Carter's Forklift

 My brother, Andy, flew up a few days before Mother's Day to hang out with us.  Carter got into the Legos this past winter and was super excited for Uncle Andy to come up and play Legos with him.  Carter wasn't building much on his own but loved to play with whatever was built for him.  He requested a forklift.

"Posing" with his forklift.  The forklift actually worked and Andy made a little video of it.

Carter's Forklift video

We tried to put the Legos away for the summer but they kept getting out of the box and now we're back into building full swing with a constant Lego mess in the basement.  Carter and I are currently working on a village of all the Lego sets Andy and I had when we were little.  Our genius Mom laminated the instructions and some are 25 years old but still like new.  However, she didn't start that until well after we had our collection established.  Thank goodness for the internet.  I've been able to find  missing instructions for quite a few.  Just today Carter started building on his own.  First he tried to build a car but ended up needing some help after he had all the pieces he wanted on it.  I had some things that needed to be done so he started our next project without me.  By the time I got back downstairs he had found about 1/4 of the pieces we needed for the Semi and Trailer.  I'm hoping all this time we spend playing Legos is just the beginning of his work as an engineer or architect.  Stay tuned for pictures of Carter and his village.

Canning - 1st Attempt

I may have planted a few too many seeds of the wrong kind of veggies in the garden this year.  The seeds were given to me and I only planted them so they weren't wasted.  We ended up with a zillion patty pan squash, 1/2 a zillion summer squash, some kind of winter squash that isn't ready yet, and more zucchini than I wanted.  I've given some away, made some freezer jam, and made some refrigerator sweet summer squash pickles.  THIS is my first shot at really canning.  Actually boiling jars, with food in them, FOORREEVVEERR.  I don't understand how it can take a kettle of hot water over an hour to come to a boil on high heat, but it did.  I guess I should have started the water when I covered the zucchini with ice for 2 hours.  So this is the result of my first real canning experience.  I started at 11ish and finished at 3:30ish.  May be too much work for me, although, there were 2 hours of sitting time in that 4 1/2.  Yay for 4 pints of Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles.

The recipes said 5 pints... 

Never Too Young for a Fishing Tournament

 The weekend of the Governor's Cup Walleye Tournament they put on a tournament for kids.  This year was our first year entering.  The guys tournament was cancelled for the day due to high winds so Landon and Casey were able to come with us.  I wouldn't have been able to do it by myself with the two boys which is why this year was our first.  Henry did what he does best.  Hang out and snack.

Check the line. 

 Yep, looks good.

Carter's day started out a little slow but Dad found a better spot and Carter started reeling in the fish.  Here he is showing me his first catch.  They throw everything back so most kids just fill their goody bag with water and carry their fish to the weigh station.

There really is a fish in the bag. 

 As you can see by the hand next to the scale, these are little fish.

 The crowd at the kids pond.  It was pretty packed.  They had 80 kids entered in the tournament with 251 fish and 3 turtles caught.  Carter really was more interested in the other kids and their fish.  Fishing is an everyday thing for him, so no big deal.

Carter got 6th place for his age group (5 and under) weighing .28 pounds of fish.  He got to pick his prize, bypassing the toys and picking a tackle box that he gave to Henry since he already has one.  Everyone got a shirt and a goody bag with fun kids stuff like whistles (yay?) and candy (double yay?).  Henry caught one fish but we didn't have it weighed.  After the tournament they fed the kids lunch and had different water related activities for them to do.  We ate and headed home with two tired and cranky boys.  Next year the rest of the kids better watch out.  The Holte Boys will have another year of fishing under their belts and will be hungry for a 1, 2 finish.

Henry's Potty Training

"Henry, it is time for a shower.  Let's go in and go pee first."

One Last Swim

Last Sunday some friends invited us to go out on the lake with them for the last swim of Summer.  Although it was 90 degrees with a bright shining sun, it really wasn't warm enough for this kid to go swimming.  I didn't dare ask the water temperature but it couldn't have been more than 72.  I didn't swim but I was willing to do a little tubing as long as I could go right from the boat to the tube and let the splashes acclimate me to the frigid lake before getting dumped off by our gracious hosts.  Tony and Amy have two girls, Natalie (almost 3) and Aleah (a week older than Henry, 1.75), who love the water.  Carter ate his weight in dried apricots and had a stomach ache so he wasn't interested in swimming or tubing.  That was until he saw Aleah and Amy tubing.  Carter and his first experience tubing...

Trying to give Dad and Tony a thumbs up.  He wouldn't let go of the handles though.

One thumb up.  His little arms are so short that he was almost over the edge of the tube so he got more water in his face than he would have liked.  Next time we'll take goggles.  Amy and I have plans to invent a tube cover that has a handle about where our elbows are so that little people can sit a bit further back and still hang on.  We're going to make millions.

Henry was getting fussy (it was nearly 6 and when it is time to eat, well, get the food, NOW!) so we threw him on between us.  He wouldn't lay down, but he liked to sit up and ride.

Amy and I did a few miles, got dumped a couple times, and chit chatted our way into the bay on a lake of glass.  What a great way to end the weekend.

We had a blast with the Fasts and can't wait until next summer to do it again.

THANK YOU TONY, AMY, NATALIE, AND ALEAH FOR A GREAT AFTERNOON!

The Curly Haired Monster and His First Haircut

June 24, 2012

Henry has curls.  Lots of curls.  The boys were going to be ring bearers in a wedding on June 30th and I was leaving the haircuts up to the bride, Avery.  I had been telling her for months that it was her call; I would do whatever she wanted.  Avery never did decide, but Dad said shaggy needed a trim, he was starting to look like a girl (I disagreed.  He is all boy and then some).

 June 25, 2012

I made the call and the beautician came to us.  My friend and boss' wife, aka Aunt Kristie, was kind enough to come to the house for a quick trim.  Henry was a little unsure about the clippers, but when Kristie started combing and cutting he was in a trance.  I love getting my hair washed, combed, cut, etc. and it appears Henry got that gene from me.

 He looks much older without the curls.  I have a philosophy when it comes to hair cuts.  It will grow back.  The curls are starting to come back and I don't intend to cut them, at least for now.  We'll see what Dad says about that though.

July 29, 2012