Dock's Going Under Again

 You can bet your *** that the dock is under water again.   We had a HUGE storm and rain.  It rained cats and dogs for a few hours.   Before it got too dark for pictures, we had over 4.5" of rain.  Once we dumped this and started over, we got another inch after dark.  

...totally going to mess up any plans of getting the pontoon and lift in the water anytime soon.  ARGH!!!!

The Dragon Egg

 After Ramsey got home from his last day of school today (they let out at 11:30), Eric had a surprise for him - they were going to go look for fossils!  After searching for a while outside, Ramsey found something special, buried in the sand in his play set....

A dragon egg!

Ramsey was so excited!  He wanted us to notify the newspaper and TV news immediately!  He couldn't quite understand why we weren't more compliant with request to do it on the spot and kept asking when we were going to call.  This was HUGE NEWS after all!  A FOSSILIZED DRAGON EGG!!

He finally settled down enough to have a bit of a snack and to expound more upon his fantastical findingds.

And... a bit off topic here, but a total bit of sweetness here... the boys brought me these little wild violets on their little outdoors expedition.  Nice huh?  :-)

And, after endless weeks of his second front tooth being ridiculously loose (it had actually been sideways!!), he actually let me take a piece of Kleenex and take it out (no tugging required).

Big day here!  Ancient dragon eggs, losing a tooth, last day of school, and a nighttime soccer game!  We're bushed.

Last Day of 2nd Grade

 If I said I wasn't sad that Ramsey's last day of school was today, I'd be lying.   Will I miss getting up every morning at 6AM to get Ramsey on the bus by 6:45?  No.   Will I miss Ramsey's excitement from learning at school?  Yes.   Will I miss his amazing 2nd Grade Teacher Mrs Hermansen?  Absolutely!

Nonetheless, time goes by and Ramsey's now graduated and will be a third grader come Fall.  Bittersweet.

As mementos from 2nd Grade (for all of us!), Ramsey had these two booklets to remember his school year.  

He read them to us, reading stories he had written the past year and reminiscing about his favorite things.

And, just to clarify, his favorite subject was "MATH".   😂

We Have Orioles!

 The first yearly Oriole arrived around May 9th.   

A grossbeak also appeared!

Eric had the view of them on the feeders on the weekdays and I had the view of them cleaning up discarded oranges from the fire pit.

A large group of them came in, so it was fun to watch.  At one time, Eric counted DOZENS of them on the deck and in our trees.

Unfortunately, after about two weeks (of getting fed a ridiculous amount of grape jelly and many pounds of oranges), they bolted.    We're not sure what more we can do to keep them around longer.  We'll just enjoy for them for the small time they migrate through.

The Fishing Continues

Connor still loves to fish.  He got a nice assortment off the shoreline tonight.  

Sidenote: His gal pal stayed on the phone (video chat) with him for hours while he cleaned fish!  Maybe she's a keeper too?!?  😅😉😋

Let the Sleeping Dog Lie

 Jango is certainly a strange pup.  As I relax on the couch and look over, this is what I see. My dog is SLEEPING like this.

I nudge him and he gives me the "wha?!?!" look.  And, then he continues to lay like this for a while longer. 

And, just cuz we're doing a dog post.   Here's Jango, later this day... on video, barking at himself on TV who is barking at himself on TV/video.

Underwater Dock

 We put the dock out in April this year, as usual, in order to slay the early walleye.   Good stuff!
Then, some larger rains to the North of us caused a disastrous run-off, putting our dock very much
under water!

In freezing water temps, donned in wetsuits and waders, Eric and Connor dove in to find dock panels that had popped up and sunk, plus move the dock level up (raising it higher on the legs).   Prior to the heavy rains (none of which actually hit us directly), the dock had plenty of leeway.   We had assumed that all of the winter run-off was done and we were in the clear.

When all of the panels had been fished out (using garden tools!), they were brought to me to clean with Dawn spray-on soap and the power washer.  They.... were... nasty!   The panels were put away until the water levels are more normal and can be placed on the dock again.  Ugh, this Spring!

Mother's Day 2022

 Happy Mother's Day!

We had a beautiful day this year for Mother's Day.  We picked Nana up from her apartment and took her to church with us.

[Funny] Pastor Jeff photo-bombed us! ha!

Mom hadn't been to Tokyo Steakhouse yet (our favorite!), so we made reservations at the Mongolian grill.    Mom was impressed with our chef's knife skills and humor.

These guys decided to arm wrestle.  ???

When we got home (and changed into comfty clothes), the boys gave me a big balloon and flowers.

Ramsey gave me these gifts as well, which he had made in school.   The coupons are good for snuggles, movie time, and chores.   Mua-hahahahaaaaaa!  I will be using them soon.

