Around Town

Here is Derek with the kids in front of the Paul Bunyan statue. Dawson calls him TALL Bunyan, and I can't find it in myself to correct him. We have been to visit this area twice...the kids love it. There is a little park here & it is right on Lake Bemidji. There is also a web-cam online that points at the Paul Bunyan, so one day, maybe someone will see us on there!

Okay...this is our street, looking towards Turtle Lake. Immediately on the right is our front yard, then you can see two of our neighbors driveways on the right...and Dawson running in the distance.

This is what is looks like when you get to the end of our street. You take that little path on the left to get down to the lake. Dawson is is the distance again.

And, here is Dawson standing on one of the piers at Turtle Lake. It is a beach entrance here...which is nice. Dawson LOVES to come here. So far, we have come here everyday. Yesterday we sat on the end of the pier & watched some teenages attempt to water ski.

Dawson hanging on the Bemidji sign which is by the Tall Bunyan.

The only shot I have snapped of downtown. It is really cute. Lots of little places to shop. The Chocolate shop is AMAZING. Everyone needs to send me $15 & I will mail you a pound of their fudge...it is to die for!

This is across the street from my house...unbelieveable hu?

The kids playing at the park by our house. How cool are all the pine trees everywhere?

The kids watching the Dragon Boat races on Lake Bemidji. It was a beautiful day...just cold! It was a high of 55 that day...in July!

The teams are made up of 21 people. 20 rowers & one drummer at the front. The rowers row to the timing of the beat from the drummer. They have a lot of Indian traditions here...they even have community pow-wows once a month! You know I will post some pics of that after we attend!

View of some of the boats coming back in after they finished racing.

And, here is Lake Bemidji. How gorgeous is this? I took this picture while sitting on the park bench by the kids playground. I am really stoked about all the photo-ops I am going to have over the next year.

The First night

Dawson was SOOOOO excited because he knew we had decorated his new room in MN with Spiderman. What he didn't know, was that he was sharing a room with Andi. Our MN house has two bedrooms on the main floor & then a third bedroom on the lower level. I just couldn't bring myself to putting one child on a separate floor. Also, we transitioned Andi to a BIG girl bed now that she is potty training so well. This made for ALOT of changes, but the kids handled it great. So, the lower level room will be a guest room for all of our visitors. Speaking of visitors, we have a steady flow coming in September...3 out of 4 weekends are booked already! Here are some pics from the first night.

Dawson's face seeing his new spiderman room...andi is pointing at the spiderman decorations.

Trying out the new spiderman bed.

Andi in her new BIG girl bed.

Reading them books the first night.

So, I read them books, tucked them in...re-iterated to Andi that she can't get out of her bed, and then I went to the living room with Derek & waited. We started to hear some noise & Derek went to check on them. He found the two of them wearing their sunglasses & both laying in Andi's bed! By the time I came in with my camera, they were up running around. Overall, night times have gone really smoothly. Once my kids fall asleep, you normally don't hear from them for at least 10-11 hours. I am VERY thankful that aspect did not change in Minnesota.

The kids vs. The Airplane

I was pleasantly surprised that the plane trip with the kiddos went so smoothly. I was VERY nervous about how Andi would react in a new & possibly scary environment...but she did great! She sat in her seat for the entire 4 hour flight...in fact, she would not even get up to go potty. I think she was a little scared to get up. Good thing I had put a pull-up on her.


Riding the tram at Intercontinental airport

Watching planes land/ take off before our flight

The girls row

The boys row

She 'read' the safety brochure for about 30 minutes. I think she liked it because it was all pictures.

Here are all the funny things Dawson said while we were flying:

1. As soon as we got on the plane, he asked Derek if we were going to get to do any flips.

2. When we started to descend, he asked Derek if our plane was going to land on someone's roof & if we would all have to go down their chimney.

3. The last thing he said was "Dad, it would be silly if we landed in water...because the wings would get wet & fall off hu?"

We actually had to fly in Minneapolis & then drive the last 5 hours since all the plane flights to Bemidji were booked up by the time we made our reservations. So, baby girl finally crashed in the car around 8 pm for a late nap. When she woke up, she screamed the last 45 minutes of the trip!!!!

And, here are the kids playing in the garage when we finally got there around 10pm that night. Somehow, Derek & I managed to lock our new keys inside before we flew back to pick up the kids....all we had was our garage door opener. Luckily, our realtor answered her phone about 10:30 that night & came over to let us in. At least we had toys in the garage for the kids to entertain themselves with.

