Our summer .... summed up in one picture

This spot in our yard, this barren, grass-less patch of dirt, is where my boys spent hours and hours of their summer playing.  It was a perfect spot for excavators to dig, dump trucks to haul and tractors to plow.  

This spot was a favorite as well.  It's funny how what I see as an ugly, broken section of sidewalk, Carter saw as his personal quarry pit and a perfect place to dig and haul rocks.

This is what our summer was made of.  Playing.  Playing in the dirt, playing at the park, playing in the water, playing at our friend's houses ... we just played.  And it was perfect.  My boys weren't in baseball or swimming lessons or karate or soccer or any other organized activity.  And not that those things are bad, but I figure we have the rest of our lives to race around to practices and games and live according to everyone else's schedule.

But not this summer.  This summer we played.  We set our own schedule and we came and went as we pleased.  If we wanted to have a picnic at the spray park, we did that.  If we wanted to stay in our pajamas all day and watch movies, we did that.  If we wanted to play tennis, we found cheap rackets at a garage sale and learned how to play tennis.  When Brooks wanted to learn how to play marbles, we pretended we were in the 1950's, bought marbles and learned how to play "Ringer" in our living room.

We took impromptu trips to see hot air balloons launch, took hikes in the woods and ate popsicles in quite possibly the messiest way possible.

We celebrated birthdays, played with grandparents, and had a whole lotta picnics in the park. (because food just tastes better when you eat it outside!)

Brooks' birthday dinner

Most days Chris would come home from work, put something on the grill for dinner and play with the boys in the yard.  They'd hunt for grasshoppers, ride bikes around the block, or inspect our sunflower seeds we planted in the spring to see how much they'd grown since the day before.

And this little dude just came along for the ride :)

It was an amazing summer.  And I'm already excited for next summer when Bennett will be 18 months old and running around with the the rest of us.

 (ok, that was more than one picture.  sorry.)

boys on an adventure

One thing I've learned about raising boys is how much they love adventure.  To conquer.  To rescue.  To win!  And these adventures seem to creep into our daily lives.  Chris takes them on "special missions" to buy eggs.  We go "treasure hunting" at rummage sales.

So in the spirit of adventure, I decided to take them on an exploration hike this week!  (Ok, that sounded way cooler than it actually was.  Really they I was just desperate to get out of the house in hopes that they'd stop fighting with each other for more than 26 seconds.)

And since this Wisconsin girl has just been aching lately for a forest (or the woods.  Heck, I'd even take a thick shelter belt), I decided to take them to the closest thing to a forest this part of South Dakota has to offer ..... the Outdoor Campus.

So we packed up the van and headed out.  And where to my city boys want to play as soon as we get there??  Inside!  GAH!!  And I could hear my mother's voice coming out of my mouth as I said "It's too nice out to play inside!!"  We're going on an adventure ... remember?  So I shooed them outside.  The Outdoor Campus actually has a lot of nice walking paths throughout their property.  Some are through the prairie grasses, but we followed the wooded paths.  Because I really miss trees.

This handsome-pants came along too :)  

city boys

And I would like to take a moment to pat myself on the back and tell you that I actually remembered to bring the bug spray!!  I think the skeeters love the woods just as much as I do and my poor Carter always seems to get bit the worst.  In fact, I was actually excited to try a new bug spray my friend Esther sent me.  She just started selling Radiantly You products and asked if I would try out the bug spray and give her some feedback.  So I sprayed the boys down and I am happy to say that we left the woods bug bite free!  And I love the fact that it wasn't stinky or sticky like regular bug spray.  It actually smelled like a sweet citronella.  Bonus yet that it's made with essential oils and not with "who knows what" chemicals.

Anyway, as we were "exploring" the boys found a toad!  Not gonna lie, I really didn't expect to find anything noteworthy.  (these boys seem to have an attention span of a mosquito)  But I was really glad we did and was I proud of the boys for actually holding it.  

