The Cutest Little Baseball Player

Anthony still is in love with all things baseball - from watching the Minnesota Twins on tv to playing ball outside with his new tee. Is it possible for someone to love sports this much and then grow up having nothing to do with them? I think our future summers could be extremely busy going to practices and games.

Feierabend Cabin

Our extended visit up north was capped off with a wonderful, adults-only weekend at the Feierabend cabin. Anthony was delighted to spend a few nights in Deer River while we trekked further up to Sand Lake for some quality time with some great friends --- the Feierabends, Hares, Sellheims, Zimmers, and Joni. This is the second time we've time time up there and even though the weather was dreadful for a mid-July weekend, we had an absolute wonderful time. There was, as always, great food to be consumed, conversations to be had, games to play and time spent around a blazing campfire. On Saturday we took the pontoon boat out - all eleven of us on board - and toured the lake. You know you are getting old when you occasionally stop to check out and take pictures of eagles, loons, and heron as well as getting a rousing sing-a-long started to Garth Brooks. Whether it sounds fuddy-duddy or not, I completely enjoyed being out of the water with a great group of friends.
There were many highlights and laughs from the weekend even if no swimsuits were needed for the chilly weather. Loaded Questions turned out to be a super fun game in which I learned a great deal from the other six players. Sequence, though, was a lot of fun too and almost resulted in me not preparing the meal for Saturday night. (Thanks again Tracy and Joni for picking up my slack. I seriously can't stop when I start playing! I love that game!) April was a great partner --- we'll definitely have to team up again! Charlie's orange fashion show and Joni's deep intense fear of moths both caused a lot of laughs (and shock) and brought a lot of fun into our time spent together. Some of the best times, however, happened outside around the campfire and underneath a cover of stars. Our conversations varied from silly to spooky to serious --- all of them left me feeling grateful. How did we get so lucky to have such great friends?
The only bad part is that I failed to take pictures throughout the weekend and capture our time spend together. Instead, before leaving on Sunday, I took a few shots of the beloved, peaceful cabin and the beautiful view of Sand Lake. If you're interested check out Jenn and Luke's blog! I love their picture of Laura and her gigantic monster of a fish she caught on Sunday as well as Luke's description of the weekend!
Thank again, Super Luke and Jenn, for a wonderful weekend up north! We love getting a taste of the Feierabend cabin life every once in awhile.

Mini-Vacation to Duluth

The view from Canal Park has always been a favorite!

This summer Mark and I decided it would be fun to get away for a few days and take a vacation together as a family. We threw out lots of ideas, but ultimately decided to stay in Minnesota and go to Duluth for a few days. Mark took a whole week off, which left us with ten glorious days up north and three days by Lake Superior.
We stayed at the Edgewater, which turned out, surprisingly, to be a lot of fun. We were a bit worried because earlier this summer Anthony refused to go to swimming lessons and wanted nothing to do with the water. Turns out, though, he is quite the water bug and even got brave enough to go do the kids' water slides by himself as well as jump into the pool for me to catch him. He loved the lazy river, as did I, and we both giggled as daddy "drove" like he was stuck in rush hour traffic on 94.
All of this, however, almost didn't happen. When I was checking in there was no reservation for the Hanson Hat Trick at all. (Darn Internet!) Luckily, I had printed off my confirmation number with reservations dates, room and (great!) rate information. Somehow everything got screwed up when I made the reservation online and they didn't have a room available for us at that rate and for those dates. Joe, the great college kid, helped me out and we actually did get a room; however, I would highly recommend staying in their newly built facility. The old part was a bit moldy, falling a part and "interesting"... Lucky for them we're pretty easy to please.
I had my heart set on taking a long walk along Lake Superior and ending up in Canal Park. While we were in Duluth temperatures never went past 55 and it rained most of the time, which made that idea impossible. I'm thankful the weather cleared up enough that were were able to drive down to Canal Park so that Anthony could see all those white birds, watch the bridge lift up, see sail boats and throw some rocks into the lake. He had a great time and the hours flew past as we spent time exploring and having some cheap family fun.
The absolutely highlight for Anthony, though, came later when we took a train ride up to the Lester River on the North Shore Scenic Railroad. We decided to take the shortest train ride because we weren't sure how well he would do, but it's clear that we could have continued up the North Shore to Two Harbors and he would have been fine. He LOVED everything about the train and was completely enthralled with the entire experience. I enjoyed it as well and loved the history that was shared regarding the trains and Duluth area, but nothing could top watching Anthony's joy. He still talks about that train ride and can tell anyone who is willing to listen what color the train was, etc. etc. etc. I highly recommend doing this with your family if you're ever in the Duluth area. On the ride up we saw lots of wildlife while on the ride back we were able to stare out at Lake Superior. It was quite the experience.
Overall, we had such a great time. I am so thankful we are able to do things like this and spend time together as a family.

