Maddie and Cassie hanging out.

We went camping on the North Shore of Lake Superior at Lamb's Resort, a favorite camping stop.

Bailey is a great camper, when she doesn't drag her leash through the fire...

The kids hanging out.

On a rainy day, we visited Wolf Ridge learning center, which was having an open house. Maddie got to try rock climbing.

Going up.

Thumbs up, Madeline!

This is Thistle, their pet porcupine.

The girls find some more crazy animal hats...

Isaac couldn't bear to be left out...

Skipping stones on Lake Superior.

Let's see if we can skip Isaac!

Incoming!

Hanging by the fire.

Our camping set up.

Queen of the Mountain!

Hiking along a stream.

Father Baraga's cross.

Last bit of exploring before the long drive home.

Maddie shows off her fashion sense.

Isaac and his bunny.

Isaac's Easter haul.

Maddie has a nice haul as well.

Maddie hunts for eggs.

Our family on Easter.

We put up a new birdhouse this year. I think the neighbor's cat is ready to welcome the new occupants...

Hope you all had a blessed Easter!

Yes, Madeline now has glasses! She picked these out herself and hasn't lost or broken them yet!

Fashionable, as always.

Maddie needs earrings for her dance pre-performance line costume. So she decided to get her ears pierced rather than wear clip-ons. Here she is at the Mall of America checking things out. (Yes, she forgot to wear her glasses today!)

Marking the spots...

Success in one ear...

And the other one, too! And she brought her doll Chrissa to the American Girl store to get her ears pierced, too.

Maddie in her Dancin' on Broadway warmup suit.

Christmas morning.

Polly Pockets!

Legos!

Isaac with Patin Erika.

Maddie with Patin Judy.

Cousin Clara with her new hat and scarf.

Naomi and her new blocks.

Maddie and Isaac stamping the Christmas cards.

She had a party at the Maple Grove Maple Maze.

Ready for the annual turkey hunt.

Maddie found the turkey!

Family photo.

The Roling cousins.

Attempting a family photo.

Lisa's sister Judy's dog Chloe stayed with us for a few days. Bailey had a blast!

Maddie & Isaac with their pumpkins.

Trick or treating.

I accompanied them as a Winkie guard.

I took a business trip to Tucson. Here are some photos from a hike in Ventana Canyon.

Isaac hangs out at his sister's Daisy Scout event.

Maddie experiments with worms.

Here's Isaac, but where's Maddie?

There she is!

Someone has been an eager beaver...

We made a quick trip to Wisconsin and did a quick leg on the Elroy-Sparta bike trail. Here we are at the end of the "mile tunnel."

Isaac and Maddie take a rest.

Maddie's first day of school - 1st grade!

Isaac turns 4! Happy birthday Charger!

Isaac's birthday with Madeline and Opa.

Isaac and Patin Erika

Birthday cake with Grandma Iowa.

One last hug with Grandpa Iowa before they head home,

Grandma and Bailey.

Pretty much an annual tradition - a visit to the apple orchard for fresh Honeycrisp apples.

For Lisa's birthday, I got her a rain barrel made from a used wine barrel. She uses the recaptured water to use on her garden and flowers.

Hope your fall is going well!

We went on a bike ride on the Cannon Valley trail.

Isaac checks the weather forecast before a recent outing.

Celebrating my birthday. That is a lot of candles...

We escaped to Duluth for a brief weekend, camping on Spirit Mountain and catching the sights. As usual, us camping turned into cold, rain and wind. But we all had a lot of fun anyway. Here are Lisa and the kids in the shelter on Brighton Beach.

Late evening on the breakwater on Minnesota Point.

Engine and coal car outside the Duluth train museum.

Isaac's ready to drive the engine. He was impressed, but felt it needed a steering wheel...

Maddie and Isaac try out the trolley.

Isaac and cousin Clara stroll the breakwater.

Madeline on the rocks.

Isaac on the move.

I'm liking this one!

Clara, Isaac and Lisa.

The Paul R. Tregurtha, the largest boat currently operating on the great lakes, is about to go under the Lift Bridge. This is a really big ship!

Half-way through...

Passing under the Lift Bridge.

A final view as it heads out from port.

School starts soon, so the kids are wrapping up their summer and preparing for their new routines. We'll be back with more!

In June, Maddie finished Kindergarten. Here she is on her last day with her friends Tenley and Taylor.

This was actually a complete double rainbow.

We went for a hike at Crosby Farm Park, where the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers join. A great spot for a long hike right in the middle of St. Paul. Who knew??

For the Fourth of July, we went to the Chanhassen parade. Isaac got a Batman painted on his arm!

Madeline opted for fireworks.

BOOM!

After a slow start, Isaac is doing great on his tricycle.

Breaks are always fun though!

For a kid that is mortally afraid of spiders, he sure does like pretend ones.

