The Middle Sister: Family Vacation.

Our time in Minnesota is drawing to a close. All-in-all the time here has has been nice and relaxing (*although at this moment the boys are having sugar meltdowns and DO NOT want to go to bed! *). The home was spacious and the lake was shallow and clear. There is also a very comfy hammock that got quite a lot of use.

A few tidbits from our trip:

The boys were very pleased with their "new house". O kept hugging Sister1 and saying: "Thank you mom for the new house!". She decided to just go with it.

I’ve been trying to peer pressure Brother2 into reading Harry Potter only to lose to the book: "Preparing for Adolescence".

My new adjective that O taught me: adventurey! (as in: "This looks adventurey!")

The boys have been busy busy catching fish. Later on Brother2, Jordan and G were busy bringing in buckets of lake water for the utility sink. There were no rules about NOT keeping live fish in the the house sink.

Sister1 has started to read again. She has a bit of an OBSESSIVE gene. I made a little game with the boys about keeping her book hidden. They found it hilarious until she threatened an early bedtime. She also stole my laptop and used my Facebook profile page. See?! An intervention was necessary.

POOP TACOS is a Strande delicacy. I know I should explain this statement but I’m not going to.

Boys: I want food! Can we have icecream! I’m thirsty! WAH WAH WAH.

Me: The only snacks any of you are receiving are the boogers out of your own nose!

Boys: stunned silence then some nervous giggling.

G: Oliver just ate a booger!!

We went to visit Auntie Vi. She is 94 and quick as a whip. She lives by herself and is very independent. She was lamenting how it has become more difficult to cook now that she is blind. I find cooking difficult even with all of 5 senses working properly.

We all went to Pirate's Cove and played mini-golf and rode the go-karts. Sister2 ended up winning in go-karts. Fortunately she didn't rub it in too much since the boys were very disappointed and were not being very good sports.

Ryan died one year ago tomorrow (Aug 2). It still really really sucks. I have no eloquent way to express how this loss has affected my sister, the boys, extended family, etc., except to say. . . . it just really really sucks. I would like to give a shout-out to all of you who have helped out Sister1 and the boys in so many ways this past year. I won't start to list everyone because I know I will forget someone . . . but I just wanted to say that we are forever grateful for all of the kindness shown.

Ok then.

A few pics of the weekend: