Wednesday, November 30, 2011

At the amusement park - with Grandma!

Summer is for trips to the amusement park. And look who came with us: Grandma! She was here to visit for a couple of weeks.

Family picture! Karsten, Grandma, Natalie.
Natalie is getting to be a big girl. So, on this trip, there were a few "firsts":

Natalie can ride the helicopters all by herself!
Look who's big enough to ride the scrambler!
I think Natalie went on the scrambler at least five times!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Sleepover

Natalie had her friends Aubriella and Brayden over for a sleepover in the late summer. It was awesome to see the kids together:


Two best friends - just exploring the stream and shooting the breeze...
Movie time!
Zonked out after a fun day. Two sleeping beauties.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Fun at the Zoo

This summer, we went to a company event at the Zoo. It was a gorgeous summer day, and we had such a great time. We spent a lot of time looking at the animals, but also some time on the playground. Natalie loved spinning around on this tire swing. I absolutely love this picture, the way her smile is in focus and everything else is just slightly blurred because she was spinning so fast:

Gotta love that smile!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

School supplies

Natalie was very excited to get ready for school. We ordered her school supplies from the school, and she got to pick them up in late August. Here she is, unpacking:

Wow, that's a lot of stuff!
A few days later, she got to go to her new school and bring in all the supplies - and meet the teacher, of course. She was so excited:

Let's go!
The evening went very well. We dropped off all the supplies in the correct bins, and we met her teacher. Natalie's teacher is very nice, friendly, and does very well with the kids. We've been very lucky to get her as Natalie's teacher.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

A happy girl at the beach

Here's a picture to warm your hearts here in the middle of November! Continuing the series of posts that are way late, here's one of our best summer activities:

At the beach!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The butterfly net

Natalie has a new favorite summer toy - a butterfly net.

It is awesome to see her run around the yard chasing the butterflies. There's something about that care-free childhood freedom:
Keep chasing those butterflies.
Got one!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Camping, part four - more activities


A few more favorites from our camping trip:

The playground was a hit. It didn't have any monkey bars (Natalie's current favorite), so she just decided to use the lily-pads as monkey bars instead. She made it all the way across:
No monkey bars? No problem for a little monkey!
Two upside-down girls.
Another hit came right before it was time to leave. A magic show! Natalie really enjoyed that part:
Wow - how did he do that?

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Camping, part three - evening


Some of the best times at camping are in the evening. Of course, there is the fire in the firepit - that the guys meticulously tended:
Working the fire
And one of the best things is the glow necklaces / bracelets/ balls / thingies...
Gotta love this picture - it just has that great "evening at the campground" feel to it.
And of course, three kids in jammies, hanging out together, isn't all that bad either:
Night time slumber party with a movie - such a luxury.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Camping, part two - activities

We did so many fun things with the kids while we were camping:
Shaving cream hairstyles!
Wagon ride with Yogi Bear and Cindy Bear
Natalie and Aubriella visiting Cindy Bear's house.
But sometimes it's also great to just hang out "at home". Natalie found out that she really liked watching a movie about trucks with Braden:
Just chillin' with a movie!

Camping, part one - Getting there

Just like last year, we went camping with our great friends. We had a great time!
First, we had to get there. And it was a long trip (at least an hour), which was a long time for a little girl that couldn't wait to see her best friend! So, a little bribery was in order...
A humongous lollipop!
As soon as we got there, the girls (Aubriella and Natalie) were doing artwork while we unpacked.
Pretty soon, the boys were outside playing football.

To be continued...

Sunday, November 13, 2011

A summer afternoon with Daddy

Now that we've just had our first snow of the season, let's continue the series of long, lost summer posts!

What to do with a beautiful summer afternoon?

Have icecream with Daddy!
The water is perfect! Wanna see?
Splash!
Come play with me, Daddy! The water-crayon-shooters are ready!
No, I'm not wet at all...

And, just to show how it all went down, here is a little video of Natalie and Natalie playing. I think the object of the game was to hit a wooden box a few feet away with the water spray...

 
Such a fun day!