Happy Birthday to S!

As has become our family tradition, we had breakfast together and sang S "Happy Birthday"....with the birthday hat of course!

We love you S!

August in St. Louis!

We went down to visit Grandma and Grandpa just before S' birthday. We walked around Soulard, ate some yummy BBQ outside, and hit up a parade!

Walking with Daddy

Hangin' with Grandma

What a parade! They handed out freezie pops! Yay!

Just relaxing.

And a little singing to S! Looks like N is ready to help with those candles!

We love to visit Grandma and Grandpa!

M...silly and sweet

Yep, that's right folks....more hats pictures. I could make a book titled "M, a year of hats!"

Such a ham

Love her!

Walkin' her babies

Snuggles

Yeehaw!

Wearing her glasses like Mommy  :)

I love how sweet my kids look when they sleep

Family Reunion continued....

Some more pics of the family fun!

My Great-Aunt D

N, eating breakfast with his Grancy

Little K, at breakfast

My Granny, on a four-wheeler! I think pigs flew that week too....haha

My Great-Uncle G's boat...his son J re-did it and it looks just like the original. One of my most vivid memories of Uncle G was him rowing in that boat

I just want to be bigger!! "Mom, I know how to start this!"

Another boat J re-did

Getting ready to launch it

N and Grancy, on the swing

My cousin C brought her boat up....it was ridiculously nice...and fun!  :)

Hanging on the pontoon...Love the hats ladies!

My Aunt M, reading a tribute to Uncle G

Launching

Miss M and her buddy J....he's so sweet to her

Playing in the lake

Are you coming in or what?

Loving it!

Love this lake....so many memories for me. I love that my kids will now have memories too.

Having so much fun!

Playing with her bud

Just testing her out at the dock. :)

My cousin A is so good to my kids. Four-wheeler rides for everyone!

Tell me she's not the cutest!

:)

So proud of himself!

J, trying out kneeboarding

Me, waterskiing. Love it! 

Grancy, in the kayak....well, getting taken out of the kayak. Yep, that's the way she does it! Loves to kayak, but needs to be removed by someone.

My cousin T

We also had many fun N'isms this week.

We pulled up to a McDonald's on our drive and it had the yellow, lighted lines on the roof. N asked "why does McDonald's have french fries on their roof?" Yep...looked just like french fries.

When we were at the cabin, N was cruising around next to the dock in a kayak and came too close to the shore. The bottom of the kayak got stuck in the sand and he started yelling, "hey! I ran out of water!"

As we were getting ready to leave, I accidentally locked Grancy's keys in her car. After a very long time of trying to break into the car and waiting for AAA to call back, we decided that she would go home with me and the kids. While we were all in the driveway, trying to break into the car, the kids were taking turns pulling each other in the wagon. Miss M was pulling N and K and they wanted a turn and in her bossy little voice, she told them "no! Get out and sit down for 5 minutes....and sing your abcd's!" Yep, my two year old....bossing the 4 year olds. heehee

On our drive home, N was telling us about when he grows up. He said he wants to be a pilot and a fire fighter. My mom said "wow N, those are both very busy jobs. I don't know if you will have time to do both of those things." N says "yeah, but then when my plane starts on fire, I can just put it out." So matter of fact.

Annual Lake Roosevelt Fishing Tournament

Every year, we head up to "the lake" for Lake Roosevelt's fishing tournament. This is usually a doubly wonderful event. It is a perfect weekend to go to the cabin because almost all of my relatives are usually there....avid fishermen and women that they are and it also always falls right around my mom's birthday and going to the cabin is what she wants to do every year. This year, was even better though. My family decided to tie the fishing tournament into a family reunion! So this year ALL my relatives were there!! We all stayed for a long weekend and fished, kayaked, waterskiied, you name it, we did it! What a GREAT week that was! My family owns four different cabins on the same lake. Three are right in a row and the fourth is just a couple over. It makes for some great visiting! Have I mentioned that I love my family? ;) That seems to be the theme of the year here.

Some of our fisherman

My Aunt D and Cousin M, cleaning the fish....my Aunt D makes the best shore lunch every year!

Out on the pontoon

Aunt D, waiting for the big one!

Someone kept eating the fishies' corn! Heehee

He did pretty well this year!

Every year we hang by the fire at night. It's fun, as the cousins grow to see them join the "adult group" at night. This year my Aunt S kept on saying that she can't wait to see M when she is old enough to join.

Granny and her sisters at the awards ceremony

Somebody crashed partway through the ceremony...it's hard work, all that playing and fishing!

Such a sweetie

Hanging with his Grancy....having his favorite treat. Rootbeer!

My cousin D...he usually pulls in at least one award a year.

My boy, getting his "first fish" award!

So excited!

My Aunt S....another yearly winner!

The tournaments winners pose for a pic in the town newspaper. At least half of them were with us!

The five "first fish" winners, posing for their newspaper pictures...4 of the 5 are with us!

M and K, playing on the swingset while we wait for the ceremony to end

My cousins E and S, won pretty pink t-shirts! We made them model because it was so funny. I have never seen either of them wear pink, let alone t-shirts like these. Heehee

Almost the whole gang! S is missing.....he had already left to drive home, as he had to work on Monday and couldn't stay for all the festivities. What a gang!