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Monday, July 26, 2010

Date Updates





Date 16/52 Dinner on the patio. Delightful

Date 17/52 A Walk in the Park

Date 18/52 An afternoon lazing in the backyard. Swimming, reading, napping. So nice.




*Date night is when you and your spouse make a New Year's Resolution to go out on 52 dates in 2010 and you refuse to feel guilty because summer is really all about family togetherness.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Fishing Fever

Golden Lake Park, one of our favorite places to go. 75 degrees, no humidity, a light breeze. Perfect.









Where is everybody?





I'm a little obsessed with lily pads this year.




Lots of snails. I have to do something while trying to be invisible yet present. "MOM!"






Objective: Change lures with every cast. They were biting on corn, my favorite (and cheap) bait, but you have to throw in a lure or two that will catch salad. We enjoy multi-course dinners.










Touches leeches with bare hands. This friend's a keeper.





A whole flock of bluebirds dropped by for a visit.





Catching is definitely better than fishing, even if they are small!



"You can stay here, Mom."









Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Sunday Sunday Sunday














It's hard to swim with a bucket on your head. Don't believe me? Try it (and let me know so I can take pictures!)
Great Sunday! Darren got a bike ride in with the Now guys. Sam had friends over all day. The day ended with a bonfire, toasting marshmallows, and discovering that his friend could fit through our dog door.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Not Camping Weekend Vacation, Sort-of, At Home Part 2




While I hooked a fish and a lily pad at the same time and broke my line....

Darren took a quick nap.

It was getting hot, so we headed back home, taking the long way. Sam loved passing through the town of Nowthen. Apparently, there's a big threshing show there, which led to a conversation about just what the heck threshing is. Which then led to talk about visiting a farm or doing a farm stay, which seems very odd to me having grown up with grandpa's barn and the neighbor's cows and plows and fields of corn. "I went to a farm, on a field trip, remember?" Ugh. Oh well. He can hook up a computer and cook his own food and is an amazing bargain hunter. And he mostly knows where food comes from! Well, maybe after Food, Inc. he knows too much!
We headed home to enjoy the backyard. First swim of the season (we were so late in getting the pool going his year). Swinging in the hammock. BBQ for dinner and family movie night when the sun set. Good times.

Monday, July 12, 2010

The Not Camping Weekend Vacation, Sort-of, At Home

Lily Pad Lake

Ignore the weedy sludge that looks like Eurasian Milfoil. (And probably is. ugh)





He baits a hook just like I do (with a forceps!)



The elusive lunker sunfish. He would bite on the tip of Sam's rod, but not on the hook!



We were supposed to go camping this past weekend, but life and responsibility got in the way. Oh well. We had a great weekend anyway!

We drove up to Ann Lake Campground for a quick trip. This little campground in the Sand Dunes State Forest was where we were supposed to go this weekend. Only about 30 minutes from our house. The campground was lovely with huge, private campsites. BUT, there were acres of Poison Ivy there. We didn't check any of the campsites, but the trail to the fishing pier was loaded (and any way to all the loaded black raspberry bushes was too!) A camper mentioned that it was everywhere.

This is Poison Ivy. Darren doubted me. I told him to roll in it and get back to me. After his experience last year, he refused. Remember that led to cellulitis, a stress test, and two stents being placed in his heart.






More tomorrow. Laundry Duty Calls!