Paintball.

Have I mentioned that my husband is a tad crazy for Paintball?  He is.  He is obsessed.  And he has not played AT ALL this summer.

So for lack of playmates he has recruited the nephews.   Poor little guys.

I love the look of concentration they all have.

Look at that little tongue!

O -  Love that they were using their daddy's gun.

G showing is great skills.

For the love . . . is there anyone out there who will play with Boyd?  Pretty please? :)

The Hills.

We love to visit Ryan and Christy.  Christy is my cousin and Boyd and Ryan might be long lost brothers. . . I’m not sure.  Boyd gets excited to go REAL mountain biking and Ryan obliges and takes him on some trails.  EVERY TIME Boyd goes he is quickly reminded that he is a flatlander while sucking air.  I guess this last little excursion was made even more interesting bc Boyd had consumed A LOT of cream cheese just before taking off.   That does not sound like my husband at all.

We also did a couple of fun hikes.   Ryan always says its a "secret trail".  I'm not sure if it is true or not but it makes us feel special.    

We went out to lunch with Bob and Aileen (Christy’s parents).  They are fantastic.  I would like to give a shout out to Bob - - Hi Bob!  He is a conniseur of the local restaurants and has great opinions of what we should order.  Boyd took his dare and consumed the entire Meatloaf Sandwich (did not learn from his cream cheese episode) and I had the Mango Berry Salad (delic!).  Bob always knows what we are up to because he reads my blog:

Bob:  Out of my entire family, I am the one who keeps up with your blog religiously!

Me:  Nice!  I suppose you now know I am a terrible cook?

Bob:  No.  I now know you are certifiably crazy.

See?  Family is the best. ;)

After Ryan got off of work - we headed to Spearfish.  We did a small hike that was completely gorgeous and got to stop in and see Dale and Sandy Boe and Stacy Miller.  Dale and Sandy run Vocations for Orphans.  This is the organization that we hooked up with when we went to Chile to work on the orphanage.  It was so great to see them - - would love to go again someday.  Dale had just arrived that day from Chile.  Check out:  www.vfo.org for more info.

AND then we ate at a crazy good pizza joint.  mmmmm.....

On Saturday, Ryan was gracious enough to take Boyd on another ride.  It was a trail he had not been on before, it was titled:  The Bone Collector.  Boyd immediately perked up at the name of the trail.  He kept trying to use the name of the trail several times in a sentence.  It was slightly annoying but kind of cute all at the same time.

Boyd came home with blood on his arm.  He felt pretty special. 

Christy is pregnant.  Boyd was showing off his pregnant belly too.

I got to hit a few garage sales, went to a BBQ with even more relatives, and laughed a lot.  It was a nice weekend.

I tried. I really did.

IMPORTANT NEWS UPDATE:  

And no, its not about the stock market.   It’s bigger.  I cooked the other night.  The whole: Go-to-the-grocery-store-search-the-aisles-looked-so-confused-that-someone-offered-to-help-me COOKED.  And it was awful.  I was going to make this yummy spicy pasta dish.  It called for garlic cloves.  I saw garlic cloves (after 25 minutes of looking) and they seemed rather complicated.  So I decided to see if there was a garlic clove powder instead (I really like shortcuts).  YES!  There were ground cloves.  Wala!  I was patting myself on the back for such innovative thinking.

I simmered the bacon and tomato sauce . . had the fresh mushrooms going and added my spices . . mmmm . .  looks complicated AND delicious!  Boyd is going to be so impressed!  

I did the taste test.  It tasted funny.  And kind of gross.  I may have thrown some things.  I can’t remember . . . I blacked out.  Supposedly, ground cloves ARE NOT THE SAME as garlic cloves.  I guess they are used more in pumpkin spiced foods.  

The lesson learned in all of this:  Take a nap instead.  I had a sneaky suspicion that I was being too ambitious.  I shall heed my inner voice more carefully next time.

Boyd laughed hysterically and said he was glad that I was unique (whatever that means).  The ironic thing is that he eats ANYTHING so I probably should not have even told him.  He probably would have raved about it.  Dork. 

He did mention that its my own karma biting me in the a*s . . supposedly it is getting back at me for calling him a happy lesbian.  Whatever.  

******

In other news:  Our White Bear Lake renters were gifted a house from one of their parents.  Who does that and in what world?!  So, that means we have to find new renters before the end of September.  Its August.  Fantastic.  Anyone want to live in a quiet little suburb of St. Paul?  It’s great.  Really.  We loved it there.

