For Papa’s birthday, Zach and Alex took Daddy and Papa to the Minnesota Zoo. They all had a great time checking out the aquarium, the new bear exhibit called Russia’s Grizzly Coast, and of course the farm.

This morning we took the boys to the Scott-Carver Thresher and Gas Engine Festival, where they had dozens and dozens of antique tractors plus lots of other antique farm equipment. The festival is put on by a non-profit group whose goal is to preserve agricultural heritage. When we got the flyer in the mail, we just knew we had to bring Zach and Alex there, what with their tractor obsession and all, so we enjoyed a pancake breakfast there and explored the grounds. The boys were truly in heaven!

Pictures of these events plus a few other cute photos have been added to the Jul – Aug album. Enjoy!

Tags: Alex, family outing, Papa Bob, tractors, Zach, zoo

This past weekend was a busy one with lots of excitement for all the boys with a couple of truck rides and a couple of parades. Lots of fun!

While I was working from home on Friday, the power company came by to let us know they needed to shut off our power to swap out the transformer across the street. They had a big truck with a crane to move the transformer (as well as a trailer carrying a digger, although they didn’t need it for this job). Zach and Alex were beyond excited to see all that cool stuff right in front of the house, so we sat and watched. When the guys came by to tell us they were done, they got such a kick out of them, as Z & A couldn’t stop talking (guy! truck! crane! digger!) – so they offered to give them a ride while they turned around in the cul de sac. How cool!

On Saturday we went to the Belle Plaine BBQ Days parade to watch all the trucks, cars, and tractors on display. We sat with Debbie’s family, who lives near where the parade route ended this year, which was a lot of fun as all there were lots of kids to play with (big and little). Being at the end of the route really paid off this year, as we hit the motherload of candy because most of the floats still had a bunch left at the end. People would just dump their buckets right in front of us – it was better than Halloween! We had plans to go to the carnival after the boys’ nap, but we got hit with a big rainstorm (1″ of rain in an hour!) so we didn’t make it back.

Sunday was the day of the parade at the Hopkins Raspberry Festival, where Cole’s mom is a participant as a member of the Hopkins Fire Department. For the second year she invited Joe, the boys, and me to join her and Cole in the parade to ride on the trucks, which just thrills Zach and Alex beyond belief. This year, Lisa drove one of the big ladder trucks, so Joe, Z & A, and I rode in front with her while Cole rode on the top. We all had a good time waving at the crowds on a beautiful sunny (but warm) day.

We were able to get a couple pictures of the power truck and fire truck rides (although we weren’t able to get one of Cole on top of the truck before we had to start the parade); you’ll find them in the Jul – Aug 2008 album.

Tags: Alex, Cole, family outing, playtime, trucks, Zach

Happy New Year to all! We hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas.

Lots of new pictures have been added to the Photo Gallery. Finishing out the 2007 Family album are some new photos in the Nov-Dec 2007 album, including a few in early December that were hiding on one of our digital cameras of Z & A enjoying an early Christmas present from Papa and Grandma Pat – a new play table. Also included are a gift of Buzz and Woody from Debbie and fun for the whole family with wooden blocks from Grandpa Dan and Grandma Marilyn.

Debbie and I took the boys to visit Santa. They were really excited about Santa – right up until it was time to actually meet him. Alex had a death grip on me, while Zach was wary of this strange man and found that exploring the area was more interesting. Debbie captured a picture of a struggle to keep the boys still enough to get that split-second portrait. Once we left, they got excited about Santa again. What can you do?

In the Christmas 2007 album, we have pictures from our mid-December trip to celebrate Christmas with family and friends in Chicago – we had such a great time visiting everyone! For Christmas, we opened all our family gifts on the 23rd so we could take our time and enjoy everything with Cole. On Christmas Eve, we made the trek up to Grandma Pat and Papa’s house and spent the day with them; we also were invited to invade the Aberle’s holiday celebration to spend a little time with them.

Christmas Day brought a visit from Santa (fortunately for the boys, while they were still sleeping) and a fantastic meal with some dishes that have become holiday traditions for us – a roast duck with apple and prune stuffing that is to die for, the Vandermark traditional Green Death (lime Jello salad with cream cheese and pears – yum!), and a new butternut squash risotto that was a lot of work but was wonderful with the duck.

Tags: Alex, Christmas, family outing, holiday, Zach