My Gardening Assistant

David's Words Update

David has started talking more. He started calling both Grandpa's "Pa Pa", and Grandma is "Ga Ga". And the best one...Foxy is "Ka Ka". Classic!

Pictures from our weekend with Grandpa Dave's Family

Family picture

David at the Lake

Driving the boat w/ Uncle Corey and Aunt Mandy

We spent the week at Peter's Resort near Glenwood, MN. Dave and Mary rented a wonderful cabin. Mary's whole family was there which includes her two sisters and their families.

We got up to Glenwood on Monday night. We went out to dinner at the lodge. The highlight of the dinner was being asked if you wanted "soup or juice". We'd never heard of that, but apparently (after talking to my Dad) is a very old custom that those were your two choice. We laughed about it though. Mandy was the only one to get the juice! Damon drove Dave back to St. Cloud to meet Carol as Dave had forgotten his pills so they missed the dinner. David was coveting Bradon's Lightning McQueen cars so we figured out a gift to get him for his Birthday!

On Tuesday we went for a nice morning walk. Damon golfed with a group of people.

On Wednesday Damon went fishing with Mandy, Corey and Dusty so I took David for a morning walk again. I also took him swimming at the beach. Patty and Don made turkey/wild rice brats for dinner.

On Thursday we went to Glacial Lakes State Park and went for a nice hike. Damon golfed in the afternoon and got his best score ever! David and I spent lots of time at the beach.

Overall, David got to spend lots of time with Grandpa Dave. Mandy was wonderful playing with David, she is so good with kids and gave me a bit of a break when she'd take over. What a wonderful sister-in-law!

On Friday we drove up to Int'l Falls to pick up the dogs. We stayed the weekend at the Shack. Damon helped my Dad with some projects. The dogs got lots of woodticks and we all got lots of mosquito bites. We had a beer (of course) with the Burns'. Always a good time.

So far our summer has been so much fun. We can't wait until 4th of July weekend to celebrate my parents 50th Anniversary.

Happy Father's Day

We had a very nice breakfast at Pearson's with Dave, Mary and Dusty. Then we went and did a little shopping. Damon got his first pair of flip-flops ever. We played in the backyard with David. He loves his slide and the pool. Then we went for a walk on Minnehaha Creek and stopped at a playground which he loved. Carol was over for a nice dinner.

Damon's Boundary Waters Trip

Last week Damon went to the Boundary Waters with a group of 8 friends. Despite some rainy weather and their tents leaking, they had a fabulous trip. They caught over 500 walleyes, and a lot of huge Northerns, crappies and Sunfish. Most of them caught the biggest fish of their lives. Damon's biggest was a 31 inch Northern.

Hail Storm

On Saturday Britta, Mike, Winnie and Vivian came over for dinner. The girls doted on David and wanted to help him do EVERYTHING. It was so fun to get the kids together. The weather turned from beautiful to stormy in a matter of minutes so we had to run inside. We went down in the basement to watch the weather...didn't want to chance anything after last weekends events in Hugo. Damon grilled in the hail! After the storm we ventured out to play with the hail. Winnie and Vivian shoveled off our deck.

Busted!!

David got into the Cheerios. Foxy served as our vacuum cleaner and did a great job cleaning out the tent!

Camping Trip

Here are some pictures of our weekend camping trip. We had a wonderful family weekend. Luckily we had great weather and were missed by the storms. David had lots of fun running around the campsite, playing in the dirt and going for walks. He slept better in the tent at night than he does at home...although napping was another story...that required a car ride.

Macaroni and Cheese Taste Test

Tonight we had a Mac and Cheese taste test. Damon didn't believe that the store brand (Target brand) could ever taste as good as the Kraft.

We did a blind-folded taste test. Both boxes were prepared exactly the same.

And the winner is.....unanimously....

The Target brand Mac and Cheese at 1/3 of the price! Damon was impressed.

David tried both and enjoyed both kinds.

Yummy Pie Recipe

Our computer is not working to download photos from our camera right now so I haven't posted for awhile. Hopefully we'll figure it out soon as we have some cute pictures to share. Until then...

My friend Kristi at work made a delicious and easy Strawberry Pie so I thought I'd share the recipe. Enjoy!

Fresh Strawberry Pie
3 oz. pkg strawberry Jello
5 T. corn starch
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. 7-Up or Sprite
4 c. strawberries, sliced or quartered
9" graham cracker pie crust
Combine dry ingredients in medium saucepan. Add 7-Up and stir together. Bring to a slow boil and cook until the mixture thickens. Cool. Add strawberries and pour into crust. Refrigerate until serving.