First Campfire of the Year!

 Spring is here!  Wahoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Tonight was the perfect night for a campfire.   And, Daddy was very adamant that Ramsey would finally try a complete s'more, with the marshmallow INSIDE.  Usually Ramsey eats a marshallow by itself and then the crackers and chocolate together. 

Though messy, Ramsey actually enjoyed it.  I think he likes his old way better, but who can give a thumbs down to a s'more?!?

Ramsey and Jango played down the hill while we burned more logs.

And we watched the sun go away, the gorgeous spring sunset colors came out and reflected off the glass-like water.

It was beautiful.  We've waited so long to see this again!  

12 Below

 ...Another awesome dog movie that Jango went bonkers for; "12 Below", about a dozen dogs who are stranded in Antartica for a winter.

We all sat down to watch this one together.   Jango watched every... single... minute.

He loved seeing the dogs on TV.  Since he loves White Fang so much, we knew this one would be a winner as well.

At many times, he was so excited, he was jumping and barking like mad! 

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There was a scary part that freaked him out a bit too.

And here's these two sweeties....

Farewell to Connor

 ...pretty sad day here at the Duvie place.    Ok, so it's "bittersweet", as Connor is growing up, moving on, and continuing his education, which is a terrific thing.  But, this, most likely, will be the last time he will have lived with us for a long period of time.   That's the really sad part.  😥

We helped him pack up his car (I was astounded as to how much stuff we were able to cram into his little car, to include his fishing poles!) and did the once-over in the house.

We chatted for a bit longer and said our goodbyes.  Connor is Ramsey's idol and this was a lot of emotion for an 8-year-old.  

Connor was sweet and reassuring while Ramsey was trying to speak to him in between sobs.  They'll still get to talk on Discord (video call/chat app) and play video games together online.

Connor gave Ramsey the ukulele he bought for a music course in college.  Ramsey was pretty stoked.  I think I was actually more excited.  A ukulele!?!?!  Seriously!  How awesome!  ha!   I immediately grabbed the ukulele and broke out in song - "The Rainbow Connection".  😁  No one was impressed but me.

Eric and I refused to get "goodbye pictures" taken on this day.  In retrospect, we should have overcome the vanity of that decision.  Unkempt hair and slightly red puffy eyes held us back.

Connor and two other young men have rented a town house now in the city where he goes to college.  Maybe we can find him a good paying internship around here, so he can stay with us next year (and sublet his town house!).  We've already been scheming.  😉

We wish Connor the very best.   He's a damn good kid; intelligent, mature (relationship wise especially), silly, funny, easy-going, and kind.    He's going to do brilliant things!

Our Last Day w/Connor in the House

 Well... we knew it was going to happen and the day is finally here.  Connor is moving back to college tomorrow and, more than likely, won't live with us again... just stay during holidays. 😥😭 

I had conference calls during the day, so I had to remain at work.  Jango stayed with me to keep me company.   The boys, however, took the pontoon out and went cranking.   I was rather forelorn and a bit jealous when I'd see them go by.  I was also very happy that they got some nice guy time together.

They fished for a few hours, then reeled the lines in so they could swim from the pontoon.  Ramsey ran from end to end, jumping off the decking.  Eric swan dove and Connor did flips into the water.

When I was done with work, we loaded up and went for "the last supper" (so-to-speak) and ate at the resort Connor worked at this summer.  

There were lots of laughs and smiles.  

These moments are priceless.

Don't stay gone too long, Connor.   We love you!

Gaming Bros.

Just gotta get as many pics of the boys together as possible before Connor leaves for college!!

We are going to miss you so much!

Happy Birthday to This Guy!

Happy Birthday to THIS special guy!   Another year around the sun is such a gift.   We love you!

Because Eric is on his Keto diet, I made him Keto brownies instead of birthday cake.  Top it off with some sugar free whipped cream and a lit candle, and voila!  Even the boys liked them.  😉🎂

Instead of going out for supper or leaving the house for Eric's birthday, we spent time hanging out, part of which Eric and the boys played video games in the family room.    Pretty sure Eric got his butt whooped in Call of Duty.

Pontoon Poker Run Fun

 Due to the storms on July 3rd, the lake assocation pushed the fireworks display to the night before the poker run.   Connor was on his "guy trip" and Ramsey went to stay with Nana and Bumpa, so it was just Eric and me for the festivities.  

Here's Ramsey and Riley at bedtime.  Ramsey was pleased to have another puppy sleeping buddy! 

Eric drove the truck into the ditch so we had the absolute best view for watching the fireworks.   He looks thrilled here, right?  ha!  (It was rather warm and humid... and there were bugs.)

  Of course, fireworks don't show up well with my phone, but they... were... AMAZING.  They're shot off so close to our house that literally, there were times that fireworks "shrapnel" was fall all around us (and even ON us!).  The explosions were huge and breathtaking... and they lasted for about 45 minutes.

The next day, on Saturday, was the annual pontoon poker run.   We had invited two other couples to come with us.   We first checked in at the resort to draw our hands of poker (no one had a superb hand by any means), checked out the silent auction items, grabbed our dock stop map, and then hopped back into the pontoon to start the run.

Each dock stop had adult beverages (mostly shots!) and some had snacks.  We also brought along charcuterie and other munchies for the afternoon.

This was Eric's favorite dock stop.  It was our neighbor's place.  They had called in a local award-winning brew pub/pizza joint with some of their homemade ales.   Their "Steampunk Ale" was a boat favorite!

Though none of us won a new Maui mat, "Beer for a Year", gift cards, or other such prizes, it was a super fun afternoon.    

For the Love of Water!

 The water... gliding over it with the warmth of the sun and good people around.   I can't even tell you how much I love it.   It's the only place I have absolutely ZERO worries in the world.  It's also a great place to reconnect with my handsome guys, chatting, laughing, and enjoying the time.  On the water, there's no distractions except the surrounding beauty.   

Today, Connor was leaving for his "guy trip" for fishing and fun, to the western part of the state.  I had to snap a picture before he left.   He packed LIGHT.  But, he didn't forget his party hat!

When we got on the water, we were hoping to catch a fish to occupy Ramsey's little hands and mind.  Score!  A hungry crappie bit my outside/planer board line.  

We trolled for hours and went in after we watched the sun set.

Best... times... ever!

Cabin Trip

 Our cabin trip was cut short, due to water levels (fear of more rain at home, causing dock/lift/pontoon to be damaged).   And, since our trip was late, we missed spending time with Cory, Troy, Sarah, Sadie, and Isaac.    We did LOVE seeing Nana, Bumpa, and the puppies though.  Jango was happy to see other dogs!

The trip up was cute, but the two littlest boys were constantly messing with each other.  Sometimes it was sweet, sometimes it got a little wild.  Posting pics of the sweet times only. 🤣

Nana and Bumpa's puppies (Bailey and Riley) got lots of extra attention when the boys were around, snuggling in where ever they could find room. 

For inside activities, Bumpa played word games with Ramsey on the iPad.

And, Nana showed Ramsey how to do a "diamond painting".   Ramsey stayed with it for quite a while at various times!

We left earlier again, due to concerns with Nana K and water levels.   We are looking forward to another trip to see everyone soon!  🥰😍