A decade of smiles!

An hour from now (i might have to go to bed) we'll hit the ten year mark of when Johan rolled into the world with a bang. And nothing has ever been the same. He spreads rays of sunshine where ever he goes and we can't imagine life without him. He celebrated by having a few friends over for pizza and cake, followed by attending a demolition derby! Nothing says happy birthday like the smell of busted radiators...

Back to school

Our home time has a shiny new intermediate school for grades 4 through 6. So Mathias and Johan are both in the first batch of kids to go there. Last week we got an evening orientation where the kids got to see the new digs and meet the teachers. And then it was time to go back to school! The school year is off to a fabulous start! 

Valley Fair

In a last hurrah of summer (while Ericka was back to work) the boys and i went to Valley Fair for a day. The boys had a hearty appetite for roller coasters. But, surprisingly, also for kiddie rides like Snoopy's Hot Air Balloon Ride. After a hot day of lots of rides we closed out the afternoon with a visit to Minnesota's largest candy store. The only thing that would have made it better wouldn't have been having mom along! 

Tubes.... again!

About a year ago, Johan had surgery to remove a stubborn ear tube that woulnd't fall out on its own. Then the hole in his ear drum wouldn't heal up. So he had surgery to patch that in May. And almost immediately his ears filled up with fluid again and he couldn't hear much.  So we're back at it!  New tubes and this time the adenoids were removed.  He's back to hearing again! And we're hoping this is our last go at ear surgeries (or surgeries in general)!

Bemidji and Swedish Camp

Like a couple of years ago we spent a week in Bemidji at Kohl's Resort. In the day time the boys went to Swedish camp, while Ericka and I enjoyed the sunshine.  The afternoons were spent swimming and playing on the beach. In the evenings we fished hard.  The boys had quite a bit of success with the northerns and the bass. The weather was fantastic all week and the boys even learned a couple of words of Swedish!