Duluth Day!

Last weekend we spent the day in Duluth. The weather was beautiful and Duluth is such a nice town to visit. We started at the zoo with a picnic lunch before checking out the animals, then stopped at Canal Park for some ice cream and rock throwing, and then drove up the shore a few miles....

In no particular order...

Emma and Tyler heading towards the lighthouse.

Logan working on his tan down by the lake.

Kirby and Tyler having a skipping rock contest.

Our little super star.

Tyler leading the way...

Emma and I.

Emma wanting to be like her big brother and put her feet in the cold water.

Logan.

Kirby and Tyler being chased by the scary dinosaurs!

This seal loved to swim right by the window were Logan was sitting. I think Logan sat here for at least 15 minutes watching the seal.

Logie bear feeding the goats.

The big kids.

Tyler helping Logan see the turtles.

Brother and Sister.

Bedtime for Emma and Logan is around 8:30.  Tonight at around  8:45 as I'm down stairs enjoying my peace and quiet when I hear little footsteps overhead.  

Next sound I hear is a door closing.

Deciding that things are fine as it is quiet upstairs...I return to my channel flipping (I have control of the remote tonight as Kirby and Tyler are both gone.)  

Around 9:30, I decide to head upstairs to make sure both little ones are asleep.   I peak in Logan's room and I find an empty toddler bed with no blankets-no pillow-no 2 year old boy.  

!!!!!!!!!!

I head across the hallway to Emma's room.  Her door is closed.  I open it up and I find a very tired 4-almost 5 year old girl passed out on her bed.  

On the floor next to her bed I find a little 2 year old boy with blankets and pillow.  

How cute is that?  

It makes me wonder if they will always be that close. 

What about when they are 14 and 16?  19 and 21?  30 and 32 years old? 

Too cute....my heart is over flowing tonight......

Like Women and Wedding Dresses (A fishing story?)

When Brent sent out this photo to the fishing buddies it was titled "Kirby Big Head". I hope he was implying the size of the Muskie's head and not mine. Saturday was Muskie Opener and I have fished with my best friend for 10 of the last 11 openers. The one year we missed, one of our college roommates tied the knot - it goes without saying that he is NOT a Muskie Fisherman. 

Well, all of the nostalgia from the past could not compare with the day we had this time around. Although the weather made it seem more like an October hunt then an enjoyable June outing we were on the water before 6:00 a.m and wishing we had our stocking caps within the hour. Brent and I bounced from spot to spot waiting for a Muskie to show itself. The northerns kept us occupied but the fish we were after did not seem to be awake yet. That is.... until Brent pulled this 45" beauty out of a foot and a half of water on his new Topwater bait. 

  I think he's a believer of listening to and trusting the guide.

As for the big girl I caught... she showed herself at about 10:30, chasing the lure that Brent had welded on for the morning. She came off of a point and looked like she wanted to either eat his bait or ram his boat. She dove into the deeps like the submarine she was and wasn't interested in any of our offerings as we threw a few different baits in her general direction for the next 15 minutes.

The wives called. The children waited. The rain continued to fall. And so we called it a successful morning with a nice Muskie to brag about. Back at the house Brent napped and I cooked pork chops. We cut the ladies loose on the town for a while - splitting the child wrangling duties for a small part of the day. But I can honestly say that Brent and I felt that we were biding our time in anticipation at another shot at that fish. 

She fell to a Pink and White bait at 7:30 p.m. To make the story even better, it was a bait that I made with the help of my friend. And to top that off, it's the biggest fish I've ever landed. 

51 inches on the nose - she's big enough to go down the slide at the Rush City Aquatic Center without an adult. (48" minimum)

I know that I've received some attention for my story telling - especially when it comes to a embellished hunting story. To tell you the truth, I think I could whip out hunting stories until the cows come home. As for fishing stories, maybe it's the fisherman in me that likes to keep his honey hole a secret. Maybe it's a part of me that wants to keep something for myself. Either way, for now I won't bore you with the details that are burned into my brain like when time stands still during a car wreck. My wife says "Boys are weird. You're doing damage control on the biggest fish you've ever caught. It's like Women and wedding dresses....." (Whatever that means.) 

I'll let the picture tell the story.....

Died and gone to heaven........

Not once, but twice this week already... and it's only TUESDAY NIGHT!

First Trip:
Our vacuum stopped working a few weeks ago and I finally broke down and bought a new one yesterday at Target (on clearance-wahoo!) Why the wait? Who wants to spend money on a vacuum? Take me to DSW and I'll show you a fun way to spend $100.

Anyways, bought a Bissell, brought the box in, put it together and then watched Kirby and Logan get to work. One word to describe the action: AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But gross. Lots of dog hair and lots of 6 year old dirt I fear. But, how nice it is to have a clean carpet again.

Second Trip:
Went to Wal-Mart tonight (surprise-surprise) to pick up a few things (yes, actual food this time) and found the most outstanding thing ever....

