Sledding Video

Brains and Brawn

Bei really enjoys swimming these days with his "gurggles"!

As I have blogged before, I do day care on Wednesdays for our little neighbor girl. Two events this afternoon struck a cord with me in regards to how children differ in their misbehavior and how smart they are to use their strengths. Here is what happened: The minute Vanna walked in Bei was a pistol. We usually have 30 minutes of music time where we dance to the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance, etc...well he was a rascal and didn't want to dance and that meant he didn't want me to dance. Once he realized that wasn't going to stop me dancing, then he wanted me to hold him while I danced...ugh...kid!!!! So after lunch, Bei had been in a timeout once already and Vanna was headed for one soon, if she kept pushing her behavior. Basically, I am exasperated already...and it has only been an hour. We went down stairs and I decided that maybe if I did something visual for them to see, it would help them keep their behavior in check and they would try to get along with one another. So I told them that if they were good for 1 hour, then each of them would get a popsicle. I told them "I'm writing your name on the chalk board, so at the end of the hour if your name is still up here, then, I'll know that you get a popsicle." "Okay?" I get a deer in the headlight look from both of them and they go back to playing very nicely with one another. I get busy folding clothes and Bei gets up, grabs a paper towel, erases Savanah's name, and then continues to play with Vanna. Luckily, Savanah doesn't say anything to this, so I just go and write her name again. Bei gets up to go to the board and says "Vanna doesn't get a popsicle because her name is not on the board" and proceeds to wipe it out again. Bei gets a warning, he does it again, and he will have his name erased and no popsicle...little smarty pants... They are playing nicely again with a little peoples slide and each of them have a foam ball. They are taking turns letting it slide down the slide. Vanna's ball goes flying across the room. She quietly gets up and begins to walk towards her ball and as she is walking past Bei, she graps the collar of his shirt and drags him along with her so that he doesn't get a turn before she returns with her ball. It was actually quite comical because it was so unexpected and poor Bei didn't have a chance because he was being dragged backwards across the playroom floor.

Apparently, Bei's way in dealing with Savanah is cerebral, trying to outsmart me, so she won't get a treat. While Vanna is totally physical because I promise you, she will someday win the Iron Man contest...she is the most incredibly strong 3 year old I have ever met! I have to watch myself if I'm down on the floor because she likes to jump on my back and grab me around the throat with her arm...I'm usually gasping to Bei to "dial 911". Anyway, Bei kind of won in the end, he got what he wanted,because Savanah's name was taken off the board and she didn't get a popsicle. As most of you know, I am a softy and I gave her another chance to behave for the following hour and she did, so she eventually got her popsicle.

All I have to say is I have two smart kids on my hands that know how to use their strengths to their advantage.

Becky Home Ecky???

Spending some quality time with Grandma Dene and Katherine

It is Christmas Cookie making time again with Kathy!

I have to admit that I'm still learning this "domestication thing". Last night at 11:00 p.m. I invited my friend Kathy via email to come over and bake Christmas cookies with us. Well, I woke up late and I had a message on my phone from Kathy telling me she would love to come over and bake cookies...uh oh...I usually pick up at night after Bei goes to bed and wash my dishes, but being the bad homemaker that I am, I caught up on emails and surfed the web instead...much more fun and satisfying to me at that moment. My place this morning looked like a disaster! Here is where the "new" me, the mom me comes in...in my old world the first thing I would have thought is screw my house, I need to look beautiful when Kathy gets here. I would take a shower, do my hair, make sure my make-up is on to a T. I would have tried on at least 3 different outfits and I would have spent the entire two and half hours fixing myself up. And if my house was messy...oh well...at least I look good! I must measure my value and success differently now, because I immediately started scrubbing the pots and pans, swept the kitchen, cleaned the oven, swept the foyer and cleaned the toilet and bathroom sink! I don't even know who I am anymore....

Another story that relates to not knowing who I am any more is an incident that happened between Dan and Bei. Over Thanksgiving weekend we went out for breakfast and I ran to the bathroom right before we were going to leave the restaurant. Bei pulled a candy Starburst out of his pocket that he had gotten from the pinata the night before at Aunt Nanette's house. He just sat with it in his hand and so Dan finally said "Bei you can eat that." And Bei said "No, I have to ask Momma" Dan said "Bei, it is okay, you can eat it"... "No, I have to ask Momma"...."Bei, I'm your dad and I said you can eat it!" I walked up just as Dan said this with alot of frustration in his voice. Bei looked up and said real sweet "mom, can I have this candy"...."Sure Bei!" So the other night, we were laying in bed and Dan said out of the blue "Bei, who is the boss? Momma or Daddy?"...Bei shouted "Momma!" Wow! I've never been the boss of anyone before...this is kind of cool!

