Rockets

Well... I was going to put up some pics and tell this cute story about how Kevin and the kids made a rocket launcher. But, well, the stupid computer won't recognize that I uploaded the pics and let me post them. Bug Al if you'd like to see the video and know that the rockets were super cool.

For Lindsey

And, well, everyone else too. Lindsey has just been aggressively hinting that I needed to update my blog. It's just not as much fun without pictures and our camera hasn't been working. So, all pics below have been taken with the iPhone. Not bad for this, but I wonder how they would look if I printed them out.

Enjoy the updates!

Soo Locks

Day 3 we went to the Soo Locks. The concept behind them and how they work is so simple and brillant. It was really cool to see them work. The kids also thought they were pretty cool, but when it takes the big boats hours to get thru the locks, it doesn't do a great job keeping their attention. =)
Pic of the locks opening:

Small boat going through.

100ft boat on it's way in. The pic from a previous post was a little nicer. There were actually 2 of these boats looking to get through at the same time from different directions and they had to wait for the smaller boats to go through first. Needless to say, big boats cool, but SOO SLOW.

After watching a few boats go through the locks and learning some things at the museum we headed for lunch at a place across the street. The whitefish was very yummy!! Then, Kevin and I headed home for the day. See Jon's blog for what the kids did.

Taquamenon Falls

Day 2 of camping we went to Taquamenon Falls and hiked from the lower falls to the upper falls. This is a 4mile medium difficulty hike. BOTH kids did it and did it well! Kevin and I were sore afterwards, I can't imagine how Colby was with her shorter legs she must have taken 2-3 times more steps. It was beautiful out and a really nice hike. I am very proud of my kids for being able to hike so well. We were also very happy that we had invested in Camelback's for the kids. It was nice knowing that they had so easy access to water and that they were constantly sipping on such a warm day. Though the bugs weren't bad, I was glad that our camping neighbor lent us her bug spray. Colby also peed in the woods for the first time this trip. It was rough trying to get her to do it and it took 5 tries beforehand, but SUCCESS! And, well, some pee on the pants. It's hard to squat and not get your pants. Fortunently, Kevin and I came prepared for such things. =)

Here's a pic of the lower falls before we started out hike.

Colby and Kevin after the hike, you can see the upper falls in the background. Also, the pic from a previous post is a nicer one of the 2 of them at the same location.

This is the upper falls. So pretty! It's a beautiful area. The water is a orange/red color because of all tannins in it. Cool, but a little freaky at times when the sun catches it just right and it looks like there's blood floating in the water.

Well worth the work. We took the kids out for ice cream when were done.

Camping

Over the fourth of July we went camping. Here's a pic of the tent all set up.

Yes, I realize that it's set up inside, but we wanted to be sure that we could set it up before we got to the camp site. We left Weds evening and headed up to Brimley State Park, arrived there around 2230 and had the tent set up and kids in bed by 2300. Sadly the kids were still awake at 0100. Ah the joys of sleeping in a tent. (Though the second night we were all in bed and asleep by 2130.) Our site was right next to the bathrooms which was nice because we could send the kids to the bathrooms by themselves and a little rough because the area around us was pretty busy and well lit in the evenings.

The first day we spent just hanging out around the campsite and checking stuff out around the state park. The kids found Lake Superior. I thought it was freaking cold, the kids came back to the tent site soaked.

They do look cute playing in the water and they had a ton of fun. My parents showed up with Linds and Caleb later that evening and we all hung out and did stuff the next couple of days. Those have a lot more pics and excitement, so I'll wait to post those on a different one. Kevin and I left the kids with my folks and headed back on Saturday so we could work the road together on the 4th. (Mucho dinero!) The kids went to Pictured Rocks that following day, see Jon's blog for some pics from that.

Volleyball

This summer I've been playing sand volleyball. I put together a team and most weeks there are enough of us there to play. =) The kids also enjoying coming to watch and there's a couple on the team that has a kid right between their ages and they all have a blast playing together while we play volleyball. For next year, I think that I'm going to downgrade our team to a different bracket as we are getting our butts kicked on a weekly basis. However horribly we play, we still appear to be an inspiration to our children who put on their own game after our match one week.

I am also playing soccer which is a blast. They have me playing goalie which is great as that is the position I played way back when in high school. Slowly but surely things start to come back to me. =) I get bruised up often and have 'injured' my shoulder and forearm, but they were minor. It's all part of getting old and thinking that you can still play like a teenager. Sorry, no pics as I am the only one that goes to the games so far and it's difficult to coordinate a pic as I play.

Random between stuff

I kind of like the fabric on this chair and think it might go well with the decor in my family room. Thoughts?

Couple of cute shots of the kids. I have no clue what it is they have all over their faces, but I think they enjoyed it immensely.


I love this pic of Caleb!

Race Day

On June something I completed my first 5K since having kids. Go me! It was a decent run with a gal friend Kat. We had trained using the Couch to 5K program which we would both recommend to anyone looking to get started in running. There were a couple of weeks that we did twice but all it all, a good program. I even got the Couch to 5K app for my phone which was very helpful as it told us what to do. Race time: 41:30. We're thinking of trying again in October to see if we can get it under 40min.

After the race, the kids, in-laws, my dad and I walked around and had lunch at the Taste of Ann Arbor. I highly recommend the cupcakes from the Cupcake Station, the kids enjoyed the chocolate covered strawberries.

This picture doesn't do the actually amount of chocolate covering the faces justice. =)

More to come...