latest lit #10.

 

This is a GOOD book! I've been excited to write about this one and I plan on watching the movie this week. 

Pope Joan takes place in the 9th century. Women were forbidden to learn how to read or write then, but Joan has different plans. She is much smarter then most of the boys her age. She learns Latin and Greek. In order to advance her studies further, Joan poses as a male monk to get into the abbey. There she is able to spread her wings and make quite the impression on everyone there. She then moves on to Rome to study at the Vatican. No one knows her secret. To make things even more complicated, she is in love!

I'm not going to tell you anything else, except that you won't be able to put it down, and you will wonder if this story is really true.

There is evidence of a female pope in the 9th century, but the Catholic church denies it and there is a rumor that all records of her papacy were destroyed. So interesting!  

enjoying this season.

We have been having a great summer. The kids are especially having a blast. Playing, swimming climbing all day long! The weather has been perfect and I am savoring every drop. I can't believe there is only about a month left of summer break. Eek! We'll be going to the apple orchard before you know it.
Here are some fun things we regularly do during the season:
exploring the lakes.

The kids love walking around the lakes around here and checking out the docks. We love doing this in the late afternoon/evenings.

playgrounds.

Ethnie's favorite.

stillwater.
Our favorite city to visit in the summer. We always love walking along the river, window shopping, playing at Teddy Bear Park, and getting something to eat. 

the boardwalk is completely flooded this year. :(

by bud :)

really want to try this on our next date night!

and this.

a must stop.

playdates.

Emmett with his new friend Carter at Choo Choo Bob's.

always fun with Ella.

pools/splash pads.

I have to admit, after our vacation up north and getting swimmers itch, we haven't been swimming in a lake since. I feel paranoid! I probably shouldn't, but have you ever had swimmers itch?? YIKES.

ready to go in!

and other things!

 taken at the north st. paul car show. we always go with Matt's parents.

playing at home with the power wheel.

time with my girl.

I try to have some quality one-on-one time with our children once a month, especially with Ethnie. Sometimes this is challenging, but I feel it is greatly important to spend quality time alone with the kids doing an activity of some kind.
On Saturday, I took Ethnie to Canterbury Park to watch some horse races. I knew she would love it. It was her first time there and she couldn't stop raving about it! Horses are her FAVORITE. Once in a great while I think about moving to a place in the country just so we could have the property to own a horse. Then I remember how much of a city girl I am and completely change my mind. Regardless, I love seeing the look on Ethnie's face when she watches horses. Pure happiness!

quite a sight!

MN made out of flowers.

 excited to watch some races!
busy day at the track.

as close as you can get!

 

 

Saturday was known as Extreme Race Day, where they also have exotic animal races, like camel, ostrich, and zebra! It was highly entertaining. We were not able to make it in time to watch the camel race, but saw the other two.

the ostrich race was so crowded that I wasn't able to take any pictures of them running on the track. so the monitor was the next best thing.

Zebras! The one farthest to the left is actually a 'zonkey'; half zebra half donkey. He won!

zonkey pulling ahead!

so fun

charging for the finish line

best part of her day

We had such a great day together. I hope y'all had a great weekend too!

heath's resort 2013.

Our family vacation at Heath's Resort last week was splendid! Other than dealing with some swimmers itch and a bit of sunburn, we couldn't have asked for a more perfect week! The weather was amazing, the cabin was great, the company was even better, and we made lots of new memories. Take a look at some of the fun things we were able to do!

exploring

The kids loved walking around the resort, especially down by the water. Emmett probably would have stood on the shore throwing rocks in the water all week if we let him. He also loved watching all the boats come up to the docks. Ethnie had fun looking for shells and unique rocks. She also made some new friends for the week.

swimming

such a fish.

 I think Ethnie's body was wet more than it was dry throughout the week! She went swimming every chance she got. She swam with two new friends; Emily and Emma. Lots of 'E' names at the resort! She did get a bad case of swimmers itch again, but it wasn't as bad as last year. Emmett got in the water a lot too! He just wanted to be held, but loved to splash and play with daddy.

showing some swim diaper. ;)

 Ethnie and Mataya. :)  

 

boating

dad's boat!

there were lots of flags waving on the lakes for the 4th of july!  

dad and I. :)

 
getting tired...

yep, that's Emmett taking a nap under the towels.

awake and ready for a snack.

there are plenty of fun places to stop at on the whitefish chain!

taking a dip with Shannon and grandpa!

new experiences

paddle boarding!

kayaking!

Emmett liked holding the oar.

Ethnie and Mataya tried tubing!

go Ethnie!

go Mataya!

fun activities

decorating for the 4th of july

sponge toss

Isabelle, Emmett and Danny

having fun, getting wet

beautiful artwork by Mataya

Isabelle!

festivities

We went into town to check out the 4th of July festivities. There were lots of people and lots of fun things to do! There was a mini carnival, food, bed races, minnow races, and pig races. We mainly went to see the pig races and get some ice cream. 

 pig races!

the popular pig racing MC from Leader, MN

they're off!

good job pigs!

can't wait til next time! hope you are all having a great summer!