Political Observation

We were watching the DNC last night as Joe Biden gave his acceptance speech. As we were watching Jeff said "He reminds me of that big bird from the muppets." I knew instantly who he was talking about. Sam the Eagle. What do you think??
By the way, we both really like Joe Biden...he just happens to look like a muppet!

Humor and (Painful) Honesty from a 3 year old...

Nolan has been full of wisdom today. Some entertaining, some well... some hit a bit too close to home.

1. A random statement while riding in our car 'Our car is not a helicopter. It's really disappointing that we don't have a helicopter.'

2. While we were at the beach Nolan had to go potty. He was covered (EVERY square inch) in sand. As he pulled his pants down 'Look I have crumbs in my crotch!'

3. While he was rummaging though stuff in our bathroom he came across Jeff's deodorant. 'Sean has this stuff and he put some in my armpit. Sean wears it because he has really stinky armpits.'

4. He came charging into the bathroom just as I was getting into the shower. "Mommy! I don't like to see you naked.'
Me 'Why?'
Nolan (looking me up and down) 'Because THAT (pointing straight at me) is GROSS!'

Ouch.

Steak Marinade from Heaven

I love a good grilled steak but I'm always looking for a yummy marinade or sauce to use with them. I actually love A1 sauce, but I like to try to make my own. And I almost always make mushrooms and onions in a sauce to go with our steak. Tonight, I grilled t-bone steak and I was actually disappointed that I had made the mushrooms to go with because this steak was so darn good on its own, I felt bad for the 'shrooms. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com and here is the link to the original recipe. Recipe Here
But below is my adjusted recipe and let me tell you what, it is DELICIOUS! I mixed up this marinade this morning and put the steaks in so they bathed for about 8 hours before I grilled them. You must try it, your mouth will be so happy you did!


OMG Steak Marinade

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 1/2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 large clove crushed garlic
a few good splashes hot pepper sauce
a few good splashes A1 sauce
a few good splashes lime juice
Mix together and slather your chunks 'o beef in this goodness. Marinade, grill, eat and pass out.

Last day in Duluth

If it had been up to the kids, we would have spent our entire weekend in the hotel pool. We did go swimming each day, but it just wasn't enough.
Before we left on Sunday we visited the Lake Superior Zoo. We got there in time to watch them feed the bears. They were fed apples and sea-weed. Who knew bears liked sea-weed??
Here is Nolan with a picture of some of his relatives.
Aidyn was intrigued with this snake and got to pet it several times. I had shivers just watching her.

They had also just fed the lions when we got to them. It was some sort of raw meat popsicle. It looked disgusting but I guess if I was a lion it would probably look pretty good, especially when it's 85 degrees out.

We had a nice time at the zoo and had some tired kiddos on the way home. We had lots of fun in Duluth, it is a beautiful city. Even the kids commented on how pretty it is there. They said they wished their grandparents lived there so we could go there to visit more often. Even without grandparents there, we will definitely be going back!

Split Rock Lighthouse

The second day of our visit to Duluth, we drove up to Split Rock Lighthouse. It was a beautiful drive along the shoreline of Lake Superior. The kids kept asking 'Is that STILL the same lake?!?!?' It is amazing how huge of a lake it is.

We spent a lot of time throwing rocks into the lake. Not just pebbles either. Nolan would find the biggest rock he was able to pick up and chuck it into the water. There were a few close calls with people walking by, but luckily no one got a concussion.
After we got back from the lighthouse, we rented a bike and went for a ride around the lake front. The kids said they were tired afterwards which is funny because Jeff and I did all the pedaling!

We also got to see a couple ships come in and out of the harbor. Man those ships are huge!!

Duluth

This past weekend we headed to Duluth. The kids were very excited about our mini-vacation (Jeff & I were too).
We did lots of exploring, eating and shopping. A perfect vacation! :)

Their last night

The last night of their visit we took Kaitlyn & Sean out to a Japanese Steakhouse. The kids worked on their chop stick technique. I have to say I think they did a pretty darn good job.
We had lots of fun with Kaitlyn & Sean. They entertained us and I dare say maybe we entertained them a little bit too. Thanks for coming to visit guys. We love you!!

Rain Fun!

As we left the Arboretum it began to rain. The kids were excited to get home and put on their rain gear. Nolan worked on catching raindrops on his tongue.Sean worked on his technique to pick up ladies.
Aidyn made use of her Tinkerbell umbrella.
Kaitlyn showed off her unique sense of style.

Arboretum

The 2nd day of Kaitlyn & Sean's visit we took in the Landscape Arboretum. It was a beautiful day to explore! Here are Nolan & Kaitlyn boxing. I don't know about you, but I think Kaitlyn is cheating.

There was even a monkey hanging around the area we were in.

Here are the kids watching the beautiful Koi fish in the Japanese Garden. Such a lovely, serene area to relax & reflect. Oh yeah...and throw rocks at the fish. The purpose of this was 2 fold: 1. Try and get the fish to eat the rocks. 2. Try and knock out the fish. Those 2 are definitely Troy's kids.
For those of you wondering about Nolan's hair in these pictures, we have Kaitlyn to thank for that. He loved it!

Teenage Visitors!!!

After we came back from the lake we had the fun of having Kaitlyn & Sean come to visit us. The first day they were here we spent most of the day at the beach. Everyone took turns being buried in the sand. Everyone except me that is. I'm not really into that.

The kids also spent a lot of time building a chain of lakes. I think they had 5 or 6 holes dug in the sand with rivers connecting them all. I helped dig for a while but that was a lot of work, so I quit.

Nolan needed to stop and rest while they were digging so what better place to lay down than in the filthy water? Just look at that sweet, grubby face...

Weekend at the lake

We spent last weekend with Grandma Janice & Grandpa Horace at their lake. The first afternoon we were there, the kids went down to the dock with Grandpa to check out the fishing situation.
Saturday we spent some time swimming in the lake. It was a little chilly, but we toughed it out and had a blast!
We had beautiful weather to spend some time outdoors over the weekend. The kids enjoyed running around and making themselves at home over at the neighbors house. Such shy kids we have...HA!

Saturday night we had a new experience. Horace & Janice took us to a garbage can dinner. Yep, my in-laws made me eat out of a garbage can! And it was pretty tasty. The whole dinner is cooked inside a (new & clean) steel garbage can. Potatoes, cabbage, carrots, ham, sausage are all steamed in a pillowcase inside a garbage can. Yes, you read that right. Anyway, we had a fun time at dinner and a very fun weekend. Thanks for everything Grandma & Grandpa!

Busy Summer!

We've been pretty busy lately with no end in sight. Therefore, I am behind in my blogging. I will eventually get caught up, but it might take me awhile...

The Embodiment of Cuteness

WARNING: Proud, bragging mother alert!

Look at this face. Is that not the cutest, sweetest face you've ever seen?!?!? I love my little girl.

Fashion Show

Yesterday afternoon Aidyn and I had a very fun Girls Day of Back-to-School shopping. First we stopped at Caribou Coffee to get an afternoon jolt, then we hit the mall and did some damage to the credit cards. This morning the boys were treated to a fashion show. Here are the outfits Aidyn picked out (along with some new hair accessories).

She has very particular taste and I heard a lot of "Nope, don't like it. Nope, won't wear that. I'm not really into that color." Notice there is a lot of pink, purple and blue...just a few slight variations. Oh well, at least she knows what she likes! I can't believe my little girl is starting Kindergarten in 1 month. She is ready, I'm not so sure about me.