Summer Photos by AmandaLea

These photos were taken at the end of June by Amanda Sampeer (amandaleaphoto.blogspot.com). Aren't they phenomenal!!?? The kids even had a shortened nap before hand. They were taken at Murphy Hanrehan Park Reserve in Savage. There were some park "police" there and we were notified that we weren't supposed to be in the tall grass, it is an offense that comes with a fine. Oops :) They let us continue without a ticket, phew! It was muggy and hot and we did risk getting a few ticks, though after I flicked one off Leo's shorts that was the only one I found on us. I am looking forward to framing these for our house. The hard part is going to be which ones to choose.

A recap of June...

The kids and I at the TC Pride Parade

Dru and Nathan at the Delta Block Party

Guzick wedding in Michigan with Jannie

Dru thrilled that she finally got to the shark tank :)

MN Zoo had a Dr. Suess theme

Leo really enjoyed his BOMB Pop

NYC 2011

The Red Coats

The Empire State Building (before the clouds descended on it)

Times Square

A photo of the WTC memorial

(the fountains are the footprints of each building and the water flows down the outside walls then into the middle square that is to look like there is no bottom)

Our recent trip to New York City was one to be remembered for sure! Julie and I went with Julie's mom, Marlys, and Julie's aunt, Eileen. The four of us flew out early on a Saturday and returned on Tuesday. We had a great time and I definitely laughed quite a bit. Our first experience was taking a taxi (towncar) with the license plate "OJ LIMO". Oh my, I have to admit I was a tad apprehensive. Our driver delivered us safely, with some very close calls along the way, and only getting "the bird" once that I saw. We checked into our hotel and did some of our own sightseeing ending with mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral Saturday evening. Sunday we took a hop on/hop off bus tour, with seats only on the top. We were FROZEN as it was raining and 50 degrees. Needless to say by Rockefeller Center we needed to get off and warm up. Monday we took a train out to White Plains and went to a casino on the way back. An experience, yes. We ate good food and saw the sights, but did we see a show did you ask? Well, if you count reality TV a show, then yes! Thank you, Marlys & Eileen for a great trip!

Leo's Second Birthday

Leo's second birthday party was all perfect except the attitude of the birthday boy. As you can see in this first picture he was pretty crabby. He had moments of his normal happy self but during gift opening and us singing to him it all went downhill. He ended up in bed by 6pm. He woke up a few hours later and did get some play time with his new toys. The party had a lion theme (Leo the lion). He received wonderful gifts and got to spend time with lots of family. Leo is now a big boy at 32 lbs not far behind his sister :)

Crabby Leo not wanting his cake

The cake

Playing with his new train set

Outside after dinner

Easter 2011

Today is Easter and here are some photos from this morning. It turned out to be a nice day with the sun shining and blue sky. But noon it was nearing 60 degrees. We went to 8:00am church and then headed to the Schultz's for a delicious brunch. The kids ran around crazy and opened some Easter gifts. We plan to get out to play at the park after the kids take their naps. Happy Easter to all!! We are very blessed!

Coloring Eggs

The final results

In the process... patience my child :)

Before we started

Dru did the coloring of the eggs this year. Leo was very crabby and was not interested in participating. Dru did a great job and really enjoyed switching the eggs from one cup to another. I think her favorite part was adding the stickers on them once they dried. Only 2 cracked in the process. I sure hope Julie is home to do this with us next year!

Backyard playtime

Fun in the cozy coupe (it's a cause of many arguments)

Dru waiting for Leo to come back with pinecones


Crazy Leo

Dru's big wheel, it will be awhile before Leo can reach the pedals.

Spring came and went in early April. It was warm for a few days then it snowed again. So this was the first chance we had to get outside and run off some energy. The kids are going to have much more fun together this summer. We look forward to being able to play outside a lot!!