Vacation Friday

We had another fun day today. We played and swam all morning while Ron was out placing some caches for Uncle Mark (and entourage) to hunt when they're up camping. There are some good ones out there I'm told.

We actually did go down to the pool, but this is Hope during her chlorine rinse when we got back. She thinks this big bathtub thing is pretty great!

After lunch Grandma treated us all to ice cream (which I think is Hope's favorite food!).

For the afternoon we went north to Washburn to visit with our good friends Mark, Wendy, Kyra, and Max. The girls played at the park and then we went up to the fire hall to watch Mark play for the dance. We had so much fun with them. As is the case with many of our friends, we just never see them often enough. We ate some good vendor food. Hope tried her first mini donuts and had her first biffy experience (successful I might add). The girls got to dance and play and Hope tripped a couple of times and ended up with her first real skinned up knee. She's been bruised because she's a pretty rough and tumble kinda gal, but this was her first blacktop scrape...minor catastrophe but we all survived.

The Park



Dancing & Fun





Somebody got busted here trying to swipe a hairbow. :)

"Look at my knee, Mama. I need a band-aid"

Family

College Roommates and Lifelong Friends

Fishing Videos

In between hands of 500 during nap time, I had the chance to get some videos uploading. Enjoy.

On Our Way to the Lake - "Where are we going Hope?" - Here, you can also see Hope signing "fish."
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First Fish - We were wondering why everybody gets such a squeaky voice when they're excited.

The One That Got Away

The One Hope Set Free

"Here's the worm, Grandpa." - Pay close attention here to see what actually happens to the worm.

Vacation Thursday

Thursday (7/24/08) was a BIG day for us. We had such a good time. The pictures really tell the story.

Ready for the Day

My paternal family's homestead land is still in our family and undeveloped. We are so fortunate to have this area to visit. We thought it would be special for Hope to have her first fishing experience here. Have a look.

This is the walk down to the lake (and where the ticks live!!!).

































The Shoreline

Grandpa with the Frist Fish of the Day

Hope wasn't far behind. Ron couldn't get the worms loaded up fast enough for those bluegills. I think the casts were landing right on top of them.


Father & Daughter






















Hope & Worms - I almost think she had more fun playing in the worm containers than she did actually catching fish. We had a few that were set free on land, and one that was even tossed right into the water. Why bother putting it on a hook when you can just feed the fish directly? :)















More fun in the woods. Grandpa was off fishing far far away. Can you see him?





































All Done Fishing

Mom's Favorites


When we got in from the woods, we thought Hope would keep sleeping. I'd tried so hard to keep her awake on the drive back, but she was totally exhausted. Fruit Snacks couldn't even keep her going. However, during the jostling around of her final woodtick check, she was stirred up enough that she didn't go back to napping. So, into the bathtub to wash off the bug juice and then ready for lunch.
Look what Daddy snuck in the car to play with.













After a good nap we went down to the pool. Hope had a good time. The hippo was a birthday gift from Uncle Brian and Aunt Tami. It was a hit. She even floated on her own for a bit.



























Our first day was a wonderful start to our long weekend. I have video of Hope's first fish. I'll have to see if I can upload that soon. I'll also try to add a post about our day yesterday. For now, we're off to enjoy our final day.

Vacation - On Our Way

On our way up on Wednesday we decided to stop for a picnic and a quick geocache.

Don't they just look so happy? I love this picture!

After eating, Ron took Hope over to the playground to run off some energy before getting back in the car for the rest of the ride. (I went and found the geocache at the park.) When I came back, look is what I saw.

See Hope?

And now? - This from the girl who is afraid of the merry-go-round. :)

Here is what some of the play area looked like. They have a beautiful park in Shell Lake, WI. The last picture is Hope inside of the fish (just like the previous county fair post, enlarge this one for a funny expression).