DARK CHOCOLATE REESE'S PIECES MINI PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

Does life get any better?

I'm not a stalker......

Really I'm not.

BUT-I have a favorite grandma that I love to see around town.

Wednesday after work I made another quick trip to Wal Mart to pick up a few needed things (sparklers-yes, they are already out. Who can walk by sparklers and not buy any? Some new burnt orange bath towels-I have been wanting new towels for some time now. And milk-really, this is all that was needed.)

So, while I'm cruising the familiar isles of Wal Mart, I see her and stop and smile to myself-YES! There she is. It's been awhile since our last meeting.

Now, what I like about this particular Grandma is that she is dressed to the hilt-every time I see her. Make-up done, dressed with heels and nylons and some cute outfit that usually has a scarf around her neck and her hair is impeccable-not one strand out of place.

Today she's buying flowers for her yard or garden. So, I start to pretend that I need to buy more flowers to replace the ones I've already killed.

Why do I like seeing her you ask? Because, I hope that someday when I'm her age that I look as great as she does. I hope that I can wake up, put on my best clothes and do my daily errands or go sit out on the lake with my hubby looking top notch and having that sort of presence.

You see for me.... I'm pretty much one extreme or the other for dressing. I have a tiny middle ground of clothes in my closet. For work I don't mind putting on dress pants and a nice shirt everyday. But-when I get home, it's straight to sweatpants and a grubby old t-shirt (just ask my husband, he sees this transformation everyday.)

I have a fear that when I don't have to go to work everyday when I'm older that I will turn into the "sweatpants grandma." And we all know what that grandma looks like........

Someday I should probably introduce myself and pass on a compliment or two but for now, she will just be my special 'surprise' when I'm doing errands around town and happen upon her.

I don't think she's caught on to me yet.

Memorial Day Weekend Fun.

Prior to Warroad, we had a fun filled Memorial Day weekend that included lots of fishing for everyone! Tyler came up Friday night and he, Kirby, Logan and Emma hit the fishing dock in town while Mommy went to the gym (ahhhh-alone time.)

Here's the stringer of fish! Not too shabby!


Saturday included my bright idea of doing some landscaping for the front of our house. So, a quick trip to Menards, $100 later and a SUV full of cement boarders, mulch and plants we were set for our all day project. It turned out very nice-thank you honey.

Sunday night we took a trip out on the lake to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently the crappie fishing has been very good so Kirby was dying to get out on the lake of course.

Here's Logie Bear relaxing during the drive.

After relaxing, he decided that he needed to be in charge and drive this boat!

Emma intense on reeling in the big one.

Big Bro Tyler and Logan hanging out.....

Not a bad night of fishing! After we finished taking this picture Logan threw back the fish he was holding right into the lake. He said that the fishy needed to go back to him Mommy....

Whoever says that fishing is relaxing....... isn't fishing with 3 kids in the boat. It was fun and we had a good time but I don't think relaxing is the word I would use to best describe our adventure.

Sometimes I forget how lucky we are to live on such a beautiful lake.


Just a random shot of Logan showing us his cute little belly.

Here is Emma being a hair stylist and playing with Tyler's hair while he watched ESPN. I think at one point he even had a barrette in his hair....

We hope your weekends are as great as ours have been!

Warraod in a weekend......

This past weekend we took a quick trip up to Kirby's home town of Warroad to watch his youngest brother graduate from HS. We were up and at 'em early on Friday morning (keep in mind that I'm not a morning person) and finally arrived around 10:30am. Wahoo!

Good news to report is that the lake wasn't frozen and there was no snow on the ground...that makes me happy.

It's always nice to be at Grandma Judy and Papa Joe's house. The kids enjoy being there and feel comfortable in that surrounding and so do I. Being there makes me feel like I'm on vacation and staying in a 5 star resort with EXCELLENT cooking and conversation. (Thanks so much Judy and Joe!)

The ceremony was short and sweet and Hayden looked like a young man with a bright future ahead of him. I believe even Tyler shed a few tears that night (jokingly.)

Saturday morning was a quick trip to Roseau for a Kirby family portrait. On the way back, Logan became a man for the second time this spring and picked out his own hockey stick. Proud Papa Kirby couldn't have been grinning any bigger as he walked out with Logan carrying his new stick in front of him.

The weekend also included a night out on the town with Aunt Tarina and Uncle Trent, a quick boat ride, a super steal on a pair of Silver jeans at the only clothing store in the county, and lots and lots of playing and wrestling with Papa Tom.

Whew! That's a lot to cram into one weekend including the drive time of 12 hours to get there and get back.... But it was well worth it!

See you all in a few weeks for a longer stay!

Congratulations Hayden! We are super excited for you and the next step of attending Moorhead.

I had a request to see the inside of the computer desk. (here you go Papa Tom)