Labor Day Weekend at the Cabin

We spent Labor Day Weekend at the cabin and our friends Ron and Jennifer plus their 4-year old son came up for part of the time. Jennifer helped me finish the project I had started the last time we were up--the fire pit! We had a great time digging it out, gathering rocks from our land, and arranging them.







When a neighbor came by and saw how big I was originally making it, she said I needed to make it bigger and dig it out by one more foot. Now Steve insists it joins the Great Wall of China as being the only structures visible from space. Jen and I think it's the perfect size.



The kids entertained themselves for about 30 minutes on the 4-wheeler just sitting on it and pretending to drive.



Now that we have that fire pit done, let's make s'mores!









On Monday, we put together the picnic table we had brought up July 1st, but of course it never made it to the cabin that weekend. Unfortunately, the directions were a little vague and we ended up taking it apart and putting it back together like three times. It's done now though! I think we will really like having it up there for outdoor meals.



We decided to break in the picnic table and make an outdoor lunch of some tonga pies over the fire. We had ham and cheese sandwiches and apple pies for dessert. Yum!

Randomness

The kids posed with their Capitol Crowns that they got from their State Capitol visit. It had little pictures of everything they saw on the tour to color, cut out and glue on the crown.



D picked out what she wanted to wear the first day of school (limited choices with uniforms/dress code) and she tried it on.



I love the fact that M can get himself all dressed and he often times will change outfits during the day (kind of like his sister!). He came out with these pants on and I couldn't stop laughing. They are a pair of pants from his baby clothes that I decided to keep (I think they are like size 9 months) and fit him like knickers--plus he had them on backwards. He didn't see anything wrong with them and couldn't understand why his dad and I were cracking up and made him change.



D and M play so nice together and love to play make believe. They are great chefs and made a fabulous meal.

State Fair Time Again

We headed out to the State Fair on Saturday and pretty much spent the whole day there, with a break at home in the middle of the day for a couple of hours. We loved the wildlife hats they had this year. M is a pheasant, D is a deer, and I am a walleye. Where else can you walk around wearing weird hats and not get (as many) strange looks?



The traditions of sitting on tractors on Machinery Hill...





...and of course eating corndogs!



Working the land at the Little Hands Farm.














They had a fire tower open to the public this year. The kids and I climbed up to the top and got a great view of the whole fair.





Have to have a picture with Goldie!



Steve loves listening to bands at the State Fair and M insisted on dancing up front, even though it wasn't really "that kind of band." He cracks me up. The pictures of course do no justice to his dance moves. I don't know at what age you become aware of what you are doing in front of others, but he is definitely not there yet.

Fawn Doe Rosa

The kids and I met my sister, her kids, and my mom at Fawn Doe Rosa in St. Croix on Friday. It is a "wildlife education park" where kids can walk around and feed deer, bunnies, geese, goats and see other animals like elk, bear, fox, and mountain lions. D was so excited when she learned she got to feed a deer and that it would eat food right out of her hand. "A real deer?" she kept asking.







We were warned by the cousins to hold our paper bags of animal food up high and away from the goats or they would eat it. This is tricky coordination for a three year old, and a goat snatched M's bag from his hand. All the food dumped out on the ground and the goat was just left with the bag, which apparently was just fine with him as he furiously gobbled it up. I tried to grab the bag out of his mouth, but he was a fast eater. Talk about tears! Luckily Grandma saved the day and gave M her animal food. She held if for him, of course.









Feeding llamas.









I think M and the goats made up now. He was talking sweetly and softly to this one and wanted me to take his picture with it.



The bunnies were a big hit. I think they were full, though, because they started turning their noses up at the carrots being offered to them.





All the cousins. We ended our time with lunch at Subway. Super fun!

Meet Your Teacher

D got to meet your teacher Thursday morning. It was nice for her to find her room and name, which is all over the room--2 cubbies, lunch chart, "locker" spot, etc. D and M played on the bike outside the school.



Here is D posing with her teacher, Yang Laoshi (laoshi is teacher in Chinese).



The teacher had toys out for kids to play with in her room. I can't believe school starts in only two weeks!

State Capitol Field Trip

We went to the State Capitol on Tuesday. It was a special tour just for preschoolers, and the guide did a great job. Each kid got his/her own "I spy" magnifying glass and had to look for objects in the architecture of the capitol. The kids were very entertained and, as usual, I learned a lot.



















All the kids in front of the capitol.



We had a great time doing all of our fun field trips this summer.