Memorial Weekend 2012

This past weekend was what I hope to be the start of an annual weekend at the cabin.  It was just Ryan, Naomi and I up there this past weekend and we had a lot of fun together as a little family.

The only mistake of the weekend was that Ryan told Naomi on Saturday morning that we were going to the cabin for the weekend and going to go fishing on the boat...so all morning long while Ryan was at work all I heard was, Da! Boat! Fishin! Go Bye-Bye! Yeah!  and repeat....about 8,000 times :)  She's a bit obsessive...

 We timed out the trip to coincide with nap time and I couldn't help but snap a few pics...

 I have a feeling that her car seat is quite comfy

 Her sweet little feet

I love her.

Right after Naomi was born, my sister Tammie took a picture of Ryan and Naomi and I said that looking at this picture was like looking at my heart....

Below is the updated version of what my heart now looks like (:

 So. AS SOON as we got to the cabin she kept running around saying BOAT! BOAT! BOAT!

So, I quickly unpacked and we went out on the boat...and she got mad...because we wouldn't let her drive!!  Super funny, aside from this may be an unknown fact to some, but an angry toddler can make quite the loud echo across a lake. Just so you know, in case you were wondering.  Ha ha. 

Luckily she is still easily distract-able and there were fish and ducks to look at.

We came back and made dinner and just had a quiet and relaxing night back at the cabin...

Sunday brought beautiful weather and Naomi's first fishing trip...which reaffirmed that yes, I am a wimp and I cannot bait my own hook.  Don't judge, I can do a lot of things but not that...just yet at least.  Naomi on the other hand is VERY brave and not scared at all to touch worms, bugs or fish.

I think that it is true that a good marriage has a partnership of balance, Ryan is MUCH more patient than I am and was an excellent teacher for Naomi on her first fishing expedition.  And together they caught a little sun fish!

 Slowly reeling in her line...

 Helping hands from daddy...

Serious fishing face

Even the most avid toddler angler (and her parents) need an afternoon rest...

The afternoon took us to check out a family Bluegrass show (in preparation for Hiawatha in July)...at first she just sat in my lap and would. not. move.  By the third song she was starting to smile, by the end of the fourth she was clapping...then Daddy asked her to dance and she said YES!  Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera but let me tell you, it was sweet, then they pulled mommy on the dance floor and it was fun.  Right after that song was done so was Naomi so we meandered over to playground and beach right next door and Naomi spent some time playing on the slides and swings.  Then we walked over to the beach and she wanted to just run into the water...I will have to keep that in mind for our next adventure to the playground and beach!  Pack her swimming suit!

Our Sunday concluded with a night boat ride, Naomi in the latest of toddler fashion is wearing literally every pattern in her wardrobe...ahh to be two...when else can you dress like a crazy person and still be so stinkin' cute?  (aside from Ryan still thinks its acceptable to wear a tie-dyed t-shirt and plaid shorts at the same time...it's a work in progress :) )

 With her beloved blankie, whose corner she rubs in her eye.  Yes, in her eye.  I know it's weird.  Even more weird?  Ryan's dad used to do the same thing when he was little.  Who would have thought THAT would be an inherited trait?

 On the lookout for fish...

 Best boat buddies...

And we finally let her drive the boat...while in Ryan's lap at least, she is quite the attentive captain!

Monday came and we took one more journey "out to sea".  The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, there was a cool breeze.  We did a little fishing and a little riding around the lake on the pontoon.  When we got back to the dock, Naomi got out, RAN down the dock, with me screeching at her that we do NOT RUN on the dock, 

then she plunks down at the end of the dock and puts her toes in the water and just starts splashing and splashing and splashing.  

 

 

My little peanut is literally growing up before my eyes.  I know this is the process of life and there is nothing you can do to slow it down but I would love to hit pause for just a little bit.  At least I can "freeze" a few moments every now and then to look back on...