(Note: the bug spray does NOT repel toad pee.  Just sayin'.)

Poor toad.  Holding on for dear life.

We walked as far as a two year old has stamina for (which is not that far) and we headed back to the main building.  The boys played on the different activities set up outside for quite a while and then we headed home.

All in all, I'd say it was a good adventure!

Once upon a time we went on vacation....

... and here I am a week and a half two weeks later telling you about it.  (it's been a busy summer friends and we've been soaking up this short lived warm weather while we can.  Which, unfortunately, means less blogging. Oh well.)

Anyway ..... during the week of 4th of July, we ventured on what I would call the "Anderson family tour".  We covered a whole lotta miles in just six days.  But it was so great to visit family - some of whom we haven't seen in almost 5 years!

We started our trip on Tuesday, July 2, which, I would like to point out, was our anniversary.  Driving 10+ hours in a van with two small children was not exactly my idea of a fun way to celebrate, but I guess that what's happens after 8 years of marriage.  We did make up for it later.

Our first destination?  Crosby, ND.  Go ahead.  Google it.  It's in the middle of nowhere - which, let's be honest, is most of North (and South) Dakota.  Chris' Grandma Ardis (his dad's mom) lives there along with many of his aunts and uncles.  We hadn't been to Crosby since his Grandpa Jim passed away in September 2008.  A visit was long overdue.  The boys had fun playing with Grandma's piano, swinging on swings and discovering her fun new toys.  We spent Tuesday evening and all day Wednesday there.  Wed night all the relatives gathered at Grandma's house for a BBQ and the boys had a few cousins to play with.  Well, not first cousins.  In fact, I have no idea exactly how they're related.  They're Chris' cousins kids.  Whatever that makes them.  Anyway, we had a great time visiting!  Family is such a blessing!!

Chris and his cousin Ryan

Getting a ride from (great) Uncle Doug

the boys with Grandma Ardis

On Thursday morning, we packed everything up and drove two hours to Sidney, MT where Chris' parents live.  They moved there about three years ago and this was our first visit (ooops).  The boys, as always, had fun seeing and playing with Grandma Lue and Papa Les.  We ate good food, lit a few quiet fireworks (to appease my noise-sensitive first born) and mostly just hung out.  Chris and I did sneak away one evening for supper while Grandma & Papa watched the kids.  That was nice.

Papa Les & Grandma Lue

Uncle Tim introduced the boys to his bunny "Baxter".  They both loved him!

 Fireworks ....

 Brooks really does hate loud noises.  And even not-so-loud noises.  He was covering his ear while doing snap pops.  Seriously.  Snap pops.

Brooks was able to open his birthday presents from the grandparents too.

A new pool and squirt gun!!

Reading stories is a MUST with Grandma Lue.

Saturday morning we packed up all our stuff (again), left Sidney and drove another two hours to Baker, MT for Chris' cousin's wedding, in which Brooks was the ring bearer.  About 45 minutes into the drive, the alternator on our van decided that the "middle of nowhere" would be a fantastic place to quit and die.  Quit. and. die.  In the middle of nowhere.  Awesome.

Fortunately, Tim and his girlfriend were close behind us and pulled over to help.  We found a little "drive" into a field and pulled over there.  We moved the boys' carseats into Tim's car, moved all our stuff over and headed to Baker, while Chris stayed with the van.  And there's a few things we learned during this whole van breaking down adventure.
~ Glendive (the nearest town) has four mechanic shops.
~ Apparently in Glendive, a Thursday holiday warrants taking the entire weekend off from work.  This includes mechanics.
~The nearest tow company (who actually answered their phone) was 100 miles away.
~My in-laws SUV is capable of towing a mini van.
~Glendive (thank God) has a Napa auto parts store that carries alternators.
~Chris' Uncle Dan is a great mechanic and is capable of replacing an alternator in a K-Mart parking lot at midnight.

