"Our Trip To Breezy Point, MN with the Bydlon Family,May 2008"

Don't they look so cute, all ready for the trip, pillows and stuffed animals in hand, ready for their favorite trip to Breezy Point.. Don't be fooled.. They turn into cute little monsters.. We made the mistake of letting them stay up late the night before with some friends and play games, needless to say, they did NOT sleep in the car as intended.. But, God was gracious, we made it, we had fun and we learned that 3 hours is the max you want to drive with three tired little boys... :)

We stopped at Cabellas in Rogers, MN. This store is a boys haven.. It has large stuffed animals, like elephants, tigers, bears, antelope,polar bears and more.. They sell guns, every type of weapon you can imagine.. It is two stories high, has a restaurant, which sells wild buffalo burgers, venison burgers and even pheasant.. They have an indoor shooting range for kids.. They absolutely LOVE stopping here on our annual trip to Breezy Point.. We have made this a must stop..

This is the view from the top balcony in Breezy Point on a golf course...Just gorgeous.. It was a little cool, but the kids enjoyed running around... We had to stay off the course during the day, but at night, you could see the deer galloping freely up and down the range... On this trip, we saw Eagles, beaver dams, eagle's nests, loons diving for fish.. It was just so nice to be in Nature and quietness, just to get away and enjoy the beauty of God's creation...

This was Dan Bydlon's great idea...To climb and OLD (Not new or maintenanced much)fire lookout.. Don't be fooled by the picture.. This was realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly high up.. I freaked out just thinking of the second landing.. I pleaded my husband not to go up or to take the boys with him, yet not wanting to instill fear in the boys.. But, I'm afraid I spooked everyone..(Even muy husband who is not afraid of heights, was a little scared) So, thank God they only made it half way before they came back down.. I couldn't even watch them go up, yet if they fell, I would want to watch to catch them..A twisted plan, I know...They are all alive and swear they will never do that again...

This is the crew that went up.. all except Emmy, the only girl up front, made it 2 flights and came back down.. My kind of girl... I told her she did a great job and that I understood the fear of open stairs..Trying my hardest to encourage her, she could see I was shaking for my boys..All I could say was "Honey do you have to go all that way? Is that far Enough? Haven't you seen what you needed to see? What a memory that was...

The boys all cuddled up with Dad for a cartoon.. They all enjoy the same shows, which is very sweet to see my husband be such a young and fun dad.. Thanks Honey...

P.S. this was such a fun trip and I forgot my camera on some of the outings, so I may post more on this trip when I get the pictures from Tammy Bydlon..

I love to see my husband work with my boys..!!

Daddy is working with the boys on a trellis.. They love helping daddy.. Believe me,Chris wanted all the help he could get on this project.. Thanks for letting them participate Honey....

This is our backyard.. No, not the whole thing, but this is where the pool goes each year, and so until the pool is blown and it is warm enough to swim, chris will let them dig and build tunnels and play army men in bunkers and do all kinds of 'boys things'... What a dad..I myself cringe, as the only entrance from the back is through our living room..I bite hard on my tongue for this one.. The reason for the picture was that the boys said this looked like something.. can you guess? Hint: It was a stretch for me to see, but Chris and the boys said it looked like a dog.. I took the picture upside down. so stretch your imagination..:)

My Trip to Maryland with Zack April 25,2008

Our Trip to Maryland '08

Does he look a little worried.. (HE WAS... ) Aunt Liz and cousin Ryan invited just Zack and I out for his 8th birthday.. Zack was a little nervous to fly and already missed Daddy and his brothers.. But I was determined to make this trip memorable, so I broke down and bought him a pack of small crayons, a "special coloring book" and 5 cars only for 20 bucks.. Gotta love the way airports rip you off.. But all in the name of "Memories"
This was at My sister's house in their backyard..Uncle Danny had put a deer stand in.. I unwillingly let him climb up.. You have to know that this is my son who will trip over a molecule of air, and so me letting him climb, again in the name of "Memories", needless to say, I didnt rest much this trip, but he loved it..

