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...

Happy Birthday, Birthmommy!

Cynthia and Mark hanging out in the Clifford room, which is one of Anthony's favorites. Who could resist the big red dog? Certainly not our little guy!

On Sunday we got together for our now yearly June visit with Cynthia. This year we decided to head to St. Paul so she could watch Anthony play at the Children's Museum and then we went to her place to meet her cute five month old dog, Tyson, and have birthday cake to celebrate her 21st birthday. The afternoon was another great get together, which, as always, left us feeling very thankful that Cynthia is A's birthmommy and an important part of our lives. Mark and I can't say enough about open adoptions and are thankful that the relationship we have with Cynthia has transpired into something so genuine and filled with love. (I think my next career should be something in the adoption field. Matching birthparents with adoptive parents would be such a rewarding experience. Or perhaps I could figure out a way to simply volunteer my time to talk with individuals/couples who are on the adoption journey. Maybe hearing our story would fill them up with hope and make the process seem a little less daunting.)
Overall, it really was another beautiful afternoon spending precious time together. Our hope for the future is that Anthony will cherish our times all spent together just as much as the three of us.

Water! Playing with water was definitely another highlight of the afternoon. PLUS this room had sharks on the wall. Too cool!

Here's our attempt at a birthmommy and A photo. He didn't want to sit because there were so many other things to be doing. It's a bit blurry and he's definitely not smiling, but I'm still hopeful that one day we'll get a great photo.

Yet another attempt to get a photo with A and his two mommies that love him dearly. Unfortunately, once again he didn't want to look and didn't want to smile. Oh well.

The roof was open and Anthony had a great time playing in the sand and painting rocks.
Cynthia also loved having the chance to watch him play and see how big he really is getting.

Celebrating the Fourth

Damon is in heaven.
Absolute heaven.
I don't think it gets any better than Famous Dave's and a full rack of ribs for him!
We spent most of the day being lazy and recovering from our late night watching the Twins game. This was our kick-off for the 4th of July celebration and I don't think anyone was as happy as Uncle Damon!

Our Fourth of July celebration looked a lot different than most years. There was no camping or boating, no Leech Lake or Winnie, no big affair with family members and friends. This year we decided to stay home, avoid the insane traffic up north and back and have a little fun in central Minnesota. We were absolutely delighted when Damon and Manda decided they wanted to join us for a weekend getaway! Anthony was really excited to have his auntie and uncle come to his house and we were all looking forward to just spending some time together. So even though this 4th didn't require a camper/tent, coolers with ice, and hobo dinners on the grill it really was great. It was a good reminder that sometimes low-key and simple can be just as fun and rewarding.

The sparklers were a big hit. Overall, the guys spent $25 on fireworks, but we oohed and aahed, clapped and cheered like it was a huge fanfare!
The extra bonus was that Mark also purchased a fire pit for our backyard. I'm looking forward to many more nights enjoying the up north life right here in town!

Anthony was hesitant at first with the sparklers, but then really got into holding and watching them. Damon, who is a "Fun Guy", couldn't light them fast enough for A. He kept wanting more as soon as one would go out.

So serious. He really was enchanted.

Thankfully, Manda was there with her trusty camera to get all of the cute shots. I tried capturing a sparkler moment, but none of them turned out. Once again, I think it might be time for a camera upgrade. Thanks for sharing your photos, Manda!

Got to love his new "CHEESE!" smile.

Go Twins!

Auntie Manda, Uncle Damon and the three of us all decked out in our Twins gear and ready to watch a great game!

On Friday night we headed to Minneapolis for Anthony's (and, coincidentally, Uncle Damon's) first and probably last Twins game in the Metrodome. A was super duper (like his new phrase?) excited about watching baseball. That's all he could talk about for a few days prior and it was hard to take a nap that day because he really just wanted to go to the baseball game - NOW. When we got there, though, he wanted to go home or outside or just plain leave. He wanted nothing to do with sitting there and actually watching the game. Mark and I did our best to distract him with the toys and books I had brought, but he kept coming back to wanting to leave. Fortunately, for us, Auntie Manda took A out to have a "little chat". He left screaming, kicking and crying while I was chuckling because she was definitely channeling what I remember my dad doing as a kid. It only took one long chat with Auntie and he was pretty much golden the rest of the night. There was one instance when he started to act up again and she asked him if they needed to go have another talk. Of course he immediately zipped it, did his nervous hand to mouth gesture and stopped the whining. (This may sound a bit mean; however, it was such a relief to Mark and I that something worked. Sometimes it's so hard to snap him out of a crabby streak. I guess we now know who to call!)
The game against Detroit ended up going into extra innings after being tied up at seven a piece in the ninth. We stayed through the tenth or eleven inning and then decided to make our way home. Most little kids were being carried out sleeping on their dad's shoulders. Not our little Energizer Bunny! He was hopping up the steps and skipping his way to the door before wanting a lift back from dad to the car. PLUS he stayed awake the whole ride home too! (I think he's definitely going to be a night owl as he gets older. I guess he'll be staying up with his dad as I will be in bed nice and early!) When we got home I put A to bed and then we all got into our comfy pajamas to...finish watching the game! It lasted past midnight and into the 16th inning resulting, unfortunately, a loss for the Twins. Boo! Hiss!
Oh well! Overall, we had a great time with Manda and Damon and enjoyed what probably was our last Twins game in the Metrodome. (Mark is pumped for the new stadium; I'm a bit sad...)

Of course Manda brought lots of "props" to wear and have fun with! Next time we'll have to be more creative and make some "Circle Me, Bert" signs.

Mark and Anthony checking out the game.

The game goes into extra innings and Anthony is still wide awake and having fun! Of course he didn't want to sit by us. I think he's practicing for his days as a teenager...
On a side note, I think it's time to upgrade my camera. It's hard to get a toddler to sit completely still and if he moves the slightest a cute picture immediately turns into a blurry one. Ugh.