Summer Fun

I love these two pictures!

Jackson and Carter are getting along very well. Now that Carter is a fast crawler, though, he likes to get right up in there and see what his big brother is up to, and sometimes that is upsetting for Jackson. I explained to him again today that it's okay to tell Carter no, but that he should ask Mommy for help if Carter is bothering him. But at least he's just pushing on his body - not very hard - instead of hitting. Carter also likes to pull himself up already, and he gets this cute bounce going once he's reached his destination, until he gets frustrated when he can't figure out how to get back down without falling. I think we're gonna have an early walker on our hands!

And now for the long overdue summer updates through photos and narrative.

Over Memorial Day weekend (I know, I know!) we went up to Lake of the Woods with my family and our family friends Chuck & Meline and his brother and sister-in-law. Carter stayed behind with his other grandparents, which made it much easier for us. We were debating up to the last minute whether to take Jackson because we knew the weather might be bad, but he had been in a tent before and had done well, so we went for it. He had an absolute blast up there! We were rained on for a whole entire day and evening, and all we could do was run from tent to tent in the few moments of let-up. He took advantage of those opportunities to puddle jump!


I didn't get onto the boat much, but Curt did spend one whole day fishing. Uncle Ben, Papa, and I took Jackson for one little boat ride, but he was scared of the loud noise and fast motion, so it didn't last very long. He was pretty cute but breaking Mommy's heart at the same time while he tried so hard not to cry. :) Thankfully he has gotten used to loud noises and machines more over the course of the summer.

We had some amazing meals while we were camping. We missed the fresh fish fry and fresh french fry night, but the leftovers were delicious! Here's my dad cooking over the fire in the biggest pan and with the biggest spatula I've ever seen. Heart attack potatoes, venison, steak... mmm, yummy... Makes me want to go again just for the food!

We spent a lot of time sitting by the fire and enjoying each other's company. The campsite was super packed this year, but our group was the first to arrive, so they cordoned off a pretty big area for us. I love camping and having fires every night! We are looking forward to the next time we get to go camping as a family at the end of this summer.

Grandma and Jackson taking pictures on the phone while playing by the fire

We also spent a weekend at Curt's sister Sheila's in Duluth this summer. The kids were having a ball playing together, and their cousins were excited to show our boys some new tricks. They bought a HUGE new playground with lots of cool stuff on it, so Jackson checked that out, in addition to swimming in the pool and riding trucks down the little hill, which ended up being kinda scary for both of us. Madilyn had a broken leg this summer due to all her dare-devilry. Go figure!

Jameson and Jackson swimming naked and nearly naked

We have had the pleasure of having lots of company in Motley this summer, including Grandma Paula and Meline, Auntie Brea, and Cody & Sarah & Baby Kennadi. We have also visited all of them at their houses, in addition to spending time at the Wojos and hanging out with the bigger Beaudoin clan at Grandpa's birthday picnic. Here are some miscellaneous photos from those times.

The boys hanging out on our deck. Jackson used to like to hold Carter (for about 3 seconds, max) but seems to be over that now, which is good, because Carter probably wouldn't tolerate it, anyway!

Beautiful Auntie Brea and Carter. So sweet!

Jackson loves the inflatable pool I bought last summer for like $20! We have been too busy to use it a lot, unfortunately. Plus, there was that month of June where we didn't even see the sun...

The boys in the bath. It is so great to be able to bathe them together since Carter has been sitting up well enough. They both love it, too!

This is what Carter looks like when Mommy spikes his hair after getting out of the tub :)
This is the only picture I got of Grandpa's picnic this year - boo! We brought our pool down for all the kids, who loved it for about half an hour.


The Wojo kids with the Fedie kids. Jackson (2), Carter (7 mos), Ella (almost 2 I think) holding Baby Grace (2 months) , and Elijah (4 I think)

J & C with Kennadi, Cody (college friend and best man in wedding) and Sarah's 3 month old.
Cody & Sarah & Kennadi came and stayed overnight last weekend. The dads worked on truck and workshop projects the whole time while the moms hung out with the kids!

Jackson's new favorite thing to do: looking for foxes with Daddy's "'noc-a-lers" (apparently while wearing Mommy's shoes).

Sorry the updates took so long and ended up being a huge, time-consuming post, but I hope you enjoyed it! I also hope you readers have resigned yourselves to the fact that I am just not meant to be a frequent blogger, as much as I'd like to be and as much as I began this blog as one.

Although we haven't done anything too grand this summer, and it started with a pretty low-key calendar, it ended up being busy and lots of fun! I am so sad to see it almost coming to an end - it always flies by way too fast. I hope you enjoy what's left of yours!