Have you seen this fox?

If so, I presume you know what to tell him?!

We encountered him last weekend at the amusement park formerly known as Camp Snoopy, nowadays Nickelodeon Universe.  Mathias had a blast riding the big trucks and race cars.  Dad rode along for most of the adventures.  Being the ride-along chaperone brings out the child in all of us!

Applause

On Sunday, Tom Watson came within a single putt of winning the British Open.  At age 59 he would have been the oldest winner in history - the second oldest, Tom Morris, was 46 when he won back in 1867.  A heroic effort foiled by the tiniest of margins certain to be an inspiration to golfers everywhere!  On Sunday, Johan learned how to clap his hands!  A coincidence? I think not! 

It's more fun at Aunt B's!

Southeastern South Dakota doesn't often get mentioned as a hot-spot for summer vacations. But that's where we spent a few days last week.  It wasn't the allure of endless corn fields that brought us there, but the home of everyone's favorite Aunt B.  While the boys spent a couple of days at Aunt B's Ericka and I checked into the attic suite of the Steever House Bed & Breakfast.

While hosting the boys, Aunt B packed more fun into a couple of days than most do in a month!  A sampling of the entertainment at Aunt B Summer Camp 2009: Mathias went boating on the Missouri river, rode a five-ton John Deere 4430 farm tractor, got to hold a week-old kitten, jumped in the local swimming pool, got to pet a young calf, picked eggs, and, of course, played with cousin Jonah's stash of toy cars (thank for sharing, Jonah!).

 

Johan didn't participate in most of the hands-on activities. But he arrived at Aunt B's being somewhat able to get around on the floor. Two days later when we picked him up he was a full-fledged crawler - it must have been the chocolate! 

The bar for summer fun has been raised!  Thanks Aunt B!!!

What were mom and dad doing?  Sleeping in until 9, having a leisurely breakfast, reading the newspaper, watching movies - exotic stuff that completely falls by the wayside with the arrival of a couple of high energy boys!

Independence Day fun: awaiting the fireworks

What to do when the Independence Day fireworks start way after your bedtime?  

Make sure you can see and hear them from your sleeping quarters by camping out in the back yard!  And the key to a successful camping trip might be to bring all the amenities of home, including a bag of books and a comfortable blanket for story time after dinner.    The boys fell a sleep before the start of the show and missed it all.  Mathias slept in the tent until four o clock when he woke up and wanted to go home.  Luckily it was a short hike for him and mom!  Johan and I snoozed until eight.

independence Day fun: at the parade

Our hometown hosts a very long parade for Independence Day.  In a two-hour conglomeration of fire trucks, police cruisers, floats, horses, and marching bands Mathias' absolute favorite was a collection of daredevil go-cart drivers doing a coordinated set of stunts. It was quite the show and our little fan of all things automotive was mesmerized!

Time to wear hats

Just in time for his ten month (or five sixths) birthday Johan has graduated from helmet school!  While he was an exemplary student never really objecting to wearing it, everyone is happy to see it go - especially now as we are heading into the dog days of summer!

And you have to admit he looks happier without!

With helmet [Before]

Without helmet [After]

Independence Day fun: at the carnival

Part of our home town's all-out celebration for Independence Day is the carnival that comes to town.   We visited with uncle Mark and cousins Maranda and Robert who were in town. Just like last year, many of the rides are off limits due to the pesky height restrictions.  But we found a few that were fun AND geared towards the shorter set.

Particularly fun was the giant slide which we wend down many times (it is 40 steps to get up there carrying a three year-old on one of the hottest days of the year). 

Independence Day fun: the kiddie parade

We have started to recover from a weekend full of Independence Day celebrations. It kicked off with the annual kiddie parade. I runs one lap around a city block and it takes twice as long to get the kids lined up as it takes to walk the parade route.  For the parade we had attempted to convert a wagon into a float featuring Miss Delano 2024 - our friend Bella - with her pit crew (the float presumably breaks down a lot).  We had to modify our plans a bit as both Miss Delano and the chief mechanic refused to ride in the wagon...  

At the eye doctor

We too Mathias back to the eye doctor for a checkup.  Last time we went, the examination was rather intrusive and a bit unpleasant. So, on the way to the appointment and sitting in the waiting room Ericka and I were much more nervous than the actual patient!  It turned out to be a much easier checkup this time around.  Mathias did very well and was diagnosed with a bit of far-sightedness, as are most children.  The worst part of the appointment was the dilation of his pupils which he didn't like much.  Of course, while he was complaining about not being able to see his graham cracker mom and dad where thinking to themselves: "be glad you didn't experience what we did last time..."

It wasn't necessarily a reward for being brave at the eye doctor but in the evening he got to take a spin around the block in a 1922 model T truck.