In early February, a friend of my mom’s invited James out to meet his newborn calf…
Dave took James into the area where the calf, only hours old, was snuggled down in the straw.
We saw the calf stand and attempt to walk & run!
James then fed the other cows, who were all nervous of him until he had bread.
While James was working with the cows, Mom & I warmed up by the fire.
On January 12, James celebrated his 6th Birthday and had his first-ever friend party!
James decided on an Under-the-Sea theme and his Auntie – who has become the official cake-maker in our family – designed this excellent fish cake!
The kids played a few games like, Fish, Fish, Shark!
drank sea water…
watched patiently as James opened his gifts…
and enjoyed fishy-cake and ice cream…
Once all the games were played, gifts open, snacks eaten… we gave each friend a goodie bucket and said good-bye!
This was the 1st friend party James has ever had & I think it went really well ~ thanks to lots of help from Auntie, Abbie, Josh, and Jeff (Addy’s Dad).
We were welcomed home with a wonderful surprise… The Holt Family!
We attempted a plan earlier in the spring, but we just couldn’t get things worked out for our paths to cross this summer. Funny how things that are meant to be, fall into place.
We enjoyed an amazing, fun-filled couple of days catching up: laughing-singing-dancing-swimming-wave jumping-eating-drinking-relaxing-smiling-dreaming-it was perfect!
The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~Elisabeth Foley
Our time with Bill & Erin was amazing.We packed so much fun-in-the-sun into 5 or 6 days.
It was the perfect summer vacation.
**Abbie took this photo at 5ish am – her goal was to see a sunrise on the lake – Bill said it was the best**
Jim (Erin’s Dad) taught Abbie & Chandler how to drive a boat.
and then set them free ~
He took James & Chandler canoeing & searching for beaver dams – and they found one!
Josh was able to take the very first outing on Bill, Jim, & Jesse’s new sailboat!
They learned lots about sailing – we did a drive by in the fast boat!
James spent hours on the dock – fishing for sunnies, exploring…
catching frogs
we enjoyed refreshing drinks
…and fun foods – Bill even turned eating into a game to get James to stop fishing long enough to eat!
We spent time with family we felt we’d already met…
April & Laura (Erin’s sisters), Jesse (April’s hubby), Sawyer & Kate (the cute Little’s in these photos)
Bill gave Abbie & Chandler a lesson on how to water-ski
Both girls gave it their all – but never made it out of the water
Abbie drank lots of it though! We forgot to tell her to let go of the rope if she didn’t make it up right away (opps!)
Chandler gave it many goes – but in the end – she learned she had fun trying!
Bill sharing his super-cool skiing skills!
James tubed with the girls & then decided it would be more fun by himself.
Erin & I sunned ourselves in the boat while our guys and the kids swam over to Twin Islands for jump into the water.
They made a plan and jumped one after another into the water – putting on a show for all to see – Splash!
After all that work, we motored over to ( ?? ) <can’t remember the name of this beach> for some snacks and much needed rest!
and of course, some fishin’ and exploring
I caught a fish. It was this big… but it got away.
Black Bay was our favorite place to play. We spent lots of time here swimming.
and being silly
and having fun
We weren’t always on the water. Bill took Abbie for her very first-ever motorcycle ride! She loved it.
Erin made more tasty treats!
The Guys and Kids toured an underground mine.
And they wore these stellar hardhats on the tour:
There was nothing that could have been more perfect about the time spent with Bill and Erin at their home on Lake Vermilion. It was everything we imagined and more.
Friends are family you chose for yourself ~ Author Unknown
Even with the loss of another hour, we powered through and arrived at Bill & Erin’s house on Friday, July 2nd somewhere in the 9:00 hour! We were hot and tired, so after big hugs – we piled into the boat and headed for a night swim in Black Bay! Refreshing
We spent the the next few hours settling in, spreading out, and catching up!
The next morning we woke early and headed into Tower to catch the annual 4th of July Parade (always on the 3rd).
Later that afternoon as the guys & kids played on the lake, Erin took me with her to her cousin, Stacy’s surprise birthday party! It was great to meet some of her family – many of them I already felt I knew 
with a splash!
Our family friends, The Picard family, recently offered James their Leopard Gecko. Their kids had pretty much out grown it, and they were tired of running by Petco to buy crickets. Since we run by Petco and buy crickets weekly (for the frog) we agreed to take on yet another critter.
James and the no-named Gecko pet. He is very friendly.
No-name in his new habitat.
Helping Dad put the habitat together.
For James turning 5 meant having a birthday celebration with his buddies! We set the date and all his friends showed up at The Kids Club for 2 hours of play-filled fun! The first hour was spent running, sliding, and moving through The Jungle, with the next hour spent re-hydrating and feeding hungry tummies! We topped it off with a special cake made by Auntie and some extra special gifts brought in by his great buddies! What a super-duper way to celebrate his 5th birthday!
~James with all his good buddies ~
The extra-special, way-cool BAKUGAN cake made with love by Auntie.
Pizza. Blowing out the Candles. Gifts.
make a wish.
As James told me the morning of the celebration, treat bags are cool cause they are a present you give your friends for coming to your party! So what did we do? We ran out after work, bought treats, and filled bags an hour before the festivities began.
