Little nieces + dirt = messy fun

Another fun thing is that we get to finally meet family members that were born while we were gone. Dave's brother, wife, and their precious Sophie and Courtney were at the house for a couple days. We were privileged to play around with them for a bit as they roamed all through the house. Literally, you would turn your head for a second and BOOM...they were GONE!

Here are a few snapshots of Sophie messing with the dirt.
"Ooohhh...my hands are dirty!"
"Maybe I'll put it in this bowl..."

"Aaaah....never mind.""Hmmm...I'm bored with this...what else can I get into?"Life from the eyes of a two year old. I miss being messy without having a care in the world.

A tasty riddle for you.

What tasty treat has the following ingredients: Chex cereal, powdered sugar, chocolate, and peanut butter?

Think you know it?

PUPPY CHOW!

Disclaimer: When you taste it, you might eat more than you think...pace yourself.

Games, beach, and burns.

Now for the cabin.

It's 8:00am and nothing but the quiet lull of oscillating fans can be heard. Mom has already crossed off her 13th project for the day in the race against time (before we get up) and Dad is out maintaining the boat. Awesome. While I LOVE the buzz of energy, chatting, and activities that will soon fill the room, I tried to take in the moments where I could just sit and clear my head.

Not long after, one by one the house wakes up to the smell of mom's cinnamon buns in the oven. The rest after this is history as far as memory making goes.

My family is the type that finds a game they like and will then play it relentlously until someone decides to spice it up and introduce something new. The funny thing though, is we like that it is the same game over and over and over (people who don't understand us might not agree). We've done that with Dutch blitz, Scum, and Kings Corners. Yet this time it was a new culprit...Monopoly deal. Whether we were at the dinner table, on the living room floor, or at the beach, we were playing it! But don't worry, we are not complete game junkies. We also were able to fill in boat rides (water skiing/tubing/wakeboarding), swimming, ping-pong, and even a family game of whiffle ball.

Here's dad in his element. Sun's out...wind against his face...hand at the wheel.

And the burns. Even though we lathered up with the sun tan lotion (well at least I did), all of us got a bit fried. Or friend Lindsay looked particulary toasty.

Pausing for a group picture...yet do you see what game is on the blanket?

Monopoly deal on the beach...

Monopoly deal in the house...

But hey...anything to make memories, right?