Houseboat Vacation!

We went on a houseboat for 3 days up on Rainy Lake, the MN/Canadian border. We got up really early on Saturday (4:30 am!) and made our way up to Uncle Mike's cabin, where they picked us up and headed out to the houseboat. But first, Jack and I had to bounce on the bed for awhile while the adults got everything ready.

The houseboat was already set up on a shore site, so we did have access to land the whole time. We had 2 fishing boats so everyone got to fish whenever they wanted to. Grandma Gerard brought lots of toys for us kids to play with.

Peter is enjoying some sloppy joes with Dad.

And also a Coca Cola!

Check out these diapers from Aunt Jill. Pooping your pants is the coolest in these denim looking diapers!

Hannah actually found cactus on the island we were docked on. How bizarre!

Audrey came too. Pete and Audrey kept each other company on the floor.

There were so many blueberry bushes. I helped Mom find them and then ate all the blueberries up. Delicious!

Going for a little hike with Grandpa.

Trying to catch some minnows. Hannh caught a bunch of tiny Perch, the size of minnows, for Uncle Mike's fish tank.

See Jack way up in the tree?!

I am not as good a climber as Jack yet, but at least I tried, with the help of Grandpa of course.

Eating a yummy breakfast with Dad and Peter.

Silly Uncle Charley sat on a fishing lure!

Playtime on the floor.

Sunday was a beautiful day, perfect for swimming! Here we are watching Grandpa go down the slide from the roof of the boat.

Everyone pile on!

I even went off the slide. And went underwater! And I said "That's fun!"

In the front is the screen porch, then the 2 big windows are the living area and kitchen, and way in the back are the sleeping quarters.

What a fun day!

The ramp was bouncy going in and out of the boat- that was fun too!

Mom took Peter aside for a photo shoot, and to practice using her camera.

My little brother is sooo cute, just like me!

Peter offers some pine needles to Mom.

Check out that cool slide we slid down!

Uncle Charley towed us kids behind the boat. He went fast!

Uncle Charley got out there too.

Dad and Hannah went together. My turn is next!

They towed us back in, going nice and slow. I liked it and kept wanting to go faster!

Audrey was loving the glass window!

Look at that cute funny face!

A beautiful end to a beautiful day!

Eating our last dinner out on the deck. Thanks Linda for bringing all the good food!

Monday morning we headed this boat back to it's home. Uncle Mike put me in charge of navigating.

Peter was sad to be in a life preserver again, but...

...quickly fell asleep and was happy.

Grandma took care of Audrey on the ride back. She did very well in a life preserver.

I got to enjoy the ride from on top too!

I can fly!!

On the way back home, we stopped at a wayside rest with a bunch of big mining trucks! They were sooo cool!

This is the view from the rest stop. It used to be an old mine, but now it is a beautiful lake!

Peter is enjoying some DQ sundae we picked up for break time. What a great end to a great family vacation!

All About Pete

Peter has been increasingly more fun lately, thanks to his newly found ability to crawl. I like it when he chases me, even though he is still slow. For example, today, I was able to run around the pool table downstairs about 15 times to Peter's one lap around. It is still lots of fun though!

It has been very hot up here in Duluth (yes, it gets hot up here even!) and Peter has taken an interest in the cooling effects of the fan.

He is getting so big he can even ride my car now! This is another thing I like to be chased around by. Mom holds Pete and they chase me through the kitchen and living room. As you can tell, I LOVE to be chased!!

Pete wants the toy Grandma Radzak is dangling in front of him.

Almost got it Pete!

Hurray! You got it Petey!! Now quick, put it in your mouth, like you do with everything!

It has been so hot that Mom and Peter have resorted to sleep in the basement where it is nice and cool still. Here is Pete's set up. He is becoming a sideways sleeper in his crib, but so am I sometimes.

Peter is enjoying swimming in our pool. We brought out all our bath toys to make it extra fun. I think I am either in the sandbox or climbing a ladder when this shot was taken. Daddy had been working on the house and lucky for me he leaves the ladders up so I can practice my climbing skills. I am not afraid of heights at all!

A great night's slumber for my little brother.

Mom found Peter like this one night, with his foot hanging out of the crib.

Peter is a big boy now, so he gets to sit in the high chair. I am an even bigger boy, so my new spot is one of the adult chairs. That is super neat; I am just like Mommy and Daddy when we eat.

Too hot for clothes, and diapers!

Big boys have big feet! Although Mommy still calls Pete her baby.

How does that grass taste Peter??

Peter has fun in the swing- you can tell by the size of that drool dangling from his chin!

So long for now! We are going up north this weekend to stay on a houseboat with the Gerards. I will let you all know how it went next week. We love you!

To the Beach!

A couple weeks ago we went to Grandpa Radzaks house to go swimming. I had so much fun. Pete even loved the water too! We were both swimming for a long time, and I even went underwater twice! Auntie Shelly came and played for the day too. Then Mom left me with Grandma Gerard for that Friday and Saturday night since she had to go back up to work. I got to play with my cousins and help Grandpa out around the farm. Thanks for letting us sleepover Grandma and Grandpa. Let's do it again!

Stopping to smell the flowers!

How pretty!

I was so happy to see Grandma when she got off work!

Taking a break in the air conditioned house. I wish our house had AC right now. It is 80 degrees in here as I type this blog. Yikes! I am going to have to do some swimming in my pool later!

A Visit with Laura

Mom's friend Laura came up to visit us, all the way from Colorado! It was great to see her again! We went on a hike and grilled out for dinner. It was good to see you Laura!

Celebrating July 4th

Our family friends, the O'Briens, came up for July 4th weekend. We had a lot of fun, but I had to have a lesson in sharing. It isn't too often that little people come to my house and want to play with my stuff. Usually we are the ones going to other's to play. But I made it through the weekend without too many dramatic scenes, and at the end was sad to see Olivia and Sulivan go.

We checked out Canal Park, and hiked over the lift bridge. Luckily we made it to the other side before it went up.

Peter had fun playing with the rocks on the beach. But it was pretty hot so we couldn't stay long. But it made the ice cream cone we got taste so much better!

We also took them to the zoo! Although all of us 4 kids were a little on the sleepy side, so we didn't enjoy it to the full extent. Next time our parents better not take us before nap time, and on a super hot day!

Sara brought Pete some hand-me-downs. He is a little snowman!

Peter and Sullivan played very nicely together. Sully is 1.5 years old.

We enjoyed a campfire with smores!

Olivia and I had an apple in our camp chairs. Tasty!

Sara, with her 2 kids, and expecting another! Congratulations Sara!!!

My new fun spot in the yard- the pool!