Jack and Cate Update -- June, 2007

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

We were lucky enough to find a rare DVD copy of Barbie and the Magic Pegasus in 3D (it was a truly magical day in the Nelson household). Discussing this movie, Roger Ebert gushed: "the what now?"

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Jack too is ensnared by the power of this movie, but in a less 3D sort of way.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

We had the annual Wabash Circle block party early this month, and it was a changing of the neighborly guard. After largely ignoring them for years, the kids became fast friends with Victor and Lucas as soon as their house went on the market. Luckily, Cole is moving in with his little brother Simon.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Clare, an expert hula hooper, shared her gift with Cate at the block party.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

With Grandpa and Grandma in town for the kids' birthday party, we shared lunch at The Ranch. This was on the back patio of the clubhouse.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Lookout! He's got a golf club and a strange look in his eye...

Friday, June 22, 2007

As we did two years ago, we chose the water-slide-in-the-front-yard theme for this year's birthday party. The kids practically wore it out before the guests arrived a few hours later.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Jack was an absolutely daredevil from the moment the slide arrived. He would really be moving (and sometimes tumbling) fast by the time he hit the pool at the bottom.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Cate adopted a more conventional brace-for-impact position.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Cate with Macie, one of her classmates from KD. With both kindergarten classes invited as well as other friends, we had more than 35 kids at the party.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Two things you need at every birthday party: rabbit-ears-photos and mouthful-of-cake-photos.

Friday, June 22, 2007

The slide was a big hit with the kids, but we were all worried it might not happen. Just a couple of hours before the party, it was raining -- and it was raining hard. During the party, however, it was sunny and in the upper-80s.

Friday, June 22, 2007

When Russell Houck and I meet, we talk about cameras and Macs. Using my camera, here's one he took of my Dad and AJ Chabria.

Friday, June 22, 2007

And another Russell took of Janet and me.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

On Sunday morning, we started our trek to Minnesota with Grandpa and Grandma. We made it as far as Kansas City, MO before we decided to stop for the evening. Returning to the room with the last of our bags, I heard an awful din coming from our room. I rapped on the door and jokingly declared: "It's the manager!" Not fooled for a moment, Jack wearily declared: "It's Greg..."

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Cate caught up on all her Barbie-related reading.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Jack has eschewed his cautious ways and is quite the little thrill-seeker. It's hard to imagine him doing this last year. The next day, I threw/flipped Jack into the lake, and he landed almost perfectly upside-down. With his head under water, he kicked his legs above the water trying to right himself -- it lasted just a moment, but it felt to me (and I'm sure to him) like a long time. After that, he decided it wasn't prudent for me to throw him in the lake.

Monday, June 25, 2007

This year Jack was big enough to: 1. see over the pontoon boat's steering wheel, and 2. not require constant oversight and correction. Grandpa Dick was able to lightly supervise from the back of the boat.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Cate had no interest in driving the boat. She was content to enjoy the wind and sites from the bow.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

In the late afternoon, we could coax a school of fix to the surface with a few pieces of bread. They would even eat out of our hand. On a related note, I was the victim of a savage fish attack while playing with the kids in the lake. I won't distress you with all the gory details, but suffice it to say that I'll wear my shirt on future swims.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

While they played hide-and-seek, Grandma Irene suggested that Cate hide under the bridge connecting the backyard to the top of the house (if you saw it, you'd understand). Although I'm not sure they were supposed to be there in the first place, it became a constant hiding- and playing-spot.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Cate under the bridge, Jack over the patio, neither where they should be.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Don't be fooled if it looks like Jack is ready for bed. It was 10 PM by the time they even tried to go to bed, and we were sure it would take weeks for them to return to their normal schedule once we went home.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Corbin has been watching the Minnesota Twins, and he's developed his own pitching wind-up.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

I asked the girls if I could take their photos. Before I could finish asking the question, they were sitting together and posing.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

It's too bad we live so far apart. I think Cate and Kendra would be best friends.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

We visited Grandpa Delmar on Thursday afternoon. He was in good spirits and seemed happy to see us, but he was convinced that Jack was a girl and kept telling him so. Jack was really mature and took it in stride.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

We invited ourselves to dinner at Rachel and Kelly's -- we'd never met Naia, who's now fifteen months old! If you're observant, you can spot Rachel instructing Naia where to look for the photo. I couldn't have planned that -- I love it.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Something's wrong. I'm not sure if we have a photo of the four of us that wasn't taken at Christmas.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Four "adults", two kids, one stuffed animal, and one WebKinz (yet one more reason we need another computer at home).

