A day at the beach...

July 5th was a warm day, but because of strong winds we decided not to take our boat out, but instead to spend a few hours on a local beach.

Chance loved the sand... Brendan, Cameron, Halle, and Chance pose in the lake...
Halle hamming it up in the water...
While Chance enjoys the water...

Daddy plays with Halle and Chance...


What a fun day!

Happy Birthday, America!

Brendan, Cameron and I were part of this year's annual 4th of July parade in town. My bank did an awesome job of putting together a float, which we walked along with... After walking through almost the entire parade route, we stopped to watch the rest of the entries so the kids could catch some candy...
Then, as soon as nightfall hit, it was time for fireworks! First, sparklers!

Then a shot of one of our small fireworks - the big ariels are too hard to capture - they took aournd an hour-and-a-half to shoot off in total and were awesome!!

The PBR Bullride!

Every year over the 4th of July weekend, Park Rapids hosts the PBR Bullride. This was the first year we've ever attended - it was a blast! The kids each got cowboy hats (though for some reason I didn't get a picture of Halle in hers) and had a great time.

Here Brendan and cousin, Cameron, pose while Halle eats her corn dog... Next it's Mr. Chance looking cute in his cowboy hat!
Time to ride some bulls!

Chance crashed out in the middle...
The older boys pose for another pic during a break in the action...
Ok, back to the action!

During one of the breaks, a group called "Guilty by Association" rode their dirt bikes and performed amazing tricks - here are a few shots...

( Yes, those are his feet in the air!)
This guy did a 360! Everybody went wild!

Also during one of the breaks, some local folks tried their hand at "Cowboy Poker" - notice the gray bull charging right for them!

What a fantastic night - the Bullride was so entertaining!

Tractor Time!

With all of the storm damage we sustained, we decided that purchasing a tractor would be a better bet then renting for the next many weekends. After weeks of shopping Cary found one he loved.

The kids pose with Dad...
And in the bucket...
Daddy and Brendan knock out a small stump...
Meanwhile, while I was outside taking pictures of the other two on the tractor, Chance fell asleep in his Johnny Jump-Up...

Shots of Mr. Chance

Here are a few pictures of the goofy boy...

Interesting....
That is simply out of my price range...
Maybe I'll try this grin...
Not enough? How 'bout this one?
Nevermind...I'll just play with my toys...

Horray!

Relay For Life

Our local Relay for Life was held on June 20th. With the help of generous donations from family and friends I mananged to raise over $1200!!! WHOO-HOO!!! As a result of all of the donations, I needed to make over 200 luminary bags! With some help they got done, and looked awesome! Here are several pictures of the finished luminaries...




And a shot of one of the special bags that was created by my coworkers...
I'm a SURVIVOR!

A shot of our family...(left to right...Erica, Grandma Connie, holding Halle, Grandpa David, holding Brendan, me, Cary -- in the front row - Great Grandpa Lee, Great Grandma Lee and Chance)
A shot of one of the finished bags on the track...
One of the fund raisers held during the Relay was mini golf...


I'm a silly boy!!

A few shots of the "HOPE" sign... We were able to purchase bags on the "HOPE" sign for our immediate family that donated to the Relay. With donations from our family we purchased bags in honor of Chance from Grandpa David and Grandma Connie Finley, Grandma Carol Lee, Great Grandparents Finley, Great Grandparents Cusick, Great Grandparents Landstrom, Great Grandparents Lee, Aunt Erica, (Godparents) Uncle Colin and Aunt Kahri, Big Brother Brendan, Big Sister Halle, Mom and Dad (us!) and (Godparents) Mike and Missy ~



Thanks to ALL for the donations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The night was wonderful!!