Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed five fun-filled days back home. When I have more time I'll be sure to update with pictures and more details. Until then, Happy New Year! Have fun and be safe!

Merry Christmas!

Here's hoping the hustle and bustle (sick of that phrase yet?) of the holiday season doesn't over-shadow the importance of spending time with loved ones and thanking God for the miracle he gave us. We are really looking forward to making new memories with our families on Jackson's first Christmas. Safe travels and best wishes for the merriest of Christmases from our family to yours!

This picture in his pj's is the best I can do at the moment. :) Check back for lots more (better) pictures and Christmas updates next week or after!

Winter Wonderland

It is so pretty up here today! The "storm" wasn't nearly as bad as they made it sound. It did snow and blow around most of the day yesterday, but it was done before we went to bed and it's pretty still out there today. We got about 5 inches of new snow yesterday which added a fresh layer to the trees and covered our tracks in the yard. Of course we've made new ones by now, including some snowmobile tracks, thanks to Curt's dad's old Arctic Cat. We've had it stored in our pole barn for them, and this is the first time this year we've taken it out. Yesterday he took me on my first trail ride. Can you believe that I've lived in the great state of Minnesota nearly all my life and that's the first time I've ridden a snowmobile out of the yard? Or, worse, that that was only the third time in my life that I've ridden one at all?! Pretty crazy, I know. We didn't have one growing up and I didn't really know anyone who did, so the chance never came around. I really like it, though, despite the fact that this particular machine doesn't go in reverse and cannot currently exceed 30 mph! All the bumps and twists and turns remind me of an amusement park ride, and it's much more smooth than a 4-wheeler.

When the temperature isn't unbearable, I like to bundle up and go play outside; I will admit, however, that it usually takes some real prompting from Curt to leave the warm, cozy house. It was fun to try to trudge through the deep, thick snow and to wrestle with Sadie this weekend. Of course she made making a snow angel nearly impossible, but I gave it my best shot. She has been sleeping in the house on very cold nights and is loving that. Now she thinks she can come in every single time we open any door. It was funny to watch her the first night as she cocked her head to the side at the slightest noise. Jackson was happy to see her and made lots of noises for her to wonder at.

(This is the best I could do out the thin front door window)

A Lengthy Catch-Up

I promised I would play catch-up soon, so here goes! The final weekend of deer hunting found us at the cabin. I was worried that Jackson would disturb the hunters as he had been waking in the middle of the night from teething the week before, with the hardest crying he'd done in a long time, but he slept very well both nights. He had just started to sprout two teeth over that weekend. You couldn't see them, and he wouldn't let anyone look anyway, but when I managed to sneak a finger into his mouth, I could feel little pokes on his gums. Jackson was not a very happy baby at times that Saturday because his cousin Madelyn came, and that means they had to copy each other at every fuss and cry. Us mommies thought we'd be smart and tried to put them both down for naps at the same time, but all they did was stare at each other through their cribs and wail - I mean wail - to be rescued. Sheila and I went back and forth trying to calm them down for about 20 minutes or so until we gave up on the simultaneous napping idea. But then at the next nap, someone (probably Grandma Wojo) had the brilliant idea of putting up the privacy divider things between the babies so they couldn't look at each other anymore. It worked like a charm and they slept like angels! The rest of the weekend went smoothly, except for no luck for the hunters. Of course I didn't mind that - no more yucky work for me!

Somebody felt pretty cool looking down from upstairs!

The following week we loaded up the car and headed back to Zimmerman for Jackson's first Thanksgiving. All Curt's siblings were home when we got there Wednesday night, and it had been a long time since we'd all been together, so it was great to b.s. and play some games. The boys had an especially good time drinking, and they ended up talking me into being sober cab so they could go bowling/do more drinking. After I had agreed to this when it was already 11:45 at night and had been deemed a saint by my mother-in-law, I questioned my decision, but it was too late; then we ended up having a really good time. Curt's brother Matt got quite drunk and was our main entertainment. But then we got home around 2 a.m., and he would not settle down! He kept talking and laughing and harrassing his brother Doug super loudly. He was so loud he ended up waking Jackson, who didn't go back to sleep for about half an hour. That's when the fun ended. I kept yelling at him to shut up, and even the other drunkards were trying to shush him, but he clearly had no idea just how pissed I was. That part of the night seemed to last forever, and I didn't get anywhere near enough sleep. Thank goodness I woke to Auntie Sheila coming into the room to take Jackson upstairs to play with Uncle John and Madelyn so I could sleep a little longer (but still not enough after that crazy night). When I saw Matt the next morning I warned him to watch his back! Of course he didn't remember a thing about the night before, but he was gracious enough to apologize for whatever he did. We then spent the holiday - all sober, thankfully - with Curt's mom's side at their house, and it was really nice to catch up with family we hadn't seen for a long time. Jackson was a really good eater and loved everything! He had turkey with all the trimmings, just like us.