We had a wonderful long weekend and I was humbled by the amazing freedoms that we are blessed with and am so thankful for all those who have given up time with their families and loved ones, who have given their lives so that so many can enjoy amazing times with our loved ones. 

Thank You to all of our serviceman past, present and future.

Much love and many blessings.

A picture is worth a thousand words...and countless emotions

I feel like time goes way too fast...I have been taking a photography class for the past month or so and one of my personal goals in taking the class is to freeze little moments of our family's life because I sincerely feel like life has been moving too fast! 

Below are some of my favorite pics that I've captured over the course of the class.  While the actual lessons covered specific technical terms such as aperture, fstops, shutterspeed, ISO, etc. the real lessons that we have been learning have been how to freeze moments in time...

 The smell of fresh cut spring blooms to a curious toddler nose

 

 A laugh shared between grandpop and two of his grandbabies

 A light of wonder in a little girls eyes

 A look of surprise!

 Bright eyes, curious about all there is in the world

  A laugh shared among cousins

 A real giggle coming from deep down

 The early life lessons of not eating sand...LOL!

 Gliding through the trees

 Rosy cheeks and perfect skin

 A moment of smiles and snuggles of two brothers

 Story time, story time, story time

 Toddler kicks and peddling on a big boy bicycle

 Looking super cool in shades

 True signs of summer

 Fun times running in sprinklers

 Sweet Smiles

 A trio of trouble and giggles 

While a professional I am not, this class has taught me so much in the technical scope of photography that I have been able to capture those moments that when I look back at the picture I can not only see it I can feel it.  And to me, that is priceless.

Who's Ruling the Roost?

We spent last weekend up north for a little long opening fishing weekend...while the boys were out fishing the girls (Barb, Naomi and I) played around the cabin, did a little bumming and went to meet some very fancy chickens at Uncle Pat and Aunt Annie's house. 

As always Naomi was a trooper with the traveling however we have been having MAJOR sleep problems since we said bye-bye to the nukkers a few weeks ago.  We are trying numerous please just go to sleep methods as well as please stay in your room methods, we have not had much success yet which leads me to the answer of the above question for our house right now...who's ruling our roost?  Well, she's about 35 pounds and a little over 3 feet tall and she is a tough ruler!!  We have had a number of very fun things happen in the last week though too - she absolutely could NOT wait for her grilled cheese sandwich the other night and got a boo-boo on her finger.  Later after many tears (hers and mine) Ryan offered to kiss her finger to make it better.  Naomi's response?  With wide eyes and a look of dismay, "No da-da, my boo-boo!"  Super cute. 

Back to the cabin, who rules the roost at the actual roost?  This pretty fella:

However he was not a fan of me taking pictures of his lady friends so I had to snap and run pictures of him - the black and white hen really liked me though so I was able to snap a couple of good ones of her as well...as you can see the rooster is in the background of this picture too - but lucky for me there was a fence between us!



Part of the fun of getting together with family on the weekends is the good food and this weekend was no exception - we ate dinner out at the Minocqua Pizza Company and it was awesome!  Perfect setting for our family, Naomi could run around without raising too many eyebrows and they had great Amber beer and fantastic pizza!  Sunday night was my night to take care of dinner, I had snagged a pack of baby bella mushrooms at Aldi's the week before and had some chicken in the freezer so thanks to the wonderful search engine at Allrecipes.com I found this recipe.  It turned out fantastic and I will definitely be making it again:

Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry

Directions

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

The only thing that I would have done differently would have been to add twice as many mushrooms!  I paired it with roasted red potatoes with Italian seasoning, steamed broccoli and ciabatta bread.  It was a great meal and was ready in about 40 minutes and really was simple.

Here are three full but happy Thomases :) (and 2 pups)

The weekend was pretty rainy overall so we didn't get to play outside as much as we wanted but Naomi got to try out the new dump truck that "Boppa" refurbished for her.

We also spent a lot of time coloring and playing with puzzles...

It was a great weekend with family and I am looking forward to our next little get away!