The moving truck

Dawson, being a boy, was quite impressed with the moving truck. He spent all day with Derek 'helping' prepare the truck for the trip & he even got to load a few of his items on it. He mostly loved running up & down the loading ramp. The last night we spent in our Texas house, I was giving the kids a bath & Dawson said "Look Mom, I made our moving truck." Derek & I both got a huge kick out of it...so I of course ran & grabbed my camera to take a pic of it. Derek said "You are going to put that on the blog aren't you?" I just smiled.

Getting to Minnesota...

To get all of us & our stuff to Minnesota, it took an entire week. Derek & I drove up on Sunday & Monday, we unloaded & set up the house the best we could Tues & Wed, flew back Thursday to pick up the kids, & then flew back to MN with them on Sat. It was definitely the craziest week I have EVER had! I took pics while I was driving (sorry Mom for any danger I put myself in) to document our road trip. It was a really long drive & I am so glad that is behind us. Derek drove the biggest UHAUL truck you can rent while also pulling my car on the trailer...that made him as long as a semi-truck...which made it very difficult every time we stopped. I drove Derek's truck. Here are our road trip pics 'nutshell' style. More blogging to come now that I have finally downloaded all my images off my camera.

Dawson's moving funnies

The move to Minnesota has, of course, provided Dawson with ample funny conversations. So, here are a few that I remember from the last couple of days.

1. When we told Dawson we were moving, we just told him that we were moving to MN & never told him the name of the town. So, he overheard Derek & I talking about Bemidji, and he said "Where are we moving? Ve-Vege?" He his still struggling to remember how to say it correctly.

2. While packing up the kitchen, Dawson saw me putting all of our fridge magnets into a box. He asked what I was doing with them & I told him I was packing them for MN. He gave me the strangest look & said "they don't have MAGNETS in Minnesota????!!!!???" So, then he began asking about other items. "Are you taking the fridge to MN? Because I love our fridge. Are we taking the stove...I love our stove too." I told him all of those items were staying because the house there already them. So, now he is really confused...he can't figure out the reasoning as to why some things get to stay & some leave. He asked me "Mom, you aren't taking your dresser hu? Because they already have those in the house." I told him "Actually, we are taking all of our furniture." He just furrowed his brow & walked away.

3. This has to be one my most FAVORITE Dawson stories yet. Dawson was supposedly 'helping' Derek pack something & the two of them were arguing more than anything. I could hear them from the other room. Derek was saying things like "No buddy...put that down please. No, don't spray that...Okay, stop please I don't need that right now....." Dawson was saying things like "DAD...it's okay. I just need to put this right here. DAD, just let me do it. I CAN DO IT DAD!" Then, Dawson comes into the kitchen & says:

I just DO NOT understand my Dad. And my Dad just DOES NOT understand me. So, even if we switch places, we still won't understand each other. How 'bout that?!?

Moving to Minnesota

If you have not heard our BIG news yet, we are moving to Minnesota for a year for Derek's job. And, we are moving next weekend! It has been a crazy whirlwind to say the least, but we are really excited. It seems like a wonderful opportunity for our little family & we will be back next summer before Dawson starts kindergarten. Derek got to travel to Bemidji, MN last week to find housing for us & he found the most AMAZING house for us to live in. We will even have a guest bedroom for all of our guests...so come on up! I will keep everyone posted about our Minnesota adventure here on my blog, so check back for updates. Here are some pics of the house that Derek took while he was there.

Outside of the house/ driveway

Sunroom

part of the kitchen-looking into the laundry room

living room

part of the wrap around porch

The AMAZING Dawson turns 4

My baby boy turned FOUR years old last month. So, I photographed him in all of his superhero costumes for his 4 year old pics. Well, I say ALL of his costumes...but we actually left several more at home. He just LOVES all superheros...Spiderman is definitely his favorite, but to quote him, he "loves the superheros that save the day." He is ALL boy & I am constantly having to keep up with what he is doing. In the last month, I have found him on top of the fridge, trying to swing from the ceiling fan pull-downs, trying to hang from the wine glass holder which is on the ceiling above the bar, & of course crashing through the window in the living room! To him, all the furniture in the house is something to climb & jump off of...I wish I could record myself saying "GET DOWN OFF THE FURNITURE!" so I wouldn't have to say it over & over & over...

If you read my blog, then you get to hear most of Dawson's funnies (some of them aren't post-able)...he is such a hilarious kid! He has me cracking up several times a day. Today while we were coloring he said "Mom, I'm just glad with you." Then he kissed me on the hand. How sweet it that...and, I think I am going to start using that phrase...I'm just glad with you.

