Maple Grove Days Parade

One benefit of our new house is that each year the Maple Grove Parade runs right behind our house. So we decided that a Maple Grove Parade Party was in order. Here are pics from our 1st Annual Maple Grove Parade Party.

Kick off to the parade - a fly over! Pretty cool, but very loud!

Decorating bags for all of the "loot" before the parade - good idea Natalie!

Waiting for the parade to start....

Look at this line-up of goofy kids!

Ready and waiting for the candy!

Ben's First Car

Thanks to our neighbors, Gail and Phil, Ben got his very first car this week! It needed a little cleaning and Ben was more than willing to help wash his car.


He made sure to get his sponges wet and
soapy (yes, he's using two).

Working hard to clean the exterior of his vehicle...make it shine Ben!

Back for more soap and water.

Meticulously cleaning the interior of his vehicle.

And finally,

He takes it for a test drive!

Go, Car, Go!

Last Saturday we went to Como zoo with our neighbors, Nick and Jen, and their daughter Lily. They both liked the animals, of course, but this time we also visited the Como Amusement Park. After some debate on whether or not Ben and Lily could handle the ride, we decided to take a chance.


They listened carefully to the rules.

"Hey Ben, can you believe they're letting us drive by ourselves!?"


After the first ride was over, they both wanted "MORE"

This sure is fun!!

"Hey Lily, let's see how this thing corners!"

After the cars, they went on a train ride with their Dads.

What a fun day, and it's hard to believe Ben's big enough to start going on rides!

Memorial Day Vacation?

Ben was such a help this weekend up at his Grandma and Grandpa's cabin. There was some boulder work to be done by the firepit, and Ben jumped right in to help.


He brought boulders down to the pit,

let his daddy and Grandpa know what boulder should
be used next,

carried stuff,

and pushed sand around the edge of the rocks
to make sure they stay in place.

Whew! After all of that hard work, it was time for a water break!

Trip to WI

We took a few days off last week to go visit our friends in WI. Ben was a trooper in the car, and handled the long rides so much better than we expected!

First stop: MADISON

Ben was so excited to visit Baby Jack (4 mo)! He made sure to show him the ropes.


"See Jack, this is how you ride the horsey..."



"This is how you hang with the big boys..."

"And this is what happens whenever you start to have too much fun...the big people stop and try to make you smile for the camera...



"And this is how you watch the animals at the zoo..."

Thanks Wilson family-we can't wait to see you again soon!
(And thanks to Octopus Car Wash-if you're ever in Madison and need to have baby vomit cleaned from your car, they're the people to see!)


Next stop: GREEN BAY

Our next stop was to visit Brian, Julie and Ian in their new home in Green Bay!

Ian made sure to show Ben around.

This is my playroom, and that's my chair that you are sitting in.



Here's Ben and Ian working on "sharing".




You should see how many pictures we had to take to
get these two both looking at the camera!




Ian brought us to his favorite playground!




Ben saw Ian do this, so he figured he could too!

Thanks Zaruba family. We had a great time!


Last stop: APPLETON

Ummm, we sincerely apologize to the Sobczak family. Apparently we were tired after three days on the road and the camera went by the wayside. We have one picture of our visit there, and it didn't turn out :( Ben was pretty impressed by the big kids (Genevieve and Connor) and of course he loved baby Lexi.

Thanks guys!!!

Forks and Cups

Ben is growing up so fast! He's just about mastered using a spoon, and was ready to try the more challenging fork!

Hmmm, what do I do first?

This doesn't seem very useful.

Ohh, you use it this way...how cool is that?!

Mmmm, delicious!

Now can I try a real cup? Promise I won't spill!



See, I'm a natural!



Look, both at once!

Sandbox fun!

Ben has discovered his swingset and sandbox this spring! He has no patience for me to change clothes or shoes when we get home from work/daycare. He wants to play NOW! And how can we say no when he clearly has so much fun?

Whoa! Look how high I'm going!

All of this sand just makes me feel CRAZY!

Cool, a new hat!

No, I didn't eat any sand, why do you ask?