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.

The exended birthday celebrations, aka Yipee--Henrik's 4!

The weekend started the day after school got out for summer break with breakfast at Donckers to celebrate.

We then moved on to a trip to the park to play, where Ida lost (or pulled out, actually) her first tooth!

 Henrik had a Superhero themed party, with Batman being his favorite.  We opted to let him open the family gifts ahead of time--he did not object!

The invitation encouraged guests to wear their favorite superhero costume.  Grandpa and Sandy got in on the action with their Superman and Batman t-shirts, which brought a huge smile to Henrik's face.

We had "batman" (black for boys and pink for girls) masks and Suzanne made capes for Ida & Henrik to wear.

The kids all had fun running around in their superhero costumes and masks!

When it came time for dessert, the kids discovered that The Joker had stolen the cake.  Thankfully he left clues around the house for them to use to find it.

Red Hot Lava

Ida signed up for soccer this year for the first time and was on the Red Hot Lava team.  The season started out a little slow as she was pretty tentative and had never played before.  The first picture was from the "team meeting" before a game the week after Memorial Day.  Note the heavy clothes--they were not overdressed.

 

As the season progressed, Ida went from cheerleader, snack eater (well into the second half of each game) and flower picker to a kid who gave it her all every game.  She scored a few goals, fell a few times, and ran and laughed lots.

By the time the season had ended, he had earned the nickname "Firecracker" for her efforts and practice and during the games and was nominated by her coaches to the Superiorland Soccer Association as the "most improved player" on the team.  We're so proud!

One of the moms was thoughtful enough to pick up medals for the girls.  Ida couldn't stop talking about how she couldn't believe she got her first medal.  I'm fairly certain she wore it to bed (even though I told her not to). 

Henrik, by the way, was pretty inspired and wants to play next year!

Madison, WI--Memorial Day weekend

Chad and Suzanne enjoyed a weekend away to Appleton and then on to Madison.  Of course, we had to make a trip to State Street, where we immediately spied this multi-person pedal vehicle thinggy.  Very interesting!

 

Suzanne ran the Madison 1/2 Sunday morning, and we stayed at a hotel only three blocks from the start (which was the Capitol).



 Chad diligently hoofed it out to a couple of spots along the course to take a few pictures of Suzanne along the route, such as Camp Randall Stadium.  Somehow they missed each other at each point he waited, but

he did spot the running beers.  We can't imagine that was very comfortable!

They found each other again shortly after Suzanne finished (with a PR!) and had claimed her one free beer (at 9:00am on a Sunday no-less).

And then spent the day being tourists, including a trip to Mt. Horeb and the Grumpy Troll Brewery, a brewery in downtown Madison and the Toronodo Steakhouse for dinner.

More fun while (still) waiting for spring to arrive

A not so "spring" day (9 inches of snow actually) called for a trip to the Children's Museum.  The kids quickly found the climbing wall . . .

 

 

the TV studio (complete with Mt. Rushmore) . . .

 

 

a hungry turtle . . . 

a pretty cool lizard . . .



and a performance in the kid's theater!



A few weeks and a good thaw later and Henrik found himself at the "boy's camp" for the first time ever.  He spent the day with the Larsen boys and came home telling the girls how much fun he had!  It went well enough that he was invited back for "wood cutting weekend" a few weeks later and spent two nights with all the Larsen boys and grandpa Curry.

 He even successfully used the outhouse.

 

Ida had her final dance open house, where we got to see a preview of her recital number.