Grandma was sweet to feed Jackson his Thanksgiving dinner. :)

Curt went back home to work on Friday while Jackson and I stayed at Wojo's and then headed over to Beaudoin's that afternoon. Both my sibs and their mates were home, too, and we also had lots of fun hanging out together, spending another late night playing games. Jackson was not as good a sleeper as usual that night, either - I think he was getting tired of going from place to place and not sleeping in his regular crib. While we love visiting our families and having them close together, it also presents a challenge in that we try to see both sides each time we're back home - it can get to be a lot of packing/unpacking/house-hopping. At least he was still mostly content during the day and napped well usually.

That Saturday was somewhere around the 10th annual Anderson Cookie Day with my mom's side of the family. We gathered in Milaca at Pam's house this year. All the women get together and bake cookies or goodies to exchange and the men come over for dinner. The kids are always around, and it was fun having so many young ones this year. It was a good day with lots of good food, but a horrible night. We had stopped at Curt's cousin Jim's to see their new house that had just been finished, and we ended up having to leave because I didn't feel well. As soon as we got into the truck, I knew it was coming: I was going to throw up. We had over a hour's drive to get home, so I tried to sleep in order to prevent the inevitable. It worked for a while; I woke up 20 minutes from home, moaning, trying to keep it down. We turned onto Hwy 64 and were less than 5 minutes from home when I just couldn't hold it anymore. Just before we turned off the highway onto the road leading to ours, I opened the door, hung my head down, and threw up everywhere. I kept the door open and tried to spit out the remains until we pulled into the driveway, when Sadie came up to see what was going on and start eating the puke that was covering the bottom of the door and the inside edge. I shooed her away in time to get into the house to vomit again.

Now, I figured I had probably eaten too many treats that day and I ate supper despite not being very hungry for it, but I didn't think it was enough to make me ill. Running to the bathroom all through the night to violently vomit, followed by teeth-chattering chills and fits of sweat. plus occasional diarrhea, made me realize that I had the flu (plus, I found out that no one else got sick after Cookie Day). The next day I was so sore and weak I barely felt like getting out of bed. Good thing Curt was around to take care of Jackson so I didn't have to get up very often or for very long. Don't get the wrong idea, though - he's not a very sympathetic husband when I'm sick. He thinks it's more helpful for me when he is harsh and tells me to suck it up. I don't get to act like a baby and be pampered; only he gets to do that. :0 I went back to work Monday (thankfully this occured over the weekend) and spent what was a really long week trying to shake the crummy feeling that lingered. Lucky for us, Jackson had just gotten a flu shot at his last doctor visit. As someone who very rarely throws up - I had no morning sickness while pregnant and don't remember puking since I turned 21 - I sincerely hope you are all avoiding the flu this season!

After all that running around, we have enjoyed two back-to-back weekends at home. That seems to happen rarely for us, so it's been wonderful! I finished my Christmas shopping in St. Cloud with Brea last Saturday while Mom and her friend Meline came to take care of Jackson for me. That night we went out with friends from Curt's work. On Sunday we got our Christmas tree, which Jackson has surprisingly kept his hands off. I guess he doesn't bother the one at daycare, either. He loved playing with all the cords and packaging. It was really fun to watch him watch us getting out decorations and putting on lights, and we're really looking forward to our first Christmas as his parents.

This Friday night we went to Shawn and Josh's (she's my friend from work; their daughter, Avery, is almost 8 months and is so adorable!) for a fondue dinner and some dog training courtesy of Cesar Millan and the National Geographic channel. We've been getting lots done around the house that had previously been neglected, and playing games while we waited out the snowstorm that hit last night/this morning. Hopefully it'll end up being enough to cancel school for me tomorrow!!!