He is such a sweet boy though. He is constantly telling me he loves me, or that I am the best mommy in the whole world, or that my hair looks pretty or he like my outfit. He has such a sweet, sweet spirit and I am so blessed to have him.

This is a little collage I did for all the grandparents.

Everyone has just LOVED this shot, so I thought I would put it on here.

And, this is the poster I did for his new spiderman room.

Stinky, Stinky Boy!

Okay...is it just my husband, or do ALL men sweat like pigs when they sleep? Before I was married, I easily went two weeks between washing my sheets. Now, we barely make it a week, before the scent of the husbands side of the bed begins wafting over. Yesterday morning, Dawson woke up really early & climbed into bed with me. Derek had already left for work so Dawson laid down on Derek's side of the bed. I was already drifting back off to sleep when suddenly, Dawson's face was an inch from mine saying "Scoot over mom." I scooted over & we were now both laying on my pillow with our foreheads touching. Dawson looked up at me & said "I think Dada tooted on his sheets over there...its stinky." I said somthing about boys getting stinky when they slept, needing to wash the sheets, and we both went back to sleep. Well, as soon as Derek walked in the door from work that afternoon, Dawson says to him "Dad, Mom called you a STINKER today...she said you are a stinky, STINKY BOY!" Tattletail.

Zoo trip!

My mom & I took the kids to the zoo a couple of weeks ago. It prooved to be a very trying day for me. The kiddos were extremely whiney & cranky...which made for a whiney & cranky mommy. The kids were NOT getting along that day. Some days they do wonderful together & play together so nice...this was not one of those days. We did have a good time overall though. I did not take very many pics because I was having to referee all day. We also rode the train when we first got there & they loved that. I think I will hold off on any more zoo trips until next year...maybe when the kids get a little older, they will behave a little better. Wishful thinking hu?

Here are some pics from our recent vacation over Memorial Day to Galveston. We stayed at the Point West Condos again...it is such a great place. We had such a wonderful time! All of these pics were from our last evening there, we had absolutely gorgeous light that evening. Thanks to Aunt Hettie for doing such a great job taking pics for me...it is nice to actually be in some now & then!

My poor Andi. She gets over stimulated sooooo easy, and the beach prooves to be a little too much for her. She doesn't like to be dirty (dirgy as she calls it), she doesn't like the wind & she doesn't like wearing swimsuits for very long. And, this day, we were running around all day & she didn't get a nap. All of that, made for a bad combo.


Dawson on the other hand, loves the beach. He loves doing all the boy things: flying kites, jumping waves & building things in the sand. Here he is building a rocket ship. Unfortunately, he got stung again this year by a jellyfish...that make two years in a row for him. Maybe jellyfish are attracted to ultra white legs!

A funny day

With the exception of one of these stories...Dawson said ALL of these funny comments today. Here we go:

1. After seeing a commercial about some type of 'limited spiderman' toy, Dawson says "Mom, can I get a limited spiderman costume someday? That way I can be limited ALLLLL over."

2. While getting another load out of the dryer, I returned to the living room to find all of my neatly folded stacks of laundry, spread out all over the floor, and the kids were jumping on the couch where the stacks had been. I groaned & told Dawson I was sad because I would have to re-fold all of it again. His response, "MOM, I'm gonna fold you into a square, then you won't be a mommy anymore."

3. He asked me, completely out of the blue today, "Mom, do you like the roof better or my spiderman costume better?"

4. We had a very in depth discussion again today, while we were driving to the store, about strangers & how you never leave with them...etc... After questioning him, he answered all of my questions correctly & I thought perhaps he totally understood the subject. So, we go in the store, and he says to the first person he sees "Hi Stranger. My name is Dawson, what's your name?" Nevermind.

5. This is the one from the other day. He was very tired & driving me crazy by not following directions...I told him "Dawson, you are pushing the limit." He glared at me & said "MOM, I AM NOT fishing the lomet!"

My two addictions

I am a huge Harry Potter fan & Twilight fan...so I am just going crazy now that both have movies about to come out: Harry next month & Twilight not til November. Seriously, what can you not love about these two series? Both kept me up all hours of the night, I just COULD NOT stop reading. I honestly wish I could re-read both series straight through, with out any interuptions. I think what make these books so amazing is the characters. I feel like the characters are people who are very dear to me, like they will stay with me forever. Thirty years from now, I feel like I will still think of Harry & his spells from time to time, and the intensity between Edward & Bella. Here are the two movie posters...these will have to keep me content until the movies come out.