Summer 2011

Almost the end of summer ... unbelievable! We had a wonderful summer. The girls went to summer school right after school ended. Hailee for 3 weeks, Gabi for 5. It sounds like a lot but since I have to work it keeps them busy. And they really didn't mind at all.
Hailee participated in a Freshman class which met at the high school. The main focus was to get them comfortable with classes and learn their way around.

Gabi did a math class to expose her to different concepts and to strengthen her skills. Since her schooling in Bulgaria was very limited these programs are a great help for her. She also did a Cultural cooking class which she LOVED. She was able to bring samples of their cooking home each night and there were a couple of recipes that we've added to ours. Definitely yummy!!!

Gabi had her first friend party -- she chose to go bowling.  Unfortunately it was vacation time for a lot of the friends she invited so it was a small party but everyone had a great time and most importantly, Gabi was so happy!

Have you ever been to a balloon fest?  We hadn't so we headed to Waterford to check it out with the Aunts & Uncles.  The day was HOT but we still had a nice time.  The only thing missing from the balloon fest was hot air balloons.  We learned that there were certain times the balloons were there .... and we missed them.  But we had a great time anyway. 

The girls added some decoration to their hairs ....

Gabi showed off her new red streak by posing with the aunts!

Hailee was up next and chose orange and green .....

In case you couldn't see Gabi's red, here's a close up.  Not sure what Auntie Pat is doing in the background.

What would summer be without summer vacation?? We headed to Rhinelander this year with Pat & Brian and were lucky enough to steal Hayden from Jonathan and Amanda for the week. We stayed in a 3 bedroom cottage with one bath ... I think we were all a little worried about how this would work with 7 people but it went so well that we signed up to do it again next year!!


And what would a vacation be without a few hundred pictures? Here goes ....

Hayden rode with Jack and I and the girls with Pat and Brian.  We offered to switch it up 1/2 way through but Pat & Brian turned us down.  Could it be because the girls each had DVD players and were quiet compared to the whistle blowing - train boy that we had????
Ever fill a train car with goldfish crackers -- it bought us about 10 minutes of whistle silence .....

Our first day at the lake dawned cloudy but fairly warm.  There was no way we were going to keep the kids out of the water .... they were ready!  This lake was amazing -- sandy bottom, nice beach and we had the place to ourselves.  There were a couple other cottages but the renters were mostly fisherman .... we lucked out!

Nights were spent playing games around the kitchen table.  The girls were hooked on a card game called Ditch the Witch until they discovered an old Rummy Royal game that Aunt Pat brought. Nothing is better than a boat ride.  It was fun exploring the lake .....

And for Hayden there were swings -- there's nothing better than swinging according to Hayden.  That's our cottage behind the swinger!



Lazy mornings were a huge part of this vacation .... even Hayden wasn't up and moving until at least 8:30.  The girls rolled out closer to 9.  Relaxing!!!!

And it wasn't only the kids that were having lazy mornings .... Pat & I were slaving in the kitchen getting breakfast ready while all this relaxing was going on.  I can't tell you how tiring it is to get those cereal boxes and paper bowls, plastic forks and milk on that table.  Whew!

Ahhhh .... the life ...........sitting on the front of the boat, speeding along and loving it!!!  Her only worry was wondering if her hat was going to stay on.

Hayden discovered the perfect toy, it was never far from him..  A sand scoop.  With it you can pick up sand and move it wherever you want or throw water at an unsuspecting person, especially your aunties who squeal really loud when you hit them. 
Hailee couldn't wait to show Gabi what happens when you fill a noodle with water and blow in one end .....can you guess what happened when Gabi came closer?

Hailee is getting braver on the tube.  Here she is showing off one of her tricks.  Wish I would have caught the tricks that went wrong and she ended up in lake.  (hee, hee)

Wednesday morning was chilly and rainy.  We decided to head to town for our annual Paul Bunyan's breakfast.  It was a welcome break, I think we were all watered out.  Even Hayden was a tired boy this morning.