What is this little guy smiling about???

He just found out that he is going to be a Krueger boy!!! His name is Wu Zheng Kang and he is currently 9 months old and is from Wuyishan Orphanage in the Fujian province. Our adoption paperwork is in China and we expect to travel some time in the spring/summer of 2010. As I find out more, I will fill you in on the details.

I bet alot of you are wondering how Bei is going to handle having a sibling??? Well...me too! He is starting to understand better that he will be getting a brother. If you ask him if he is getting a brother? He may answer "yes, broder OR a sister." Well no buddy, it is brother for sure. On Thursday as we were driving to my sister Nanette's house for Thanksgiving, I asked Bei "what should we name your little brother?" He didn't answer. So I said "How about Thomas?" "Noooo" Bei said, " that's a trains name." "How about Marcus?" Bei said "Nooooo". Okay, I am out of names kid....Then Bei shouts "Let's name him Nanette!" I just keep thinking of that Johnny Cash song "A boy named Sue."

I'm dreading this entire naming process again. It honestly is the worst part of having a kid for me. I'm still haunted by the fear that Bei is going to come back and say to us "this is it? my name is Bei? You were too lazy to figure out a better name so you let an orphanage name me??" Well it is a half truth, his given first name is Daniel. Plus I like the name Bei and we get alot of compliments on it. But the dilemma with the new little guy is that we can't follow the same protocol by calling him by his Chinese name of Kang and having his first name an English name. Kang is pronounced Kong in China and I refuse to call a child Kong. Donkey Kong...King Kong...the list could go on... So if anyone has any great boy names, let me know! I am open to ideas since I only have two at this point Thomas and Marcus...oh I mean three and Nanette!

The bubble is bursting...

Bei loves his Aunt Nanette!
Look ma...no hands!

Aunt Nanette has the 3 year old grin down pat!

Boy...in my opinion daycare providers are under appreciated and under paid! I'm babysitting on Wednesday afternoons for another 3 years old, our new neighbor Savannah! Talk about a rollercoaster...one week we all have a great week, the next week timeouts for everyone...I'm handing them out like candy, the next week one is good and the other one is naughty...it is so much tougher than I thought it would be! The good news is I am learning so much about parenting, alot about Bei and alot about myself. I'm always evaluating how the day went and what worked and what didn't work. One of the surprises to me was how Bei behaves with other kids. Bei's main friends prior to Vanna were Huckleberry, Curly Locks and Max, they were here when he arrived from China and so they treated him very special. He was the tiny little guy with the heart issue who would just observe, so they always tried to make him happy and would give up their toys for him and treated him very special. Rightly so, Savannah doesn't have that history or attitude, so the real world has hit Bei smack dab in the face. Two "only "children now need to figure out how to share and get along with one another...hence the rollercoaster ride for me! Bei's biggest concern is that I am going to hold or hug Vanna. Too bad for Bei, but I'm a hugger and Vanna is going to be snuggled by me at times. In all honesty, the opportunity to watch Vanna has come at the best time. Bei really needs to be confronted with a little bit more reality and it has provided a great opportunity to learn how to share and get along with other children.

Here is a sidenote of a silly story that happened to us recently.

Dan has been clearing a 2 acre lot that we have in Wisconsin. Cutting down trees, brush and buckthorn. He has been asking me for some time to go out there with him, but it just did not work out for my schedule until yesterday. Dan took the day off, we drove over there and on the way I also invited Dan's cousin, Kathy, who is a close friend of mine to stop by since she lives several miles away.

