The Great Outdoors

We went out to Camp Charles Allis the Sunday before Memorial Day. We weren't so much camping as hanging out at the lake. We all had a good day, but Gage especially loved that his cousins, Sam and John Paul, were there. He looks up to them and tries to imitate what they do. It was a beautiful day, too, sunny but not too hot.
Tetherball! Gosh, I haven't played that in sooo long!

That's an official bug box the boys are looking at. They got caterpillars, dragonflies, and a toad. (They let them all go, though, so bug-lovers please don't come after us :))

There's a very big playground the kids all love.

Gage and new friend racing to the top.

With cousin, John Paul.

That's my sis-in-law holding Gage. I'm in the bright pink shirt.

Our Adventures Up North

We went to visit some friends the second week in May in Northern Wisconsin. They built a beautiful log home on 7 acres of land. They were kind enough to take not only the three of us, but our two dogs as well. We all had a great time, but Gage and the dogs loved the freedom of running around all that land.

This was on the way up. The dogs were soooo excited. I don't know how Gage could sleep through that racket!


We got up there late at night, but the next day, Gage found lots to do. It was paradise for a little boy (and the dogs!)


Our friends, Barb and Lee have young grandchildren, so they are well prepared with toys.


Daddy and Gage playing chase. Looks like Daddy got him :)


That little guy was not afraid to go exploring! See how far he went without us?


Barb and Lee getting Gage ready for a nap.


They also have two dogs, so it was something of a dog riot up there!


The best part for Gage was Lee's tractor. He'd run for it everytime we went outside. It was awful trying to get him off of it!


It was such a thrill for him.


Breakfast at the coffee house. The coffee, food, and atmosphere was great!

Sometimes He's Mommy's Helper

My boy, helping me clean up.

Daddy's Helper

Gage loves all things his Dad loves, and always wants to help. If it involves tools all the better. Here he is helping to assemble his new bookcase.

Let's jump right in, and get started...
Where are those instructions?

I'm not sure where this piece goes...

...but I think this piece is really important!

I'll take care of the screwdriver!

Good job, Daddy, you were a big help to me!

Snip! Snip!

Well, we finally did it! I loved Gage's curls, but his hair grew so much faster in the back and on the sides than the top, that he was beginning to have a mullet! He did sooo much better than I thought he would. There were only a couple of times he looked like he might cry, but Ryan held his hand, and he was fine. Afterward - ice cream!
I do miss those beautiful curls he had in back.

The first two pics are the before shots.

Easter Fun

We had a very fun Easter. Last year was great, but this year was even better because Gage was able to do an Easter egg hunt and dye eggs and really participate. Also, since last Easter we have joined a church, so the service was special. For Easter dinner we went to my mother's house.
Here's the Easter Bunny visit at the mall. I had bought cookies to bribe him into sitting with the bunny, but we didn't need them - he loved it!

And this was the egg hunt. He caught on pretty quickly. When all the eggs were gone, he looked around like, 'Hey, I wasn't done yet!'.

The egg dying was hilarious, if not messy. He was fascinated with how the eggs changed color. It's fun to watch him to try figure things out. Unfortunately, I heard him call the eggs, "ball", just before he started hurling them around!


Getting reading for church....Daddy was having fun with Gage's long locks... We call this his Sanjaya look. Those of you who watch American Idol will understand.

At church...

Trading Easter baskets with cousin Sydney.

My mother with all 5 of her grandkids.

Wild Man

Gage is in daycare three days a week, and at the end of each of those days we get a little report. Here's the report from Wednesday. Check out the part I highlighted. I have a feeling the next 17 years are going to be quite a ride!

Like Father, Like Son

Gage sure loves his Daddy, and even at this young age, he wants to copy everything he does. Ryan took him outside to play the other day, and when I looked out, this is what I saw. It doesn't get much cuter than that!

Our Little Sailor

I was so excited to have Gage's 18-month pictures taken in his new sailor suit, but he just cried and cried. The photographer managed to get 3 or 4 that were usable. In some of them if you look closely you can see the tears. I had brought along an Easter outfit, too, but I gave up before we tried that! I didn't know it at the time, but he's getting 4 molars and his eyeteeth!

Gremlins...

Someone around this house has been swiping cookies, hats, and monkeying with the TV. I thought we had a gremlin until I finally caught the culprit!

Crazy Weather

We went from snow to summer in a day....
Unfortunately, it looks like we're back to winter now. Gage likes playing outside either way though. He's a bit confused about temperatures. He picks up the snow, and says, "hot". We're working on the word cold :)