Jackson is now an expert at crawling, pulling himself up and getting back down safely, cruising around objects, walking while Mommy and Daddy hold his hands, and getting into anything and everything that's not out of reach or behind closed doors. His new favorites are frying pans, Ziploc bags, and photo albums. He can be quite clingy with us at times and likes to crawl around and find us. Of course this seems to happen most frequently while I'm in the bathroom trying to get ready, so he ends up unraveling the toilet paper, emptying the cabinet or, worse, playing on the toilet (he hasn't played in it yet, knock on wood!). He is still babbling all the time, but we have yet to hear real intentional words. We are practicing hugging, and yesterday he cemented what the word "kiss" means and has been sharing kisses on command ever since, which is terribly adorable with his wide-open mouth. He melts his mama's heart. :)

Still Here

Since I've been terrible about updating lately (and it's too late to blame it on being gone over Thanksgiving weekend), I just wanted to check in quick to say we're still here and all's well! Jackson turned 10 months old today (gasp!) so I'll have some catching up to do soon - stick with me, loyal readers! Sorry to disappoint. :(

Giving Thanks

I am so excited for Thanksgiving! I love the warm, fuzzy feeling brought on by the beginning of the holiday season when we look forward to good times, laughter, and excellent food shared with family and friends. There are also special traditions to honor and new ones to create. I am reminded of all the joys of the past year and am thanking God for the blessings of having a beautiful, healthy son, a loving and sensible husband, a warm home, and an extremely hyperactive puppy. :) I am also grateful for all of you, for your love and kindness, whether we are near or far. I am lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life. I especially remember Grandma Beaudoin, who we lost last year around this time. We had many fun times and I have only the happiest memories of her. We miss you, Grandma...

At a time of year that can be difficult for some people, I hope you are all able to share some warmth with your loved ones and give thanks. I wish you all the happiest of Thanksgivings and the fullest of bellies!

Strength in Numbers

The gals at work occasionally give me a hard time for being somewhat aggressive and not afraid to say things that may upset others. If an issue arises that turns into a gossipy mess, I am usually the one to nip it in the bud. For those who know me well, this comes as no surprise; I get my no-nonsense ability to tell it like it is from my father.

Yesterday while at a work meeting I was part of something that really made me feel like an adult. We teachers were discussing some of our on-the-job stresses, the biggest of which is that we end up volunteering many hours three times a year because we have no time to prepare for conferences when we are teaching children all day and have desks that are overflowing with lesson plans, prep, and other paperwork, not to mention a myriad of other less-than-glamorous job duties to be done. At my suggestion, a group of co-workers and I presented some issues to our boss, with me as spokesperson. I was a little bit nervous about this, as she sometimes doesn't take me seriously and brushes off our complaints with excuses about having no budget. Furthermore, I sometimes ask stupid questions that, had I taken the time to really think about it, either I already knew the answers to or were not very tactful, (which is unlike me... not sure why I do it!) and I end up regretting ever bringing them up. In fact, if I had to guess, I would say that I think my boss liked me more when I was just a temporary employee who didn't know anything!

Anyway, back to my story. As this was an impromptu meeting-after-a-meeting, I think we may have caught our boss off-guard, but it ended up being to our advantage. Surprisingly, she took our comments quite well and was willing to work with us on suggestions as to how to improve our situation. We were even able to share a few laughs, and I know all of us left feeling re-energized about finishing out the rest of this busy month at work. We were all grateful for her feedback and suggestions, and I was glad to have begun the discussion that got the ball rolling. It may seem like a minor thing to some of you readers, especially those who have had more experience in the world of work than I have, but I was proud of my professionalism for a change, and it was so refreshing to feel validated.

There: I am done tooting my own horn! (That reminds me of a corny joke Phil said on the show Kath & Kim the other night... hilarious! Does anyone else watch?)

Side note: As a federally funded program, the agency I work for does not allow overtime pay or comp time outside of the same week. Ridiculous! Let's hope President-elect Obama lives up to his promises for teachers and for early childhood education!

9 Months

Happy nine month birthday, Jackson! It is crazy to think that my little baby will be a big, one-year-old boy in just three short months. Curt and I were commenting the other night that he is starting to look different to us for the first time. Obviously he has looked very different over the past nine months as he's grown, but now our eyes can see that he is really beginning to lose those sweet baby qualities in his face. Makes a mama sad.

Speaking of being a big boy, Jackson is working on many new moves, in addition to perfecting his crawling skills. He is getting faster and faster at moving around the house, exploring everything and getting into things he shouldn't, thereby hearing the word "no," which he really doesn't like. Suddenly all those boring adult objects at floor level of the house are simply fascinating. Especially the recycling, cords, and power strips. Last week I said no to him when he was trying to go for the power strip on the computer, and he started to cry and put his head down onto his hand, which was resting on the floor. It was the funniest thing I've seen him do yet! Heartbreaking - which was surely the intention - but hilarious.

