Claire loves the interactive books with the lift the flaps, animal touch and feels or sounds, now after watching the video, Dad realizes what a dork he is, but does it out of love and for enjoyment for Claire. She loves the elephant sound. Jon Smith once told me a great story about the elephant sound which I think of often when I make it. Can you imagine walking down the aisle of the grocery store making animal sounds with your child, then getting to the elephant in a crowded aisle?

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!


Claire and Dad at the lift bridge in Duluth

A quiet evening around the campfire

Paddling in the rainOne of Claire's favorite things- the teddy bear den at the North American Bear Center

Watching the sunset

Out in the kayak

More vacation pics (Megan's posting)
I wasn't planning on so many sleepless nights... Here Claire and I decided to crash on the couch after one of the early morning wakings.


The view from our dock. What a peaceful and beautiful place!


Aaron and I each got out in the kayak almost everyday for some alone time. This is the mystery bird/ duck. I still need to get out the bird book and identify this guy...


Wildlife spotting from the kayak. Can you see the baby loon on Mom's back?


Berry hunting with Claire

Claire had a difficult time settling into vacation the first two days in the cabin. Here she is expressing her dissatisfaction with the temperature of the lakewater from her toes. Megan swam to the beach from our cabin and Claire's hug was awfully chilly too. She could not figure out the water thing, just not like the bath. She cried a lot, and I was afraid the neighbors would vote us off, but they were very nice about it.

Claire did not like the lake water, but really enjoyed playing in the sand and with rocks on the beach. As a protective father I did not want her to eat it, as she sticks everything in her mouth. She did stop eating it after the first bite though... problem solved.

Dad forgot Claire's hat on this little day hike, so she used the hanky as a dew rag. She looks pretty darn cute I must say, and it kept most of the bugs off (with a little bug spray) . We picked fresh raspberries to eat on this hike on the Taconite Trail south of Ely (near our cabin).

We enjoyed going into town periodically, and here we enjoyed the farmer's market (and its little treats--lots of baked goods this time of year) and a nice concert in the park by the Ely Municipal Band/Orchestra. It was a bit like a picnic for Claire.

Here Claire is modelling her lifejacket and showing me what you do with bugs. We were swatting them in the screen porch of the cabin. Yes that is actually her holding the fly swatter.

Here is a nice picture of Claire enjoying the dock outside our cabin on the lake. The picture makes it look smaller than it is. She's safe. Promise.

Here is a preview of what next year's vacation might entail for Claire. She was impressed with the kayak. What a great family trip!

Aaron puts the finishing touches on as he loaded up the wagon for the Patterson's first family vacation. We are on our way to Ely, MN with a short stop in Duluth for an overnight.

Here is us on our return trip home thru Duluth. Because Megan was so ill on the way thru the first time, all she saw was the inside of a hotel room. So we visited Canal Park for a while, and a nice lady took this photo of us. It is one of 2 family photos from the trip, the other one has a thumb on Megan's head...but the story is good.

See posts for each family members vacation perspective.

Megan and Claire spent the 4th with friends and family at the cabin. Thanks Tom and Carol for hosting. They had a nice time. Claire was teething, so her face and eyes were often swollen and she was a hit in her patriotic outfits anyway.

Little ham!

So with her love of baths, and the outdoors, it should only be natural that she loves the kiddie pool just as much right...
Seems that we have the makings of a great little outfielder someday, loves to pick grass (and then throw it in the pool I think)