Thursday, June 28, 2007

I'm sure I'll say it again: Naia's a flirt.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Naia poses for the camera at fifteen months. Kelly couldn't do that without crying until he was in high school. Trust me, she's got a lot to overcome.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Why invest in thousands of dollars of water toys when we can go to the neighbors? They were fully stocked with a trampoline-log-roll-water-slide-thingy. Given it was the week before the Fourth of July, the lake was deserted most days.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Cate gently, slowly, steadily, cautiously enters the water.

Friday, June 29, 2007

To call this a slide is false advertising -- he's sitting motionless.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Jack enjoyed driving the pontoon boat on previous trips, but this was the first time he seemed to fully grasp what he was doing. When we told him he was driving well, he modestly replied: "Yeah, better than Grandpa." Without missing a beat, Grandpa informed him it was a long swim home.

Friday, June 29, 2007

We would help Jack find landmarks on the shore so he could keep the boat in one direction. When he got distracted, Lisa asked him if he was "pointing" at the house on the hill (he responded with a prompt "Yep!"). She then had to remind him, "Point the boat, not your finger!"

Friday, June 29, 2007

Cate channels her inner Buster.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Grandma Irene and Buster. I'm sorry to admit that I insist we raise the pontoon canopy on our boat rides. If the kids are like me, they've got two tanning states: pasty white and crispy red. Despite our best efforts with canopy and sunscreen, Cate developed a nice tan by the end of the week.

Friday, June 29, 2007

OK, this is just wrong. Cate shouldn't grow accustomed to this level of service and attention because it shan't continue at home..

Friday, June 29, 2007

This girl knows how to work the paparazzi.

Friday, June 29, 2007

On Wednesday evening, we promised the kids a tube ride the next day, but Thursday (unlike the previous days) was too chilly and we didn't want to swim. Luckily, the kids never brought it up. Jack was anxious to ride on Friday, but he thought it prudent to start at a slower speed.

Friday, June 29, 2007

It wasn't long before he was comfortable on the tube and ready for a little more speed.

Friday, June 29, 2007

As Grandpa Dick opened it up, there were some speeds and turns where we'd get a face full of water.

Friday, June 29, 2007

After this first (long) ride, Cate took a turn before Jack enjoyed another ride. The second ride was a bit rougher because (true to tubing protocol) we challenged Grandpa Dick to throw us. Early in the ride, we bounced hard (and high) off a wave, and I later flipped the tube as we reached our dock. Jack loved it all.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Cate was initially reluctant to try the tube, but she was convinced by Jack's exploits.

Friday, June 29, 2007

We started off slow but gradually built a little speed. We too found the perfect speed to get showered with spray, but it seemed much worse and much longer than what Jack experienced.

Friday, June 29, 2007

After slowing a bit, we recovered and Cate was ready to go again.

Friday, June 29, 2007

In our brief tubing foray, Lisa managed to take 214 photos of the kids and me. If you think I've bored you with a lot of pictures, be thankful I didn't share the other 206.

Friday, June 29, 2007

As a special treat, Grandpa Dick got out his 1989 Corvette so the kids could take a spin. Other years they've ridden in the now defunct toy Jeep, so it seemed like a fair trade.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Jack thoroughly enjoyed his ride, and he was proud to get his photo in the driver's seat.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Jack declared the Corvette "faster than the Porsche." From Jack, this is high praise indeed.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Cate too enjoyed a ride. We hadn't gone two blocks before Cate divulged (against Lisa's express wishes) that Mommy had dropped my camera while I took Jack for his ride.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Just how old is this girl?!?

Friday, June 29, 2007

While the rest of the world waited for an iPhone, we enjoyed the sun and perfect weather at Lake Francis. Who's smarter?

Friday, June 29, 2007

Since they currently have their home on the market, we were aware that this might be our last family vacation there. We had such a great week, Grandpa Dick suggested they might increase their asking price.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Grandma Irene has carefully planned to spoil the children rotten, and she did her utmost this week.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Even after a week away from home, I think the kids would've happily stayed another week to be spoiled some more.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Jack and Cate with their third-favorite Minnesotan.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

On our way to the airport late Saturday morning, we stopped to visit Grandma Ruth. A fierce jigsaw puzzle put-togetherer, she had a 1000-piece puzzle on the table. Cate was immediately intrigued.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Despite being unable to find any matching pieces, Cate tried diligently during our visit.