Mountain Loop Highway Hike

Yesterday we drove up the Mountain Loop Highway and went on two short hikes - one through an old growth cedar forest and the other to a great, isolated waterfall on the Sauk River, where we sat and enjoyed our lunch. It was such a fun day, even though our poor son came thisclose to DEATH (or so he thought. Why is communing with nature so traumatic for pre-teens??).

Dylan Dynamite

I finally figured out YouTube, my camera video stuff, and how to post it to my blog. I am proud.

This is Dylan's performance of the Napolean Dynamite dance at his school's talent show in June. I think he's so brave to have gotten up in front of so many people! He's such a crack-up!!

We're back!

No excuses for not posting, just LAZY and busy with summer! Here are pictures from the family reunion we had the first week of July. We had so much fun, aside from the 1-day plague that most of the kids got! I love getting to know my siblings as adults - our relationships are so different now from when we were growing up. Refreshingly, there's no fighting over clothes, or death threats with the vacuum cleaner (remember that Heidi?:)), or arguing over the bathroom. Instead, we've all grown to be really good friends, and I genuinely like the people that my sisters and brother have become. And those who have partners have chosen so well! Seems like all the spouses (and those soon to be, we hope) fit in so well.

So enough of the gushing, here are the pictures. These first ones are from our little hike to the twelve-headed monster cave that, alas, was not to be! The playground and walk through the trees was fun, though!

The girl cousins playing restaurant.

I love this picture of Dylan and Chloe!


At the Zoo...

Hippos are my favorite.


It's so hard to get everbody looking in the right direction!


I can't quite figure out what's going on with Max's pants in the background!