Sand Lake 2006

*Click here for all of the pics we took*

*Click here for the Dave & Mary's pics*

*Click here for the Bill & Cathy pics*


There are few things in our lives that tell us that it is definitely summer like the annual Urbanplanet Sand Lake retreat. We have discovered that though the drive may be long, the water - like the beer - is always cool and refreshing. Not to mention that the company is always good, too!

Our drive up Friday afternoon was uneventful, quiet and quick - just the way we love it! We did stop in Hinckley for a quick potty break, but didn't stop again until we reached our destination. We were pleasantly surprised to find that a majority of the UP crew had already arrived and that the rest were on their way. Usually not everyone is able to get there until Saturday afternoon, so it was nice to see everyone a day early! Taylor and Ian ran off with the kids while Panod (a.k.a. PK) and I set up camp. By the time we got the tent up the food was already flyin'! I can honestly say that the grazing pace that the food is rolled out for the masses to feed on is one of the coolest ideas I've been able to experience. Think of it like a buffet that changes every couple of hours and everyone takes turns prepping something that they brought to share.

Saturday started off early with some sunshine and very little wind. I had discovered the night before that my allergies seem to get worse up north, so I darted off to the nearest Target first thing that morning to grab my favorite pill to battle my throbbing and drippy face. I was able to get back to David & Mary's and find that both kids had already been swimming and that the ladderball had been fired up. The afternoon continued with kids playing, games of ladderball going on, swimming off and on, and eating - lots of eating! Then everything involving the children came to a halt when the word _TUBING_ was brought up! We have no idea how Dave & Mary managed to get every single kid a turn at tubing - Peter even got to go skiing! Those on the boat had a blast, those that were tubing were returned unharmed and smiling, and those of us on the shore had a great time watching it all.

Saturday night was pretty much a blur for me once the medicine I had taken earlier in the day wore off. I clearly remember the kids making smores, but not much beyond that. I ended up curling up in bed with Toby and the kids while Panod stayed up and did the sauna thing. On the way home today we both talked about the fact that I am going to be kicking myself for the next year that I didn't stay up and sauna with everyone! There is nothing like sitting in a hot room until you can't take it anymore, dashing out the door and into the freezing cold lake while screaming like the loons on the other side of the lake!

Sunday we welcomed in the day with a ton of pancakes, egg bake, sausage, & donuts. That was quickly followed by more ladderball, swimming, reading, and kids playing. We started to pack up and head out later on in the afternoon about the same time as everyone else & we made the trip back here to the cities in just over three and a half hours! That's record time for us!

A few quick notes before I finally head off to bed:

* Stray dogs don't care about the screen placed between them and the dog food inside the screen porch. Next time, we'll keep the food in the van.

* Mosquitoes love Ian's little forehead!

* Taylor is scary good at ladderball

* Getting stung in the eye lid by a bee is horrible, but five year old girls are stronger than that dumb ol' bee!

More Summer Activities

This week the kids have really kept us busy! On Monday, Grandma got to come along with me and Panod to see Ian play t-ball and Taylor run track. The kids really enjoyed having an extra audience member & we enjoyed the added adult conversation. We watched as all of the little guys Ian plays with as they got divided up into teams. They were divided into several different color groups and I was hoping that Ian got on the yellow team, because I love it when he says, "lellow." Hehe - he got on the lellow team! And we watched as Taylor ran her heart out at track later on that evening. We cannot believe that Taylor's last week of track is this week and this Tuesday will be their last swimming lesson! The summer is flying by so quickly!

Wednesday we bolted to the beach at Turtle Lake with our floaties and a packed lunch in tow. Even Toby came with us and jumped in the water a few times. This was one of the times I was so torn between bringing the camera to take pics of the kids, or not bringing it since I wouldn't be able to keep a close eye on it all of time. Grrrrr! I caved in and left it at home. Better to leave it at home and have it around to take pictures another day, than to risk it and have it lost. But take my word for it - the kids were as cute as ever in their swim suits and floaties!

Thursday was a fun morning for Panod and the kids - they went to Choo Choo Bob's on Marshall & Cleveland. We had received a flyer from them stating that there were going to be free train movies showing at the Riverview in Minneapolis this Saturday, but that we would have to go to CCB's to get the tickets. Easy enough! The tickets were retrieved and many a train was played with before they left.