And here we are .... if you go back in the blog I think you'll see some of these same pictures every year.... we love this place! 

Hayden discovered why Papa loves Paul Bunyans so much.  They have the BEST donuts!

And they give you a hat with really cool horns.  I'm not sure why Hailee and Gabi didn't want a hat of their own .....

After our breakfast we decided to see a movie since it was raining ..... Cars 2 was fantastic.   We all enjoyed it!

Nighttime was a pretty special time .... stories and prayers for Hayden ... Gabi took a turn reading the bedtime story. (Okay one of the bedtime stories -- he was on vacation after all and vacation means that there's a few extra special treats)

Sunggle time ............................


Uncle Brian heard there was an outboard motor museum in Rhinelander.  It's something he's wanted to do for a few years so we decided to check it out.   I can't say that most of us were excited to go but we did it anyway. We were surprised at what a nice place it was ... there was much more to see than outboard motors  ....

The girls were loving the old school room.  There were so many things to check out.   And they were actually allowed to explore and use so mcuh.  There were feather quills and ink to write with.  An old ditto maker was used, old time stamps and puzzles and books ....

Hayden found the puzzles and did every one that was there.

I really think the girls could have spent a lot more time here ... guess we'll be adding this to our things to do list in Rhinelander!

There was even a teepee on the grounds.  Hayden couldn't wait to go inside -- he didn't last long inside though, he said it was "stinky in there". 


It was hot .... and Aunt Pat needed a break ....


And here's the reason we were here ............ it's the OUTBOARD MOTORS .... are you excited??????


And then we found the BESTEST part of museum according to Hayden.  The TRAINS!!!!  Oh my goodness, could it get any better???  Well, actually, yes it could.  There was a bell on the train to ring .... and Hayden was more than willing to keep that bell ringing!!!

And ringing ....... and ringing .....



There was even a spot for kodak moments which made me very happy..


After the museum we headed back to vacation and everyone was ready to do some tubin!  This was the first time that Hayden wanted to go for a ride.  But, only if he could ride on Auntie Gabi's lap. 

It wouldn't be vacation without painting some rocks.  This year we had to be creative to find some rocks to paint.  The lake was so sandy that we couldn't find them ... we eventually had to stop along the road and check out parking lot and fields for rocks.  That's a first!


After all the hard work painting it was time for popsicles - and yes, Jonathan, they were grape!


More jumping ......


Gabi was really enjoying the tube .... she even got braver as the week went on.  Watching Hailee gave her a few ideas and before the week ended she tried a few tricks of her own on the tube.  Here she is hands in the air just like her sister. 

She even managed to turn herself around for a little backward tubing .... turning herself to face forward was a little more difficult, the air got under the tube and since she's such a light-weight she flew off and ended up in the lake. 

We all felt this way ....... Hailee just couldn't keep her eyes open any longer ......

The girls and Hayden were thrilled to see these deer on the road almost every time we left the cottage.  The deer just stood and watched us, there was no fear. 

Our last day .... it was a wonderful vacation spent with two of the best people we know.  Thank you Pat and Brian for helping to make this one more memorable vacation. 

In case you were wondering ..... the girls once again rode with Aunt Pat and Uncle Brian and we were blessed to have Hayden and his train ................  (smile)


Home again ... Jackson came to pick up his big brother ....



Just one more thing -- I thought you might enjoy this video of Gabi reading a few poems that she wrote this past school year.  The class took a poem they liked and then wrote a poem that used the same format -- over the school year they wrote about 9 poems.  It was a very hard thing for Gabi to do -- most poems were much too difficult for her to understand.  The ELL teacher gave her a sight word poem book where the poems were very simple and easy for Gabi to understand.   Once Gabi understood what was expected she was off.

At the end of the year the class had a party and parents were invited to come and hear a couple of each child's favorite poems.  Here's what Gabi read .... she was so proud!!!