ND2016: Day 3

Busy days ahead! Day 3 was spent mostly at the farm and Blacktail. I had gone for a nice, cool 5 mile run in the morning, and when I got back we headed down to Harmon Park. It was about 60 degrees and a little overcast when I headed out on my run, which was just about perfect, and then the sun came out and it warmed up for our trip to the park. The kids rode their bikes and I ran along side of them. 

My parents have been working hard to get the farm yard looking great. Blue skies, white puffy clouds, and green as far as you can see. It's good to be home!

The kids both got new kites from grandma and grandpa. Ava's was the cutest pink pig, and it was really easy to fly. Once it got up there, it was never coming down!

I love these next couple of pictures of Ava flying her pig kite. We even turned on the song "let's go fly a kite," which led to having that song stuck in our head on and off for days. I think Ava drove her brother a little nuts singing it over and over.

Tyler's kite proved to be a little more difficult to fly. It was heavier, and had two strings that you had to control. We had a tough time getting that one launched.

We all had our fair share of time relaxing in the hammock. I really need to get one of these for our back patio. It won't have the same quiet, relaxing feeling, or the lovely views, but it'd still be nice in the winter months.

One of the highlights of a summer trip to ND is always the opportunity to shoot off fireworks. Tyler had a great time lighting firecrackers and tossing them into the creek. He went through several boxes of firecrackers during his time there!

This was a first for our new ten year old--he got to drive Grandpa's Dixie Chopper around the yard. Maybe next year they'll put him to work out there. It is a lot of mowing, and I'm sure they'd appreciate some help.

Around dinner time, we headed up the dirt road to Blacktail, where Jason was making dinner. While we waited for Janae to get back from town, Tyler and Grandma did a little kayaking. 

The kids had another chance to go tubing too. They did more tubing this week than they have in their whole life! Jason gave them a fun ride!

I love their faces in this picture.

 Here is where the real ride started. Jason hit a pretty big wave and the tube took some air.

When the tube hit the water, Ava caught some major air! I just happened to have my camera up and ready to catch her almost fly off of the tube. Tyler got wet, but stayed on the tube.

As you can see, she did not like this very much. The ride was over after that, but it sure made for some funny pictures!

After all the fun up at the lake, we headed back down to the farm for a bon fire. Dad had put in a new fire pit in the back yard, and earlier in the day, we all helped to cut up some old dead trees and haul them down to the yard. We all had to work for this bon fire! It was the most perfect evening at the farm.

Jason and Janae came down to join us for some s'mores too.

There were some sparklers and a few more fireworks to light, but the real highlight of the night was the natural light show we got from the fireflies down by the creek. Once it was dark outside, we started to see little green blinking lights all over the place. We had put a board down to make a bridge to cross the creek earlier in the day, so we headed over to the other side to see if we could catch them. The kids had so much fun! I think it was one of their favorite parts of the week. They even put a few in jars and took them to town. They actually lived pretty long in those jars, even long enough to let them go again the next night. I don't remember seeing fireflies out there when I was a kid, and I'm pretty sure that if we had them, I'd remember. I'm so glad the kids were able to experience this amazing piece of nature.

Yet another fun filled North Dakota day, summed up here in my One Second video. 

ND2016: Day 2 Happy Birthday TYLER!

I doubt Tyler was too excited about spending nearly 4 hours of his birthday in the car, but I let him play Minecraft on the iPad most of the way, so hopefully that made up for it. After a long drive, we finally made it to Williston with just enough time to get changed and over to Jason and Janae's house. They had planned a nice barbecue with some family for Tyler's birthday. 

The kids played in the front yard for awhile with Danica and Adam, who were very excited for us to arrive. Vanessa said Danica had been asking for weeks how much longer until Ava would be here. Tyler played so well with little Adam, and Adam seemed to love playing with his cool big cousin! Thanks for being so nice to your cousin, Tyler! 

Over the course of about 6 hours, our kids got to see all of their cousins from my Winden side of the family--Brantley, Danica, and Adam. Now, if only all 5 of them could have been together at the same time, that would have been pretty great!

Pile of cousins....Janae said we'll have to make them recreate this picture in about 20 years.

...but it'll probably be more realistic to make them recreate this picture.

Tyler didn't ask for much from us for his birthday, and our Universal trip was sort of meant to be part of Tyler's present. He did ask for 2 things though--to be allowed to post videos on his own You Tube channel, and to be allowed to use his own money to buy Minecraft for the computer. We've been telling him no to both of those things for awhile now.

We finally gave in. I had ordered Minecraft off of Amazon, so I emailed Tyler the confirmation of the purchase, with an additional note about his new You Tube channel. For something to "open" I wrapped up the iPad and told him to check his email. His face says it all right here. The mistake, however, may have been telling him about his present at the beginning of the week. He had You Tube on the brain all week!

Nice hat, Tyler....

More playing in the front yard with cousins...

Thanks for hosting the party and giving us a nice first evening in Williston, Jason and Janae!

Grandma had ordered this cool cake for Tyler. The Darth Vadar mask even made the whoosh whoosh breathing noise.

Whether he's in ND or AZ for his birthday, Tyler always seems to be surrounded by cousins when he blows out his candles. This kid has definitely spent his fair share of birthdays in ND. He is looking forward to having a birthday sleepover at home with some cousins and friends once Matt gets back from Germany in a few weeks.

Today, Tyler turns TEN!

Tyler really made some serious cash on this birthday--another benefit to a) getting older and b) having your birthday out of town is cash as your gift. I know you have big plans for all of that money!

Vanessa gets the award for favorite card....

Haha!

You'll see that Ava is waiving around some cash in the picture above too. Since she never has a birthday in ND, Auntie Mary gave her a belated birthday card. She was pretty excited about that! Thank you so much to everyone for your generosity to the kids!

Ava and Danica kept busy playing with some of Janae's old toys from when she was a kid. These little dolls were a big hit.

Beautiful evening for some backyard bocci ball.

Happy birthday to the smartest, most creative, passionate, focused and determined kid I know. You always dream big and pursue your interests with dedication and gusto. We know that will lead you far in life, no matter what it is you decide to do.  You're double digits now, buddy! It's hard to believe that ten years have passed already. You bring so much joy to so many people. We are very lucky to have such an amazing kid as our first born. Tyler, you make us so proud and we love you very, very much.

The kids had rode their bikes over to Jason and Janae's, but assuming it would be too late to ride home, Grandpa loaded their bikes up in his pickup and went home. The kids decided they wanted to walk home instead. Here we are at about 10:30 pm, walking back home. Even though I grew up there, and we go back every summer, we always seem to be surprised at how late it stays light up there in the summer. I'm glad we have more hours of daylight to enjoy our time in ND.

One last time, happy happy birthday to this amazing kid of ours!

Even after spending 4 hours in the car, we still managed to have a very fun filled day! Here is our One Second video to prove it.