Another great weekend at camp

Henrik wanted to make sure that he was warm enough.

Fun trip to the Hayes Corn Maze.
Ida's first tractor ride.

Entering the corn maze . . . we found most of the markers and didn't even get lost.

The kids loved (more than anything else there) the hay mountain (and slide)!

Yes . . . that really is as high as it looks. It was time to call it quits when the bigger kids started playing "king of the mountain".

Henrik didn't quite get the idea of the rope maze, but found great amusement in it regardless.

Annual family photos

Our annual family photos were taken along the shores of Lake Superior. It was a cool August morning and as usual Wendy Hill-Manson captured our best.

End of the Summer Fun

We spent another weekend at camp. Chad & Suzanne got some practice on their bows and the kids did some target practice of their own. Yep, I think we're all ready for bow season.

We took a little walk to check out some trees we planted in the spring and the tower blind. The kids spent most of the walk on our shoulders, but Henrik decided he wanted to walk. Yes, he really is in front of Suzanne. The weeds were very tall!

Ida decided to run her first running race over Labor Day weekend. The shortest kids race was .8 mile. Ida was pretty excited about getting her own bib.

Part of her cheering crew!

Ida's coming in to the finish. We were so proud--she ran and walked the entire distance and had SOOO much fun! Next year we hope Henrik can join her.

The next morning Chad & Suzanne ran the 1/2 marathon. Another beautiful day for a race. This picture was taken post-race with Mark Janofski.

Ida started ballet classes. She did great we eagerly anticipate her recital next spring.

O2S 2011

The day started with a little playing . . .

Suzanne's ready to go. Chad decided not to ride this year and instead was the official photographer and cheering section. It was a new experience for him in the Ore to Shore, but he seemed to enjoy it.

Twenty-eight miles of mud, sand, hills, single track, two-track and a minor crash later and Suzanne made it to the finish line.

Later in the day the kids got to cheer on their friends Paige & Teagan in the 4-mile race!

Ready . . . set . . . go! And Ida was off in the 50 yard race! Check out her "game face". She rode hard and had a good race. Apparently at the end she turned to Chad and said "I want to do the long one." Next year Ida, next year.

Chad couldn't have been prouder of his girls.

CHICAGO!! (a/k/a vacation part 2)

We took the Amtrak from Grand Rapids, MI to Chicago, IL. Once we were checked into our room we headed out for some Chicago-style pizza a Bacino's. YUMM!
The view from our "upgraded" room on the 36th floor of the Swissotel. Gorgeous!

Millenium Park. Check out that reflexion.

Another view. I think I can see us 7 times in this photo.

It was very hot our first day. Most of the people cooling off in the water/fountains were kids, although there was one grown-up enjoying the water in her swimsuit and shower cap!

Marilyn!

Night view from our room overlooking the river, Lake Michigan and Navy Pier. A good storm came through our first night in town and we spent about an hour sitting in the dark watching the lightening show.

Chad finally got to meet Sue. May have been the highlight of his trip (well maybe not . . . but he was pretty excited).

We met Deb Kuhn for drinks and dinner one night. Suzanne got a yummy chocolate torte (free) for dessert for her birthday.

Dinner at Gibson's on Suzanne's actual birthday. Great celebration and another free dessert (excellent apple strudel courtesy of the businessman sitting next to us who had two screwed up steaks and got a free dessert out of it).

Skydeck at Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower).

View straight down 103 stories. Suzanne only made it on the glass floor for about 30 seconds.

Vacation Part 1

Vacation started with a bike ride to the Blueberry Festival. Ida had her first pony ride. Henrik wanted to try too, but quickly realized he was a bit too small to stay on the pony by himself. After a bit of a panic when it looked like he was going to fall off, his ride was cut short.

On to a trip to Grandma and Grandpa L's. The kids enjoyed feeding bread to the fish from the dock . . .

and going for a ride on the pontoon boat.

Henrik loved driving and honking the horn.

Feeding more fish.

Cruising the canal with dad.

Grandpa took us out to a nice swimming hole. Henrik couldn't get enough. If dad was in the water, Henrik was with him.

A little early birthday cake for mom, courtesy of Grandma. Delicious!!! Ida proudly told everyone who would listen that mom was three years old.

After the kids went to bed we whipped out the Wii. Chad was set on breaking all of the records. Meanwhile, Suzanne simply was the entertainment for the evening. In all fairness, Chad had played before (Suzanne hadn't) and Wii probably wasn't meant to be played the first time after having had a few beers.

Chad and Suzanne left the kids at Grandma and Grandpa's for a few days to go to Chicago--Chad's birthday gift to Suzanne (a fantastic gift!!). Cousins Zoe & Quinn (and uncle Dave) came to visit.

Grandma set up a special table for blowing bubbles.