Cheese! I still get a kick out of his new smile that he's developed this summer.
He really liked these two characters, but not as much as being in the water. On our last night there he went down the yellow slide 17 times in a row. Lots of times he was getting splashed with water, but nothing was deterring him from having fun. He would wipe his eyes, look at me for reassurance and then take off again.

The bridge was a lot of fun to watch go up and down. We were bummed, though, that a big ship didn't come through. He would have really loved to see that!

Throwing rocks was as fun as always especially when daddy plays with you too!

"What are we doing here?"

"I get to go on that?! YAY!"
Anthony definitely had a permanent smile on his face when he realized that was the train we were going to get on.

He was very serious at first...

But he ended up having a great time!
The funniest moment for Mark and I was when we smelled something "interesting" radiating from our little guy. The train had stopped so I brought him to the bathroom to change his diaper. To my surprise, though, there was nothing. Within moments of walking back and having a seat the smell persisted. We were a bit baffled until Anthony declared that he wasn't pooping, but rather he had gas. I believe his exact words, very simple and serious, was, "I have gas, Daddy". This sent us into a fit of laughter. What a goofy little boy we've been blessed with!

The Oteneagen Scare

While up north I spent some time out at my parent's house with my mom who recently had surgery. (I thought maybe I could help her out with laundry or cleaning or SOMETHING! It's amazing how quickly she's recovered and how well she's truly doing after a total knee reconstruction. Way to go, Mom!)
The half hour trip was going well until I turned onto the Oteneagen Road off of Highway 6. I could see a big black blob up ahead, but I was hoping for a deer or a really gigantic dog.
No such luck.
The closer I got I realized that the big black blob was indeed a buffalo....
bison...
TATANKA!
and he was staring me down.
Of course I stopped the van and tried to assess what I should do. My first thought was to get out the camera because no one would really believe that I had to stop for this. My first shot was a little too far away so I proceeded to drive closer. I still didn't get the shot I wanted so I decided to roll down my window. (Yes, I'm being serious. The proof is in the picture.)
Now what?
After a few moments of hesitation I decided I should inch forward, let our neighbor know his buffalo was out and then finish the two mile drive to mom and dad's house. As I started forward I continued to get the steely glare as well as the heebie jeebies. My plan was working out perfectly until seconds into my slowly inching forward the buffalo, who hadn't taken his eyes off of me, decided to start bucking erratically around. Again I stopped, trying to compose myself and calm down my raised heart rate/urgency to pee my pants. At this point I saw the farmer pull slowly out of his driveway knowing he was on a mission, which gave me just the bravery I needed to finish this last leg of my journey. As I slowly drove by, the buffalo continued to give me his possessed stare-down and started bucking/lunging towards the van. Clearly, he was pissed and contemplating the damage he could cause. My only thought at that point was what in the world was I going to tell Horace Mann when I called in my "accident". Does it really cover buffalo damage?
Whew! Luckily, that became a moot point because there was no need and I safely ventured on.
I have to admit, though, I was a bit shaken up, still had an elevated pulse rate and was trying to focus on breathing and not crying. (Ridiculous, yes I know!)
Hopefully we don't watch Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves anytime soon. I don't know if I'll be able to handle the scary buffalo parts!
Isn't it fun to know that life is always an adventure?

