The Twins with my guys...

This is the first year that Cole has gone to Target Field for Twins baseball games. We are super lucky that Dave's agency has season tickets and on occasion we are able to attend a game with wonderful seats.

Now it goes without saying that a four year old doesn't quite grasp the rules of the game nor is entirely interested with what is going on ON the field. However, Cole suits up in his Twins cap and shirt and oohs and ahhs as we see the stadium and as long as he has a soft pretzel or is digging into a cardboard box of popcorn he is a happy camper. As with anything Cole engages in, he does so with very little sitting. He is up, he is down, he is in Dave's lap, or he is in my lap; he needs to go potty or he wants to get more food.

We are able to watch maybe six innings before we have all had our fill but the experience of attending and watching one of America's past times is beyond value.

*This photo was taken at this past Sunday's game on Father's Day. I love when I catch the both of them unaware; they typically end up some of my favorite shots!

Camping 101: "Living Outside"

I think it is pretty comical when you say you are going or went camping and people reply with the question "in a tent?" As far as I'm concerned that IS camping and there isn't any other form. Yes, you can sleep in a campground in a camper/RV but come on that isn't truly camping when you have toilets/running water and TV's on board!

Anyway we took our inaugural camping trip this past weekend with Cole and Tucker up to Stony Point Campground which is located in Chippewa National Forest on Leech Lake, about 3 hours from the Twin Cities. We towed the boat and had the truck full to its brim with "stuff" but we used 85% of that "stuff" which was pretty impressive since you just never know what your needs may be due to location/weather.

The campground was beautiful and well-run and our site had views of the lake. Cole had been so excited as we packed, pushing the buttons on our lanterns and just generally curious about "living outside". Once onsite, he helped Dave put up the tent as I set up the table and supplies. We then walked out to the point and looked out in awe at the vast body of water (Leech Lake is the 3rd largest lake in MN at 140,000 plus acres). We grilled hot dogs and made s'mores and then nestled in to the tent well before it got dark which in those parts is well after 10pm.

My early riser was up with the birds, literally at 4:45am. We had to keep him quiet at least until 6am so we were grateful for the DVD player, LOL. Tucker and I took a stroll out to the boat dock and watched the sun come up. We cooked up some breakfast and we were on our boat by 8:30am. We tooled around and the boys fished some. We moved to another location and the boys fished again (nada nothing). The water was way too cold to swim so they tried fishing in spot #3 (no luck). We headed back to camp and had an early dinner, then headed back out on the boat for a post-dinner cruise. The sunset was AMAZING, the water calm and lake quiet and peaceful. Back to camp for more s'mores. Another early morning, though not as early and out on the boat again. The storm clouds began to build mid-morning so we headed back to camp and packed up.

Just a short camping adventure but one of many more to come. So many places to explore in our own "backyard" of 10,000+ lakes.

Where is everybody?

So Cole and I went to the movies this week. He can barely sit still for a meal let alone for a 90 minute flick so our trip to the theater was his first ever. It was a gamble of sorts as I had taken him to the kid's live theater twice this past winter and nearly 30 minutes in, he was ready to go but with a Groupon to Fandango about to expire, I said to myself, let's go! So off we went to see Kung Fu Panda 2!

Cole was sooo excited as we made our way up the escalator to the fancy schmancy new cinema here in St. Louis Park. It was midday on a Monday (school isn't out yet) and the foyer was EMPTY. He wanted to get popcorn which he promptly spilled as he turned to RUN down the corridor. :-) We made our way into the barely lighted theater only to find that we had the entire place to ourselves. I thought for sure that at least someone else would show but as the initial trailers began to run and the lights dimmed, NO ONE did. I thought it was cool, Cole kept asking "where is everybody?" He was a bit distressed by it but soon was distracted by the booming Dolby Surround Sound. I haven't even thought about the noise/loudness factor which Cole is very sensitive to. He was a bit shocked during the first really loud piece and I became worried that our maiden trip to the movies would be short-lived but he settled in and except during some scary scenes when he burrowed into my lap, genuinely enraptured by the movie screen.

As the movie ended and the lights came up, he seemed a bit disoriented. It was as if he forgot where he was and that he and I were the only ones there. I asked him if he had a good time and he smiled and said "yeah, that was cool, the good guys won, can we come back and see the new CARS movie tomorrow?". I gave him a big hug and told him that CARS 2 would be playing in a few weeks and we would come back with Daddy! He jumped up and down, shedding the tiny little pieces of popcorn that had become stuck to his shirt/shorts. We both laughed and then he then stopped and said "well, I hope there are more people next time we come since there are so many seats!"

Mommy Day Video

Dave and Cole put this video together for me for Mother's Day. :-) I finally got around to getting the HTML code so that I could post it here:

Happy Mothers Day - 2011 from David Denham on Vimeo.