Causes for celebration

 Two lion cakes for my two two-year-old cubs

Will wasn't with us in Minnesota for the first almost 2 weeks we were there.  When he did join us for the last week, we were overjoyed to see him.  We missed him a lot!  Combined with missing his birthday and his missing the boys' birthday, we needed a big party to celebrate us being together again.  We grilled hot dogs and brats, Mom made baked beans, and I made 2 lion cakes.  (I can't claim my own creativity for this one...it is amazing what you can find on the internet!)  I also made a carrot cake for Will, his favorite.  The food and cakes were all super yummy. 

 Family enjoying a summer feast

The boys opened their presents and had fun playing with all their new toys.  Trucks, balls, cars, and blocks seemed to dominate the field this year, along with some really cute clothes.  They weren't as shy about opening everything up this year.  But they were so excited about gifts they kept on stopping just to play with the new toys.  Note for next year:  open gifts earlier in the day to give lots of time for playing with them later.

 Zevon tries out his softball pitch

 Guthrie shows his new ball (while sporting a Miss MN hat of his Grandma's)

 Zevon getting his trucks ready for some serious work

 Guthrie sees how many blocks can fit in his new tractor

The boys were also more adept at blowing out their own candles this year.  However, they each had different strategies.  Zevon was more for the direct approach and needed very little help blowing out his candle.  Guthrie seemed concerned by the fact his cake was on fire and tried to snuff it out with a napkin.  Yikes! 

 Oh no!  Fire!

 Don't worry, Daddy.  I've got this.

 I can help you out brother.

 Mmm.  That was good cake!

Unfortunately, we were missing Grandpa Wayne.  Wheat harvest had started, unexpectedly early this year, and Dad needed to be out in the field.  We missed him but were so thankful that harvest was going so well.  There was plenty of cake when he came in that evening, so we could celebrate the start of harvest as well.

Grandma and Grandpa's new cabin

 Welcome to our new home away from home!

My mom has been dreaming of a lake cabin of her own for as long as I can remember.  This summer, her patience, planning, and a bit of luck from the housing market paid off.  My parents found the perfect place near one of our favorite places to camp in Minnesota.  They closed our first week at the farm and we had to check out the new place.  No furniture yet, but the lake was perfect for a day of swimming and exploring.   It is so beautiful!  Cool in the shade, peaceful to watch the lake, loons swim and call just yards away, fish swim around the dock.  It is everything summer in Minnesota should be.

 We got our life jackets and are ready to go!

The cabin is right on the lake and that made me and my mom a little nervous about the kids.  Life jackets were a necessity for twin toddlers and a jumpy 5 year old.  Thankfully, they loved their new jackets.  In fact, the boys cried when I told them to take them off before bed one night when we just were trying them on.

The cabin has plenty of space for all of us to stay overnight, but we made this just a day trip.  Evie had fun trying out her new swimming skills, I got a chance to relax and swim in the lake with Megan and Chris, and the boys spent most of the time exploring and observing.  They were a little more wary of the water than I thought they would be.  Zevon loved having his legs floated in the water, but  he got tired (we were skipping naps) and cranky.  I think Guthrie got cold too quickly to really enjoy the lake.   I can't wait until next year when they will really tear up the place!

 Evie and Grandma Bev find the perfect spot to chat

 Grandma Bev shows the boys the fishing dock

 Zevon (left) and Guthrie (right) decide if they will jump in

 Evie loved having the help of the life jacket and a pool noodle to practice her floating and swimming skills.  I think she was in the water more than anyone (and ended up with swimmers ear a few days later to prove it)

When we asked Evie what was her favorite part of the day at the lake, she answered "fishing!".  The lake had lots of little fish that would nibble your toes while you swam.  Grandpa Wayne and Evie decided to try their luck at catching one.  And they did!  With nothing more than a bobber, hook, and plastic twist lure, all on a Donald Duck fishing rod, they caught 3!  I don't know who was more excited, my dad or Evie.  They were both pretty proud.  

 Grandpa Wayne and Evie fishing off the dock

First fish!