We are over there and we have a huge roaring fire burning the brush pile. Bei is a good helper for about 45 minutes but then he gets bored, so Dan pulls out his bike from the back of the truck, Bei gets on it and then Dan walks down the ravine down by the fire, down by where I am. Uh oh...Bei doesn't have his helmet on, plus he is on the road by himself, I need to go up and tend to him. I empty my arms that are full of branches into the fire, turn around and look to see where Bei is and initially don't see him. I look down the ditch and there he is with his bike on top of himl...in a pricker bush!!! Okay that is not funny...I run up get the bike off of him and he starts crying. Bei's biggest wounds are prickers from the bush which we have to get out of his hand. We get that done and then Bei just wants to cry in his mama's arms now and get that extra little bit of love that mom's have when their babies are hurt. So I am holding Bei when I turn to look over my shoulder and see Dan pulling Kathy's face off some boulders that we have at the bottom of the ditch. Somehow Kathy caught her foot on a vine and went sailing down the ditch face first. Okay...kind of funny...good thing I didn't see it because I laugh when people fall and it is very awkward for everyone involved (but isn't that why America Funniest Home Video's is such a hit). Kathy had scratches around her eye and forehead and her glasses were bent a little. But the truly funny part was the look on Dan's face... he was regretting the moment that he asked me to come "help" him. I won't be looking for an invite back out there any time soon. The good news is that both Bei and Kathy got to have Diego band-aids!

Trick or Treat

Bei went as Simba the Lion from the Lion King, but he thought he was a dog. When we went costume shopping, he kept saying he wanted to be a doggie. This is the closest that we could find. He didn't really care, he just enjoyed going. I was really proud of him, he would say Trick or Treat and then always say Thank you. We went with our new neighbors, Savannah and her mom, Alison. Bei calls her Vanna and she also is 3 years old. The first few houses Savannah and Bei tussled for position about who was going to ring the door bell, but it became clear very early on that Savannah is so much faster than Bei. She always beat him to the door. But she was sweet enough to wait for him after a while. They had a great time together.

Because you love me...

It was a year ago yesterday that Bei had his open heart surgery. Our adoption was a life changing event, but his surgery was a life saving event. Anyone who has seen Bei's hearty appetite would understand that it was concerning that in the first 5 months that we had him, he didn't gain any weight. His poor little heart was just working too hard.

To think that he only weighed 18-20lbs at 27 months is unbelievable. In my heart of hearts I just know that there are birth parents out there that loved him so much that they wanted him to live, even if it meant that he couldn't be theirs any longer. I just can't imagine making that ultimate sacrifice, I consider them courageous. I pray for peace regarding their decision. Perhaps, it played out differently than that, I will never know, but I know in my heart that he has been loved before.

So yesterday was a special day for us because Bei's surgery allows him to live a normal, healthy life. Anyway, when Bei got up in the morning, I brought him out to the couch and the first thing he said to me was "You're a good mom"...wow, it took me aback, this is not a line I have been feeding him, with hopes of having him repeat it to me. I looked at him, and said "why do you think I am a good mom?" Bei looked shy and said to me "because you love me". Oh my gosh...I could have just hugged the stuffings right out of him. I thought he was going to say because I give him popsicles ... It really made yesterday even more special to me. He is my gift from God and we are so blessed to have him in our life!

Pay back...

Bei could not wait to get outside to enjoy the snow today!

Remember in my last blog (do I dear say the word?), I "bragged" about Bei being so well behaved?? Well, the pre-schooler gods got me again. I knew they would...the very next day, Bei threw one heck of a tantrum because I wouldn't buy him a box of nerds. Mean and evil mom that I am. The following week we started his music class and they have a Thomas the Train station area for kids to play with and after allowing him to play for over an hour with the trains, I was hungry and ready to leave. This was a mega-tantrum that he threw, kicking, pinching and screaming. What? Where? It totally discombabilates me...he is such a calm kid normally...but I'm not bragging...really I'm not!

Today is our morning music class, however, Bei woke up and he was being very whiny and somewhat crying over silly things. So I gathered him in my arms to talk to him about his behavior; as I was talking to him, his lower lip was pouting and he was staring straight ahead watching the huge snowflakes fall outside our patio doors. It was like he was in a daze, not paying any attention to me, not blinking, just being mezmorized by the snow. I was saying to him "we have music class to day, are you going to throw a tantrum? or are you going to be a big boy for mom with no tears, no tantrums?" I was sure that Bei wasn't even listening, however, he suddenly said with a very straight face "sure will Boss Hog". I cracked up laughing and eventually so did Bei. I was not expecting that response if any at all...perhaps we are moving from tantrums to sassy???

Busy doing nothing...

Bei's shirt reads "I'm skin and bones...needs more CANDY." Huckleberry's mom gave Bei this shirt the day before they moved and he wore it that night and to our outing the next day to the pumpkin patch. I finally made him take it off, so I could wash it.