Mother's Day Q&A w/Ramsey

This might be the last year I post this, but it's tough to "let go" when kiddos are growing up, so... one last time!!

1) What is something Mommy always says to you?

Ramsey: "I love you!"

2) What makes Mommy happy?     

Ramsey: "When I say I love you."

3) What makes Mommy sad?

Ramsey: "When it's the last day of school and I have a really good teacher that you're friends with, like Mrs. H."

4) How does Mommy make you laugh?

Ramsey: "When she tickles me!"

5) What was Mommy like as a little girl?

Ramsey: "IDK!  That means 'I don't know'.  But.. you were nice...?  Right?"

6) How old is Mommy?  (I'm going to stop asking this question.)

Ramsey: "45"  

7) How tall is Mommy?

Ramsey: "IDK.  5 feet 4?"

8) What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?

Ramsey: "Hug and kiss me!"

9) What does Momma do when you're not around?

Ramsey: "Does work."

10) What is Mommy really good at?

Ramsey: "Doing stuff. A lot of stuff.  Like... your job."

11) What is Mommy not very good at?

Ramsey: "Running."

12) What does Mommy do for a job?

Ramsey: "Works at C.I."

13) What is Mommy's favorite food?

Ramsey: "Pasta? Salad!" 

14) What makes you proud of Mommy?

Ramsey: "When she does good at her job."

15) If Mommy were a movie character or cartoon character, who would Mommy be?

Ramsey: "Can't choose... too many of them.  Princess Leia."

16) What do you and Mommy do together?

Ramsey: "Practice riding my bike and roller skates."

17) How do you know Mommy loves you?

Ramsey: "She says it... a lot!"

18) What does Mommy like most about Daddy?

Ramsey: "IDK.... that he argues with you."

19) Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?

Ramsey: "Walmart?" 

20) If Mommy would become famous, what would it be for?

Ramsey: "Being a good Mommy."

21) How are you and Mommy the same?

Ramsey: "We have the same eyes!"

22) How are you and Mommy different?

Ramsey: "We have different hair and different genders."

23) What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?

Ramsey: "Hug you!"

24) What is your favorite thing about Momma?

Ramsey: "You're nice."

Historical War Stories & Biographies

 With Ramsey's new-found love for history war stories and heroes, Eric purchased him a book about Sergeant Alvin York, one of the most decorated US soldiers of WWI.   He also bought him a book about Audie Murphy.  These heroes are Ramsey's two favorite historical figures.

One chapter at a time, we'll learn more about this brave soldier!

Reading to Recess

 Ramsey succeeded in obtaining his overall goal for "Reading to Recess" at school.

For independently reading a dozen books at home, he received rewards each month of the school year.  Then, at the end of the school year, he received the bonus "prize" for completing all of the months (an Angry Birds Star Wars tablet).

Good job, buddy!

Connor's Home!!

 We were all happy to hear that Connor would be staying with us this summer again.   Ramsey was even more excited than we'd anticipated.  

Here's Ramsey literally waiting for Connor to pull in the driveway.

Aaaand, he's back! 

First Spring Soccer Game

Another soccer season has commenced!   The boys have YOUNG coaches this year.  Due to lack of adult volunteer coaches, two awesome soccer-loving 5th Graders offered to lead Ramsey's spring team; Team"Sounders".

Though young, these 5th Graders aren't messing around.  The kids have two practices per week (evenings at 6PM), in addition to two scheduled games per week.

Due to the rain/crummy weather, the first two games were postponed/canceled.  The boys' first game was Monday evening at 7:30PM (a little late for a school night - ugh), but the sun was shining (for once this month!) and the wind was very minimal.  We didn't freeze!   Formal pictures were scheduled before the game, in addition to an impromptu practice.

Ramsey was named one of the two team captains for the first game.  He seemed pleased with this!

This is only Ramsey's second year playing soccer.  Last year, he learned the game and progressed overall.  This evening, I was very pleasantly surprised (nay, shocked) at how he's improved just since Fall Soccer!  (Eric had a long day of traveling, so he remained at home, not feeling well.)

Ramsey was hustling, going after the ball, dribbling, and passing.

He did a great job, too, when he was placed on Defense.  He had a few nice steals!

I was proud of him and he looked like he was having a great time.

He played Goalie position for the second quarter (no pics).  He had one extra amazing save, catching a booted ball in mid air.  It was a crowd-pleaser and Ramsey beamed with excitement.

The boys did lose the game 3-1, which was OK because Ramsey was so happy after the game, he was literally bouncing.   If the kids continue to progress during the rest of the season, the remaining games will be fun to watch.