He is also getting really good at pulling himself up onto things and has even been cruising along the coffee table and the couches. He seems to be very proud of himself upon reaching his destination, which is terribly cute. Furthermore, he has scaled at least three of the steps in the basement! Jackson is developing rapidly, and we are just in awe as we take it all in. At this rate my guess is that he'll be cruising faster by Thanksgiving and walking at Christmastime!

Deer Camp

While Daddy was at the opening weekend of Deer Camp '08, Jackson and I enjoyed a lovely weekend with my mom, my sister, my aunt, and friends. Mom and Bre came up Friday night to stay with us and then helped me get ready for the Tastefully Simple party - delicousness! - that I hosted on Saturday with my aunt (she's a rep). It was a very nice party, with friends from my work and Curt's work, as well as 4 babies! We enjoyed listening to all the squealing and babbling. :) Bre and I had fun watching Tommy Boy that night and playing cards the next day, not to mention doing what we're best at: eating! Jackson had a cold over the weekend but did fine while the guests were here and, despite the sometimes deep hacking, he wasn't super bothered by it.

Jackson was sleeping when Curt got home Sunday afternoon, and he was so excited to see Daddy when he woke up! He wouldn't stop smiling and staring at him for the longest time. Daddy was pretty glad to see his little boy, too. :)

I was also glad to see Curt again... at first. Little did I know that while I was having a good time with my family and friends, enjoying the thought of a nice family evening before starting another work week, Daddy was planning to bring a little piece of Deer Camp '08 back home...

That's right, I was held against my will in the basement and forced to cut up raw venison until my back was throbbing and my fingers ached. This went on for nearly 4 hours. 4 hours, people! UGH!!! And keep in mind that you are only seeing about 20% of the meat we cut. These trays kept getting re-loaded over and over and over. This is the way I felt when I was finished:

Okay, okay, so it wasn't really that bad, and I think I did pretty well for my first time, but let's just say that I hope this is a one-deer season. Sorry, Curt. Oh, and for those who need to know details, he shot a spike buck about 5 minutes after he got into his stand Saturday morning while it was still pretty dark. If he'd have known what it was, he says, he wouldn't have shot it. The men didn't see anything else the whole weekend. They are really looking forward to shooting some more deer next weekend. Looks like I'm doomed.

In Memory

Yesterday was marked with a sad loss for my mother-in-law's family: her sister, Karen, passed away after fighting a cancer that had been treated, returned, and spread in her body. Cancer is such a prevalent disease and it seems that no matter how healthy and active one tries to be, like Karen was, no one is immune. Times like these, although extremely difficult, often remind us not to take life for granted and to count our blessings. Be grateful for this day: read a long-sitting book, go for a walk in the beautiful weather, or relax with loved ones in honor of Karen. And if you are the type to do so, please pray for her soul and the grieving hearts of her family. Love to you all.

Happy Birthday, Madelyn! *updated*

Our sweet little niece and Goddaughter is one year old today! I am in absolute disbelief that it's been so long since she was just a tiny peanut of a newborn...

... and now she is such a big girl!


A beautiful butterfly for her first Halloween

Her mommy Sheila will be glad I couldn't find a cute pregnant picture of her to post. :0 I did look really hard for one, though. Darn.

We didn't make it over to see you on your birthday, Madelyn, but we hope you had a wonderful, fun, happy day! We can't wait to see you again soon and we love you so much!

Creeping, Crawling

Jackson has been crawling for the past two weeks! Curt and I have been busy warning him of dangers, trying to protect our stuff that's still in his arm's reach, and also trying to prevent booboos. :) A while after he had learned to roll onto his tummy, he learned how to get onto his hands and knees and he would rock back and forth and that was fun for a while. Pretty soon he was getting into that position and whining because he couldn't get anywhere. It wasn't long after that that he'd slowly do one hand and one leg at a time, and before we knew it, he was crawling! His first actual fluid crawling movements were at daycare, and when I saw him do it at home for the first time I cried (of course). It was so precious! Now it's old hat around here - but definitely still cute. I love watching his little tushie creep across the floor! As soon as I get the camcorder/computer hookup working, I promise to post video of it so you can see for yourselves how adorable it is. :)

Now that he seems to have mastered the huge milestone on the road towards big boy-hood that is crawling, he's learning those other Mommy-heartbreaking skills pretty fast. He can pull himself up to a full standing position; it went from knees to feet super quickly. He has even taken a couple steps while propped up on things! I'm gonna bet Curt a backrub that he'll be walking by 10 months, but I secretly hope he doesn't. I don't want my baby to be that big of a boy yet! I guess that's not really a secret, is it?!