"Busy doing nothing" is usually how I answer queries from friends and family about what have I been up to lately. I know people don't care to hear the details about how Bei and I spent hours rolling foam golf balls down my driveway and then spent another hour laying under the maple tree throwing the balls into the branches to see if they would stick...they didn't. Or how we spend hours on the floor wrestling with "the claw" and end up having tickle fights. I am overjoyed being home "doing nothing" with Bei. In my very biased opinion, he is such a happy, delightful, mature little boy that he makes parenting him easy, fun and so incredibly enjoyable. If you haven't noticed, I am just crazy crazy about that little boy! Ironically, this is not how I perceived that I would spend my time with my child as a stay at home mom. I thought I would be one of those mom's that is on the go, music at 9:00, tumbling at 11:00, eat lunch and swimming starts at 1:00, etc. etc. But what I have learned is that none of this is about me. As a mom you automatically adjust to what is right for your child. Bei is a snuggly, cuddlebug who really wants his moms time. If he was yearning for the social interaction and more activity I would definitely make it happen for him. I feel so fortunate that I am able to spend this time with him. I know I am blessed and that it is a priviledge for me to be "busy doing nothing" all day with my little boy.

The Fashion Police!

Taylor has been visiting Bei and I on Tuesday and Thursday mornings before classes. We both are loving our time with her!

Bei made sure "Uncle" did not get lonely for his own 4 kids when he came to visit us at the cabin.

Sad News! Huckleberry and Company are moving this Saturday!!! We are very sad, but know we will keep in touch with them. They will be about a 20 minute drive away.

Dad and Bei at the Science Museum

About 4 months ago, whenever I put on a new top that Bei had not seen he will say "too cute, mom!" or "cute, cute, twirl,mom, twirl." Of course, I feel really good about myself because someone thinks what I'm wearing is cute! Pay no mind that he is three years old...at my juncture in life, I will get all the kudo's I can, from wherever I can. Well, the other day I was cleaning out my clothing drawers and I came across a pair of shorts that I had been looking for all summer long, my pink plaid shorts. Later in the week, I put the pink plaid shorts on with a cute pink top that I had and walked out to the living room. Bei immediately pointed and said "Mom, whats those?" "Bei, these are my shorts." He responded by saying "they are funny mom!" Thank goodness, Bei saved the day! I can imagine the stories that would be told in the neighborhood amongst the children. "Hey Bei, your mom wears bozo the clown shorts." Or "Hey Bei, does your mom work for the circus?" Alright, you all know me well enough by now, that, yes I did go back into the bedroom and put on the same khaki shorts that I wear day in and day out. This kid is keeping me from being the laughing stock of the neighborhood! Thanks Bei!

My little Wolverine

My little Wolverine having a quiet moment

Today I challenged myself and agreed to meet a girlfriend for lunch. This has now become a thing, that I'm starting to dread...Why you may ask? Because my son turns into a wolverine any time he steps into a restaurant. And unfortunately, I just sit there like a stooge. For some reason this sweet, well-behaved child of mine all of sudden wants to be doing the chicken dance on top of the table, disassemble the salt and pepper shakers, (usually by licking them), finds, identifies and collects all the germy gunky stuff stuck under the table and without fail wants to eat only the food on my friends plate. I can see the looks in my friends eyes, as I sit there with my head in the deer light look as this little wolverine is orchestrating chaos around me. They are thinking "yep...another older mom, so desperate to have a kid...doesn't know how to discipline her kid". Or a few of my friends have just said "man, I'm so glad my kids are teenagers"...yes, Bei's, poor behavior actually has parents liking their teenage kids! Now, you may think I don't discipline Bei, but I do at home or even in the grocery store. However, it is hard for me to say to my friend who has left work for an hour, driven across town, "I am going to spend your precious lunch time disciplining my kid". I'm not good at the public disciplining thing...YET.... I must not like to make a scene...and I bet that is exactly what that little wolverine is banking on... He might have won a few battles, but the alpha wolf will win the war...

More Cousin-Time

Hey Dad...I'm back here...could I get a little help??

He came up with smiles on his face every time.

One of our favorite things to do is to go to the middle of the lake, jump out and float around. Here is Mr. Fearless jumping off the boat into the lake.

