The Calm After the Storm

While Eric and I were fishing off the dock last night, some strange weather started moving through.  Most of it seemed to be to the North of us, but we were hit with a short bout of heavy rain and some pea and dime-sized hail.  After the storm, the sky was a beautiful site, filled with clouds that truly looked like cotton.

 

 

VROOM VROOM! Ramsey's First Tractor Ride

Yes, yes, so for the first year of Ramsey's life, I am going to post a ton of "firsts".  Some may be exciting, some may be "ordinary", but they're all fun new things that he gets to enjoy.  And, we are blessed to enjoy watching him and his expressions during his first new experiences. 

Last Sunday, Daddy gave Ramsey his first ride on the lawn mower.  He got to drive and, of course, he had to taste the steering wheel.  (Yum?!?)

 

Congrats "Captain Duven"!

Eric was officially promoted to Support Services Commander yesterday afternoon.  He has been serving as Detective Sergeant for the last 10 years, but is now ranked as Captain at the police department. 

He will be directly overseeing all of the departments within the PD (Detective Division, Records, Secretarial, Training, Property/Evidence Room, Parking, Animal Control, etc), with the exception of Patrol.

We're so proud of you Sweetie!



Family and 4th of July Fun

As per usual over the 4th of July holiday, we packed up (everything but the kitchen sink!) and headed to Eric's parents' cabin to spend time with his side of the family.   Nana and Bumpa, Uncle Cory, Uncle Troy & Auntie Sarah, and Cousins Sadie & Isaac were all there.  Oh yes, let's not forget doggies Maggie and Max.  :-)

 

This was Riggs' and Ramsey's first time at the cabin.

All of the cousins played together and had loads of fun. 

There was some inside play time.

 

But the weather was really nice, so there was a lot more outside play time!

(Thanx for the tubing pics Sarah!)

Riggs was in HEAVEN, getting to spend most of the days in the water, playing with the kids. 

One day, he "caught" a perch and, as a new treasure, ran around with it for quite a while.   (He caught it out of a bucket; the kids had reeled it in earlier that day.)

One afternoon, we watched the kids light off some daytime fireworks. 

The kids' favorite daytime firework display is setting up army men and blowing them up with firecrackers and bombs.

They even made a little "pipe bomb" to blow the army guys up.

The kids lit off colored smoke bombs and mixed them up to see what strange hues they could generate.

As the "big kids" blew stuff up, Ramsey watched the fireworks (another "first" for him!) with the rest of us.

 

As another yearly ritual, on the evening of the 4th, we drove to a nearby small town to watch the fireworks.

While we were waiting for the festivities to begin, we joked that "you're never too big to sit on Daddy's lap"! 

So we ALL piled on!

Bumpa took the kids to get treats at the ice cream truck.  Yum!

Then, the fireworks started.

They were very impressive, as always!

This was Ramsey's first time seeing (and hearing) the loud nighttime fireworks!  He flinched a lot at first, but then acclimated well and seemed to enjoy himself.

Winding down with the fam here..... 

When we got home early on Sunday evening, some of us were tired (Riggs, Mommy, and Daddy), but Connor and Ramsey were ready to keep going! 

 "Rambo Baby" (as Uncle Troy calls him) was in full swing while we unpacked!

 Now.... the vacation's over and back to work.  :-(