Rainbow Cone

Grandma and Grandpa Howard came to Chicago for a visit this month.  Most of the time was spent building a shed, which will receive it's own post once it's finished.  When I say most of the time, I really mean all the time was spent on the shed except eating meals, a daily trip to Rainbow Cone,

and one quick trip to the park.






(one guess why this is one of Nathaniel's favorite shirts)

Nathaniel didn't notice the lack of activities because he was busy playing with Grandma (and Grandpa during breaks).  He still is talking about their visit.  In fact, when we left to walk to Rainbow Cone this evening he asked about Grandma and Grandpa.

dada's shoes

Nathaniel was walking around the house in Christopher's shoes (notice how one is facing the wrong direction), and I had to get some pictures.

Annual Trip to the Lake - July 2010

So, we've actually been back from the Lake in Minnesota for over a month now, and I still haven't posted a blog with pictures from that trip, yet.  Sorry!  But in my defense, we've been really busy since we've gotten back...but that is for another blog post.

So, here's a quick posting with some photos and a link to lots more.

This year at the Lake, Nathaniel was much more mobile and verbal, and it was a joy to watch him experience the place where his family has gone each summer for generations.  I wish I could say we got lots of photos of all the fun(ny) things Nathaniel did on this trip, but we didn't.  For example, we didn't have the camera when we took Nathaniel out on the pontoon boat to go fishing.  He thought that was great fun and was very excited to see us catch some fish.  He even kissed a couple of crappies...sadly a missed photo-op.

However, we did get lots of photos of Nathaniel in the water.  He's not really big on going out into the deep water.  Rather, he enjoys wading in to his knees to throw rocks.



Sometimes he just likes to do little experiments with water, rocks and gravity.



He drove the boat.  As you can see, he took his job very seriously.  In fact, he refused to touch his beer until we were safely on shore. ;-)



As always, he loved playing with the dogs.



He also liked hanging out with his cousins, Michael (aka MJ) and Kenlyn...



and the rest of his family (except when group photos were taken).



Yes, Nathaniel had a great time at the Lake.  He played hard in the sun and water, and when he was done he left it all down in the Lake.



Christopher

Run Around Le Homme Dieu, Part Deux

Sorry for taking so long to get a new blog up.  Don't get too excited, yet.  This one isn't about Nathaniel.

Two years ago, I was training for my first marathon and ran 10 miles for the first time by running around the Lake in Minnesota (my favorite place in the world).  It was a really great experience, and I even blogged about it then.

This year, I ran 11 miles around the Lake.  I felt really strong, and it set the tone for the rest of the trip.  During the entire trip, I was setting personal bests.  The cooler weather probably didn't hurt.  I even did 12 miles in Brookings, SD when I went home for my 20 year reunion (Gasp!  Already?!).   Here are the maps of my two runs.

Actually, I'm really excited to say that my running has been going really well this go around.  Last week, I absolutely blew away my best 8 mile and 13 mile times.  I ran both under a 9:30 min/mile pace, when I used to struggle (and usually failed)  to stay on a 10 min/mile pace.  I'm hoping to report continued improvement in the future.  Stay tuned.

I promise the next blog will feature photos and anecdotes of Nathaniel. :-)