Last Call....

It's the home stretch of summer and we are packing in some last minute activities.  Mommy and Daddy bought Noah's Ark passes from the Charity Ball in May and we decided to go mid-week to avoid the long lines.  Funny how plans sometimes backfire as we woke up to cloudy skies, drizzle and 50 degree weather. We decided to go anyhow, so we made the little over 2 hour drive to the Dells.  When we arrived, the sun started to shine and it slightly warmed up.  The good news was the waterpark handed out wetsuits that day to keep guests happy and warm.  Thank goodness we had these!

 At Noah's Ark, we had plenty of choices including kiddie pool areas, fountains, a lazy river ride, squirt guns, waterslides, and one of our favorites~ bumper boats!

 We had an awesome day at the waterpark.  Cooper and I had huge smiles on our faces and were giggling most of the day.  Our family went down two bigger slides on 5-person rafts. Mommy wasn't sure if we were big enough to go down these slides, but Daddy reassured her we could handle it.  One of the slides was a dark tube; Cooper and I were silent the entire way down, Mommy screamed on the twisty and dark voyage, and then at the bottom of the slide, Cooper yelled "AGAIN!"  Daddy and Mommy were surprised at how adventurous we were!  We went down each slide 3 times until Mommy finally said she was too dizzy to do it again.

We made our last trip to Grammy's house on the lake.  The next few weeks will be busy with a trip to the cities and Mommy's transition back to the classroom.  We headed out on the pontoon, just the four of us as Grammy was out of town.  Cooper was most excited about the bottle of Rootbeer our parents let us bring on the boat (and no....this is not typical for us to drink pop, but  it was one of the few items Grammy had in her fridge).

 Yummy!  It was a huge hit and favorite of Cooper's.  I think he will expect more of these on return visits :)

 We had to make our final stop at the lake pub for ice cream treats and drinks.  Daddy's uncle Randy plays gigs from time to time and was playing on the patio that day.  Cooper asked Randy to play "Puff the Magic Dragon", so we listened and head bobbed before heading back home.

 Liberty loves the boat and Cooper loves Liberty.  We love this picture!

Someone had too much rootbeer, music and sun.  Cooper fell asleep while kneeling on the pontoon deck!

We met up with some friends at Irvine Park.  Cooper was more brave this visit and even fed the farm animals by hand.  Bennett and Cooper were eyeing the black bear in the cage area.  I think Cooper is pointing and telling Mom that she flew by something that looked JUST like that black bear on her bike two weeks ago (seriously she did, but luckily we didn't see it.  A neighbor shouted out to us as we flew by.... "YOU JUST FLEW PAST A BEAR!")  Thank goodness Mom was going downhill with us in the trailer :)

Caden, Bennett, and both Coopers (yes, this is ironic as the family we met up with have a Bennett and a Cooper!)  I go to preschool with "big Cooper" and my brother Cooper will go to preschool with Bennett.  Do you follow me here?  The tiger was eyeing us as I think it was getting close to lunch time.

 Cooper and I riding a friendly bear

Cooper, Payton and Bennett finding the cubs nearby

The hospital hosted their annual picnic, which involved good food, music, inflatables, and carnival games.  Cooper and I mostly loved the jumpy carousel.

 I enlisted in the 2 minute Boot Camp obstacle challenge and made it through.  My parents can't get over how big I am to be doing these types of things.

 I attempted the hula contest, but only made it from head to toe in 0.5 seconds.

 Mommy has been busy the past two weeks with some special events for her friend Kerri.  Kerri is getting married in a few weeks, so Mommy hosted a music themed shower (Kerri is a music teacher) with the Bunco Babes.

 Mommy is one of five bridesmaids, so they hosted the bachelorette party yesterday at local wineries and threw an evening high-heeled shoe themed shower.  It was a fabulous day for the girls.  Meanwhile, Daddy kept Cooper and I busy with four-wheeler rides, outdoor play, and venison for dinner (that's the rule for venison....cook only when Mom is gone). 

We have one more busy weekend planned with a trip to the cities for the zoo, state fair, and to see Uncle Ben and Auntie Erin's new house.  We are squishing these activities in as fast as we can.  It's unbelievable how fast this summer has gone.  It has been our most fun, busy, and fantastic summer to date.   We hope you are enjoying these last few weeks too!  

Just Kickin' It

 Mommy is SO proud to say she has a soccer player in training!  I started soccer last week with a one week camp.  It was for all ages, although I was probably the youngest.  I was excited to play, mostly because my parents bought me cool shinguards and soccer cleats.

Of course, she also had to buy me this "DON'T MESS WITH THE BEST" soccer shirt just for the fun of it!  With my Spiderman waterbottle all filled up, I was ready to kick some grass.