And now, a special picture just for my "anonymous" commenter. A couple weeks ago I posted about all the fun "Anonymous" had playing with a remote-control truck - namely keeping it rudely just out of Jackson's reach. Last weekend Jackson had lots of fun playing with his cousin Gibson's big truck, and I thought you might be jealous, "Anonymous," so I figured I'd rub it in. :)

Trick or Treat

At first I thought I wouldn't get Jackson a costume for his first Halloween. I figured, he's a baby, he won't know the difference or he might not like wearing something strange, and we might not go anywhere anyway. But the more pictures and costumes I saw, I knew I couldn't resist! Target was the only place around here with infant costumes, but they were too small for him, so I ordered a cheap one online. Last weekend while on a trip toward P-town to pick up a used kennel for Sadie, we stopped to visit at my aunt Kristi's. The costume I had ordered for Jackson had not come in the mail yet, so we ended up borrowing this ladybug suit from cousin Olivia. While he did look pretty cute in it, the ladybug's not a very male-appropriate costume. Plus he doesn't have any black pants or shirts he could have worn with it. We went to see Great Grandma and Grandpa while he had it on and they thought it was pretty cute, too. However, I do like his actual costume much better:

Curt had to work Friday night, as he has the past two Halloweens, so Jackson didn't do any actual trick-or-treating. I didn't want to leave Sadie behind barking while we interrupted people's dinners to go during daylight so he crawled around here in it while I laughed instead. He did wear his costume to daycare, though, at Mommy's insistence (Daddy was embarrassed to be seen dropping him off in it). And one neighbor actually rang our doorbell this year, so at least his mom got to see Jackson in his costume. Hopefully next year the fam can trick or treat together around the neighborhood.

Happy Fall!

Here's hoping the weather gets back to what it was last week rather than staying like it is today! Winter can wait!

Wonderful - But Busy - Weekends

Since returning from our trip up north, our family has had a series of super busy weekends, many including traveling long distances. We are so lucky that Jackson is an excellent traveler and a good car sleeper! He loves to keep himself entertained by playing with toys, talking to himself, or simply looking out the window until he falls asleep.

Ready to go for a ride in Daddy's truck

Jackson and I spent the weekend of Sept. 20th hanging out with Auntie Brea and Uncle Andrew at their new place in Hudson. They recently moved into a town home there and are really enjoying it. The ladies of my mom's side of the family joined us for a day of eating and shopping - one of my favorite ways to spend a day :) - and then Grandma Paula spent the night so she could have more time with her grandson. We had fun watching him trying to crawl and chasing Andrew's remote-control car. That's right, folks: I said Andrew's remote-control car. He claims that it was a long-ago gift from his dad, but by the way he was workin' that thing, I'm guessing he's played with it more than he'd like to admit. ;0 Jackson was completely mesmerized; you could almost see the little wheels in his brain moving.

I get so close and then it zooms away again! Dang it!

Grandma and Jackson like to play Pat-a-Cake

We stayed home the following weekend, just enjoying being together and catching up on things around the house. It seemed like forever since we'd had a chance to do that! Time during the week just has a way of getting away from you... Then came the first of two college friend weddings: Maria and Andrew, married in her hometown of Ironwood, MI. Curt had been there before but this gave me a chance to cross another state off my list. We were able to re-connect with Chee Lee, another college friend we hadn't seen in two years, and others whom we had last seen in August at our camping weekend. We stayed at Cody's in Superior the first night and then stayed in MI after the wedding, stopping to eat breakfast and again to feed Jackson on our way home. He slept during the long stretches and was able to be out of the car for those breaks, so it was no problem. Our friends had fun seeing him at the wedding and they were all super helpful, which gave us a wonderful opportunity to relax and have some grown-up fun for a change!

Chillin' in our room at the lodge

Last weekend was a trip to the cabin as well as wedding #2: Jim and Aimee, in Duluth. We went to the cabin Friday night for the pre-opener hunting weekend, so we did lots of running! We had a really fun weekend and most of Curt's siblings were there, in addition to his parents. (No deer for the boys, in case you were wondering. Fine by me!) Auntie Sheila, Uncle John, and cousin Madelyn came down from Duluth on Saturday morning. The babies had fun playing together and watching Sadie run around outside. It's always so great to see Sheila and her family; we don't see them as often as we'd like since we live so far apart, but we have a lot in common and it's neat to get the kids together and to watch Maddie to see what our son will be up to in the coming months. And she's pregnant with baby number 2, so we are thrilled for them and happy to see our family growing!
We drove to the wedding reception Saturday afternoon and met up with some of the same friends we'd seen at Maria's wedding, as well as more friends from college who we'd last seen in August (and the previous August before that). We had another fun adult night while Grandpa, Sheila, and John watched Jackson for us back at the cabin. I guess his night wasn't as much fun as ours, but he was happy again by Sunday when Mom and Dad were back with him. :)

