Summer Shenanigans

Henry loves critters. He found this tree frog and scooped it right up. I like that he has no fear when it comes to stuff like that. He is very good with the chickens. He will pick them up all the time and can round them up and get them in the coop in no time.

He can also be an out of control beast at times. This photo captures that sentiment.

The both of them love to play in, on and around my truck for some reason -- Violet especially. Violet likes to sit in the cab and play around. She calls it "Violet's Truck". A couple nights ago she was in her truck with no diaper on and whizzed on the seat. Not cool. It hard to stay mad at her though. I swear Henry wears pants sometimes.

This is your basic Tuesday evening here. I get home from work, the kids jump in the truck and act crazy, I run around and feed goats and chickens and whatnot. I bought two turkeys on a whim at the co-op last weekend. They are very akward looking creatures. I plan on eating them for Thanksgiving. Their names are Bachman and Dan. I believe they are Royal Palms. I will get pictures soon.

They are pretty good together about 85% of the time.

Went up north on a Sunday fishing trip with my brother and our boys.

The weather wasn't the greatest but it cleared up long enough for Uncle Jesse to pull one up. Eli manned the net while Henry made observations and yelled whatever came to mind. "THAT FISH IS CRA-ZEEE!"

Eli has perfected the sneer...
I have no explanation for this one. This is apparently what goes down while dad is at work.

The harvest has been slow to come in this year. Kinda mild summer and kinda dry. We just had our first half dozen or so tomatoes ripen so it should be fast and furious from here on out. I made some pico de gallo last nite. Next: Heritage Tomato Bloody Mary Mix! (Side note: Henry insists we call them "Spicey Henry's" around him because "Bloody Mary" sounds kinda gross. Alright.)

I have to work on my carrot picking technique. I had a few snap off as I worked them up with a trowel.

Summer Fun: Nature & Giant Headphones

We spent last weekend -- our sixth wedding anniversary and Mama's 29th birthday -- up at an island retreat in Wisconsin with some friends and family.

Mama and Violet got dolled up in matching toenail polish for the occasion.


Me and niece Jada chilled out on the beach with our ipods and giant headphones. She is all into the High School Musical scene and thinks Troy Bolton is an absolute dreamboat.

Henry took in some sun with Jesse & Brandi's newest addition, their Boston Terrier puppy "Rick".

Mama & Henry hang out on the dock...

Henry could put on a clinic when it comes to peeing in the out of doors. As you can see, he didn't even have to take off his life preserver. Note the clenched butt cheeks and jutting pelvis to avoid swimsuit drippage. I have him using both hands for better aim until he proves he's focused enough for one hand.

We put a few miles in on the paddle boat. Please pay no attention to my doughy and undefined mid-section.

Some of the gang hang out on the beach in front of the cabin -- an elegant design with a danish hip roof covered in cedar shakes.

This picture is a classic -- Henry, Eli, and Rick. It kinda sums up the current relationship between Henry and his favorite cousin Eli. They have a lot of fun together but after about a half hour or so one of them is usually crying or running away. I should have never taught them "heart punches".

Jada and Henry chilling out by the beach...

Jada and Violet on the dock...

Local Man Saves Baby Cardinal From Certain Doom

Cuban philosopher Jose Marti once said that there are three things that a man should do in his lifetime: Plant a tree, have a son, and write a book. And if he were alive today, he may very well have said that a suffiently updated blog could replace the book part of the equation. Henry and I planted this arborvitae last weekend. It's only taken three years but we are starting to get to the landscaping...

On Saturday,Mama was watering the hanging baskets and found out the hard way that there was a mama cardinal with some babies had made a nest in the basket. One of the babies wasn't quite big enough to fly on his own and kind of fluttered to the ground. Here he is...

I didn't want this little guy to end up like Gary the Hummingbird so I decided I would act fast and get him back in his nest. He made a break for it under mama's car...

But I finally managed to scoop him up.

Home sweet home. Mama Cardinal came back a while later and everything seemed to turn out OK. I wonder if Jose Marti ever rescued a baby cardinal from certain doom.

Violet has been doing very well in her transition to the toddler bed. I think we implemented the perfect blend of love, fear and paranoia in laying down the groundwork for the big switch. She proudly proclaims to be a "big gowal" now. Indeed.

