Berries

Strawberries and blueberries....yum. We were able to go pick both this summer. I'm still holding out hope for some late season raspberries, but apparently they were earlier than usual this year. 

We went to Finke's to pick our own strawberries. Frannie was actually really good at picking only the red ones and even better at picking and eating them. For awhile I at least had her picking one to eat and then one for the bucket. She totally got into finding the "big big" ones. There was a storm coming as we picked so the sky was pretty amazing to look at too.

Blueberries were at our usual Blue Vista Farm in Bayfield. It's over an hour and a half drive each way so I was a little worried about that- but shouldn't have been. We ate breakfast in the car and even though it took awhile to pick all the berries we wanted, we filled a box. Frannie brought her "purse" filled with toys/animals/blankies and some snacks. That plus a lot of room to run, yummy blueberries to pick and eat, and well placed shade made for a great day. A nice nap and a promise of a playground stop made the drive home go smoothly too. Another tradition in the making.

Camping

We have been able to do two camping trips this summer. First we went to Bear Island near Ely. We paddled in and got an amazing site with a huge sand beach. Not only that, we got the added bonus of tons of ripe wild blueberries right at the site. Frannie will eat four or five store blueberries at a time but out there we picked berries for an hour and just kept filling her cup....she must have eaten over a cup of berries! She also loved the hammock and all that sand. She even spent time naked in the water (with life jacket) and played around. 

Then recently we were able to portage into Wood Lake in the Boundary Waters. We went with Ben and Alan and had a great time! Frannie really does a good job in the canoe. She also is now a pro at peeing in the woods-may even prefer it. We had a great site with a trail up to some rocks and a great view. There was fresh fish (courtesy of Booboo and Al) for dinner and s'mores. Again her favorite was swinging in the hammock. I'm so glad she enjoys camping. She loves her own sleeping bag and being in the tent. She kept saying "I a big kid". 

Outdoor Fun

There will be several posts coming in rapid succession....I had to move all the pics on my phone to the computer cause I was out of storage so I didn't have them to put with the posts. But all is fixed now so let's start with......

Beaches and Playgrounds

We have been to either a beach or a playground almost every day this summer. She loves climbing and doing the slides and especially loves the playgrounds with sand - cause that's like a two for one deal. Lately she has been bringing her "kitty" to play at the playgrounds with her. She likes when other kids are there only if they are a little older than her and there aren't too many. If there are babies or lots of kids, most times she'll opt out. The playground by our house has a big soccer/t-ball field next to it, and we spend lots of time in there playing in any dirt or kicking/throwing balls. She likes to push the stroller there and the other bonus is since July, we've either been able to pick Juneberies or raspberries along the way.

Swimming "lessons" paid off! She has loved going in the water and even tried out her little arm floaties. We have lots of beaches we've tried out and sand is the favorite, but throwing rocks is great fun too. She has even gotten her face and hair wet and it wasn't traumatic. She used to like having her swimming suit on but lately would much rather be naked.

Swimming

I'm going for mother of the year....I took Frannie to "swimming lessons" M-Th for two weeks for 40 minutes each day. So for 40 minutes, Frannie and I (ok, Brian did it once or twice too) walked around in water that was "warmer than Lake Superior" (that was a quote from the instructor) and practiced kicking legs and blowing bubbles and reaching out arms. And should I mention, I'm NOT a fan of swimming.

For all you parents that take kids to multiple practices and have packed schedules, I either commend you or think you're nuts. I was tired of swimming lessons after day 3. And even though I know she was cold she still wanted to keep going. I'd ask if she wanted to get out and with chattering teeth she'd say "Nnnnnoooooo". The good news is the ultimate purpose paid off. I wanted her to be more comfortable with the water and she really is. We've been wading in rivers and walking in lakes and she constantly asks to go to the beach.

In addition to swimming, we've been very busy playing outside in her pool, sprinkler, at playgrounds, the zoo, and her favorite-running. The girl is fast. She loves running. She will ask if we can go down the road just so she can run. That must be from her dad. 

Potty training is going great. Today was the first day that she was dry all day. Nighttime is a different story, but huge success today. She's loving her big girl bed and her new "blue room". We painted it a sky blue and I'm having fun decorating. 

One of the coolest new things she talks about is feelings. She'll say "I'm mad!" Or she'll ask if I'm happy or mad. We also were able to watch/listen to her talk with another kid at the playground the other day and I felt like I'd have to answer for her when the boy (who was a bit older) was asking her questions and telling her things- but she just carried on a conversation with him like, well, a kid. Love it!

Easter (a little late)

As I was looking through posts and pictures, I realized I didn't post about Easter! I certainly can't miss that. It was the first "real" Easter for us- as in we dyed eggs, watched Easter cartoons on TV, and had an egg hunt outside. SO much fun. Frannie loved dying the eggs and did a darn good job for a two year old. She didn't catch on to the hunt at first but she got the hang of it after awhile. So much that the Easter bunny had to hide the eggs that she found - like Round Two. And of course best of all, she LOVED the Easter candy. Well, who doesn't. I had to hide my Cabury eggs so I didn't have to share. :)