Reading Reward

Alstan has made his goal of 100 books read before 2nd grade! As a reward we went to the "Dinosaurs Unearthed" exhibit at the Mississippi River Museum in  Dubuque. It was a wonderful final family activity to round off summer break.

New Pets

We are trying our second attempt at being pet owners. Alstan and Elsie have been trying very hard to be patient during the process of getting and preparing the tank for their fish. They are finally here!

Meet Goldy Locks, Half Shy, Sparkle Shine and Pumpkin Spice.

Getting Ready for School

Today we had to register for school, so we decided to get our school supplies while we were at it. After what mom thought was chaotic school supply shopping, Alstan and Elsie were not done shopping. They had to play store and "buy" all their supplies to put in their backpacks.

Hot Dog Dance

Elsie got everyone but dad to do the Hot Dog dance with her!

A Little One-on-One Time

Mom finally got her bike ride with her secret admirer today! Alstan just recently learned to bike without training wheels. Today he biked around three and a half miles. 

We thought a dip in the lake would feel great after the bike ride. 

While mom and Alstan were biking, Elsie and dad had fun playing at the park after their picnic lunch. They followed that up with a bit of shopping with Elsie's allowance money.

The perfect finish to a great day was stopping as a family for ice cream!

Play date

Elsie had some friends over yesterday for a play date. What a beautiful day for a picnic or "tea party"!

Hello Kitty Cake

Elsie made this cake in her Lalaloopsy oven as a snack for the family. She decorated it as a Hello Kittty, because as she states, "she's a BIG fan of Hello Kitty".

Roughing It

Alstan and dad love watching survival type shows together. Alstan requested that our family camping trip this summer be an "electricity free" trip. So, we rented a backpacking camp site at Governor Dodge State Park. Basically that just meant that we had to hike in half a mile to our site, but to Alstan that meant we couldn't use a lighter to start our fires.

Boating

Yes, these big smiles were the result of going boating with grandma and grandpa. Alstan enjoyed going fast, but Elsie preferred going slow... just can't win sometimes.

Group Project!

Alstan and Elsie really got into playing on the backyard play set at Grandma and Grandpa Van's this year. However, since there was only a swing and a gymnast ring/bar with about 8-10 feet between them, we had a few collisions. So, they decided to add another swing and rope on the other side. It was fun to see the three boys working together. (well at least two of them worked the whole time)

Big Day

We took Alstan and Elsie to Wild Water West water park to catch a break from the heat and burn off some energy. By the time we made it back to grandma and grandpa's, the kids were hungry and cold. After eating some dinner, they each snuggled in with a grandparent to warm up.

...and out they went.

Packing Up Early!

We were very fortunate not to have gotten rained on. We packed up after breakfast and beat a downpour by about ten minutes.

 

What else could we do, but to spend the next portion of the day in the dells? 

First Catch!

Alstan and dad woke up early to give fishing one more try. We are so glad they did, because Alstan was able to catch his first fish! Way to go buddy!

Camping at Mirror Lake

Even though the weather was a bit on the hot side (heat advisories in effect until the evenings), we were able to have a wonderful camping trip. We had a day of canoeing and paddle boarding, as well as a day for fishing. Elsie actually had a fish on the end of her line, but it got away on her. So, we didn't catch any fish, but did end up with a little boy who wants a paddle board for Christmas.