BWCA - Pics First, Story to follow...

Marie setting up "home". Judd itchin' to go fishin'.








Judd chillin'....before more fishin'.



Some of the local wildlife...


Yes, the spider is eating the dragonfly.

These ducklings swam around the lake quite a few times while we were there. We could even tell how much they had grown by the time we left.

This one is kind of hard to see, but it is a giant spiderweb. It started over two feet above our heads and went all the way to the ground. The span was about the same. We never did see the spider that made it.
Some flora and fauna....

One of the portage trails. Wild Iris' were just getting done blooming.

The mushrooms seemed to facinate most of the group. "Fairy Mushrooms" was a favorite name. You almost half expected a fairy to land on one or a gnome to walk up next to it.

On the way home....

Eric, Brittany, Marie, Judd, Katrina, and Matt

Matt & Katrina making the last breakfast.

Our little escape...

This year Judd and I were able to go on vacation by ourselves, thanks to both sets of grandparents. We haven't been away from the kids by ourselves for more than a day or two since Hanna was born, and I think we have earned it.

Our vacation was to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in Northeastern Minnesota. For those of you who don't know, this is serious camping. No running water, you pack it in and you pack it out. There is a "throne" in the woods that the forest service provides and a fire ring. That's it! Just short of paradise for us. We went with four friends of ours, Eric and Brittany, and Matt and Katrina. We went in on Tuesday, July 28th and had beautiful bliss until we had to leave on Saturday. It was still bliss on the way out, but we knew we were heading back to civilization. While we were there we fished, slept, fished, ate, fished, walked, fished, swam ... did I mentioned we fished? Of course, we ate the fish we caught every night, except the one fish that Judd fed to the turtle.

O.K., it wasn't a voluntary feeding on Judd's part. We had it on the stringer off the back of the canoe when we pulled up to shore for lunch. When we headed back out, the fish was gone. We looked back towards shore and there was a fish tail sticking up out of the water. The turtle had eaten most of the fish and all that was left was the tail sticking out of its mouth. So, we had to do some more fishing (bummer, huh!) Over all the trip was great, but we did miss the kids and they were happy to see us when we got back.

Again, a HUGE THANK YOU to Grandpa Terry, Grandma Joan, Grandpa Tom, and Grandma Carol for watching Hanna, Xander, and Brigit. We couldn't have done it without you! (We heard the kids did a little fishing as well!)

Look out world, Hanna is 9!!!

So our little pop star is finally 9! (OK, so it was a few weeks ago now, but I have slowly been catching up on the past month.) Hanna is quite the party planner, too. I had to help her cut a few of her plans to get is down to a couple of hours. She ended up with a pop star theme, mostly inspired by Hannah Montana, of course. Thanks to her cousin, Kaitie, for the use of the Karaoke machine, she and her guests did many different songs along with a few dance moves! They also played the Hannah Montana board game, had a private DJ (aka Judd), and ate a little cake and ice cream. All in all, I think the girls had a blast.

Kaitie also stayed with us the week before her birthday. Hanna really liked having her here to play with. Sometimes the little brother and sister just don't have what it takes to be a "tween".

I think I can dare say that her favorite birthday gift was from Mom and Dad. We brought her in the Wednesday before her birthday to get her ears pierced. You should have seen her beaming for many days after that. I think the initial newness has worn off, but I know that she is very excited to have them done. She has waited a long time.

Clay County Fair

Over our 4th of July vacation, we also took in the Clay County Fair. Now, coming from a county where the fair was a lot bigger, I was a little disappointed in the amount of exhibits. It also didn't help that we were there on entry day and not everything was set up. All in all, the kids got to see some animals (pet some of them too), climb on the big tractors, and, of course, ride the rides. Here are just a few pics of the day...

4th of July Vacation

Well, here starts the review of the month of July. We spent an on and off again week at Grandpa & Grandpa Risdal's lake home. Three of Judd's sisters were there to visit as well, with most of their families (husband's had to work).


Xander spent most of his time fishing off the dock. When he wasn't fishing off the dock he wanted to (and many times got to) go fishing from the boat. Gee - nothing like his dad, right??

Judd and Tom played a little "Norwegian Golf" - when they weren't fishing with the kids.

Clara and Holden thought they should play some, too.

There was sun and sand...

A little bit of crazies...

And, of course, Tom's ribs...

Last, but certainly not least - The Fireworks!! We went to a new spot this year - the middle of a horse pasture temporarilly converted into a very large parking lot. We were so close that we had to slouch down in our chairs and look almost straight up to see them. It was one of the best shows I have every seen. It lasted well over 20 minutes. Here are a couple of pics and a video of the finale (just over a minute) - in case you didn't get to see a good show this year.



Overall, it was a great week spent with family all in front of a great view.