Time for T-ball!

This summer marked the first year that Brendan and Halle participated in t-ball. Park Rapids didn't have a "team" last year, and technically 3-year-olds weren't "offically" invited this year, but Halle really wanted to play, and in talking to the coaches they didn't mind, so she was added to the roster. They both really enjoyed it and did a great job!

Batter up!

Swing and a miss!
A hit! Run, Halle, run!Brendan's turn! A hit!
He's safe!
Running in the distance...

Chance had fun watching...
A pic of the entire team on the final night of play. We had a picnic before playing that night, and despite the showers, everybody had a great time. :) (Brendan is standing up - third child from the left, in the gray shirt. Halle is two kids to the right from him, also standing, in the pink shirt)

Long overdue update!

Life has been crazy, and I've been terrible about updating this site! We've had a busy, and altogether too quick, summer! Here are some of our happenings...

We went out on the boat....

Brendan and Halle loved every minute!

Chance fell asleep about 2 minutes in...


And then woke up!


Mr. Chance being silly at home...

On July 12th and 13th, we went to the fair.

We saw the animals...

The kids had a blast on the rides!





Chance had fun being cute in his stroller...

And Brendan was a total daredevil - he went on every "adult" ride because he was tall enough - even this crazy green thing that went around and almost upside down! He had a blast!


And, finally, this year I've been able to plant, and grow, and flower/vegetable garden - here are a couple pictures...

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!