Bei loves hanging out with his cousins, Ben and Elizabeth. Elizabeth teaches the latest slang, like the "Rock On" symbol with tongue hanging out and all. This is just a fun picture that they took together.

Somebody should do a show on the worst tourist traps, because the Big Muskie museum in northern Wisconsin is one of them. Think...Corn Palace...Mitchell, South Dakota...and then just keep driving because it ain't worth stoppin.

Bei is mini-golfed obsessed!

Uncle Randy teaching Bei how to soar like an eagle.

A few weeks ago, my sister Jeannine and her family came for a visit at the cabin and we had the most wonderful time. I wanted to share some of my pictures with everyone.

My independent little man...

Bei playing with his cousins, Blake, Elly, Morgan and Lulu

As many of you know, part of my bonding strategy for Bei has been to let him determine when he is ready to be separated from me. That included sleeping, kids activities and adult time (Dan and I going out for the evening and leaving him with a babysitter). That has meant that I haven't signed him up for classes or had babysitters. Sometimes he wouldn't even spend time alone with Dan. But now this little man has turned a corner. Several weeks ago I agreed to play volleyball and wanted to prep Bei that I would be leaving, so I told him that he would have a "boys night out". That meant Daddy would take him mini-golfing when he got home from work, but mom would not go. All day I kept hyping "boys night out". Well, dad walked in the door, it was a kiss goodbye and a wave to me from the truck and off he went. One happy little boy with his daddy. The next day we were getting ready to leave for the cabin and Bei said, "Just Daddy and Bei go, mom stay home". Well no...that is not going to work. That same weekend, he wanted just Daddy and Bei to go on the boat, no mom. Yes, that works fine...I get to read!!!! Dan thought my feelings might be hurt, but I told him, that Bei's sense of independence is a break away from me. It is natural, normal growth and it is what we want, so go ahead and take him. He is feeling secure enough to leave me and that is a good thing. Okay, I've created a monster, yesterday he wanted two boys down the street to watch him, while I ran errands and and they did. He went over to their house and was perfectly fine. Today cousin Elly, took him to the Children's Museum for the second time, those two have really bonded. He also has been sleeping in his own bed for the past 4 to 5 months. He has become a very confident little boy and I am so proud of him. Next step, is to sign him up for a fun little class to see how he does with it.

Ever Dreamt of being a Stay at Home Mom???

Here is another mom thing...assuming that all markers in my home are washable...well they are not! Bei had cat whiskers for about 4 days...this is day 3.

Being a stay at home has exceeded my expectations in so many ways and in others not so much. Since I became a stay at home mom, it meant that I had to let my housekeeper of 15 years go. Which leads me to pose this question...Am I the only person doing the housecleaning shuffle??? This is how my house cleaning goes: While cleaning the office, I don't know where to put everything, so I think, okay, I'll put "all this stuff" in my upstairs bedroom closet. Okay, I think I have found it a permanent home. Fast forward 3 months and I can hardly get in my bedroom closet and think holy crap, I need to clean this mess. So, I go through it and think I need to find a permanent place for "all this stuff", I'll put it in the basement closet. So back downstairs it goes. 3 months later the basement closet needs to be cleaned and I think, what is this stuff doing in here? It belongs in the office, how in the heck did it get in the basement closet? Honestly, I just feel like I move things from place to place.
Here is another reality check for me. I was going to brag one day on the blog about what a sense of accomplishment I get from keeping a clean house and I enjoy cleaning my own toilets...yada yada. Anyway, I swear that very day that I was feeling good about my housekeeping abilities, a 4 year old neighbor girl knocked on the door and asked if she could come over and play with Bei. Well sure! She walked in and said "Wow, your house is really a mess!". Uh oh...it was a mess! I didn't even think about it...we had come home from the cabin and clothes were everywhere. Then the clincher was, she asked me "Does your daddy (meaning Dan) know about this"? Okay, I felt like I was 4 and she was 35 years old, but I thought it was very funny, and very humbling.
Another good one is from Huckleberry whose olfactory senses are working overtime. He will walk in and say "Liz, are you cooking broccoli again?" I have nightmares that Bei is going be regarded at school as the kid who smelled like broccoli! We like broccoli and cauliflower what can I say?
One of the things that I have personally struggled with is the fact that I don't have time to take care of myself. I'm not working out, not getting the sleep I need and definitely not taking the time to do my hair and makeup like use to. However, this morning I sectioned my hair and curled all of it. I took my time putting on my make-up. Overall, I felt like I finally looked good. Okay, what are we going to do today? Bei, let's fill up the pool and water balloons. You all know where this is going, don't you??? Bei had the hose less than 30 seconds and turned it on me and sprayed me full in the face...okay, I wanted to cry, but who is the dope that came up with the idea and then handed him the hose? So those are some of the pitfalls of being a stay at home mom, but I still wouldn't change a thing about it.

