Catching Up........

It has been a while since we have posted anything, so we will try to catch you up on what we have been doing.

We took JT with us on a trip to Duluth one weekend to enjoy some of Todd's brother, Kevin's BBQing.  The next day, before we went home, we went down to Canal Park to walk around.  It was pretty cold for August.  Here is Todd & JT by the aerial bridge.

JT &  Uncle Todd walking out to the lighthouse.

Nana & JT building sand castles on the beach.

JT turned 3 on August 23rd.

We had a birthday party for Nicholas (13), Brenden (12), Tyler (8), and JT (3).

We've been trying to go to as many of JD's football games as we can because JD is a senior this year.  Here is JT with JD's picture on the fence.

JD is number 84.......a wide receiver.

JT & I dug up a little maple tree that was growing in our rocks........

.......and planted it in Great Grandma A's backyard.

JT's 1st day of "3-year-old" Sunday School.  He was very excited!

We went to Touch-A-Truck at the Shoreview Community Center.  We saw.....

.....a fire truck.....

.....a Sheriff ATV.....

.....a Bobcat.....

.....a Caterpillar.....

.....a tractor.....and several other vehicles.  JT had a blast!

A couple of weekends ago, we took JT, Evan & Luke to Waldoch Farm in Lino Lakes.  Here are the boys in the corn box.

They had fun with this mini hay bale maze.

JT & Luke on the tire horse swings.

Nana & JT trying to catch up to Evan on the pedal carts.

Nana's truck load of pumpkins.....JT, Evan, & Luke.

Evan, Luke, Nana, & JT ready to go into the corn maze.

JT, Evan, & Luke with the pumpkins they picked at the pumpkin patch.

2014 Camping

Just a few highlights from this year's camping trip.

Sparklers before watching the fireworks at the lake.

Tyler, Nicholas, Evan, & Maddie

Maddie, J.T., Tyler, Evan, Nicholas, & Evan eating French Toast & bacon for breakfast.

J.T., Maddie, & Luke rinsing recyclables.

Maddie helping with dishes.

Brenden & J.T. playing at the beach.

Roasting hot dogs for dinner....Maddie, Evan, Uncle Todd, Brenden, Nicholas, & Tyler.

Luke & J.T. helping Nana wash dishes.

Weekend at Big Pine Lake

Todd & I rented a cabin on Big Pine Lake last weekend.  It was very quiet & relaxing.

Todd on the screen porch.

Sonja on the screen porch swing.

View from the screen porch.

4th of July Weekend in Duluth 2014

We went up to Duluth to visit Todd's mom & step-dad for the 4th of July weekend.  J.T. got to come with us and had a fun time.  :)

J.T. is ready to go watch fireworks.  :)

We had fun with sparklers.  :)

J.T. had a lot of fun playing with Izzy all weekend.

It was very hot when we got home, so sitting in the shade blowing bubbles was a good thing to do.  :)

Free Indeed 2014

We had 6 kids do the Free Indeed Freedom Celebration with us this year.  Brenden, J.T., Luke, Maddie, Nicholas, and Tyler all carried flags and were in the drama with Nana.  Maddie also joined the kids choir this year.  She enjoyed doing that very much!

Back: Brenden, Nana, and Nicholas

Front: Tyler, J.T., Maddie, and Luke.

Back: Brenden, Nicholas, and Tyler

Front: Luke, Grandma A with J.T., and Maddie

Nicholas, Maddie, and Brenden all got "leg shots" with the guest speaker, Dana Bowman.  He lost both of his legs in a sky diving accident.

Dana Bowman & Brenden arm wrestling.  :)

Uncle Todd was Dana Bowman's "chauffeur" for the weekend.  He picked him up at the airport on Saturday & brought him back to the airport on Sunday.  He also had to bring him to his hotel on Saturday night after the services.  Nicholas, Tyler, & Brenden were excited to ride along to bring Dana to the hotel.  They were even more excited when he offered to buy them all pizza.  Brenden said, "I can't believe it.  This guy is famous and has been on T.V. and we're eating pizza with him!"  I'm sure they will never forget it!  :)