Yesterday Andrew and Brea came up to hang out and spend the night. I wish we could see them more often, too. I always have such an awesome time with my sister no matter what we're doing. We talk about everything and laugh our butts off at the stupidest things! And Andrew's not so bad either. Especially after he took apart, dusted, and cleaned up my hard drive all day yesterday! It's working much better and I'm excited. THANK YOU, ANDREW!!! :)

Cuddling with Auntie Brea. She's lucky - he rarely does this anymore!



Another reason I love Andrew so much - he's great with our son :)

We have had lots of fun this past month, but we've been so busy that I'm really looking forward to the coming weekend at home! We'll see if it works out that way...

It's Here!

The day I have been anticipating all summer has arrived! I've been waiting with bated breath, hardly able to contain my excitement, and am finally able to celebrate! We are done with the much-anticipated wood burning stove installation! And since this project was his idea and has been his baby, as much as I may want to, I'm not going to be selfish and spoil myself and run out in the cold at all hours of the night to shove wood into a steel box. I will let Curt have that pleasure all to himself.


The beautiful fall trees and the wisp of smoke in the above photo are tricking you into believing that the wood stove itself is beautiful. Don't be fooled. It's quite the eye sore and is placed in an awkward spot. The lean-to on the old garage was already there, so we decided to park it there rather than next to the house. I'm glad we did! Did you notice how I used the term "we" as if I actually had anything to do with any of this? Haha. All sarcasm aside, the only contribution I made was financial; Curt has been working his ass off, getting the yard ready and filling the lean-to with wood to burn. And now he continues to do all the work, cutting & stacking wood and loading & running the stove. You go, boy!

One More Hour

A popular theme here on the Wojo blog is the idea that time flies by at an incredibly fast rate/there simply isn't enough time in the day. In honor of this theme I decided to come back after logging out an hour ago, frustrated that there wouldn't be enough time to upload pictures and do a nice post about the weekend, and write a brief wish list about what I would do if only I could have 60 more minutes to spend doing whatever my little heart desired.

1. I would begin the journal that I wish I had started while I was pregnant.
2. I would catch up on my reading: a stack of parenting magazines and a romance novel.
3. I would go for an extra-long walk with Sadie. (Pushing Jackson in the stroller makes it a little slower and less powerful)
4. I would hook up and begin tinkering around on the keyboard my sister-in-law loaned me this spring.
5. I would attempt to catch up on a TV show or two I've missed this season, suffering through the blips on our "high speed internet."
6. I would call and complain about said "high speed internet."
6. I would add a new post to this blog a lot more often.

Of course I'd never get all this done in just one more hour; that's why it's called a wish list. What's yours?

Oh, Canada *UPDATED VERSION*

Well, almost Canada. Earlier this month, Curt and I spent five days at Voyageurs National Park on Namakan Lake, which is about five minutes by boat from Canada. We were there with my parents, my brother Ben and his girlfriend Allie, and my parents' friends, Chuck and Meline. We left our trucks and drove the boats to McManus Island West, which took about two hours since navigator Chuck wasn't quite sure where he was going. To his credit, though, it had been 20 years since he'd been there and the lake is gigantic with many, many islands. And of course the one we stayed on had to be all the way at the west end. Hence the name.

Curt waiting to park the boat

Walking down the trail towards the dock

Once we arrived we had the daunting task of unloading the boats and setting up camp. The island was perfect for us, with two docks, two tent pads, a picnic table, a port-o-potty type toilet with no walls, and a beautiful cliff overlook. Curt and I claimed a spot down the hill from the toilet (no, surprisingly not a stinky spot!). We were away from the main area which made me a little uneasy at night (bears!), but the privacy was nice.

Sadie camped in her kennel next to our tent and did a great job. A few times there was some mighty growling on her part, but we never did have a bear near our tent or on the island, from what we could tell. Some were disappointed about that, but I was so thankful! One of the nights she growled, there was an animal huffing at her. It was like it took six big exhalations in a row, and it was pretty creepy. Not wanting Sadie to become some wild beast's meal, I was pretty alarmed at first, but when Curt reminded me that a bear would've been hella noisier and anything smaller wasn't much of a threat - to her or us - I calmed down and was able to sleep.