Some of the skills I started to work on included dribbling, trapping, and shooting.  While I played, Cooper looked on in envy and Mommy critiqued the coaches (yikes, it is already starting!)

 I loved spinning my wheels (cleats) to kick up grass, just like our dog Liberty who does this after she poops in our yard (and yes, that was my observation and analogy I shared with my parents).

Mommy meanwhile got tired of critiquing under her breath and decided to run her own mini-camp with Cooper on a nearby field.  She taught him how to save her shots.  For those who don't know... Mommy started playing soccer when she was 3 years old by default.  Auntie Stefanie's team needed another player, so Grandma told Mommy she could play and for some reason, they allowed her to start much younger than usual.  She continued to play through college (striker position) and even today plays on the "old ladies" indoor league.  As much as she enjoys coaching, she prefers not to teach 4 year olds as it is same verbage (don't pick up the ball, run THAT way, and spread out).  She looks forward to being a Soccer Mom this fall when I play league soccer in our town.  She promises to keep her mouth shut.

And if you can read Cooper's shirt (BIG BROTHER), please KNOW she is NOT expecting.  This was merely a case of hand-me-downs from when I wore this shirt in the hospital as Cooper was born.  She is certain that someone on that soccer field has started a rumor in this small town and before we know it, everyone will think we are having a 3rd kid.  Nope (sorry Grandma).

Mommy was thrilled to see the Meet and Greet photos were posted from Country Jam.  They met country star Luke Bryan and had their photo snapped with him.  She will forever cherish this photo... what a cute couple they make....Mommy and Daddy that is :)

 Two weeks ago, we met up with the Zachow family to have ice cream at our local favorite ice cream spot.  Mommy used to teach Evan years ago and we have continued to get together with them for food and conversation.  Evan and Joel are fun to hang out with... thanks guys for the fun excuse to eat a huge ice cream cone with you!

 We escaped to the lake for a day of pontooning as we knew this would be our last boating outing with Ben, Erin, Kyra and Bennett.  Great news is they are closing on their house this Wednesday in the cities!  We are so happy they will be able to move into their gorgeous new home and finally get settled after a long wait.  We sure will miss them on the lake this month!

Cooper is pretending to take a nap on the boat.  Funny how naps are quickly forgotten when we enjoy a day on the lake!  It is the ONLY time in his entire life where he misses naps.  He still needs them as the evenings get a bit rough when we selfishly decide to boat anyhow.

 We thought this was hilarious... a man on a jetski let his dog ride with him (dog is in front of him).  He must be really attached to his dog.

We let Liberty come along too since she has been ousted many trips to the lake.  We usually have so many of us on the boat that one more "person" is just too much.  She loves the lake as you can see by her wet fur.  Kyra also loves Liberty, so much that we sometimes offer Liberty to them :)

One warm afternoon, Cooper requested the jumpy house.  We both enjoy jumping around in this fun toy.  Cooper jumps with both feet really high in the air and I try to jump out of the flap door onto the grass to my Mom's dismay. 

 Today we harvested some produce from our garden.  As you can see we have tons of cucumbers for dill pickles and slicing, peppers, corn, red potatoes, basil, and tomatoes.  We organized a "Hobo Dinner" tonight with neighbors and look forward to sharing our garden treasures with others. As a FYI, our neighbors sold their house (Dan and Nancy's home) and we are excited to see a new family moving in with 3 boys (grades 1, 3, and 5).  My Mom is now happy that we will not be the noisiest boys around :)

 Today's weather was a breath of fresh air.  We decided to hit the park to view the animals, have a picnic and play.  Cooper kept backing up and saying "no!!!!" and "nice????" when he saw the animals.  This could make Como and the MN Zoo real exciting in the weeks ahead.  He seems to have a fear of animals lately in close proximity.  He must've realized that they are REAL.

 He only smiled and went close to the bunnies, go figure (recall Easter Bunny photo?)

 It has been a busy summer of weddings and showers.  On Friday night, Mommy and Daddy went to a friend's local reception.  In preparation, Cooper watched Mom as she painted her toes.  He said, "Me?" so Mommy decided "Why not?"  She painted his toes pink, cringing at Dad's expression when he got a load of this.  I thought it was pretty cool, but didn't request it to her surprise.  When Dad got home, he said, "I might just puke, really Leslie?"  Needless to say, the toenails are still painted but Daddy insists that Cooper wears sneakers or closed toe sandals.  Mommy just smiles thinking she is teaching her rough and tough Cooper how to get in touch with his feminine side.

And... here are the lovebirds at the reception (a little shiny from dancing the night away).  They are happy to celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary next weekend on the 12th!  They still feel like newlyweds, well... plus two wild and lovable boys and a crazy dog that digs.  Life is good!