Hope has been practicing her coloring skills.


We are getting ready to celebrate Chinese New Year soon.

Fall Escape - Sunday

"Is this a park with a playground?"
"The best kind, honey."

We spent Sunday morning at Eau Claire Dells Park. This is such a beautiful place and appears to be as underused as many county parks often are. We saw only a handful of other hikers. We were here 10 years ago on our way to our Door County honeymoon (yes, we waited a year to honeymoon). It brought back some fun memories and it was special to hike the loop with Hope. You should see her go! No tree roots, slippery rocks, or branches across the path will slow her down. Roots make great balance beams. Rocks, acorns, leaves, moss, fungus, etc., are all just curious distractions. And those branches, you ask? Well, she's a climber.





When did those legs get so long?

I said she was a climber. :)


Gymnastics Pays Off

Nature-Made Tunnel...Toddler Size!





"I Love You"

Bowling Videos - Take 2

Here are a few more of the bowling videos. This was great! We'll be going again soon.

Bowling Videos - Take 1

Hope's Dance Moves - We were waiting for dinner in the bar. Such a WI thing to do. :)


Hope picks up her first 10 pin!!! She's available for lessons.


Hope's First Spare - We were a little more excited than she was. You should see her face when she watches the video now though. All smiles!

Fall Escape - Saturday

Ron surprised us with a long weekend away. We've had a great time and will head home later today. I thought I'd take a quick moment to post some photos while we're in the "wireless" lobby for breakfast this morning.

First geocache of the afternoon. Can you spot the tiny hiding place?


There was another cache here though it isn't in this photo. I just thought this was pretty cute.


There were a couple more down this path, but it was raining so we just quickly grabbed one of them.
\

Hope tried bowling for the first time!!! What a great family activity!!! (Hope bowled a 77)




Day two pics and a video update to come. For now though, we're headed out for day three excitement.

Big Strides in Bike Riding

Hope has really been practicing riding her bike. It is a Strider bike which is used to learn balance with out the use of pedals. Just recently she has become comfortable enough to put both feet up and coast. Lately she has also taken it to the trails in the woods. Here are a couple of short video clips.

July Weekend

The summer of 2009 was the summer of parades and local community fun. Here is a snapshot of one of our July weekends...

St. Croix County Fair - July 25, 2009
Walking to the fair with Great-Grandma Hoot!


The pony ride she HAD to go on. She didn't like it much after about twice around.

The cows were a hit this year, especially since she had her friend from church to take her over for a pet. :)

Signing HORSE



Stillwater Parade - July 26, 2009
We had a blast with Amy and Olivia! The girls were adorable with a couple of cute hugs, dancing for attention, and collecting all their candy together.
Sucker Tongues


The Girls In Action



The Loot




Two of the Sweetest Girls In Town

After the parade we went down to the riverfront for a 'nutritious' dinner and some run around play time.





End of the Day