This has been in the drafts folder since 2007...

 

Maggie holding her cousin Jayden.

Uncle Paulie and Eli in New Richmond!

Look at Grandma Duzy peeking from behind the tree.

MN State Capitol

From the Capitol Building overlook, you can see the Cathedral.

Seamus and Piper debate the likelihood of the Governor walking by.

Our group is starting to get tired...

Who can resist walking on a curb, when you have an entire sidewalk open for you?

All my ducks are in a row!

St. Paul Cathedral

After a couple days in the woods, it was time to expose our kids to some city life. Some of these pictures were taken by Maggie and Seamus, too.

Clear Lake... Clearly Alot of Fun!

Piper's First Camp Out

Feeling brave, we packed up the minivan for an adventure at Clear Lake. It was a great vacation and a lot of work :o)!

Piper doesn't want to sleep in her pack-n-play, she wants Maggie's spot.

Don't you love what a girl will do to their sleeping brother?

Piper's First Round of Golf

Clearly a natural!

Seamus and John use the water hazards to their advantage.

The Fishing Hall of Fame

It is true, in Hayward, WI, you can stand in the mouth of a fish, catch a fish and eat a fish all in the same day - so that is what we did. Just to be clear, in all three case, it was not the same fish...

The view from inside, after Piper climbed the 48 steps all by herself!

This pond if stocked with Crappies that the kids just keep catching over and over again. Maggie and I want to bring a net and help them escape on our next trip.

The fish got their revenge on Seamus and John for catching them too many times!

A quick ski before dinner :O)

Before we could leave camp, Maggie had to show off a little, that's her skiing!

Seamus skiied, but Tim didn't get the picture! This is a picture with John, Cabe's son who is just seven weeks older than Seamus. They live in Hong Kong during the school year, but Seamus and John love hanging together during the summer.

Pokegama Pump

I am not completely sure of the rules/goals of Pokegama Pump, but it is a climbing game where you do not use ropes and you have to follow a course marked with colored tape. She looks quite determined!

I love this smile!

I think Maggie is going to have a hard time saying good bye to her camp big sister.

A Gold Medal for Sharing

Seamus should not have let Piper see his ice cream cone...

Shortly after this, he handed the whole cone over and went to go get his own... I have to say it was perfectly played on his part!

Inspired by the Olympics

A Letter from Maggie

Maggie is good at so many things, writing letters is NOT one of them!!! In three weeks I have received three letters... I use the term "letters" quite loosely as I think it should have more than a few sentences, but at least everything is spelled correctly! Here is the news from camp:

Letter one: (received a few days after she left)

Dear Mom, I miss you! Tell Piper I miss her. I love you and everyone. Tell me what Pip says at bedtime! Love, Maggie (Maggie written in bubble letters)

Letter Two: (a postcard received about a week later)

Dear Mom, Can you send more money? How are Piper and Seamus? I miss you! My counselors are fantastic! I learned lots of guitar chords. I love you the most, Maggie (Tim's postcard said that she loves him the mostest - I think that's a tie)

Letter three: (received yesterday)

Dear Mom, TIAD started yesterday, I did the trivia and got 5/5. It was great. Tell everyone I miss them and Mom, there are NO climbing trips this session! Maggie

I will translate letter three... TIAD is color wars. 5/5 on camp trivia is good. She misses everyone... including anyone who might be reading this. No climbing trip means only one overnight camping trip during four weeks, oh well.

Here's today's picture taken at the Council Fire. Maggie and her friends are putting a key log in the fire, it is a way to honor a friend or family member. Doesn't she look old??

 

Four weeks is starting to feel VERY long, Tim went up north yesterday to pick up our canoe from a friend... I almost went with to pick up Maggie, or at least spy on her with binoculars from the lake!

Mags and Jilli Climb On!

Jilli promised Maggie she would climb, if Maggie will go to a dance class... looks like we will see Maggie dancing, I hope they get that on camera, Maggie will only go kicking and screaming - should be interesting. Way to go, Jilli!

Maggie and Jilli with their counselor, Danielle.