First Day

Today was Joe's first day of Preschool! It was quite chilly so he wore his hat. We got in the van to go and his favorite song came on the radio! What a great way to start the day! And when we got to the classroom, he was ready to leave us, he asked, "Can I go play now?". It's like he couldn't get rid of us fast enough!

A Party

*Joe, Ethan, & Ethan (Joe is the youngest!)*

*Joe pinning the Pirate on the Ship while blindfolded*

*Joe watching Ethan open his presents*

*Ethan blowing out the candles*

Joe went to his friend, Ethan's 4th birthday party over the weekend. It was a Pirate party! The boys giggled and ran around the room, ate lots of candy, and had a great time.

The Beach

We went to Duluth for a few days and found this great beach by Sky Harbor Airport. We went in the morning and it was still quite chilly, maybe 65 degrees, so we were the only ones there. We walked in the water, skipped rocks, made a sand castle, and got our pants all wet. It was a fun way to spend a beautiful day.

Gooseberry Falls

*In front of the Falls*

*Tunnel on the trip North*

*The Falls*

*Split Rock Lighthouse*

The Lighthouse

We toured the lighthouse in Two Harbors, MN. Joe's favorite part was climbing the stairs to the top, but it was a little steep coming back down. It's also a bed and breakfast, maybe we'll have to stay there next time!

Two Harbors

*Joe and a Big Man*

*Feeding breadcrumbs to the seagulls*

*Joe and Dave and Lake Superior*

*Chicken Joe*

More sights along the way in Two Harbors, MN.

The Hotel Waterpark

*Joe and the "Tiki Kids" at the Indoor Waterpark*

*Joe can't wait to try out the jacuzzi tub!*

*Joe played a great game of mini golf*

*Dum Dum (not Dave) watched us play mini golf*

We stayed at the Indoor waterpark hotel in Duluth and had a great time swimming and playing.

The Thompson's

We took a family photo over the weekend, wishing Danny could've been with us...

Butterfield Threshing Bee

*Riding the Steam Train*

*Grandpa & Joe getting their fortune*

*Grandpa & Joe by an old steam tractor*

*Joe and the windmill*

*Dave & Joe on the train*

We spent all day at the Butterfield Threshing Bee. Joe loved seeing all the steam engines and tractors. He was so excited when we first got there, he didn't know what to look at first, he wanted to see everything at once.

Camping

*Joe settling down for the evening with some cartoons*

*Dave creating a boy scout campfire*

*Jeni & Jason chillin at the campsite*

We took Joe for his first night camping in a tent. He was so excited to be able to be outside all day! He didn't even take a nap, which was great because he slept thru the whole night.

Campfire at Grandma & Grandpa's

At Grandma & Grandpa T's, enjoying a campfire in the backyard.

NKOTB Sings

(This video isn't very good, but I'll post it anyway.)

NKOTB performing one of their old songs, "Tonight", at MOA.

NKOTB!!

(The quality of these pics make me realize we need a better digital camera!)

Me and my friend, Angie, went to Mall of America tonight to se New Kids on the Block perform. It was so awesome! I stood and waited in the rotunda for 2 hours to get my good spot. We were only about 20 feet away from the stage, and imagine some people waited like 2 days! Everybody thinks I'm a dork for going, but we had so much fun waiting with all the other 30-something ladies and their kids. And Danny, Donnie, Joe, Jon and Jordan are still HOT!! Hehehe!

New Trunks

Joe got new Wall-E Swim trunks, so we had to go test them out at the fountains in Burnsville. We've been having such great California-like weather, we need to get wet most days! We need some rain! Joe had a great time playing in the water.

Sprinkler Park

Another beautiful summer day perfect for a trip to the sprinkler park at Kelley Park in Apple Valley. This park is much closer to our house, but still a 10-15 minute drive. Eagan doesn't have a sprinkler park, they really need one! Maybe I'll have to petition the city council...