Bei is a lover...

I was trying to show his cute new hair do in this picture. It looks cute in person.

LuLu was kind enough to indulge Bei on a merry-go-round. He wouldn't put both hands on the horse and instead kept his arm around LuLu's neck, so that she was in a headlock the entire time. She is one great kid too!

Bei likes his marshmellows just like his dad...burned to a crisp...mmm.mmm good!

I caught LuLu and Bei Bei taking a little snuggle time together.

Bei definitely is a lover, but what is really wonderful is that he loved by all his cousins on both sides of the family. There is a mutual worship and adoration between him and all the cousins.

I am still amazed at the fact that I got the most wonderful little boy in the whole world. He just knocks my socks off every day! I am one LUCKY mom!!!

Children are a Common Denominator

Today, while Bei and I were out and about, we were approached by three different groups of people. A Japanese lady with her granddaughter, a Somali woman with her 3 year old son and a Vietnamese couple with their two grandsons. It is not that unusual for us to get approached by people who are curious about Bei. What is fascinating to me is that all the asian's that I meet regardless of their nationality, Vietnamese, Hmong, or Japanese, they all say the same thing to me. "Your boy has a very high forehead, sign of intelligence." It is almost without fail, that they say it. Now, I have a high forehead too, but most people just shake their head and say "poor girl has an extra long face." Not one comment about my super intelligence!

Most of the asian people I meet are unaware of the adoption process, but are intrigued and very supportive . When I told the Vietnamese lady that waxes my eyebrows that we were having a reunion with the other adoptee parents from China, she asked me "if Bei's birth parents were going to be there?" I appreciate her asking questions and learning more about him and the entire process.

The caucasians that inquire about Bei are usually parents or grandparents of internationally adopted children. Most have grown children, that were adopted from Korea.

Most of the blacks that approach me are from Eastern Africa and recent immigrants themselves. Usually, from Somali or Ethiopia. Once again, they are curious and supportive.
However, I recently had an experience with a young African American girl at the city library. They have a great play area. Bei and I had been there for at least a good hour when " Little Miss Attitude" with her posse came in and scoped out the joint. I took a big gulp and thought... it may be time to leave. Honestly, I'm 4 times her age and I could tell she had seen more and she would be able to chew me up and spit me out. Best I mosey on my way... Oh no...not so fast...guess who immediately came struttin over to me??? "He yo kid?" "Yes, he's my son". "Cool, I like him". Each of her posse came up and gave Bei a high five and told me "I like your kid". Wheww...I can breathe again...I passed the library posse initation.

I have just been amazed at peoples support, including the generosity of strangers who have a kind word to say about Bei. There is some talk in the adoption community about experiencing racism and I have to say we have not experienced it. It has been an opposite effect for us; people that would never have a reason to talk to me engage me in conversation. So that is why I say children are a common denominator, everybody loves them...even Little Miss Attitude.

July 4th Pictures

Some boy time with his cousin Blake
Daddy Time

Tiger Woods watch out!

First tube ride...kinda...dad just pulled the rope back and forth from the boat...

Bei loves feeding the animals at the petting zoo.

Designated Driver!

Fireworks are Awesome!!! As long as he can't hear them!

Lots of boating time!

Bei's first fish! Caught by his cousin, but we let him think he caught it.

Once again, he is surrounded by his posse!

Where oh Where has our Bei Bei been???

Had a man to man talk with Grandpa Builder Bob

Entertained Katherine with bubbles during her sisters graduation

Went to his cousin Elly's graduation party

Met Huckleberry's new dog named Fudd...their other dog is named Elmer...you figure it out...btw, it is a chihuahua.

Enjoyed S'mores around the campfire after working hard all day...

Visited Aunt Nanette's cabin

Helped Uncle John put up the shower curtain in the newly remodeled bathroom at the cabin.

Visited the Como Zoo with Friends Max and Curly Locks

He had a visit from his Aunt Nanette