Photos from Friday

Tommy had the run of my parents large deck and he absolutely loved it! He was jibber-jabbering all night as he ran around, climbed on the bench and tried to get a unoccupied beer.

The weather was perfect for enjoying the evening outside.

Checking out the yard

A little blurry, but it was so cute how he would hang over the edge of the bench to look around.

Of course the photo with a beer that we happen to get all to often!

A nice holiday so far...

We have had a nice few days. I had Friday off so Tommy and I played in the morning. Then I had a hair appointment so I took him over to my parents and he played with Grandma and Grandpa for a while. I went over there afterwards and helped my Mom a little bit while Tommy was napping. Later that evening I went to pick up Mike and my Grandma Rosie to bring them back over there for dinner. We had an excellent meal, steaks, potatoes, salad with pears, candied walnuts and maple dressing and crater cake for dessert. Yummy! I have some photos on my parents camera of Tommy running around on their deck that I will get up later.

I had to work today, so afterwards we picked up my parents and headed up to Crosslake to look around and eat dinner. We ate at Moonlite Bay and it was very nice. Tommy liked the deck overlooking the channel, he thought all the big boats were pretty cool! Then we went to town square to see "Babe the Bluegill" and visit the chocolate ox. Mike got ice cream that he shared with Tommy while Mom, Dad and I tried some chocolate truffles! It was a very nice evening.

We are definitely looking forward to having two more days to spend together as a family!!!

Babe the Bluegill

Tommy wasn't very cooperative, but we got a photo of him on it anyway!

Poor, poor baby

So yesterday Tommy didn't get a nap at daycare and then ended up falling into the sand box and hurting his face pretty bad.

Bump on his head, scratches on his cheek, chin and his nose got scratched up pretty bad.

Showing off his goose egg on his head.

Today his nose looks even worse!

I felt so bad for him. He was exhausted when he got home yesterday too. I dropped him off today with firm instructions that he needs a nap. The only reason I think he fell is because he was way over tired and gets a little discombobulated. I hope he heals up fast because it really makes us sad to see him all beat up!

Smoked meat

Yesterday Mike and I started the smoker early and made some of the best meat I have ever had. We put the pork roast on first, then added some pork ribs and finally a turkey breast. The rub Mike put on the pork was fabulous and we had our fill of delicious smoked meats. Yummy! The Ohlin's and my parents joined us and everyone was thrilled with how good everything was.

The smoker

From the top, ribs, pork roast, turkey, water pan to keep things moist and finally the woodchips.

Tommy has started to lick his plate clean after dinners, we had to catch a photo of it!

My Mom also made a delicious apple crisp for dessert and Tommy really loved that! He is really into fruits and vegetables which is nice for us.

Today we ran down to St. Cloud for a quick trip to get some errands done. My Mom volunteered to come along and help keep Tommy occupied. It ended up being a nice but quick trip. As I type he is talking on my old cell phone, walking around with it by his ear and talking like he is having a real conversation. It is so funny! We hope everyone had a good weekend!

A big thanks!

We want to thank Natalie and Allison for watching Tommy yesterday. They came over on their last free day before school starts again. Thanks, Tommy had a great time with you guys!!!


We woke up to quite a chilly morning. Tommy loves being outside so we bundled him up in his socks and sweatshirt over his jammies and hung out on the deck for a little while. Today we are trying out our smoker. We got it as a wedding gift and after a few questionable experiences haven't used it much. We caught the bug again after watching some Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and decided to pull it back out. This time we are going into it with more research done on how you actually go about smoking meats. Cross your fingers for us and my parents and the Ohlins who are being our Guinna pigs!

A nice visit with family

Last night my Aunt Julie and cousin JP were up visiting my Grandma so we ran over there for a little while to say hi. Julie brought us some of JP's old things for us to use since JP is almost exactly 1 year older. Thank you!!! When we got there Laurie was there with Katie, Becca and Digger so we got to see them too. Tommy sure loves both of the puppies! He chased them and tried hugging them a lot. He had a lot of fun sharing toys with JP too. It was nice to see them interact better now that Tommy is getting older. It will be fun to see them grow up together as good buddies! I got a few photos, but I was a little late getting the camera out and Tommy was getting tired and ready to go home! It was very nice to see everyone!

JP going in for a hug

JP with Tommy, although Tommy was really getting tired and about to lose it!

Lake Minnetonka Photos

A beautiful sunset on Lake Minnetonka

Sorry for the dark photo! Terry pushing Tommy down the hill in his stroller

Tommy loves to swing!

Emily loves the tire swing!

After a little push from me!

Tommy in the spring turtle

He liked the horse better!

Going down a big slide with Aunt Denise

Trying out the little slide on his own

Happy Boy loved the playground!!!

Wading out into the lake

Luckily Tommy didn't want to get down, he loves the water!

Later on at Denise & Terry's house Tommy climbed into Riley's cage and wouldn't come out. I figured it was a nice photo of our child in a cage that looks like it could be his bed!

Golf Tournament Champions!

