Camping - round 2!

This past weekend, the kids and I loaded up the car and trekked East and North to visit Grandma & Grandpa O. while they were standing in as campground hosts at Mosomo Point. We had a great time and lucked out with beautiful weather.


With a view like this from their campsite, you can see why G-ma & G-pa love it out there so much!

This little girl was not always such a "happy camper", but once we were home she kept saying she, "likes to go camping...and sleep in a tent...and go swimming on the sunny beach."

The boys were totally into the camping experience... Especially when it included boating with Grandpa, and doing some fishing!

Here is the catch of the day! (Minus on large bullhead that Caleb caught, gross!) They were both so proud to show us what they reeled in!

Swimming was a major highlight for all the kids! I think they would've spent all day in the water if they could have!

Again, the view. I was in love with the magnificent show put on both evenings. Luckily I had my camera in hand while the sky was still bright enough to cast a gorgeous reflection into the glass- like waters. And I couldn't help but be in awe.

Thanks again for a fun weekend! We will definitely be back!

Rewind

Looking through the massive picture files, I noticed that I missed a few fantastic opportunities for posts on the ol' blog. So if you don't mind, here is a bit of a review of some highlights I missed...



We took the kids on their first camping adventure back in June! We went to Buffalo River State Park, which is about 15 miles east of Moorhead. It's a beautiful little area. We had so much fun and will hopefully find time to go back before summer is over!

A highlight to Buffalo S.P. is the swimming area! It is a man-made pond, that is filtered and chlorinated like a pool, but has a sandy bottom and beach like a lake! It's great! The kids had so much fun playing in the water and sand.
We so enjoyed our little family getaway. Even though it was just for a day. It doesn't get any better than being outdoors, having special eats and treats, chasing fireflies, sleeping in a tent, and waking up with the sun.

A weekly happening for the Saari crew this summer has been baseball! Caleb is in a 9 yr. old league this year, and plays for the 'RedHawks'. With Monday and Tuesday practices and Wednesday being game day with double-headers, the first half of most our weeks have been pretty busy since the end of May.

Brady got to have a taste of summer baseball this year too! He played "Big Bopper" with the 'Athletics' and even had Daddy for a coach! Big Bopper is basically t-ball with a large wiffle bat. This, of course, was slightly below Brady's normal "level of play", but he had a blast with it anyway!

Game days were definitely the highlight for the Athletics. It was so much fun to watch the kids improve as their short season went along. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very cooperative, and more than half of their games were rained out.

The last big event for June was Chuck & Julie's wedding! They were married on June 25th, (fun fact: June 25th this year just happened to be the 12th anniversary of Matt and my first official date as well as the 9th anniversary of our engagement... let's hear it?? "awwwwww!")

The bride and groom lucked out with perfect weather for an outdoor wedding in the country. It was a beautiful day for a lovely couple!

Here are the happy newlyweds ready to boogie the night away!

As Best Man, Matt thought it was his duty to take the groom for a spin around the dance floor. We had a great time dancing and celebrating Mr. & Mrs. Cofield to the very last song. Super fun night!



Maija has graduated from her crib into a BIG GIRL BED! She has done awesome with the transition and is so proud of her new, pretty bed!

And finally we have a few pictures from 4th & 5th of July. Sadly, I did not manage to take very many pictures of our two day celebration. But we had fun! Sunshine, BBQ and small explosives!? What could be better?

Sparklers were a huge hit with our kids on the 4th, and we set off a few smaller, ground fireworks in the driveway. Always a good time!

Even Noah got in on the action this year! He was a bit mesmerized by, and maybe a little afraid of the sparklers...

We got two days out of this holiday thanks again to the soggy weather we've been having all summer long! The 4th got cut a little short thanks to a slurry of storms that popped up before we really got to enjoy our usual fireworks festivities... But the 5th was much more pleasant and we did a 4th of July RE-DO with all the neighbors. More sparklers. More fireworks in the driveway. And the grand finale being the annual MSUM fireworks extravaganza viewed from the best spot in the neighborhood, our deck! Can't wait for next year!

So, I think that pretty well covers the important happenings that this blogger forgot to blog about!

Future Hall of Famer?

Perhaps!

Well, paint me green!

Ah, colored bubbles. What a fun idea! They come in a variety of shades. From purple/pink, to orange, to blue to green. Screamin' Green to be exact. So yes, colored bubbles are indeed a neat thing to try. I recommend them. They give blowing bubbles a whole new interesting spin! Just beware, they are quite messy. Washable, but messy. We try to save them for water days in the backyard... today however, Maija put it upon herself to test out the wonderous colored bubbles in a different way!

Yes indeed. Maija thought that her lovely bottle of "Screamin' Green" bubbles would in fact make super awesome body paint! Huh! Guess what?!! She was right!
She made sure to coat her arm and hand thoroughly. Wouldn't want any of that boring, pale, soft, baby skin showing through. Nah...

Oh. Make sure to get those fingers as well.
As you can see she did a spectacular job with full coverage.
Also, be sure to rub it all in. You want the green-ness in there reeeeal good!

Helpful tip from Maija:
In case your Mom is opposed to permanently green children,

just turn on your trusty garden hose for easy removal!

A few more helpful Maija tips:

While rinsing off your beautiful paint job,

be sure to make the most out of getting to

run the hose all by yourself!

Take a drink or two!

We artists must stay well hydrated for

maximum creativity flow!

Always take advantage of

unsuspecting pedestrians...
GOTCHA, BRADY!

Final helpful tip from Maija:

Be sure to look SUPER CUTE

while spraying everyone else with

the hose... That way they can't get mad!

Once in a while I surprise myself with my photo taking. Now, I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but from behind the lense I am NOT skilled whatsoever. And our little Fujifilm digital camera is far from professional grade...in fact it frustrates me every time I use it. Anyhow. Occasionally, during multiple attempts, I get a keeper. This one of Maija is definitely a favorite. This was taken during her inaugural toe painting session (see further down in the blog posts for that story!) She was so deep in concentration. Carefully painting each tiny nail (and toe and fingernail and hand) with a swoosh of bright pink paint. This profile picture is so sweet, innocent, and beautiful. I'm pretty sure it will need to be enlarged, framed, and treasured for the rest of my years...

Thanks, Mother Nature...

Golden Boy!

It's crazy, crazy, crazy to believe that Caleb just celebrated his 10th & GOLDEN birthday this past Sunday... Where have those T E N years gone?? Wasn't he just born? Wasn't he just 9 lbs. 10 oz. and 22 inches long??! It seems nearly impossible that it has gone by this quickly. I woke up on Sunday morning, and was brought to tears thinking that today Caleb would be blowing out T E N candles on his cake. Amazing. I often think back to when he was a newborn... I can vividly remember Dr. Rounds placing him on my chest for the very first time. The absolute instantaneous and steadfast love that rushed through my body and soul was overwhelming. I knew in that moment that he was a miracle. He was a gift. He was meant to be.

Over these ten years, Caleb has grown into this wonderfully special boy. He is so caring, considerate, soft-hearted, incredibly smart, incredibly talented and just incredibly awesome. I cannot imagine life without his smile. How did we get so lucky?

Needless to say, we had a fun-filled day celebrating our amazing boy! He deserved every minute and so much more!

Happy GOLDEN Birthday, Caleb!!!

We love you so very much!