First day of school, 8/19/09

new school....Camelot Intermediate

This is what a couple of hockey games will do to ya!

As you can see the boys started school a couple of weeks ago. They are both in the new Intermediate school and switch classes for 3 or 4 subjects. I guess the idea with that is to try to get them ready for middle school. So far it's going well and we haven't met any resistance from them as far as getting up and heading out. This new school most certainly meets any post Columbine safety requirements...the side doors automatically lock at 8:05 and you must enter through the office after that. All of the main classrooms are located on one side of the school (over 400 4th and 5th graders) and if it ever needs to be locked down there's a bullet-proof glass partition that will separate that portion of the school from everything else. Ryan explained all of that to me tonight when we went to his 'back to school' classroom meeting.

We're also keeping busy with soccer and, believe it or not, hockey. The boys have the opportunity to attend 4 on 4 twice a week and so far we've been there 6 or so times. Yesterday they played a double-header with a team from SF and won both games. You can see what it did to Ryan...he was tuckered out!

Hope you all have a great week!

Camp Foley 2009

I don't know if you can tell but this is a Bald Eagle. I believe there's a nest near Camp.

Alex decided to give fencing a try this summer

Ryan earned a 'Robin Hood' award for highest score of all campers for 3 consecutive days

This particular day was too windy for the Mangos so they brought out a bigger sailboat and the kids went for a ride instead.

At the Marina with the Mangos. Ryan is the kid on the far right.

On guard!

a little kayaking during free time.

'Mom...he's a mini gangsta!'

Alex and another camper sailing a Mango. The kids start on these and then move up in size when they're ready. He was really good at this and was whipping around the lake like a pro.

Alex (left) canoeing on the first day. I like how the counselor is just enjoying the ride. :)

Ryan gave wake boarding a try...

....and he's off

almost out of the water...

oh no!! lean back, lean back!

Face plant! Nice try, though.

Once again we had a fun time at CF. The weather was beautiful for 3 of the days we were there and I didn't have any major injuries or illnesses. Alex and Ryan tried a couple of new things this summer and for the most part really enjoyed them (Ryan wasn't too fond of the wake boarding after this little splash). Who knows, we may find ourselves there for 2 weeks next year. :)

more Lake Superior pics

This particular day on the lake it was hard to see the difference between the sky and water. You can see a boat to the left of the boys to help differ between the two.

Alex thinks he's an eagle :)

on the shore of Lake Superior

Lake Superior fishing

ore boat in the distance

docks for the ore boats in Two Harbors

lighthouse in Two Harbors

apparently it doesn't matter what lake we fish in...the boys still act the same!

we used this 'herbie' to take the lines down 150-180 feet!

Alex you've got a bite!!

Keep reeling Al!

'But Tim, my arm is tired'...that's what he told him and tried to give him the pole.

(Unfortunately for Al, Tim had to reel up the downrigger and couldn't help.)

At this point Alex was 'skiing' the fish in

Nice netting Ryan!

Alex, Tim and Ryan with the end result

Our fishing on Lake Superior was great! It was a beautiful night and the water was calm...very cold though. I guess it's in the 40s (I didn't stick my hand in but the boys did) and stays like that all summer long. We fished in water that was 150-180 feet deep and used something called a 'herbie' to take the hook to the bottom of the lake (I think of it as a very large bottom bouncer :)). We were successful and caught the 3 fish you see in the last picture. I do have to say I thought someone was going to end up in the lake when they were trying to get the fish in the boat. One of the boys was reeling the line up, Tim was reeling the downrigger up and the other child was netting the fish. Then Ryan decided he wanted to drive the boat while trying to net a fish. Needless to say we were all over the place :) Unfortunately my camera battery died right after they netted the first fish...go figure! I'm glad we got these, though, and maybe we can go back another day.

Hudson, WI and Lake Superior

Waiting in line for the slide. It's 4 stories high and pitch black inside. I would only go down the tube slide...the body slide looked much too scary!

yes, that's really a cat!!

a friendly game of basketball with the Krogman brothers

Carter, Ryan, Jackson and Alex

firepower!!

Prior to heading to Camp the boys and I traveled to Hudson, WI and the North Shore of Lake Superior. We hadn't seen our friends Steve and Diana for a couple of years (we met them in Brownwood) so we spent our first night with them. The cat you see (Ricky) is gigantic...I just don't know what else to say about him. Alex was intrigued even though he's allergic to cats. I have to admit I was too! Our second night was spent in Duluth at a waterpark where we enjoyed the slides and lazy river. Some friends of ours from Brookings were also there so the 4 boys played a little 'basketball' too! As I had mentioned before we went fishing on Lake Superior and had a great time. Lake Superior reminds me of the ocean and I thought it was so beautiful. I'd love to go back there some time and just be a tourist for a couple of days!

Greetings from Camp Foley!!

The boys and I are at Camp for a few more days and I just thought I'd stop in and say hi! They're having a great time. Our trip started on Sunday with a trip to Hudson, WI, to visit some friends. The next day we went to Duluth and traveled up to Two Harbors and went fishing on Lake Superior with Tim. We were successful and caught 3 lake trout. Pics to follow. Btw...don't feel bad for Kevin...he's golfing and fishing while we're gone!!

We went fishing last night with some coaches from Northern Edge Hockey School. They are back in town for a couple of weeks and enjoyed fishing at the pit so much they asked if they could go there again this summer. Well, the end result was the same as last year...Alex out-fished everyone and has retained his title of 'Bass Master.' I believe he caught 5 or 6 last night and they were all good sized. We actually stopped counting (or lost count) because it seemed like he was the only one pulling them in. The coaches each caught one, though, and did enjoy the time spent outside. Funny enough, Al caught all of his fish on Kayla's Barbie pole even after they all made fun of me for fishing with it. Alex needed to switch with me after he messed up the line on his pole.

He's pretty proud of this one!

We had a visitor last night at our peaceful pond

Ryan skipping rocks
(he didn't do alot of fishing....mostly rock throwing)

Alex took the hook out all by himself, all while holding the fish!!

and he also managed to track down this toad.

Parent/Child Golf Tourney 2009

Alex and Ryan with Ryan's good friend, Dylan

Ryan was giving me pointers on where to aim. I missed the putt and should've listened to him and aimed to the right just a little more!

Alex teeing off on #1

Where did your shot go dad?

Today we played in the annual Parent/Child golf tournament at the Country Club. I was paired with Ryan and Kevin with Alex. Next year we're going to pay someone to play with Alex because he's so critical of every shot you take. :) Neither one of the boys placed but we did have fun and it was a nice day to be out.

The boys start school on the 19th so we've got a bit of work to do with buying school supplies and
new clothes. Luckily they don't need much for clothes - just jeans, khakis and maybe a new pair of shoes.

I've only got to work 2 days this week so that should give us some time to hit the pool a tad bit. We haven't exactly had the best weather for going to the pool but I hear August could be a little warmer...just in time for school!!