Once again, we spent a week at Camper's Paradise on Lake Belle Taine near Nevis, MN. It's a big island in the middle of the lake that you drive on a low causeway to get there. The whole island is for camping, so it's quiet, family-friendly, and very peaceful. This year the weather wasn't so nice, mostly 60s and very low 70s with wind and rain. But the kids still had fun!

The sunsets are gorgeous from our campsite.

Maddie is a great camper!

Our campsite. Don't miss Bailey under the table - she was a great dog all week!

Maddie prepares for bed.

Isaac's in bed, but not sleeping anytime soon!

View of an eagle's nest from our campsite.

There was a parent and three babies. They were all quite big and already flying. And you could hear them vocalizing at night, which was an interesting sound.

Out for some boating.

Isaac was the navigator.

Maddie in the Middle...

Never been this close to a loon before...

A baby loon.

Isaac guides us out.

One of the eagles is having a good day. And the fish in its talons is not!

Lisa just plain rocks!

Charger!

View of our campsite from offshore.

Maddie catches a bass! There really are fish in this lake!

Isaac gets a little one, too.

The screech owl living near our campsite. His screech at night was something else!

Isaac claimed he found some dinosaur fossils.

Isaac and Lisa do a little shore fishing.

We had a great time and can;t wait to go back next year, when it will be warmer, we hope! Hope your summers are fun- and friend-filled.

Isaac gets ready for Easter.

Madeline seems pretty excited, as well.

Isaac tracks down some eggs.

I think it was a successful hunt.

Bailey turned 8 in April. Only a little grayer from the mileage.

Maddie got some face painting at a birthday party.

Isaac thinks he's pretty handsome, too.

Lisa's been trying to catch the bunnies that are eating her tulips. This doesn't look like a bunny. So we let this cardinal off with a warning!

Madeline just had her dance recital. Here are some pictures from the dress rehearsal.

Maddie and her friend Taylor.

Practicing ballet.

And her dance number.

Our proud young dancer.

With curly hair, she just need a few more pictures.

For Memorial Day weekend, we took a quick trip down to Red Wing, MN to climb Barn Bluff. Here it is.

The view from the top.

Since we had the high vantage point, I thought I'd attempt that tilt-shift model effect...

Another tilt-shift shot.

Last tilt-shift, I promise.

A picture at the top. "Look, Grandma Iowa, even Bailey made it!"

Maddie thought it was pretty cool. She already wants me to take her back _without_ Isaac, so we can take the scary North Trail...

Isaac, Lisa & Bailey come over for a better vantage.

On our way down, we came across a deer. Bailey was too tired to care.

That's all for now. Hope you all have a safe holiday weekend!!

We all had a great Christmas. Here are some pictures from Christmas morning.

Maddie gets a custom cupcake making kit from Santa.

And a new hat!

Some trucks for Isaac.

And Thomas the Train makes his first appearance!

Legos with Dad.

Maddie scores a shelter and a pink computer.

A quick shot of Maddie's Christmas outfit at Opa's.

New jammies from Patin.

And a feather boa, of course.

It looks great on Oma, too.

Some play clothes!

Merry Christmas, Opa!!

Opa with Cousin Becky's bird, Daisy.

Christmas #3 with Grandma & Grandpa Iowa!!

Maddie loves her Tinkerbell lantern.

Isaac digs in.

A Batman motorcycle!!!

A toy boat made by late Great Grandpa Milo.

More Thomas toys!!

Maddie shows off the sweater that Lisa knitted for her!

Isaac shows off the new buzz cut!

Isaac and Frosty!

Maddie joins in.

And Bailey.

Maddie shows off some curls!

Isaac's first day of preschool at Highpointe! Way to go Isaac!

Isaac and Lisa look forward to the flight.

Madeline buckles up for the flight, too.

Feet in the Gulf of Mexico for Grandma Iowa!!

Jumping the waves.

Isaac catches some sun on the beach.

I think Lisa could deal with this for a week!

Isaac digs in the sand.

Maddie is getting buried in the sand!

We visited the Sarasota Jungle Gardens - kind of an old-school zoo and garden. Lisa and Isaac have found a most interesting live pet.

Giant tortoises!

Maddie makes a new friend.

Isaac finds the train, of course!

The oddest family of lemurs...

Eric fishes for snook in the lakes next to our apartment.

Uncle Jack shows how it's done.

Jack & Jayne's dog Remi.

Jayne and Remi.

We had a heated pool, which the kids loved.

Blech!!

Maddie is getting to be a really good swimmer!

Lisa with her nephew Alex and his friend Katie.

Jack and Isaac hang out by the lake.

We went to G-Wiz, a hands-on science museum for kids. Maddie liked this chair.

Maddie and Isaac.

The pool.

The apartment where we stayed. We had a great time. Back soon with more!