So yeah, that was fun.  Anyway, while Chris was dealing with van stuff, Tim, Jennifer, the boys and I pull into Baker, have lunch with my mother-in-law's family and get Brooks ready for pictures.

And I would like to throw out there, that the boys were totally cool with this whole adventure.  Sleeping in different places all the time, hours and hours of driving, meeting dozens of new relatives they've never seen before, not having Daddy around for half a day, being thrust in front of a camera for wedding pictures.  I, on the other hand, was getting a wee bit stressed.  But we survived.

After lunch I began my duty as "keeper of the ring bearer".  It started with the multi-piece tux.

Oh my beating heart.  I definitely had one of those "I can't believer you're my baby" moments.  I hugged him and made sure to tell him just how very proud of him I was!  And I also made sure to take this picture before we left the bedroom ... you know, before the cheek-pinchers got to him.

And Brooks absolutely amazed me during the whole wedding celebration!  He was so patient waiting for his turn for pictures, he actually looked AND smiled at the camera when asked to (shocking!), he performed his very important ring bearer duties flawlessly (including standing ON STAGE for 45 minutes during the ceremony) and then not eating supper until 8pm.  The kid was a champ.  Seriously.  I couldn't have been more proud of him (and Carter).  There were no tantrums from either of them all day.  

At the reception, they had a whole table filled with bowls of candy.  And for once, I gave Brooks carte blanche.  Here's a cup kid.  Fill it with whatever you want.  You deserve it.

This flower girl (I can't even remember her name) cracked me up!  After the ceremony, she kept toting Brooks around on her arm and calling him her "prince".  It was hilarious.  And apparently Brooks is cool with being bossed around by girls, because he just happily went wherever she told him to go.  (We may have to work on that) 

Before the wedding, Brooks kept asking ,"Carter, do you want to watch me get married?"  To which Carter emphatically replied "Yes!"  And seeing these two, they were like a little mini bride and groom :) 

We left the reception pretty much right after we ate.  The boys were exhausted.  I was exhausted.  And Chris headed out with Uncle Dan to fix our alternator.  We all slept hard that night.

We stayed at Sue & Steve's house (Chris's Aunt & Uncle and parents of the bride).  They're farmers in Plevna, MT so on Sunday morning while Sue cooked breakfast, Steve took the boys out for a spin on the four wheelers.  Brooks had fun but Carter was in heaven!  He hopped right on, grabbed the handle bars and was ready to drive!  Then Steve showed them the tractors.  I didn't think we'd ever get Carter to leave!

Being on the farm, even for such a short amount of time, made me wish we owned some land instead of just a small patch of weeds in the middle of the city.  (sigh)  Perhaps someday.

After breakfast, we said our good-byes, packed up all our things one last time, and began the eight hour trek back to Sioux Falls.  Our boys traveled so well during this whole trip.  I think I did more complaining than they did.  But by the time we hit Chamberlain (two hours west of Sioux Falls) we were all getting pretty crabby and were ready to be home.  We powered through the last few hours and finally made it home Sunday night around 9:30pm. And although I had a mountain of laundry and a filthy van staring at me, we were at last home.  And happy to be.

Notes from our Vacation

We spent Wednesday through Saturday at my parent's house in Green Bay last week.  For the last two years I've made a trip home, just me and Brooks.  But this year Chris decided he didn't want to miss out on the fun.  And, well, since we had one more baby since last year, that made 4 us.