This weekend we headed down to the cities for a golf tournament. My Mom, Dad, Mike, Tommyy and I left Friday afternoon and met up with Denise, Terry and Emily for dinner. Chilis, yum! Then we headed over to Excelsier to walk down by Lake Minnetonka and get an ice cream cone. It was a beautiful night and we really enjoyed the view. They had a nice playground and Tommy really had fun swinging, riding spring horses and going down the slides. Emily had a good time on the tire swing!

Saturday we had a babysitter so Mike and I could go compete in the golf tournament. Mom, Dad, Denise and Terry were in the group ahead of us so we got to see them quite a few times around the course. Mike and I partnered with my cousin Kelly and her very soon to be husband Shane. It was a nice day and we really enjoyed their company. We came in at -10 and ended up winning the tournament! It was a scramble and we all contributed different shots so that was nice. We came home after the dinner there.

Yesterday we just rested and relaxed. It is very tiring to be in the hot sun golfing for 6 hours! Tommy played in his swimming pool that he got for his birthday from Amy and Paige. We also picked a ton of green beans from the garden, yum!!! We still have quite a few to grow a little more too! I will get a few photos from the weekend up soon!

Tommy's 1 year photos

Here are the photos we had taken on Tommy's 1st birthday. There are a few family shots as well. Enjoy!

Photos from last Friday

These are a couple of photos from last Friday. I have been meaning to get them up and the time is flying by. I can't believe it is already Thursday!

Tommy was fascinated by his cousin Paige!

Tommy also really loves Digger, the Wig's puppy. He was really good with Tommy and let him play with him quite a bit. He did try to hide a few times but Tommy always found him!!!

A lovely weekend

We had a very nice weekend. I had Friday off and Paige was up staying with my parents so we all got to spend some time together. Tommy went to daycare for a little while in the morning since it was Alissa's last day before the baby came. After I picked him up we met Mom and Paige for lunch at Applebees, Paige's pick. We went over to the Wig's house to let Paige swim with Katie and Becca while we visited with Laurie and Jeff. Then my parents brought pizzas over for dinner and we ended the night with a bonfire and s'mores with Katie and Becca. Paige loves spending time with the girls! It was a lovely night too!

On Saturday I had to work. After I got home and dinner was over Natalie and Allison came over to watch Tommy so Mike and I could run to the driving range and hit some balls in preparation for a golf tournament we are in this weekend. They stayed for a while after we got home and we watched the Olympics.

Yesterday we went to the driving range again. My parents were there as well so we brought Tommy along this time. He enjoyed it and kept calling for "Grampa" the whole time. Last night we went to Iven's for dinner. My parents, Bill & Cindy and Natalie had all boated over from the Potvin's house and we drove over to meet them. It was the first time Tommy has really been naughty at a restaurant. Of course it had to be a nice restaurant too. We were planning to eat on the deck but it was all full so we were in the dining room. So Mike and I basically took turns bringing him in the entry or outside while we waited for food. My Dad even took a turn. Our days of eating out may be dwindling down! In all we had a very nice weekend though. I was glad to see the end of the car racing though. Our house is close to BIR, the race track, and there were so many people around, the traffic was horrendous!!! Finally we get our town back!!!

We also want to congratulate Chris and Alissa who welcomed Isak Jeffrey on Sunday! Tommy is very excited to have a new playmate at daycare!!!

Quick update

Not too much to report on, but I try to keep this updated so here goes. I have tomorrow off, Tommy is going to daycare for a little while because it is the last day there before Alissa has the baby. She is going in on Monday! I can't believe it is already here. Hopefully the 8 weeks she is off go just as quick! Paige is also in town so we will be spending some time with her too. Tommy loves her so much, he carries around photos of her all the time, it is so cute! Otherwise we are looking forward to the Olympics, playing outside (hopefully the mosquitos die down soon!) and relaxing. August seems to be flying by so we need to enjoy the warm weather while we can!!!

Tommy and his old baseball

Obviously he loves all types of balls. Here he was crabby about something, but I just love his little outfit so I had to post it!

Tommy's favorite spot

Recently Tommy has been hanging out in the plant stand. Yes I said it correctly IN the plant stand. He will sit in it and read books, stand in it and pound on the windows, even just sit in it and do nothing. He is so funny. We had to take the glass out of the top and I have been threatening to take the bottom glass away as well since he loves pounding things on it. He actually loves pounding things on anything.

Tommy happy to be in the plant stand!

He even likes to chew on the metal, go figure!

Playing peek-a-boo over the top

Getting tired, time for a nuk break

Ready to play again, getting rid of the nuk!

Grrr......

For some reason our computer will not let me upload photos to the blog. I am not sure what it is all about, but I will try and fix it soon!

We had a great weekend. Friday we took Tommy down to the Gull Lake beach area right by our house. The water was nice and warm so he really enjoyed it! Then we brought him home and let him splash on his water table while we made dinner. He had a great night, what a lucky boy!

I had to work on Saturday, but we had my parents over for dinner. My friend Kathy bought us a jalapeno popper roaster and we tried it out. Delicious!!! We loved them! They went great with our buffalo chicken kabobs! Tommy was loving all the extra attention too! He sure loves Grandma and Grandpa.

Sunday was pretty miserable outside so we just played inside all day! We ventured out for a minute and got attacked by mosquitos. Yuck!

Like I said, I can't get any photos on today so I will sign off. We hope you all had a good weekend too!