Happy (very) Belated Birthday, America!

Since it is nearly August and all, I figured I should get on the ball and finish up the rest of our 4th of July weekend. You know, because I'm punctual like that. After spending the 3rd at Tim & Heidi's, we headed back to Brainerd and hit the lakes again for a family lunch with the Eieslands. Grammie and Papa were in Illinois visiting my brother Nate and his wife Alissa, but the rest of the Eiesland clan met at my Uncle Scott & Aunt Doreen's beautiful lake home for grilling and beach fun. We weren't sure how the boys would do at the beach, but the second we walked down to the lake, Maguire made a beeline for the water and walked straight in fully clothed.

Yeah, he liked the beach.

Ellie, Maguire, and Uncle Scott building sand castles.

And where was Alex during all of this sandy, wet playtime? He (not surprisingly) opted to steer clear of the water and sand and hang with Grandma Studer on the deck.

During lunch, the boys got to experience their first watermelon slices.

After a pit stop at Grammie & Papa's house for a nap, it was off to the parade. Luckily, everyone else in the family went early enough to stake out a good spot in the shade, and all we had to do was roll in a few minutes before the parade started and claim our seats.

Ellie, waiting patiently for the parade to begin. And for the candy.

The boys were fascinated with the loud fire trucks and motorcycles.

Still waiting for candy.....

Maguire had fun dancing to the bands.

Alex got his first taste of parade candy.

And Maguire spent some quality time with Uncle Tom, discussing circus side show acts and country singer-wannabe little people. (Don't ask. Really.)

After the parade, we met up with my cousin Emily and her family for some pizza. Then the boys and I tucked in for the night while Chris, Ellie, and Grandma Studer headed off to the fireworks. It was a fantastic 4th of July spent with lots of family -- just the way we like it!

"Oh, Door!"

Now that we've (almost) hit the 18 month mark, both of the boys seem to be going through the fabled 'language explosion' common at this age. Our house is filled with the sounds of farm animals, cars, tractors, trains, and much, much more. Among our favorites is "sister," which actually comes out pretty understandable from Maguire. But the clip below is the phrase that gets us laughing every time.

Maguire is fascinated by all things involving doors, windows, drawers, etc. He could stand and open/close them ALL. DAY. LONG. And for some reason, when he's closing or opening said doors, he narrates by chiming, "Oh, door!" Every single time. Not sure why he feels that "Oh" needs to precede "door," but it happens without fail.

You have to wait until the very end of the clip to hear it, but along the way, listen for "mankie" (blankie) from Alex and a definite "Bye-bye" from Maguire. Enjoy!

Mullet No More

So, I had a light bulb moment the other day when Maguire went down the slide into the pool headfirst and came up looking eerily Donald Trump-esque with his bad comb-over.

The kid needs a haircut.

I relented.

Chris got out his clippers.

Maguire eyed the clippers thinking,"There's no way he's getting those close to me."

"Don't you people understand I may never have this much hair again, EVER?"

"Haven't you seen the gene pool I came from?"

"Oh, you're going to give me candy? Well, then. That changes things."

When all was said and done, Chris did a great job with the haircut. Maguire looks much older to me, and a lot less sweaty most of the time.



Alex also took a short ride in the barber's seat for a teeny tiny trim of some strange feathery wings of hair sprouting behind his ears. Needless to say, he was not pleased. Plus, he only got the tail end of the sucker. Bummer. Must remember two suckers next time.

Lake Day!

We decided to brave the crowds of tourists and head 'up north' last weekend for a Brainerd 4th of July. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so on Friday we headed to Tim & Heidi's (Chris's brother) for a day on the lake. Everyone strapped on their life jackets and we set off on the pontoon.

Alex wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing and not surprisingly, stayed pretty close to an adult lap the whole time.

Maguire, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of it! He roamed all around the pontoon, stood by the railing, and let the wind blow through his long, lovely locks.

{A Moment of Digression: Chris thinks Maguire's hair is getting a little too "business in the front, party in the back" and that he needs a haircut. What say you, our little handful of readers? Does our littlest boy need to trim his mini-mullet? Please let us know.}

Anyway, back to Lake Day. Of course, after the past few summers, Ellie was old hat at riding the pontoon and spent most of her time acquiring this lovely Crystal Light mustache.

If you can look past the three chins I seem to have suddenly sprouted in this picture, take a moment and marvel at the fact that both boys are sitting still! At the same time! They might not be looking at the camera, but you know. Maybe someday. A mom can dream.

Maguire and Uncle Tim, co-captains of the pontoon, deep in conversation about steering wheels, buttons, and flashing lights.

Alex was far more interested in available snacks than anything to do with the boat.

Ellie and Chris on the Jet Ski -- she was not convinced about riding, but we were very proud of how brave she was. At first, all you could hear was "GO SLOW, DADDY!!!" but soon she was laughing and asking him to go faster and "GET ME WET! SPLASH ME!"

When Ellie and Chris drove away on the Jet Ski, Maguire started crying. At first, I though he was just thinking Chris was leaving (both of the boys have been having separation anxiety at some really weird times lately), so we all tried to console him that Daddy would be right back. But after a minute, we realized that he was crying because he wanted to be riding with them.

And when I say crying, I mean hysterically sobbing.

And attempting to crawl up over the back of the pontoon to get to the water.

I would have taken a picture of that, but I was too busy trying to restrain him. So we buckled him back into a life jacket and he took a turn on the Jet Ski. Well, mostly he just sat on it with Daddy. This is the smaller and more tip-prone (is that a word?) of Tim & Heidi's two Jet Skis, and it didn't seem quite safe enough for him to take an actual ride. But he was happy as a clam to hold the handlebars and float along next to the pontoon for a few minutes.

Then it was up to the house to celebrate Chris's upcoming (on the 15th!) 30th birthday!

This amazing sunset was in our rearview mirror all the way back to Brainerd. A perfect way to end a great day, spent with family in the seems-like-it-took-forever-to-get-here beautiful summer weather.

Once Upon a Time....

...we decided to take a spontaneous road trip up to Aberdeen -- 90 miles north of Huron -- for a visit to Storybook Land. While we enjoy living in Huron, it's completely and totally boring somewhat lacking in fun things to do with kids. So it was off to Storybook Land for us on Saturday! It's a free park filled with statues and play equipment based on fairy tales and nursery rhymes. Can you even imagine how excited Ellie was?!?!

Here she is with Cinderella's Coach and Snow White and Dopey.

And if you look veeeeeerrrrry closely, there's Ellie and Chris at the top of the castle (on the walkway above the entrance, between the turrets)!

The Little Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe -- there was a tiny skinny ladder inside the shoe that led up to the slide, and Ellie decided she didn't want to climb it alone.

So we braved the ladder together...

It wasn't until we got to the top that I stopped to realize "Maybe I should have thought this through before I climbed the ladder..."

But at that point, the only way out was down, so down the made only for a child's butt narrow slide we somehow made it.

We stopped to visit the Three Little Pigs cottages, where we let the boys out to explore and climb on stuff.

An attempt at a posed picture of the boys with the Wizard of Oz characters was a miserable failure. Maguire was not shy about letting us know he did not want his picture taken, while Alex seemed content to flash random passers-by.

A little break for some cotton candy...

And a little merry-go-round ride with Daddy...

Then it was off to ride the train -- a spin around the park to see some of the zoo animals and a little more of the Wizard of Oz section of the park. Did I mention this place is free (we only paid for the train and merry-go-round)?

We finished off our day with some playground time, a trip to Target, IHOP for supper, and home just in time for bed. A road trip success!