When it wasn't raining, our days were spent fishing/boating, reading, walking around the island, playing with Sadie, eating, playing games, and bathing in the frickin' freezing lake. In the evenings we had some awesome dinners (including a fish fry thanks in large part to me! Read on) and amazing fires. If I remember correctly, we had rain most of two days and two nights, including our last night there and the next morning on our way back - with just some drizzle while we were packing and cleaning up, luckily. Mom and Dad had brought a shelter and the boys used a tarp to extend it over our table/cooking/food storage area so we had a place to sit and be dry.

Dad and Chuck finagling a tarp to extend our shelter area

Sadie had an absolute blast up there. She was endlessly energetic every day and crashed hard each night by the fire. She loved to run around the island, jump and play in the water, fetch sticks, and chase chipmunks and birds, not to mention get spoiled with food scraps and lots of petting and cuddling. I kept saying she'd be depressed to be back at home without all that lovin' and excitement, but she's still having puppy fun here, too.

It got pretty windy up on top of our hill!

A view from the lake of our cliff-side site

Chuck caught the first fish!

I caught the biggest walleye ever! Not really, but it was pretty huge
(especially for such an infrequent fisherwoman), and I brought it in all
by myself and got to brag about it the whole time! It was really fun
and definitely a highlight of the trip.

A beautiful sunset viewed fireside

Campfires never fail to mesmerize me

As for me surviving away from my baby, I missed him terribly, but the hardest part was leaving him behind at Grandma and Grandpa Wojo's. We spent Tuesday night there and had to leave at 2:30 Wednesday morning, so I cried pretty hard putting him to bed that night. And on the drive to my parents' house. And then to Chuck and Mel's. And on and off on the way up. Once we got to breakfast at 6 a.m., I was doing okay. Once we were finally there, off the boat, and on the island, I was really relieved to be starting the vacation and to have fun things to do to stay busy.You can imagine how upset I was Thursday morning to wake up to rain. I thought I'd be miserable in the tent all day, just thinking about Jackson and wishing I was home. But thanks to the shelter and tarp we were still able tohang out, socializing, reading, playing games, and - my favorite - eating. I cried a little a few times up there, and once a lot when I went off exploring the island on my own, but it helped having Sadie there to distract me. And my own mommy's shoulder to cry on. :)

We got home late Sunday afternoon. I was so overjoyed to be with my baby again! It could just be my wishful thinking, but he seemed pretty excited to see me, too. Oh yeah, and his daddy, I guess. Hehe! Brea and Andrew had picked Jackson up at Wojos and watched him here so we could come straight home. When we got home he kept looking back and forth between Bre and I, trying to figure out which was really his mama. It was pretty funny.

A hot shower was also wonderful, after which we unpacked and cuddled Jackson all night! All in all, we had a wonderful time and we'd definitely go back. Maybe next time it'll be on one of those houseboats with a water slide and a hot tub on top like we kept seeing drive by. When it's warmer. In August. Oh, and with Jackson. :)

Far and away the best thing about coming home :)

FINALLY!

After three and a half years, Andrew has finally popped the question to Brea! (That's not really so long; I have to be sarcastic because I have enjoyed giving Andrew a hard time lately about whether he was ever going to propose.) Unfortunately she said no. NOT!!! They are both very excited to be the other's fiancé(e). His family and ours met them for a surprise celebratory dinner afterwards and neither of them could stop beaming. It was pretty sweet. :) I will tell the story to the best of my recollection from their own storytelling.

He proposed to her on Labor Day at the Japanese Gardens at Como Park Conservatory. Andrew took her there under the guise of re-establishing their long-forgotten tradition of "date night." Back in the days of young, new love they used to take turns choosing places to go/things to do without telling the other what was in store. Andrew casually mentioned it a few nights before and said he had an idea after she agreed that it'd be fun to try that again. She evenutally guessed where they'd be going (the zoo). She had been giving him crap about rings recently, saying that they had enough money to buy a blender since he hadn't yet bought her a ring (he hates spending money, but he'd just purchased one the day before she said that!), and even putting pebbles on her ring finger and admiring their sparkles one evening at the beach. What a smarty pants, eh?!

