Choo Choo!!

Last Friday, one of the kids from Nora's preschool, Hayden, turned 5. For his birthday party, all of the kids from Nora's preschool got to go on the North Shore Scenic Railroad train. For Cole, who is currently obsessed with "choo choos," (and airplanes, and boats, and cars, and trucks, and tractors....basically anything with an engine) it was the best day of his life.

Saturday we have tickets to the Duluth Air Show, with the Blue Angels, so that might rank right up there as Day #2. We'll see!

Play Dough -- YUM!!

One day Cole and I decided to try out a recipe I found for edible play-doh. What fun! It is just peanut butter, honey, and dry milk. We made a whole bunch, and I think we ate more than we played. It was pretty tasty!

Dinner in the Backyard

Airplane!!!! (Just wait until the Air Show on Saturday!)

Before Scott and Mikala headed back to Bozeman, everyone came over to our house for croquet and dinner. Cole enjoyed eating the blueberry pie Great-Grandma Truedson brought over! Yum!!

July 4th

"Steering" the pontoon....

Getting in the floaty thing. Ooh! This is going to be FUN!!

Down, down, down. Do you think I was going in there? It was freezing!

Oh, darn. Not as much fun as we had hoped. Maybe Cole

is a wimp like me when it comes to cold water!

Uncle Todd....

Unfortunately, Ryan was too busy at work to take the 4th off. Bummer! But Cole and I went to the Thorps' cabin in Birchwood, Wisconsin anyway with Jim and Kathy, Scott and Mikala, and Todd and Stephanie. Almost everyone from Kathy's family was able to make it. After a day of fun and sun, we drove back to Duluth to watch the fireworks from the boat in the marina. Somehow, I didn't end up getting any pictures of Cole watching the fireworks for the first time...what kind of mom am I? He did, in fact, stay awake late enough to see the fireworks, and loved them!

North Carolina Trip: June 13-17

Here we are riding great-grandpa's tractor. It is like 60 years old. Cole wouldn't

ride it unless he was sitting on my lap, so I had to drive the thing! It had been awhile!

"BUBBLES!!"

This puppy bubble maker is battery-powered. How lazy are we?!?!

Back when I was a kid, we had to actually BLOW our bubbles.

Cole and Great-Grandma King...

(Notice my 3rd grade perm picture in the background?)

Four generations....

The cows..."BOOO!"

Cole and Great-Grandpa King

All tuckered out on the flight home.

In June we went to North Carolina to visit my grandparents. They hadn't met Cole yet because it is getting harder for them to travel long distances as they get older. They didn't exactly know we were coming. My parents were there visiting, and left to "go have lunch with cousin Kathy" (wink, wink). They actually drove to the Charlotte airport to pick us up. My grandparents were so surprised! We stayed for about four days. Cole loved riding the tractor and seeing the cows and pigs. It was a great trip!

Sharrow Family Pictures

Yesterday we had photographer Jim Forneris out to our house to take Sharrow family pictures in our backyard while everyone is in town. Todd and Stephanie are in town for the summer, and Scott and Mikala are here for the week. We got some great pictures, including some that may become Scott and Mikala's engagement pictures!