Uncle Danny had ordered some Omaha Steaks and received Dry Ice with it. A child's dream to make scarry mist. Daddy taught my boys that dishwashing liquid, food coloring and dry ice make pretty bubbles.Well it worked OK. but the kids or should I say Ryan had a good idea.. Let's throw the dry ice in the pool.. Well the pool was just being built, there was not water in it yet except for the rain water.. We threw chunks in and boy did it bubble and dance.. Now, that is scarry what would be in the rain to mix so well with the dry ice :) Here Zack was working with Hannah.. She is a delightful, funny, outgoing, sweet and caring girl. .Thanks Hannah for watching over the boys in the yard or whatever they were doing...

Here is Zack and his cousin Ryan who just turned eight.. That boy sure is cute, just don't let that fool you, he is a mischievious one let me tell you, he is the first to think of good prankster jokes..

Here we are at Uncle John's in Pittsburg. We decided to stop and spend a few nights with them..And look what is in their backyard.. "ANOTHER LADDER UP A TREE !!!" Oh well, I got used to the idea we may spend a night in the ER after Aunt Liz's, but thankfully we were spared and kept safe...He is with Rachel, uncle John's oldest daughter of 9.. yes, I said "9".. He has 2 boys and seven girls.. Seven brides for seven brothers.. He is a blessed man and all his girls are sweet and cute...Brian the oldest was very kind and sweet, and Ben the youngest boy and baby of the family, tho he is work for Aunt Lisa, he is a sweeeeet little guy...

He made it, but this ladder moved and swung, so I think he was even a bit scared..

Here he is with Jennifer. He made it up into the treehouse.. She was very kind to include him with whatever they were doing.. I think when we first got there the first day, Zack was reallllllllllly shy and a bit overwhelmed with all the estrogen, but the next day, he let loose and played with all of them.. They enjoyed soccer, basketball, and just running..

Here we went downtown Pittsburg and had lunch, the leftover were fed to the pigeons, until they became a little bit too aggressive for us.. Ooh, a little too much Hitchcock 'The Birds' for me.

On the way home, we stopped in Shipshewanna, Indiana in an Amish town. There were more buggies than cars.. We stayed at a very quaint christian retreat center.. Again, in the name of "Memories" we stopped and bought a 10 buck puzzle, which I'm sure we will never be able to put together, but hey we had fun.. On the way home, we sure ate alot of McD's and Zack was a little spoiled, because when we got home and went to meet Nana and Papa for coffee, they wanted a cheeseburger, so I got them one from the dollar menu, and Zack asked, "Where is my soda, after I handed him water." I just looked at him and smiled and said "Back to reality honey, sodas are for vacation" Sad to say we are home, glad to be with the rest of the family, but I loved being with just Zack that trip....

Josh Turns "Nine"Happy Birthday Josh...!!!

Josh turned Nine.. Wow.. Happy Birthday Josh.. Josh is such a BIG helper. He helps mommy with so much.. I can truly trust him and know he will get a job done..He loves a clean house, he takes such good care of his little brothers, sometimes I think he is their daddy.. He always wants to love them up... He tries to give them hugs and kisses, especially,Nick his youngest brother..We are sure glad God gave you to us Josh.. Happy Birthday....

Josh Invited Sama and Ben Bydlon, Jesse ( a neighborhood friend) Vitaly Brown and his brothers.. They had pizza, went swimming at the Americinn, watched some Toy Soldier movie, had root beer and ice cream.. Unfortunately Jesse got sick in the night all over my homeschool room, Fortunately I have a wonderful husband who cleaned it all up for me.. Thank you so much Honey !!!!

Josh chose the Army Theme again this year.. Last year we had a bootcamp in our backyard, with tires they had to run through, climbing up the slides, crawling under ropes made to be wires, hammering a nail in the fastest and so on.. It scares me how much he like the military already.. It is not what a mother wants to hear..