Camping

We camped with the Christensen's at the Lake Elmo Park Reserve. A great place to camp with little kids because there's plenty to do and it's only 10 minutes away. It worked out great because there were terrible storms both nights and we ended up coming home to sleep. But it was still a fun weekend.

We returned to the campsite early Saturday morning for breakfast. Chris cooked up some ham and eggs. Mathew danced through his breakfast and ended up wearing most of it on his shirt

We pitched a small tent for the kids to play in. It kept them from destroying the tent we intended to sleep in.

The kids went on a bug hunt. There was a lot of prep, but no bugs!

We spent the afternoon playing in the water. Mathew stayed up on the beach and played in a big red tub of water that Matt filled for him. After 4 hours, Mathew finally came down to the waters edge and ventured in...

just in time to watch Matt dump the big red tub of water on Chris!

The boys were exhausted from their afternoon in the sun and water. They collapsed about 2 minutes after we left the water.

McKenna and Gary came out to visit us for dinner and a nature talk about owls.

Living Room Camp Outs

Nathan and I have been camping out in the living room most Friday nights this summer. We set up his Lightning McQueen tent and I make him a super cushy bed out of camping mats and blankets. Sometimes we make popcorn, and sometimes we read books or play card games in the tent with flashlights and headlamps. Today Nathan thought it would be nice to make his brother a bed in the tent. I have to admit, he did a great job.

He Still Fits

I wonder when Mathew will grow out of these plastic containers....

Toddler Translation Key

I was at the sink and Mathew was at the counter behind me. He said, "Mama! My bin!" I turned around and saw him twirling his spoon on the counter. He kept repeating "My bin!" I couldn't figure it out.

In Mathew speak, "my" means "I" and "p" and "b" are the same sound. So doing the translation, it would be "I pin!" Still didn't make sense to me. He just kept saying "My bin!" Finally, he looked at me and said, "Turn?" Aha! I finally got it! I forgot that he omits the letter"s" when it is the first letter in a word. It all made sense. He was pround of himself for figuring out how to get his spoon to spin on the counter. "Mama, I spin!"

Sea World

Our first stop this trip was Sea World! We figured there would be a lot of walking, so I headed over to the rental area to get a double stroller. The boys had a different mode of transportation in mind...


The boys were mesmerized by this 5 foot, 220 pound grouper. Mathew was particularly impressed by this "Big Fitch!"

Nathan got to pick up and examine a starfish. He was careful to keep the starfish under water so it could breathe.

Check us out in our special glasses for the 4D Sesame Street show!

Mathew remembered the Shamu show from Christmas. He prepared himself this time...

Mathew loves his new turtle friend.

And he loves his Po-Po. He hugged her arm most of the way back to the hotel.