It's an eight hour drive to Green Bay, so we decided to start our trip after Chris finished work on Tuesday.  The plan was this ... leave by 5:30pm, drive until 9, stop and prepare the boys for bed (go potty, jammies, diapers, etc), and drive the rest of the way there while the boys slept.  Here's how it actually went .... left at 6:30pm, stopped at 7:30 because the baby was literally screaming to get out of his car seat, stopped again at 9:30 for the bedtime routine stuff and then finally drove all the way to Green Bay.  Oh, and the sleeping part?  Carter caught on and snoozed the whole way there.  Brooks, however, was awake until midnight.  Mid.night.  At which point he was so tired he was crying to go back home and sleep in his bed.  After about 30 minutes of "shhh, don't wake the baby" and "it's ok if you fall asleep here", he finally gave in and slept.  We arrived at 3:30am.  Oh, so late.  I mean, I see 3:30am all the time while feeding a baby, but there's usually several hours of sleep beforehand.  We tucked the boys in, said good-night to our parents and fell asleep at 4am.

So the driving through the night thing was not such a hot idea.  But there were two good things about it.  1. We didn't waste a whole day driving and 2. Grandparents are great at playing with kids while mama and daddy sleep.  We did a lot of playing while we were there and there's so much to try to remember.  Here's a few observations I made during our trip ... in no particular order.

It takes a full two days to recover from staying awake until 4am.

It's so nice to wake up and have breakfast made for you.  That's my kind of vacation.

My dad has a stuffed bear cub named "BooBoo".

Carter loved BooBoo.

I really miss my mom.

Toys from 25 years ago are still fun to play with.

I love my parent's house.  It's quiet and there's trees.  (two things our current house lacks) And it smells nice.

Brooks insisted on wearing his Boston Red Socks t-shirt, just so he could show Uncle Adam.

Uncle Adam was very proud.

Wisconsin makes the best.cheese.ever.

Eating a fresh, squeaky cheese curd just minutes after it's made is an experience everyone should have in their lifetime.

Chris loves cheese.  Perhaps a bit too much.  I caught him putting cheese curds on top of his ice cream.

It's fun having geese eat out of your hand.

My dad makes the best grilled salmon.  Ever.
No, seriously, it's amazing!

It rained in Green Bay.  I miss rain.
Carter was not very interested in nursing during our vacation.
Cribbage is a fun game.  Even when I lose.

The children's museum is really cool.

I don't recognize most of down town Green Bay.

Without help, I would totally get lost driving in Green Bay.  Still.
There is no such thing as a nap schedule on vacation.
Brooks is much better behaved at Grandma and Papa's house.
We should spend more time at Grandma and Papa's house.
The Olympic opening ceremony was really weird.
I like cupcakes.

I haven't been to a baseball game in a long time.  They're fun.
When the sway bar on your van breaks it makes a loud clunk followed by a grinding noise.
My dad is really good at fixing sway bars.
I love my dad!
Bay Beach is still a really cool place to go.
Bay Beach is not, however, a good place to go on a Saturday morning.
Carter NEEDS to move.  As in, he will scream at you if confined too long.
Almost everyone we spent time with commented on how well behaved and polite Brooks is.  That makes me proud.

We went on a double date for the first time since Brooks was born.  It was fun.
My best friend, Theresa and I don't see each other nearly enough.
I am incredibly proud of her.
Her fiance is perfect for her!
Carter does not like to ride in the van during the day.
Brooks does great riding in the van during the day.
Brooks hates long trips at night + Carter hates long trips during the day = no more long trips for the Anderson family (at least not for a while)
A portable DVD player and lots of snacks were our saving grace during this trip.
Despite our road struggles, it was still totally worth it to spend time with my family.
On the way home, we considered moving to Wisconsin.
Probably won't happen.
I still giggle when I stand under the Jolly Green Giant statue and look up.
We weren't really ready to come home.  Could have spent a few more days in Wisconsin.

Well, that's about it in a nutshell.  Here's a few pictures from the week!

Scray's Cheese.  Where the magic happens.

Carter and Papa Dave

after watching Uncle Adam play softball

The ONE thing Brooks wanted to do on this trip was ride the carousel.  And ride it he did!

Carter rode along too :)

Riding the train with Grandma Marty

All this playing wore Carter out!

Me and Theresa.  I love that girl!

BooBoo

See?  I bet you're giggling now too!