Cam's Baptism

On July 9th, Camden was baptized at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Victoria. It was a private ceremony on a beautiful Thursday evening. Timing was just right as my brother Rick and his wife Kay were visiting from New Mexico, and my brother Chris was home from England. The event was just our style, little formality and over in a flash. Here are some pictures from the blessed event!

Chris and Amy are Cam's Godparents

A Trip to the Zoo

Last Monday Tom and I took the day off from work and took Nolan and Tori to The MN Zoo (aka "The New Zoo"). It was just about the hottest day of the year so far, but we managed to suck it up and enjoy ourselves anyway! The kids had a good time and it was fun for us too. I don't think that I had been to the zoo since I was in grade school. Here are some pics from our adventure.

Tom & Tori feeding the giraffe from the "Africa" exhibit.

Zebras in the background

At the farm exhibit.

Holy cow that's a big pig! And she didn't even move when we sat down on her!

Check out the shark!

Tori and I in the butterfly garden.

The kids enjoying the water area for a little cool down before we left.

And of course, the day wouldn't have been complete if we didn't stop at Dairy Queen on our way home.

Our First Landscaping Project

After living in our house for 4 1/2 years, we finally attempted our first landscaping project. Last year, we had someone draw up plans for us, telling us exactly what we needed and where to put them. Taking advantage of Linder's 50% off sale, I made a few slight modifications to the plan, and this is the result. Not too shabby if I say so myself. At this rate, we should be done with the entire yard in approximately 5 years (give or take a few years)!

The Many Faces of Cam

Happy Cam

Camden is really coming into his own and is so active now. He is such a character, and is always making us smile about something. Here are a few funny pics.

Surprise!

(This is Tom's favorite pic)

Apparently, he wasn't very happy with whoever he was talking to on the phone.

His first bite of cereal. Mmmmm....yummy!

Mound Fire T-Ball Team

Mound Fire T-Ball Team

You know your kids are growing up when 3 days a week are taken up with their activities! Nolan is on a T-ball league this year. He practices twice a week and has games on Saturday's. The coach is awesome! He is very serious about his T-ball, but also lets the kids have fun. Nolan (he is the one in the middle of the top row, wearing a jacket and holding the blue glove) usually plays 3rd base or short-stop, and is learning to run as fast as he can after he hits the ball!

Batter up!

Running the bases.

Go team!

Camden

So, being a pretty typical mother of 3, I haven't taken many pictures of Camden. Since going back to work, I've gotten lots of requests for pictures, so we finally took a couple while Cam was having tummy time. He's getting so big already! He's got a wonderful, happy, patient personality, which is a necessity when you are the last of 3 kids. He's also doing really well in daycare. We are truly blessed!

The North Shore

One last hoorah...I finally convinced Tom to take me to the North Shore before I go back to work on the 13th. Tom, myself, all three kids and Tom's parents packed up the Acadia and headed towards the North Shore. We couldn't have asked for better weather on the first weekend in May. It was absolutely beautiful. We stayed at Superior Shores in Two Harbors, and traveled all the way to Grand Marais. Mary Jean was our official tour guide, and picked out the best stops along the way. The big kids were real troopers and really enjoyed the hiking and rock climbing. Cam spent a lot of time in the car with Grandpa.

Tori & I at the beach. Who knew there was such a great beach on Superior??

Nolan taking in the views.

Grandpa and Tori

There was no room in the car for the pack-n-play, but luckily Cam fit perfectly in a drawer!

One of the stops along the way.

Aren't they cute?

Grandma showing us her rock-skipping skills.

The search for good skipping rocks.

Tom & Nolan on a rock climb.