was the first out of the water!  Go dad! 

8th overall and 3rd in his age group.  We were so proud of his first try at the tri!

After deciding to sign up 3 days before the race and never having done a tri before, he survived . . . impressively!  Somehow I'm pretty sure he was just glad to be done!

Trip below the bridge

It was a hot few days at Canadian Lakes, which was great for spending time on the water.  Henrik wasted no time in asking if he could drive the boat.

Not the best picture, but this is what Suzanne got when Ida caught her first fish with a net!

The kids could hardly wait to try out the inner tube so we rode it around and around and around the lake.

Ida had learned to ride a 2-wheeler just a few days before we went.  Luckily, grandma was able to borrow a couple of bikes for the kids to ride.  This was Henrik's first time on a bike with training wheels, as he has mostly been riding a tricycle at home.

This bike was a bit bigger than the one Ida was riding at home and the steering was quite a bit different, but it didn't take long for her to figure it out.  She spent at least an hour every day riding around the .15 mile loop and was a pretty competent (for a 5 year old) rider by the time we left.

With a bit of encouragement, the kids discovered that they could float with the life jackets on and both were pretty proud of "swimming on their own"!

Hanging with some cousins before dinner (and showing off their new Build a Bears, Violet and Henry).

During dinner, Ida let out a holler and immediately started showing off that she pulled her second tooth.  Cousin EJ just happened to be missing the same 2 teeth!

Tour Around the World

Ida's dance studio put on a Tour Around the World.  Ida's class was Mexico, complete with maraccas and traditional Mexican music.  Ida's buddy Brianna (below) was in the Japan number.

Ida and Ellyanna (Ireland) showing off their beautiful flowers.