Looks like my fall just filled up.  *sigh*

Such a great house.  I miss it.

******

Our nephew Jake is visiting from Oklahoma. We don’t get to see him often so it was fun to see him this summer.  We went tubing at Sister1’s.  He and Graham could tube for hours.  It looked exhausting.  We also did some go-karting, miniature golf and pizza consuming.   He’s such a great kid.

******

I painted some furniture items today for the next Shoppe Occasional Sale.  I think it is going to be pretty stellar if I say so myself. 

My Hero.

I'm not sure that I complain enough in this blog.  Yes? No?

Boyd said he would hit some garage sales with me this morning before I head to the Shoppe.  He tried. He really did.  But then he REALLY HAD TO GO TO THE BATHROOM RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!  ARGH.  And then he nearly hit a car because he continuously fails to look both ways before turning into intersections.  My anxiety disorder was in full working order this morning.

So.  I made him go home.  And then I went by myself.  Much easier.

I ran to McDonald's right before the Shoppe opened so that I would have my mocha fix for the day.  I forgot that they are not my usual weekday workers.  I ended up with a caramel mocha.  I HATE caramel mochas!!!  So Boyd came to the rescue.  He may not have control over his bowel movements but he does understand my addiction to mochas.  He is definitely my hero.

****

Last night we rode our bikes to Dempsey's Pub for dinner.  It was a beautiful evening.  5 minutes after being seated on the patio, I hear a commotion behind me.  Lou comes darting up the stairs full speed ahead to our table.  Honestly.  We have a fence.  It is latched.  He is amazing.   We got a lot of strange looks.

Sweet Lou hates to be left behind.

****

Mr. Hobbs needs a home.  Remember Mr. Hobbs?  He is Sister2's cat.  However, since she and Jordan are now married, they also have Bowser (black lab).  Mr. Hobbs and Bowser do not mix and Jordan claims that Hobbs isn't a hunting companion.  What does he know?!    Our house is small - like really small.  That is my excuse.  But, if you like cats . . Mr. Hobbs is a spectacular cat.  Honestly.  He laughs at all my jokes.  So, if you crave companionship and don't care for people . . . . Mr. Hobbs is fantastic.

See?  He's very accommodating.  

****

Wow.  I have successfully posted pics of my pets.  Well . . I might as well get Mel in here too.   Poor guy.  He gets out-shined by the needy one.  Plus, I love this pic of Boyd.  He was insecure that his hair was falling out so he combatted this fear by growing out his lovely locks.   We look like a happy lesbian couple.

See? I have a picture of Mel. He's sweet too.

****

Tonight is 3 Dog Night at the Redlin Art Center.  I might go.  Although I'm concerned that Boyd will inspired to grow long sideburns again.  Or his hair out.  Intervention may be in my future.

*****

In other news, I booked a camping trip to the Boundary Waters.  I have a love-hate relationship with camping.  The last time we went I glimpsed a wolf walking in the woods.  Yes.  A real one.  I was a little jumpy the rest of our time there.

****

Sister1 called me and told me to stop at a church because it looked like they had a garage sale going on. So I did.  It was a wedding.  Awesome.

Typical.

I locked myself out of the Shoppe yesterday.  It was frustrating.  And you know what else is frustrating?  There are very few businesses open after 6pm.  Another frustrating fact: I knew Boyd would be smug about it since I am always criticizing him for misplacing his wallet, cell phone, keys, pants . . . .

I walked to Dempsey's Pub and used their phone to call my mom since I knew she was in town (and to avoid giving Boyd satisfaction with my airhead move).  Fortunately she had been trying to stalk me at my house so was only seconds away.  Unfortunately it took her 20 minutes to find the key I had made for her.  *sigh*

All-in-all I lost MINUTES out of my evening.

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:

Fishing Fishing Fishing

Its not fun unless you bring the wildlife indoors

Sister1 teaching Oli how to golf

Jordan and G

O and Boyd.  THE NEED FOR SPEED

Firefighting May Not Be His Calling.

We are on a little family vacation getaway this weekend.   Lots of smores, lots of mosquitos and lots of fishing.

Mom loves campfires.  She was busy doing what she does best:  whittling sticks and setting up a station for smores.  The boys have been having a blast but O has been especially hilarious on this trip.   He loves the cabin we are staying in and keeps telling Sister1 "Thank you mom for the new house!".  She has decided to just go with it for the time being.

Here is a short little video of O and his art of marshmallows over a campfire.  There is not much to actually see but the audio is kind of funny.

Enjoy.

I will try and post more later.