4th of July at the lake

Fireworks as seen from a comfy chair on the dock at Lake Sherwood. B and H were already sound asleep and never made a peep as the fireworks were sent off just across the narrows. The lake was full of boats and pontoons as Phil, Joan, and the Affeldts munched popcorn,enjoyed the display and tried to avoid the mosquitos.

Henry was first at hurling himself off the edge of the dock into the water, of course he had his swim goggles on. Bryn was a little more hesitant and wanted to hold hands of whoever was standing in the water.

This last week Henry was constantly strutting his stuff with his hands on his hips. Anytime his hands were free of toys he quickly placed them on his waist and stuck out his chest. We were all looking at each other wondering who he picked that up from.

This is what you do when you shimmy out of your suit and find your bottom covered in weeds. Bryn refused to go inside until she cleaned herself up in the water!

Henry and Phil had fun inventing a new game and it was so sweet to watch those two. String was tied to a Ronald boat, and then Hen would decide who got to hold the string and who got to throw it into the water and pull poor Ronald and his capsized boat back to the pier. Thanks to Joan and Phil for the early birthday present too. Henry is still all about the brown playdoh and has made all sorts of "pasta" with it. Bryn continues to cut hers with the special scissors into tiny little pieces of something,not sure what.

We all trekked over to the Lodge to watch the Shermalot (combo of Lakes Camelot and Sherwood) ski team put on a pretty fun show. Never knew that a person could lay face first in water with NO SKIS and then get yanked to a backward standing position and ski barefoot.

Don't miss Bryn trying to "make the shot" in the above pic.

Vacation with Grandma and Grandpa Hinsa

Well, I lied. Grandma did find time to snap some photos of the adventures they had on vacation. Not only did they play it up with cousin Liam, pick strawberries, visit Barkhausen Waterfowl preserve, splash in the pool, but also hung out with some "elks" at the the N.E.W. zoo. Following are some pics of the fun.

Apparently they are fine with statues... still not cool with mascots.

Keeping an eye on Grandma in the kitchen.

A lapful for Aunt Shannon!

Ahhhhhhh vacation....

If you are looking for some pics of Henery and Bryn, no need to scroll down any further...... my poor mom was more than occupied with a houseful. My sis did make it up to Green Bay to hang out with B and H so check out her blog at http://www.coopersclan.blogspot.com/

Doesn't this picture speak for itself? As I type in this post, I still have a permagrin plastered across my face. Thanks to my mom and dad, Jay and I took our first "real" vacation since July of 2005. It was so worth the wait and my pre-vacation anxiety. We cashed in some frequent flyer miles that we were saving for some Italian get away and used them to visit our friend Richgels in Portland. It was amazing, invigorating and motivating all at once. We drove to the coast to do some hiking at Ecola State park (above pic) and check out his digs in Astoria. I fell in love with this hilly town where the Columbia River meets the Pacific.

Mmmmmmm fresh dungeness boiled for us while we waited at the picnic tables outside.

Ship traffic heading to the Pacific where we sat with our Coffee Girl cups of brew.

Somehow Jay secured 3 tickets to watch the Olympic Trials in Eugene when we got back from the coast. I have never witnessed a track meet like that in my life. We saw 3 local Oregonians surprise everyone to qualify for the Beijing Olympic 800 meters and the place was crazy with excitement! That's us at Hayward Field with 20,000 other track fans.

Hiking at the Gorge and finding some sweet waterfalls with Richgels,Tammy, Clark and Donovan.

So what that his car broke down on the side of the highway as we tried to make our way back to Portland....... I think we forgot our previous life (the one before kids) so this trip was indeed priceless. I think we came back seeing life through a different set of lenses.

BIG THANKS to Grandma and Grandpa Hinsa for giving Bryn and Henry a vacation of their own. They picked strawberries, visited with Uncle Jerry and Bunny, hiked through the zoo, played in the pool, had some mischief making with cousin Liam and ate plenty of ice cream (thanks to Grandpa). I can't thank them enough for encouraging us to get out of town and taking on 2 small people who wake at 6am with all cylinders running!

What a week!

As we wiped our tears watching Jay's parents leave our house we knew we were in for an eventful week. Bryn and Henry embarked on a new summer schedule that now involves preschool two days a week since Jay is back at UW as a grad student. The first morning was pretty fun for both of them since they had new lunch boxes, hats and snuggle bears to nap with.

Henry, being the creature of habit that he is, had some tears for his first two days. In fact he tried pretty hard to convince us he didn't need to go back on Thursday and just needed me to take him back home. Bryn loves it and asks when she gets to go back to school and apparently was Henry's little preschool mommy as she comforted him with hugs and kisses during his crying spells. We are all crossing our fingers this week is a little better for Henry!

Since it was officially the start of summer we did have some fun with bike rides to State Street and the union.
Check out the water levels on Lake Mendota! Henry's request

was dips in the cold waves from Jay while Bryn was finishing up her "pink ice cream".

