Puzzlemania

I've always loved puzzles.  Before smart phones, computers, and tablets were prevalent in the house, my favorite thing to do on rainy day was put a huge puzzle together.   When Eric was a little shaver, he loved puzzles too.   That said, it's no surprise that we have another puzzle fanatic in the family.

Ramsey's had a lot of puzzles throughout his short little life, but he's moved on from 6-12 piece shapes/color/character puzzles with simple shapes to 24-piece puzzles with normal/more intricate pieces.

Here's Mom with Ramsey.  Auntie Sarah handed down this oversized heavy equipment puzzle that Isaac had.  He loves it!  Because the pieces are so large, we helped him a tiny bit, to get the corners started and show him how large the puzzle was going to be.

Last night, Ramsey decided he wanted to drag out every puzzle he had, to include the more complicated ones I used to help him with (24-piece).

 He pulled out a fun bug puzzle, a farmyard one, Paw Patrol, and Blaze "The Monster Machine".

He didn't seem to want any help from his dear ol' Momma, but he was happy that I was there to watch him and keep him company.

 His little fingers were working like mad and I could see the wheels grinding away as he found pieces and parts of animals, bugs, and people to fit together, then bringing all of those pieces together.  

He beamed when I praised him!

To my absolute amazement, he completed all four of these buggers (and, of course, the easy ones too) BY HIMSELF.  

I was shocked!  I was also very proud.  :-)   

I guess some new puzzles may be in the mix in the near future.

A Tale of Two Puppies

One of Ramsey's favorite make-believe games lately is pretending to be a puppy.  He crawls around, in the house as well as outside, barking, wiggling his butt, and proclaiming, "I'm a puppy!"

The other day, he barked loudly and told me, "Tell me to 'be quiet', Momma!", a common exclamation that Riggs often hears when he's being overzealous as the mailman shows up (or a myriad other times during the week).

Just a View From the Fishing Boat

As Eric and I were out fishing the other day (cranking in nice-sized walleye - plus northerns and perch too), I couldn't help but be taken aback at the beautiful sunset that was there in front of me.

Summer... please don't slip by so quickly!

And, thank you, God, for this marvelous view!

Lake Summer Fun

Oh, the water has been nice and warm on our fun little lake, so Connor's been cannonballing off the end of the dock, swimming with Riggs, and paddling about in general, enjoying it while it lasts.

Ramsey, on the other hand, must stay in the toddler pool.   He takes Connor's lead now and does his own cannonballs into his personal aquatic escape.  We all have to yell "Cannonbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall!," then we wince as he jumps in, knees first, into the shallow water.

On Sunday, after Riggs and Connor swam, they to come play with Ramsey.  Connor started a fun game of squirting Ramsey with the hose!

Ramsey loved it.  

Riggsy did too.

Day 8: Goodbye Lake Ashtabula!

The boys went fishing on the last day of our vacation.   Ramsey and I stayed back and hung out with Nana, Bumpa, and Uncle Cory.

We think Ramsey bonded with Uncle Cory this trip!  :-)    Ramsey gave him a bracelet, played thumb wars with him, and helped Eric and me with the picture-taking (Uncle Cory didn't seem to want to say cheese!).

We packed up our stuff, took the yearly picture on the steps, then headed for home.

Until next time, Ashtabula.  It was another nice summer vacation.

Thanks to Nana and Bumpa again for hosting (and putting up with) all of us!  

Day 7: Ice Cream & Playgrounds

Ramsey had chattered continuously, the entire week, about going on the pontoon to get ice cream and play on the playground at the dam.  On Friday of Vacation Week, he finally got his wish!

He got to start out by driving the pontoon on Bumpa's lap.

When we got to the resort by the dam, we all pigged out.

Then, we headed to the playground.

Riding tandem on a swing apparently doesn't work out so well.  Connor nearly lost his britches!

And grand notions of sliding down the big tornado by yourself is also not a super idea when you're 3!  Uncle Troy was gracious enough to bear witness and be of assistance, if necessary.  :-)

Nah, he turned around.  Whew!

He'll stick to the jungle gym and slide instead.

The boat ride home was interesting.   Sadie braided the boys' hair!  Connor didn't have much to braid, but Isaac had a bit more at his crown.

The kids were trying to get Ramsey to take a nap.  They all snuggled in the back and faked some Z's.  They claimed Ramsey fell asleep for a split second. 

Days 5 & 6 - Chillin... and Chasing Lightning Bugs

Days 5 & 6 at the cabin were pretty laid back.   Eric and I went fishing Day 5 (caught a few, but it was wicked hot and we were catching surface weeds, so it wasn't a long trip) while Ramsey and Connor stayed back with Nana and Bumpa.  

Of course, there was more swimming and paddle-boating too.   Connor was a nice big brubby and played games with Ramsey too.

 Daddy and Connor went fishing the next day.   Then, later that night, Daddy wanted to catch lightning bugs with the boys since Ramsey had never caught them before.

It was hot and muggy, so Eric and Connor ran around the yard, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. 

Meanwhile, Ramsey ran around the deck with his light source, repeatedly exclaiming, "I'm Flashlight Man!"  

 Is this a new super hero, I wondered?

The boys saw quite a few, but they were quite evasive, so after they captured one, they brought it inside for Ramsey to see.

Eric asked Ramsey what he wanted to name the little fella.  He said, "Jackie!"

Eric asked him if he was sure about that name.  He changed his mind and renamed it "Obi Wan" (as in Kenobi of Star Wars).

Ramsey wanted to sleep with the lightning bug, but, after I saw him untwisting the bottle cap repeatedly, I decided that wasn't such a good idea.

Jackie - er, Obi Wan, was released back into nature and is living happily ever after.

Happy 4th of July! ~And Another Turtle Race

Another 4th of July upon us... which means not only celebrating our independence from Great Britain, but also another short jaunt to the big willow (?) tree to take pictures of the kiddos.

And we had to get a picture with the kids and Uncle Cory.  :-)

The guys hung back from fishing to hang out with the family.   The kids took off in the paddle boat (more turtle-catching to do, ya know).  And Ramsey got to play with pool toys and swim again.  

And squirt the heck out of everyone that came within a few feet of him!

I got soaked.  I seceded to the deck and took cover.

Daddy got drenched, again and again.   Ramsey loved that!   I thought it was funny too.  :-)

Auntie Sarah got attacked too.  She fought back.

And Maggie, who loves to swim, went for a dip in the water.   Riggs was in the water too.  She isn't fond of Riggs (normally won't go within a few feet of him), but on this afternoon, they bonded!

When the kids came back from their latest turtle-hunting adventure, they came back with another mother-load!

They had a novel idea of placing bets on the turtles (with monetary rewards for the first three places).   The money part didn't fly, but we did have fun betting on which turtle was going to be the winner.  Everyone picked their turtles and away they went!

"Ramsey's turtle" was the tiniest of the bunch; he was maybe only 5" long.

Sadie celebrated as the turtle she and Eric picked made it into the water first.

But there were still more to get to the water.

The kids later shot off more water fireworks, trying to blast things they saw in the water.

Take cover!

Ramsey sought solace with Auntie Sarah.

and in the paddle boat.

Isaac's smoke-bomb-in-hand made him appear to be a smaller male version of the Statue of Liberty.

How apropos.  :-)