Busy Bees in Grand Forks

Back in Grand Forks, the boys had a joyous 5-second reunion with Nara before things got back to normal. Nara started honking the bike horn, to which Sebby said, "Nara, stop it! I have a headache!" (A phrase he heard enough from Grandma to make it stick!) 

Tanya and I continued on our mission to get a black-out on our Bingo board. ;-) Actually, our mission was just to have some fun every day with the kids. And we did pretty well at that. See below: scooter, training-wheel-bike, strider-bike, baby-carrier outings around the block, baking goodies, playing in the kiddie pool, flying kites at the park, climbing trees, roasting marshmallows, unicycling, and even playing golf. 

Golf, you say? With four children? Yes, we say. And with five. (We went on the kid course, which was plenty challenging enough for our little group. We spent most of the time explaining that you have to hit the ball toward the flag rather than away from it, that you're not supposed to pick up your ball after you hit it, and that you have to be careful to not whack someone in the head.) Plus, field trips to the train museum and Turtle River State Park!

Tanya's amazing German pancake.

Ready, set ... !

Misha helps Sebby get his kite flying high.

Head in the clouds.

Unicorn flies again.

Three little jackrabbits in their shirts from Grandpa.

Misha and Harry, the red-heads.

Mama Tanya and Mama Tammy

The basement is a great place to practice!

Out for a bite at the Blue Moose.

A walk on campus.

Watching the turtle.

Oh how we love to go up in a tree.

Our tasty carbonara.

An egg-decorating project inspired by my friend Alesia, who brought back gorgeous eggs from Uzbekistan last Easter decorated with leaf prints. We tried our own. Use nylon to secure the leaf to the egg, then dye with red onion skins boiled in water.

Ferns

Cilantro

Clovers and more.

Making a fire.

Blazing away.

Lawn loungers

Oh, is my marshmallow on fire?

Portrait of Misha :)

A hole in one! Just kidding.

Golf madness with friends.

The cute kid-club sets were the best part.

Go Nara!

Aaron, Sebby, and Misha continue on the golf course after the others have given up.

Hot dog roast with the neighbors.

Splash park on a hot day!

Strawberry chicken salad. Mmm.

Svec family portrait!

And a trip to the train museum! So fun to climb on the caboose.

The indoor model train displays were captivatingly detailed.

Watching the action.

A mini train world.

One of those sweet moments.

We got out the 36" Coker. Oh yeah!

Tanya cruising along the great wall.

Snuggles.

Pile up!

Fishing in the river with Aaron

Choo-choo train style.

Russian lessons from Misha

Harry and auntie

Turtle River was great fun. We chose a nice, overcast day and we all wore our swimsuits for carefree wading in the river. We grabbed hands and waddled through the rocky and muddy river, feeling little fish nipping at our toes and hoping not to meet a large snapping turtle under water. Sebby found a cute baby snapper, whose shell was no bigger than a plum. We watched him scamper into the long grasses with impressive speed for a turtle.

And then it was back home and into the tub!