Anyway, after they toured the zoo they approached the garden, where Brea saw a card and a bouquet of long-stemmed roses lying on a little incline. She sarcastically said, "Oh, flowers and a card for me? How sweet!" to which Andrew replied, "Maybe..." and she was all like, "Whoa!" So they made their way over to the flowers and he got down on one knee, said some beautiful things about her and told her of his desire to be with her forever, then asked her to marry him. She was shaking all over and had started sobbing (loudly) as soon as they approached the flowers and he took a knee. He also cried as she said yes as they shared a special moment.

I am so, so thrilled for you, Brea, my best friend, because you deserve all the happiness in the world. I am also very proud of you, Andrew, for keeping such a HUGE secret for over a week (a big accomplishment for anyone, but especially you!) and, mostly, for giving my sister all your love and making her the happiest girl around. I love that you were cool enough to do the honorable thing and ask my parents for her hand. I know they are both very proud as well.

CONGRATULATIONS, ANDREW AND BREA!!! I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!!

The sobbing and shaking begin...

Oh boy, here it comes...

Popping the question!

She said YES!!!

Then Bre discovered their good friend Justin hinding out in the bushes.

The bride- and groom-to-be. Look at that relief all over his face! PHEW!!!

*Pictures of the gorgeous ring he picked out will be forthcoming. Sorry. I blame my dad.*

Transition Time

I am officially back to full-time work as of Monday. BOO!!! I'm sad that I'm not at home anymore and I miss Jackson a lot. It was relatively easy to go back after maternity leave when I knew I only had 7 weeks of class and then part-time summer hours; it's much harder to return in the fall for a full school year. It was such a blessing to be home more this summer watching Jackson grow and spending time with family and friends. Now that I'll be away from him more I am hoping I don't miss out on anything big like this new trick he learned over the weekend with Mommy and Aunties Brea and Alli (sorry the video is so shaky!).

7th Annual Camping Weekend

THANK YOU, MOM AND DAD WOJO!!! We and our friends from Duluth/Superior had a wonderful time camping at the Wojos' cabin for our 7th straight year! For those wondering, these are our friends from when Curt was in college up there. He went to a tech in Duluth while he lived at UW-Superior (and eventually moved to Duluth). The 25 or so of us spent the days eating (what else would I list first?!), playing games, swimming, and relaxing, while our nights were spent partying at the bonfire. We know that we are getting older as the party is not as wild and crazy as it was during our college days! The weather was beautiful - neither too hot nor too buggy; just right. A total of five dogs rounded out the entertainment department this year! That's right: there has only been one child born to our group so far, but pets abound.

It was really strange being there as parents. We stayed in the cabin instead of tenting out. It was a nice luxury, but I honestly missed walking down the path to the tent and joking around with friends you pass along the way. Also, while I knew going into it that I'd spend lots of time feeding and taking care of Jackson during the weekend, it was hard to know I was missing out on some good times. I wanted our friends to meet him this year - plus it would have been way too hard to be away from him - but in the future I think I will save the annual camping weekend as one of those rare times I will get to be a wife and a friend first. It seems so sad now to think of it, but I know I'll appreciate it then! Does that sound horrible of me?! I think you all understand. Don't you?!

The group at Duxbury

Jackson getting his daily reading in (Okay, so this was
last week at home, but it's so cute I had to include it!)

I tried to tell her to stay away from that stuff, but
all those boys were a bad influence on Sadie.

Jackson and Auntie snuggle after the lake.

Hans scarfing down some corn in between shish kabobs.

I'm so glad Jackson was the only one playing in the nude this year.

Poor Jared takes abuse every year. Here he is sleeping
through firecrackers being set off under his ass.

Brendon and Brea goofing off at the fire.

One of our beautiful bonfires. I could have stared at it all night.

Cody with the gigantic knife was kind enough to do the shopping and bring the food for the group this year (Sarah too!). Hans has officially passed the torch. The boys were in charge of preparing and cleaning up the poor man's supper thatwe cook on the fire every year. Thanks, Maria, for the great idea all those years ago!

Judging the scavenger hunt. Cody and Sarah had this great idea
this year. It ended up being really fun, and the judging was
hilarious! I think it'll be a new tradition.

He is really pondering those team scores...

More (drunken) scavenger hunt fun

Jackson was a big hit and he was a really good boy the whole time, much to his mama's relief. Although we had a great time, it was a long time to be away with him (Wed-Sun) and we were glad to get back home. It's amazing how babies can recognize and sense their environments. We could definitely sense Jackson's relief once we finally got in the door, and we knew he was more comfortable and happier here than he could be elsewhere for that long. We had a busy week after that and have another busy weekend ahead! I hope you can all take some time to enjoy these last gorgeous days of summer.