Great Friends & Good Times

Summer is so grand! There's so much to do and so little time. We have been thoroughly enjoying time with family and friends, including birthday celebrations, fireworks, boating, BBQ's, celebrations & festivals, time at the pool, date nights, just being outside and enjoying the sun & warm weather. We look forward to alot more fun times before it is all said and done including several camping/boating trips and a weeklong getaway to a lake in Northern MN with 3 other triplet families. That's 21 people in a 6 bedroom lodge; sounds like a reality show doesn't it! Seriously, it will be an absolute blast because we get along so well and know how to have fun & kick back. Following are a few recent photos from time shared with friends; our July KodakGallery update at the end of the month will have LOTS more.

Beep Beep; get out of the way! (Jack G. & Dylan)

Princess adoration of the Queen (Taylor, Ali G. & Lindsey)

Soaking up rays on the boat

Great friends; fellow triplet parents (Jon & Nicole)

Mommy Time

Whirling, Wheels & Water

This week has been filled with lots of activity. A mainstay at Camp Clark is dancing right after dinner, more like a combination of whirling and all-star wrestling which you can get a glimpse of in our video clip below. In addition, Dad and I decided to give the kiddos a shot at biking without their training wheels which they have been wanting to try ever since they saw their cousins biking on two wheels. Thankfully, no blood or broken bones (yet). Dylan caught on pretty quickly and Lindsey held her own as well. And then there is Crash Kemmet II (aka Taylor). She is a BIT more cautious and may take a little while longer to truly enjoy it. For now, we will keep practicing.

We took the boat out this week on Prior Lake and had an absolute blast. LTD tubed for the first time ever and they thought it was super duper fun. They each tubed by themselves then decided they wanted to tube together. That lasted about 1 minute after they figured out it wasn't as comfy as having the tube all to yourself. It was a perfect day; no waves and hardly any boat traffic. We stopped off at Captain Jack's on the water and enjoyed a tasty early dinner, my belated birthday dinner. The kids were fascinated with the built-in swings at the outdoor bar and the ducks that waddled up right to our table looking for scraps. Talk about lots of giggles and some seriously fed ducks. Afterward, we took a dip off our boat in the middle of the lake (thanks to life jackets) which they thought was pretty cool. Check out a few photos below the videoclip. We look forward to alot more fun times boating and camping this year with great friends!

Hit It!

Singing loudly on the boat

Taylor all smiles

PeeWee Sports

This summer we decided to let LTD try out some summer sporting programs through the city Sports & Rec. They have T-Ball on Wednesday mornings and Soccer on Thursday mornings along with their good friends, Ethan & Nate. Dylan has taken a huge liking to both sports and pretty much has a smile plastered on his face the entire time. Lindsey and Taylor on the other hand are not quite sure they are impressed. It's funny watching them try to figure out which hand to put the glove on and that you actually have to catch the balls, throw them, and run from base to base after hitting the balls. It's a complete riot!!

I must say as a former ball player, I am horrified by the quality of coaching. Yah, I know, they're only 4 yrs. old but the high school age coaches need some SERIOUS improvement. I realize it is only 8:00 am but they need to wake up and actually coach and TEACH; imagine that concept. I have stepped in a few times just to show the kids what to do. Other moms look at me like I may be smoking something but I believe in getting my $$ worth. I might as well just take them to the park across the street and teach them ourselves and then drive down 35W and throw $75 out the window. Very frustrating!

I believe the girls have already decided they want to stick to gymnastics and take up "ballerina" classes in the fall. We plan to do just that for them and let Dylan stick to gymnastics and T-Ball/Soccer. He also wants to try basketball and football eventually. Oh so much to look forward to. Check out our T-Ball mug shots below.

Dylan

Taylor

Lindsey

Middle Aged Mama Bear

Yep, that's right. Mama Bear is officially middle-aged since I plan to live to at least 90. LTD surprised me on Friday by telling me they wanted to buy me some more flowers to plant for my birthday (since a pot or two didn't fare so well when we were in ND). They bought some marigolds at the flower shop with their own money from their piggy banks and planted them in pots when we got home. It was very sweet and they did a great job planting them, with a little help from mom.

On Saturday morning, I was pleasantly surprised when Dave let me sleep in and then they all came in to cuddle and sing happy birthday. When I walked downstairs to start my day, I found two of the sweetest cards (LTD signed their own card), beautiful fresh flowers in a vase and a very thoughtful gift.