We just wished we lived closer...

Anthony and Paul taking the boat for a quick spin before supper.

What an absolute cutie, huh?!

Undoubtedly, Mark and I have been blessed in the friendship department. We don't have throngs of friends. Instead we have close friendships that have been built while in high school, college and living here in Becker that have endured throughout the years and always bring a great deal of joy to our lives. Unfortunately, we don't always get to see our friends as much as we would like so we took advantage of our time up north to visit with The Arlts, Clevelands and Davis families. We had great fun with all three families; our only wish is that we lived closer so those visits wouldn't be so few and far between. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to catch up in the conversation department and watching all of the kids play together.
I really wish I would have brought my camera when we visited with the Clevelands. Jon and Elisha have created such a masterpiece with their beautiful log home and have three beautiful children as well. Be sure to take a sneak peak at their blog!

Rachel hanging out with the kids on the couch --- Clara, Anthony and Samuel.

Smile you two!

First Stop -- World's Largest Wild Rice Festival

Anthony hanging out with Papa Willie and watching Uncle Damon go down the big slide with Taylor. How fun!

Watching the parade with Grandma Carol.

Out at Grandma and Papa Johnson's house, Anthony really liked eating fresh veggies out of Uncle Erik's garden. Yummy! (Look closely and you'll see the leafy lettuce he's holding onto and taking bites of.)

The Wild Rice Festival has turned out to be a fun place to visit every summer. Yes, it's even smaller than my hometown of Deer River, but it wins me over every time with its yummy wild rice dishes, Saturday night street dance, BINGO in the old fire house as well as running into random DR graduates, family and friends.
The parade on Sunday was a big hit yet again for Anthony. It actually turned out to be the only really nice day on our trip up north - the rest of the days were unseasonable cold and I realized quickly that I hadn't packed enough warm clothes. Unfortunately, mom and dad couldn't join us this year (mom just had knee surgery), but we still had a little crowd on the curb with Grandma and Papa Hanson joining us as well as Auntie Manda, Uncle Damon and Uncle Erik. Anthony loved everything that went by and even started to go after candy this year.
After the parade we headed out to mom and dad's for an afternoon visit. Anthony absolutely loved hanging out with Uncle Erik outside. A huge highlight was that they picked fresh broccoli, lettuce, peas and even wild ginger. Of course, A was up for trying any and everything. He ended up eating almost a hold head of broccoli and even declared that he thought the ginger was yummy. He definitely reminds me of Erik when he was little. He was constantly in the garden getting fresh veggies, wiping them off on his clothes and then eating it. Unfortunately, with all of their fun exploring in the backyard, Anthony ended up getting a couple hornets mad at him, which resulted in some stings and lots of tears. He's now very quick to point out if he sees any bee or any bug that might sting him. I suppose this is just the beginning of bee stings and other owies that will come his way being that he's an active and curious little boy.
Our first weekend up north was a lot of fun and we're looking forward making the WRF a tradition for our family every summer.

August --- Really?

I am still so shocked that July has completely flown by and that August is already here. (I really shouldn't be, but I am.) For several weeks now stores have been advertising back-to-school deals and have their shelves completely stocked. (This makes me cringe every time I enter Target or look at the Sunday ads!) I knew this was coming, it's inevitable and happens every year, but I want to hold onto summer tightly.
July was a great month even though I was an awful blogger. I definitely have some catching up to do. After the Fourth of July weekend we spent ten days up north, I finished my summer classes (What was I thinking taking 21 credits?) and then I started to finally enjoy my lazy days off with Anthony. Even though it has been a cool summer, I've enjoyed my time off and am looking forward to getting in as much fun as I can in the next two weeks before teaching summer school, workshops and then the school year starts up again.
First and foremost, though, I need to do some catching up in the world of blogging and rewind back to July...