Sunday, November 13, 2016

A Fourth of July to Remember

We finally convinced our friends, Julie and Randy, and their boys, Coleman and Ryder, to go camping with us on Fourth of July.  We had reservations for a remote (boat-only access) campsite at our favorite campground - Umbagog Lake State Park.  It was a bit breezy when we decided to take the boats to the north end of the lake to hike along the Rapid River and enjoy a picnic lunch.  When we were ready to return, the wind had picked up and there were three-foot waves (at least) on the open water.  Jared did the best he could to navigate through the rough water, but the waves were crashing over the side of the boat drenching everyone on board.  After a pounding ride, we made it safely back to camp.  Julie packed light and only brought one pair of long pants, so Jared picked up some fashionable flannel pants at the camp store.  The lake earned the nickname "Lake Oh-My-God!" that weekend.  I'm not sure they will be so eager to camp with us next year.

We stayed an extra day after our friends left and were rewarded with warm, sunny, and calm weather.  We took advantage and went fishing with the bubble-gum pink fishing lures Clara got for her birthday.  After saying, "you'll never catch anything with those pink lures," Jared pulled in a nice smallmouth bass on yellow popper.  Then Clara and Charlie showed him how to do it.  Charlie hooked a huge bass on his pink lure that got off at the boat.  Clara may have hooked the same fish that Charlie did, but this time she landed it.  Check out the last two pictures, I think the pink lure worked just fine.










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Clara Turned 7!



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A Visit from the Columbus Wards!

We had an awesome visit from the Columbus Wards this summer.  We rode the train to the summit of Mt. Washington then hit the beach.  The cousins had a blast together.









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Tuesday, October 25, 2016

We're Having A...

Couple of chicks!  We welcomed Marshmallow (yellow) and Fluffy (black) home this spring.  Clara's first grade class hatched these babies from eggs in their classroom.  We are hoping to have farm fresh eggs this summer instead of roosters crowing at dawn, but we really have no idea.  




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Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Charlie Graduated Pre-K

At least he graduated for the first time.  Since Charlie misses the kindergarten cutoff date by three weeks, Charlie will be in pre-k again so he will get to do this all over again next year.


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We Love Camping!

Any chance we get to escape reality for a few days, we take it!  We spent this Memorial Day weekend camping on Squam Lake.  We had gorgeous weather, excellent company, and the fishing was great too.  What more could we need?






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T-Ball 2016

Clara was the star of her t-ball team this year.  She was quite the slugger (even though the last batter always gets a home run).



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Turkey Hunting

This year's turkey hunt was almost successful.  Charlie was so excited to get up before the sun to go hunting that he slept in his hunting clothes.  As we were sitting in the hunting blind watching the sun rise, we heard a lot of gobbling.  Jared got out the turkey call and called in a nice tom turkey from several hundred yards away.  The turkey came within 50 yards of the blind, which is just outside of shooting range, then he wandered back home safely.  So close.  




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Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Monster Jam

Monster Jam came to Manchester!  Crowd favorites, Grave Digger and Zombie, made appearances and took home lots of trophies.  We also saw Backwards Bob, Lumberjack, Northern Nightmare, and Crushstation.  The trucks did wheelies, jumps, donuts, smashed a car, and most of all made a lot of noise.    




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Monday, May 2, 2016

Spring Break - Part 2

Grandma and Grandpa Carlson came to visit during Clara's Spring Break.  There were stories in the couch fort, the movie theater on a rainy day, and a trip to Great Wolf Lodge with no Mom and Dad allowed!




Great Wolf Lodge had donuts in bed...


A ropes course...

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A water park...
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And exhausted kids...



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Go Fly a Kite




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Spring Break - Part 1

During the first week in April, we enjoyed a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Ward.  We played checkers, practiced archery, and went for a spring hike before winter arrived again.





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So This Happened...

One day after school, Clara and I were inside the house finishing some homework while Charlie was swinging outside.  I heard a small whimpering noise, looked out the window and saw this.  Clara ran out to untether her brother while I ran to grab my camera.  He wasn't hurt, and we are still laughing at this photo.


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Dinosaur Words

Charlie has been learning about dinosaurs at school and has been practicing his letters by copying dinosaur words that are posted around his classroom.  Without question, his favorite dinosaur is a t-rex.

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AOK

Clara was honored in front of the whole school when her teacher chose her as an Ambassador of Kindness.  The description says, "Clara goes out of her way to help her classmates and to give others compliments.  She is always friendly toward others, puts others first, and is an excellent role model."  We couldn't be more proud!




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The 100th Day of School

On February 4, Clara celebrated the 100th day of school.  The students in her first-grade class dressed up as 100-year-old people. We found some great clothes at the thrift shop, Jared made her a cane, and we powdered her hair to complete the look.


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