Birthdays

Johan was so worried he would not hear from his family for his birthday. As luck would have it, he got a letter in the mail on his birthday and was able to Skype with his dad and sister while he read it. There were lots of words about how wonderful he is and and how proud his family back home is of him. There were also lots of tears, but only of happiness.  

Johan and our friend Mallory share a birthday. So our families took them out to Pizza Ranch for dinner.  

We had and ice cream cake (Snicker's Blizzard flavor, Johan's favorite) from Dairy Queen.

Fishing on Pepin

Yesterday was one of the best days I have had in a long time. Our friend, Steve, offered to take us out on his boat on Lake Pepin. I photographed a wedding on Saturday. Although I love photographing weddings, and I had a great time with the couple, I always forget how much work is involved and the long hours of wedding days. And it was nice to just have a day of relaxing after all the running with the kids this summer, baseball coaching, photography sessions, and home improvement projects. It was just phenomenal just to spend the day with my guys.

Johan really seemed to enjoy himself. John promised him we would catch big fish, but we really didn't. We only caught a few small crappie. Bodie mostly ate Cheetos the whole day, while the rest of us snacked on sandwiches, grapes and chips. The weather was perfect.

Steve

Johan

Bodie eating Cheetos

Our pitifully small fish

Tye

The boys had a lot of fun, especially with Johan and Ryan. Bodie is being very well behaved because he is always shy around new people. With Johan being so new, he is just still unsure. Its actually kind of nice for us, because things are calm and peaceful.
Tye thought it would b a great idea t go swimming of the dock, but didn't realize the cement leading into the water was so slippery with algae. He slipped, fell, and cried, bleeding from the elbow. But he didn't want to look like a baby in front of Johan. So, he wiped his eyes and elbow and went on playing.

  

The boys skipping stones.

 I have to remember to schedule more days off to spend with my guys before school starts because I could use more days like this one!