Evie is pretty proud of herself

You would think with all this excitement the kids would have fallen asleep on the way home.  Nope.  They were too wound up and full of stories to settle down.  It made the trip home more stressful than it should have been.  But, it was all worth it.  We can't wait for many more summers at the lake cabin!

Evie's first swimming lessons

 Evie (pink suit) and her classmates wait to jump in

Spending almost 3 weeks in Minnesota gave us opportunities to do things we couldn't do on a short time frame.  One of those things was swimming lessons for Evie.  I ran out of time to get her into lessons during June at home and wanted her to have lessons before August.  So Evie took lessons at the Warren Pool, where I learned to swim.  It was pretty cool watching Evie swim where I spent most of my time in the summer as a kid.  (Though I had to forget that most of the lifeguards were just babies, if they were even born, when I last spent any time at the Warren pool.)

 Evie practicing her kicks

 Evie jumps right in!

As much as Evie loves the water, it took her a bit of time to let herself go in the pool.  Evie is tall for her age and it was not trouble for her to run or bob through the 2-3 ft without worrying about getting her face underwater.  She actually had to work pretty hard to get a full bob.  This also meant it was a little more difficult to practice floating and swimming.  For the first couple of days, she would float or crawl with her feel flat on the floor of the pool while she 'floated' the top half of her body.  But by Thursday of the week of lessons she blossomed and was floating face down and belly up, not to mention swimming underwater with her feet kicking and not walking. She passed onto the next level with no problems.  On to sharks!

 She loves the water

 Evie flutter kicks with the kick board

 Look mom, no feet on the bottom!

Megan and Chris help the twins stay out of trouble

One of the nice things about doing lessons at home was that Grandma Bev and Great-grandma could join us and watch Evie swim.  Even Megan and Chris were able to hang out at the pool with us while joining us at the farm for a long weekend.  I needed the help because the boys wanted to be everywhere.  Perhaps I need to enroll Zevon and Guthrie in lessons sooner rather than later!

If this is how the twos start out, heaven help us

 Hi!  My name is Zevon.  I'm two!

Where has the time gone?  It seems like just last week I was holding two little babies in the hospital, wondering how I would make it through the day.  Now, I'm running after 2 two year olds wondering how I'm going to make it through the hour.  I woke up the morning of their 2nd birthday and decided to make a birthday brunch.  Since Will was still in MT, we were going to wait to do a big party when he came to MN in week.  But a little celebration was in order.  I baked raspberry muffins and put a candle on top for them to blow out.  The boys loved the muffins!  As soon as they scarfed them down, they went off to play with their big sister.  

 Mmmmm.  Muffin.

Umm, there should be TWO candles on that muffin.

My parents and I had just sat down to eat our breakfast and discuss what we wanted to do for their big day when we heard Gus break out into tears.  Evie and Guthrie were fighting about something, Evie held his arm and pulled, while Guthrie tried to run the other way.  Something was wrong with his arm but we couldn't figure out what.  What do you do when a toddler hurts but can't tell you where?  We did a lot of pointing and poking, but Gus didn't do much else other than whimper and hold his wrist.  He wouldn't use his left hand at all, and would use his right arm exclusively.  After watching him collapse trying to climb up on the couch, we knew something was really wrong with his arm.  

 Guthrie enjoying his breakfast, t-minus 5 minutes from the incident.

Mom and I quickly got ready and headed to the ER with our little Gus.  We were convinced it was his wrist, but every nurse that glanced our way said, "looks like nursemaids elbow."  I vaguely remember reading about it in a parenting magazine.  It is a common childhood injury, usually happening when someone pulls a kid's arm one way while he tries to run the other way.  Essentially, it's a dislocated elbow.  We were able to see a doctor quickly who confirmed what the nurses had been telling us.  He did the reduction before we even knew what was happening.  As soon as the doctor left the room to let Gus calm down, Gus had stopped crying.  Mom offered him some crackers, he reached with his left arm, and started eating.  I had been fine the whole time and able to keep it together (a feat, considering I have a weird phobia thing with joints and dislocations).  But the moment I saw my son able to move his arm like nothing happened, I just about passed out from relief.  