Here she plays with the new kitty. It's been so long since we have had a cat but it did not take long to remember why they are questionable housemates -- they puke and crap everywhere and they won't look you in the eye. I can only hope that her presence is a deterrent to the mice.

On Sunday morning Henry and I went to watch the weigh-ins for the annual Taylors Falls Catfishing Contest. Cousin Eli and Uncle Jesse did not disappoint. They just missed a top 10 finish with this baby:

Uncle Dave and Cousin Matt took 5th place with these two:

And, as usual, Jethro and Cooter took home the big money with these monsters:

Happy 4th Birthday Henry!

We celebrated Henry's 4th birthday last weekend. He should be set in the toy department until Christmas. He wanted a Spongebob cake.Grandpa Fred and Violet...

Henry loves his Darth Vader mask with built-in voice modulater. Thanks Grandma Judy!

Henry cashed in all his birthday money for a kitten to help contain the local mouse population. This is Charlie...

Karl Oskar Days Kiddie Parade

We decided to have Henry and Violet partake in the Karl Oskar Days Kiddie Parade at the last minute. The only problem was that momma had to figure out something for them to wear....



Not bad for the last minute. The pirate / Captain Hook costume is mostly improvised but we had some pirate regalia laying around. Violet is rocking the Tinkerbell costume. She didn't want to put on her costume but really wanted a moustache like Henry -- so we had to compromise. Henry's moustache is a little bit crooked from giggle attacks during the application process. This one I call "The Thinker".

Henry, Cousin Jada, AJ, and Violet line up for the parade.

Not sure what to tell everyone what to get Henry for his birthday -- surprise him! Also, he LOVES bubble gum although he is still learning how to properly dispose of it when he is done chewing.

'Til the Wheels Fall Off...

The training wheels are off. Henry is pumped. We are about 36 hours into this ordeal and it is not going to be easy. We will keep practicing.

Balancing the bike with Henry on it and going up and down the driveway is actually a very serious workout. I guess that means I am getting old.

Henry didn't actually fall off the bike. He was running toward me and just plain wiped out.

Violet inherits the trike.

The quintessential hot mess...


Henry has the uncanny ability to round up chickens when needed. We call him the chicken wrangler. I told him he is the best chicken wrangler out there. Tonite Henry was following me around as I was on patrol cleaning up dog turds in the sideyard and Henry told me I was the best turd wrangler out there.

I have returned to vegetable gardening with a vengeance. It's a pretty small garden but I thought it would be best to ease back into it with something that I could stay on top of. Mostly salsa ingredients and a few other things with some heirloom varieties of tomatoes such as Purple Cherokee and whatnot. We should have more tomatoes than we know what to do with.

This picture shows the chicken coop, the garden, the sandbox and the new landscape project. Just a couple years ago this area was a big pile of dirt! There are some sunflowers planted behind the garden fence courtesy of mama that are growing like crazy.

Here I give gentle instruction to Henry on the nuances of carrot thinning and other gardening secrets.

Here is a better look at the ongoing landscaping project along the front elevation of the house...

Henry has been big into watching Peter Pan lately -- a favorite also of Michael Jackson. Here is a glimpse into the artwork of a young boy about to turn four. It's a drawing of Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Not bad, I say. He has an eye for detail that is developing rapidly.

Details...

Just a quick post since I seem to be getting so lazy with this thing lately. We have been doing lots of fun stuff -- too much to document.

The kids went to the Como Zoo a while ago -- I think it's a Minnesota rite of passage to have your picture taken with the monkey statue.

The big news is that Henry starts part-time summer pre-school TODAY! I swear he was just a wee lad not too long ago and now he's all growed ups.

Here are some pictures from houseboating with my brother and his family...

Violet is fluent in english. She can bang out a complete sentence from time to time if you ask the right question. We should be transitioning to a toddler bed soon.

I think Henry is a southpaw but maybe ambidexterous like his grandpa. He is writing/drawing left and throwing with both hands still. His drawing skills have reached a new plateau -- advancing beyond simple "stick people". He was drawing with cousin Eli on the houseboat a few weekends back and told us he had to add some "details" he called them. It turns out "details" is his code word for weiners. I asked him what he would do if he could do anything for his birthday and he said he wanted to cruise in the houseboat and draw pictures with "details" witcousin Eli. I couldn't help but think of a scene from the film SuperBad.