Dragon Boat Races! August 2nd.

On August 2nd the Dragon Boat Races came to Bemidji! First National Bank had a team call First Nautical Bank. This is the 3rd year the races have been in Bemidji and FNB has rowed in each year. Last year our team took 1st in the Bankers Cup. This year was my first year rowing and we did not win the Bankers Cup but we were close. We had lots of fun rowing and getting a little wet. We were on of the lucky teams that did not sink. Here are some of the teams rowing a cross the finish line.
Here is Lori and I after the first race.
Here is Ava and I.
This is a photo of some of the teams getting in there boats.
The is a photo of our camp site at the race.

Beltrami County Fair!

On Thursday we went to the Beltrami County Fair and had a BLAST! Braden loved the rides and Ava loved the kiddie barn. Here is Braden on the train ride.
Here is Braden on another ride.
This is a sheet that was in the kiddie barn. The kids loved to pet the animals.
Here is Braden way up on the top.
This is a colt that was born this spring, she was in the big barn with all of the other horses.
This is Boris III, his mother was the largest pig at the fair for many years and she passed away sadly after her last batch of piglets.
Braden went on this pony ride with his own money. When ever the kids have been getting money for their Birthday or whatever we have been putting it away in their savings accounts. But this summer we have been letting them spend it on thing that we would not purchase for them. Like this pony ride. Braden was very excited to use his own money.
Braden on a motorcycle ride!
Braden and Ava driving a boat! This was the only ride Ava would ride on and she liked it!
We all had a great time at the fair. We went many of the 4-H building and saw many cool things.

What a weekend for the Grinde's!

Hello everyone. The Grinde's had a busy weekend. On Saturday morning we went to a Triathlon that my friend Ashely was in, she swam 1 mile in lake Bemidji, bike 13 miles and ran 3 miles. She did a great job, 1hr and 41 minutes! This was her first race ever and she did an excellent job!

After that we went to Blackduck woodcarvers festival with Papa Doug. We had a good time and there were so many people there. After that we showed Papa Doug around Bemidji all of the things that have changed since he was here last.

Jason took off Braden's training wheels again. If you have forgotten I will tell the story again. This spring Jason took off Braden's training wheels of his bike and he did a great job with out them but,he was a little scared with them off. Braden would not ride his bike, he would take Ava's trike instead. Jason then decided to put the training wheels back on his bike. We were noticing when Braden would ride his bike the training wheels would not touch the ground. Jason decided to ask Braden on Saturday when are we going to take these off your bike? Braden said we can do it now. Jason got his tools out they we off in a minute and so was Braden. He did it all by himself he did not need any help.

Sunday we went for a BIG bike ride. We went to one of the bike trails near Bemidji. We went about 5 miles today and we were even able to take some nice photos.Ava and I just before we took off on our bike ride.

We took a break on a bridge that crossed over Mississippi River. Braden took this photo of Jason and I and he did a pretty good job!
My friend Ashely running to the finish line.

Here is Ashley coming to the pit to change gears for the running part.

Here she is now relaxing after the race.
Here is our big boy without any training wheels. He is so proud of himself.

Strawberries!

Yesterday we went to Tar-Lee Gardens in Bagley to pick strawberries! We had a blast. We picked two and a half buckets in just 30 minutes. This is Braden and his bucket. He picked half a bucket and ate about that much also.
Here is Ava eating all the berries!
Here is Ava eating berries out of Jason bucket!
Here I am enjoying all of the nice sunshine and loving the berries. We can't wait to go back next year. They were not very expensive and it was a nice evening with the family. I am now on their mailer for next year.

Family reunion!

Hello everyone! Sorry I have not posted for a while. We have been busy! Last weekend we went to my aunt and uncles house for a family reunion. We had a blast camping at their house with all the kids and grand kids. It has been about 5 years since we have all gotten together. We had 3 great grand kids at that time and now we are up to 14 !

Here is how it started- bottom row is my grandparents Evelyn and David and top row oldest to youngest Mike, Ron and Maureen-(my mom)
The 6 grand kids Dawn, Leah, ME-Gina, Shawn, Griffin -my brother and Darren.

Here is a cute photo of my Ava I had to toss in!
Some of the grand kids playing volleyball.
Now here is all of us! With kids and spouses.

(we are missing 4 people - one is my nephew Trysten)

July 9 & 10th

Yesterday we went to Diamond Park here in Bemidji with our neighbors Drew and Kate. It was such a great time we had fun playing on the swings, slides and the climbing rock.This photo of Ava is the only photo I took because I put my camera in the bag and forgot about it. Today we work up to rain showers so we headed off to the Headwaters Science Center. What a great place to go with the kids! There was so much to do! I can't believe we have never been there before.

This is a photo of Ava with a snake! Wow! Look at her smile! She was very excited to see all of the animals. I think when she grows up she will do something with animals.
This is a gecko that she is holding.
This is Braden, he is tossing a ball at the target. Then it would reads how fast he tossed the ball at the target and gave him a score. "This is so cool mom!" Braden said "How much is it? Can I buy it?" It was a fun day at the Science Center!

4th of July!

Our 4th of July weekend started on July 3rd. We drove to Papa Doug's cabin. We had lots of company that weekend. Even Grandma Hattie came from Oakes with the Loppe's! Braden had tons of fun fishing with Eric and even catching frogs. The weather was nice, we spent most of the time in our swimsuit hanging around the lake. We even brought our camper with. This was our first time staying in the camper. Jason has taken it many time hunting. Here is a photo of Ava and Grandma Hattie on a Pontoon ride around the lake.
Here is a photo of Ava holding of the frog that was caught over the weekend.
Here is Ava and I lounging in the water staying cool!
This is Eric, Jason, Uncle Keith and Braden enjoying the boat ride.
Our first night in the camper! The camper worked out great for us! It was nice to have our own place to stay and put all of our stuff. And I mean ALL of our stuff!
We even celebrated some Birthday's! This is Braden with his Frog Habitat! It was a sad weekend at the cabin also. We had about 5 or so frogs pass away over the 4th of July weekend. It is amazing how many frogs can survive the heat with little water and air.
Braden cooling off in the water.
Eric, Braden and Halle with the sparklers.
Ava is showing Uncle Keith all of the fireworks.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July!