We were lucky to find a local group of students practicing the art of capoeira. For those of you who are not Brazilian, it's a dance that is a mix of tumbling, martial arts, singing and playing an instrument made of a gourd and long string called a berimbaus. As Henry and Bryn watched the group practice , they used the Library Mall grass to show their own moves. One of the dancers noticed our novice troupe and came over to teach them a version of cartwheels.

Sorry about Jay's comments from his phone conversation in the background. Sure there is some way to remove them, but it would take me way too long to figure that out.


The entire capoeira group, who were getting some laughs at our expense, came over to play and clap for H and B's first public show. I was so intrigued I think I may start practicing some spins of my own.....





Strawberry picking for Jay and me and strawberry eating for Henry and Bryn. They each got their own quart to fill for free and neither one came walked out of the fields with more than 5 strawberries each. Henry kept yelling down the row "Mommy, is this one OK?" and before I had a chance to look back he had strawberry juice running down his chin. Ratio of berries in mouth:container 15:1










With all the changes, especially the fact that Norb and Karyl are finally getting some time to enjoy themselves for the summer, Henry has been downright naughty. We had neighbors over for dinner and it was a full out circus with whining, screaming and crying. I have to imagine that with 6 kids (who are now grown) they have witnessed this before. If not, well, they had themselves a first row seat!

Of course, they were "angels" when Grandma and Grandpa returned so we could catch a Jack Johnson concert this weekend. Not quite sure how he could turn a 180 but we were both glad to hear that they weren't too out of control.

Hoping their second week of preschool and adjusting to summer life without Grandma and Grandpa is a little friendlier.......

We love our daddy!!

A day late and a dollar short.........

I started the spelling daddy pics when B and H were just little crawlers, not yet able to walk, and now I barely can stop them long enough to hold a darn letter. Although Fathers Day was yesterday, we were a busy family driving from one party to another and didn't have too much time for much else then whoopping it up. I will post pics of the Hinsa fam later as we all gathered to wish Brittany and Bethany congrats on graduating from high school.

Jay's day started out at Mickey's for a greasy spoon breakfast, complete with the best apple coffee cake. Based on the crowds, it was the first choice of many other dads too.

Jay, as I marvel at Henry's pure sweetness and tenderness, I know it came from you. When I watch Bryn swing her hips and keep the beat to some deep bass hip hop, I know it was you who gave her that sense of rhythm. They wouldn't be the inquisitive, kind, playful kids they are if it weren't for you and what you have shown them through your actions. You are the most amazing daddy and husband and I hope you can feel the love.

Yet another thunderstorm...

Happy Birthday Liam

I finally found some time to update the blog from last weekend. It was cousin Liam's second birthday bash and Bryn and Henry had worked themselves into a tizzy just thinking about the birthday cake. It was a fun party complete with bubbles and balls, tractor rides down their hill, and some sans clothes water fun. Although storms and flooding were predicted in Iowa, Grinnell happened to avoid the bad weather for the entire day, we just had to drive through it on our way back home. No worries, Henry and Bryn kept Grandma and me entertained on the way home making up songs and singing us through the rain.

Watching the birthday boy tear into his gifts from the fam. Below, enjoying the John Deere themed cupcakes, that were fit together to look like a cake.... way to go Hyvee!! Liam didn't even need to use his hands for his first few bites, he just went face first.

Liam received a water table from Grandma and Grandpa so after his friends left the party the cousing decided to strip down to nothin and really have some fun with the gift.

STEP 1-Dip the head

Step 2-let it run down your faceSTEP 3 -run like heck

Chasing the aerobie on the soccer field across the street.

A 4 person teeter totter, how cool!

It was a fun weekend hanging out in Iowa and watching the cousins enjoy each other's company.
Visit http://www.coopersclan.blogspot.com/ for more birthday pics.

All dressed up and ready to dance....

Another in our long line of weekend trips away landed us in Wausau for Juli and Nate's wedding. The bonus was being able to see Mia and Allison again, swim in the hotel pool and dance the night away with Grandma and Grandpa Affeldt.

Playing footsie with Allison and Mia. At least it got Henry and Bryn giggling. From the look on the girl's faces, they've seen better.....

H and B love the water. Henry has surprised us all and seems to be the more confident swimmer/floater. Bryn tends to have a death grip on anyone that tries to let her go solo but loves doing her thing in the water which is jumping off the edge to see how far she push herself off. Henry thinks he can swim by himself, so it was a workout trying to keep up with the flailing arms, legs and splashes.

Aunt Jen, getting a facefull thanks to Henry's "scoops".

A stare down...........

Leave it to Henry to land a dance with Jodi, one of the bridesmaids.

They had talked about the dance all week leading up to the wedding and sure enough, as we were halfway through the church ceremony Henry asked us if it was time to dance yet. No one compared to Grandma and Grandpa. Henry and Bryn figured out that their grandparents have some smooth moves on the dance floor so I don't blame them one bit. I got turned down by them both the entire night so Jay and I took advantage of our drop in status and danced some swing.

You can visit Jen's blog at http://www.miaandallison.blogspot.com/ for more.

Hold on Orville

This was from last week when I was sweating away in San Antonio and the kiddos were bundled up back home taking Orville for a spin.