The rest of the day was as low key as we could make it.  We spent the afternoon trying to prevent any sort of arm pulling that could lead to another dislocation.  And Guthrie did his part by making arm pulling necessary (ie, climbing on the sofa, biting his brother, picking on his sister).  

My parents had gotten a cake for their birthday, too, but we decided to wait until the next day to enjoy.  We were worked up enough.  Sugar wasn't needed.

 Guthrie is mesmerized by the candles.

Zevon loves his chocolate cake!

July in Minnesota - checking out the farm

 Grandma Bev and Guthrie look at the wheat field.  Amazingly, this field was ready for harvest just a few weeks later!

 For months, Evie has been asking, "how long until we go to Minnesota?"  She knew we were planning on spending most of the month of July at my parents' farm in northern Minnesota and she was excited.  It was just the kids and I for the first 2 weeks, then Will joined us for the remainder.  Thankfully, the trip out was uneventful and kids were troopers in the car.  The first thing the kids did when arriving at the farm was run out to the garden and start eating raspberries right off the canes.  It was like they remembered the plants from last summer. 

On our first full day at the farm we took a walk around the yard.  We explored the old pasture, watched monarch butterflies, checked out the ripening wheat, and looked at all the machinery in the yard.  I don't think Evie stopped running the whole time!  Guthrie pointed at everything asking "waad daat?" (what's that?).  And Zevon never stopped smiling.  These were very happy children.  And I was one happy mom. 

 We see Evie!

 

 Guthrie and Zevon making tractor driving a team effort.

 Zevon

 Guthrie

Grandpa Wayne giving Evie a short ride to park the 4-wheeler in the machinery shed.

What is it like to be a mom of twins?

There are moments of joy and love:

 

 Then there are moments of anger and frustration:

 And usually it descends into outright chaos:

Christikon family camp

 Evie contemplating the Christikon life.

Will and I met at Christikon, so coming back always feels like coming home to us.  It is a place that we want to share with our children.  We were able to make the trip up the long, bumpy, gravel road this July for family camp.  It took me a day to get into the rhythm of Christikon life, especially since I'm used to screaming children giving me the notice and not a bell calling us in!  But once we did, it was a lovely time.  We were lucky to stay in the Living Center with a few other families, some with kids close in age to ours.  Somehow, all of us sharing one room was not as stressful as I thought it would be and kids slept really well (mountain air?).  The only hiccup was the first night when Guthrie figured out how to escape his playpen.  (We were notified by a little girl down the hall who yelled, "the babies are out! the babies are out!")

 Evie, Zevon, Guthrie and Will check out the lodge deck.

 Three benches, perfect for 3 kids who have been crammed into a van for too long.

 Guthrie looks in awe of Bob.

 Evie helps ring the camp bell for dinner.

Will was the speaker for the weekend and led sessions on Sabbath practice.  We practiced sabbath with hikes, naps, campfires, playing games, talking, and dancing.  All three kids loved the camp.  There was so much to see and do!  I think the boys were sad their little legs couldn't take them farther.  Halfway across camp, they would put their arms up to be picked up (doesn't happen too often!).  It is safe to say we will make it a goal to come out every summer.

 Zevon gets a better view from Will's shoulders.

 Don't pick the plants, Evie!

 Guthrie loves being in a carrier and was willing to go anywhere in it.  He we are on the bridge across the Boulder River.

 Evie on her second trip to the Boulder.  She was only 6 mo old last time she was here and now she will be heading to kindergarten in the fall.  My, how time flies.

 Evie and I in a circle dance during perambulatory activities.

 

 Will and Evie doing the Virginia Reel.  Sadly it didn't last long.  She only wanted to dance with her dad and refused to reel the set.  I happily took her place.

 Evie and one of her new Christikon friends during Sunday morning worship in the meadow.

 Will shared the gospel and sermon during the morning service.  I don't think he has ever preached in a more beautiful church!

 Zevon (above) and Guthrie (below) run through the meadow daisies during Sunday worship.

 Evie participated in the boat regatta.  She outfitted her boat with tinfoil.  It may not have been the fastest but it was the shiniest!

Zevon, Will, Evie, Kaia and Guthrie on the canteen steps.  I'm pretty sure this will be our Christmas card this year, so you may be seeing this one again.