Saturday morning was about as fun as it gets. All four of us headed off to the Riverview to see the free train movies with the tickets that Panod and kids had gotten. The movies were a blast - there was Casey Jones, Thomas, Donald the Duck with Chip & Dale, old black & whites.... everything! And the place was pretty packed, too! There were so many families with four-year-olds dressed in Thomas shirts in tow - it really was cute. It sounds like the Riverview did this during the time slot that they usually have Saturday morning story time, but they will be returning to story time after this Saturday. We may have to try that out, but I have a feeling that it might not be as big of a hit as the train movies were.

It has been very hot here the past several days - the humidity alone reminds me of Atlanta! We reached 100 degrees here at our house yesterday, but some clouds kept the temp. today down in the 90's. Tomorrow should bring some relief with a drop in humidity.


Tip of the week:
I learned that 400 lbs. is actually extremely heavy this weekend.

Ian at t-ball on Monday in his lellow team shirt
"Gooooooo t-ball!!"
Ian going off of the diving board on Tuesday
The neighborhood gang
We really don't know what's with the goggles - but it sure is funny!
Taylor & Ian riding through the sprinkler

4th of July!

This past week has really been a blast!

Thursday night after swimming, Taylor, Ian and I went to Central Park in Roseville at about 8:30pm. They were showing Madagascar on a large projection screen in the outdoor amphitheater! We brought popcorn and juice & we curled up in blankets together and enjoyed the show. There were about 20-30 other families there, too.

The kids and I spent the day on Friday at the beach. The weather here reached 91 degrees and there wasn't anywhere else to be but in the water. We went to the beach at Snail Lake Park Reserve because the sandy beach is one of the bigger ones around here, and we must have seen four or five LNFI families there that Taylor knew! It was good for her to see some familiar faces & she even carried on a few French conversations!

Saturday and Sunday were spent working on the yard and getting ready for the upcoming holiday. We did spend a few evenings sitting out with the neighbors, chatting and laughing about life.

Monday night we all went down to watch the fireworks that the Taste of Minnesota puts on down by the river over here in St. Paul. We drove the van close enough to see the show, but far enough away that we didn't have deal with a large crowd once the fireworks were over. It really was a nice display & we hope to get a little closer next year.

Tuesday, we all woke up early and packed up the van with tables, chairs, games, food and the grill. We set out for a day just down the street in St. Anthony Park. The best part was that we were joined by family and neighbors after the morning parade. There were hot dogs, ladder ball games (we learned that getting the ball in the tree is not actually 15 points), frisbee, the kids played on the playground, and the best part was watching the kids run the races! All of the family left around 4:30pm, and the four of us decided to stay at the park and grill out our dinner before heading over to Roseville for the fireworks. I ran home and got Toby since he had been in his kennel most of the day. When we got back to the park, we saw another doxie and decided to go and let Toby say hi. We asked the owner of the other doxie if Toby could say hi to his little guy and as soon as I set Toby down, the other doxie tried to take Toby's head off! It was a good thing that I had a good hold of Toby and was able to pull him up right away, but poor Toby was terrified! The kids were terrified! We were all scared of this other little wiener dog! LOL! We were also afraid that Toby had hurt his foot in the altercation, because he was limping around for a bit afterwards. But about an hour later he was back to running around on his leash and even got to say hi to some other dogs that were very nice to him.... one was even named Taylor!

Ian didn't have t-ball, and Taylor didn't have track on Monday, and there was no swimming on Tuesday. Taylor did have track yesterday and I was able to get some pictures of both of the kids. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

This is the tower that the boy scouts build every year and put in the parade on the 4th of July

Here is the beginning of the kids with the decorated bikes at the end of the parade. Ian and Taylor want to do this next year!

Here's Panod, Taylor and Ian just after the parade

Taylor, Panod and Ian playing ladder ball

Here's Mark, Ian, Taylor, Grandma, Kane, Aunt Jen and Uncle Rob

Kanerpants!

Kane, Rob, Taylor, Ian and Panod

Ian doing the penny pick-up for his age group

Ian after he finished racing in his age group - he LOVED it!

Taylor's age group had to race backwards! (She's in between the two adults closest to the camera)

Aunt Jen & Kane

Taylor running in track last night

Ian riding his bike last night, while Taylor ran track