When we were running errands on Saturday afternoon, Dylan said, "hey mom, we have a secret but we can't tell you.................(long pause) it's a birthday cake, but don't tell Dad, it's a secret!" Dave's cover was blown. We had intended to go out for dinner on Prior Lake by boat Saturday night but the weather didn't cooperate, so we opted for pizza and beer back at camp instead......and cake/cupcakes complete with LOTS of candles. Thankfully, I had 3 little varmints who were happy to blow out my candles AND gobble up the cupcakes. The blue frosting was a huge hit.

As I told my good friend Dawnice on her birthday (2 days before mine); "like fine wine, we only get better as we age". I feel better than ever and I believe I owe that to Dave (for bringing out the best in me) and to our children for making me run 100mph on a daily basis. As long as we keep active, keep smiling and give thanks, it's all good! Life is good!

Home on the Range - Part 2

This past Saturday, some good friends of ours had a Beach Blast on one of the sandbars on Missouri River so Dave and I loaded up the kiddos for an afternoon of sun, water & good times. Papa Clark gave us his boat for the day which was really nice of him (thanks again, Papa!!). It was a perfect sunny day and we had a great time. LTD had so much fun driving the boat (with Dad's help), meeting new friends, playing in the sand/mud, playing fun new games, finding toads and getting as dirty as possible. Taylor found a toad she just had to take home with her. When we dropped the kiddos off across the river with Grandma Good at dinner time (Dave and I stuck around for the bonfire), Taylor plead to keep the toad and Grandma approved. As we loaded them up in the car, Taylor's toad jumped out of her hand inside Grandma's car and was MIA. Oops! Thankfully, we found it but unfortunately the toad's life was short-lived. Seems that Taylor handled the toad a bit too much and most likely squished it to death. When they got home, they buried it in the garden and Taylor made sure to pray for the poor toad that night. Below are a few photos from the day.

Making mud pies

Dylan's favorite new game (anything with balls)

Goofing off at sunset

Home on the Range - Part 1

We are back from our trip Home on the Range, Bismarck, North Dakota. What a fantastic time we had!! LTD absolutely love Bismarck (so do mom and dad) since we get to share time with so many loved ones and dear friends, plus we had an action-packed agenda most days. Here are a few highlights:

Celebrated Grandma Good's birthday with cupcakes & lots of singing

Attended Independence Day Fireworks at the Capitol grounds

Spent a day at the Sertoma Zoo with cousins

Had a blast at the huge outdoor waterpark (twice)

Swam at the Elks Pool (non-stop on the slides)

Fun picnic in the park with Papa & Grandma Kemmet

Ripped up the Amusement Park (Lots of rides & the Big Slide)

Enjoyed a sunny day on the river in Papa Clark's boat

Swam and played at Papa & Grandma Clark's house

Slumber parties with cousin Anna

Lots of scooter time and being outdoors

Shared cocktails with dear friends (several date nights for Dave & me)

Golfed with Dad at Riverwood (Dave)

That's just a few of the things we did - whoo!! We need a vacation from our vacation. Fellow Nodaks are so laid back, genuinely friendly, hard-working, willing to help anybody anytime, conservative, Christian, speak English, etc. Don't get me wrong, we absolutely love our friends here in Mpls and appreciate some of the things the city has to offer (Franken NOT being one of them). It's just that life here seems so busy, so fast-track, so many people, so much traffic and SO expensive & complicated. It was very refreshing to just be home, relax, take a deep breath and enjoy the simple life.

Unfortunately, we did a poor job of taking photos this trip. I guess we were having too much fun to remember our camera or to stop and take photos if we actually had it. Here are a few of the few we took (more in Part 2).

Happy Birthday, Grandma Good (4th of July)

Cuddling up on the patio with Papa & Grandma Good

LTD made a mosaic flower garden stone with their handprints for Grandma

Waiting for fireworks on July 4th at Capitol Grounds

(can you believe the sun sets around 10:30pm in Bismarck?)

Let Freedom Ring!

Happy Birthday, America! (a few days early). We are off to North Dakota to celebrate Grandma Good's birthday (she's a Yankee Doodle Dandy) and our country's birthday with dear family and great friends.

Our country is SO much different than what our forefathers intended for it to be. All we can do is pray for our leaders and that our great country returns to the very foundation of which it was founded upon. God Bless America! And yes, we always were and still are a Christian nation (in case our President has forgotten).

Special thanks to our military and fallen heroes of the past and present. We are forever grateful to you and your families and sincerely appreciate all the sacrifices you have made for our freedom. You are in our hearts and prayers.

Summer 2007 on the grand Missouri River in Bismarck

Going Down!I pledge allegiance to the flag of the US of America

and to the republic for which it stands
One nation under GOD, indivisible

With Liberty and Justice for ALL!!