Becker Family Vacation 2010

So, I know you are thinking "Didn't they just get back from vacation?" And you are correct, we did! But we were blessed this summer to be able to take two vacations, one with each side of the family! This time it was with my side of the family and even though we missed having Marc & Jen, Nykki and Helen along, the rest of us had a wonderful time! This time we stayed in good ole MN and headed north to Deerwood to a BEAUTIFUL cabin we rented from a friend of my mom's. It was spacious and newly remodeled and plenty of room for our ever expanding family:-) We spent the week in usual vacation fashion: relaxing, chatting, napping and playing games. The weather was Uh-mazing and made for two perfect days to be out on the water on the pontoon. We had a few memorable moments including the afternoon we decided to try and dock the pontoon at the swimming beach....who knew that wasn't allowed?? So yes, it was "The Clampetts go Boating" for a few minutes but we managed to get docked in a more appropriate spot and had our picnic lunch:-) Having 3 little boys under the age of 2-1/2 makes for non-stop activity but also so much fun and laughter! We all enjoyed watching them play together and explore the cabin and yard...they especially enjoyed the Pine Cone Hunt with Nana! It kept them busy for the better part of the afternoon so their mommies could enjoy a rousing game of Phase 10...thank you Nana!!! Speaking of Nana, she has become quite the swimmer these days (she swims at least 5 mornings a week at the health club!) and is considering doing a triathalon (this is one FIT Nana!) so she wanted to test out swimming in the lake. She suited up and we drove next to her in the pontoon and she did excellent! Her training time was cut short though because the rest of us were worried about the other boat traffic on the lake getting a bit too close for comfort! I have to share a great quote from Miles who, as always, was FULL of funny things to say. One morning I made his breakfast and when I set it down in front of him he said "Thank you Bethy, this looks GREAT!" What a hunny:-) Josiah's big accomplishment this week has been the use of a spoon or fork when he eats. Nana and Robin worked hard with him one morning to "scoop" his cheerios and lo and behold, he does it! And he is SO proud, with every bite he says "Coop" and smiles:-) I know this is a normal milestone but we are pretty proud of him:-) As usual, there are WAY too many pictures to post them all but I made a slide show of some good ones. Robin alone took just over 500 pictures! I didn't even get to look at my mom's before making the slide show so there may be an amended version at some point but for all of you who just can't wait, here you go:-)

Friedt Family Vacation 2010

We just returned from an amazing 5 days up north with Seth's side of the family and we had a fantastic time! A special THANK YOU to Jay and Renee for once again opening their lake home to us, it is a beautiful spot and we are so fortunate to get to go there! We headed up on Saturday morning, Josiah slept the first hour or so and then was awake the rest of the way. He was a great rider, he was happy most of the way until we got about 2-1/2 hours into the 3 hour trip and then he started to voice his displeasure with being strapped into his car seat for such a long time. Never fear, mommy packed crackers in the new snack cup and voila, happy again! We spent the next 5 days relaxing, eating, riding on the pontoon, eating, swimming at the sandbar, eating, playing games, eating, sitting by the campfire and oh, did I mention eating? As usual, we did not go hungry:-) Cindy, Gary, Noah, Vanessa, Erik, Addison and Ashley all came up Saturday as well. Ashley had to leave Monday to go back to work but we were glad she could join us for the time she did! Josh surprised everyone by sneaking in at 1:00AM Monday morning with the help of Seth and I, I love pulling off surprises! The look on Cindy's face when she got up Monday morning and saw Josh was priceless! Lucky for us, Grandma and Grandpa Day were also able to join us this year and arrived Monday afternoon to join in the festivities. We celebrated Seth's 31st birthday on Tuesday. He had a full day with some time on the water, a round of golf with Josh, a few beers (and one shot at the local tavern, the Inn Between) and Grandma Pat's famous coconut cake accompanied by Cindy's yummy homemade ice cream! I think I speak for him when I say it was a great birthday! Unfortunately all good things must come to an end so we reluctantly packed up on Wednesday afternoon to head home. Once again Josiah was a great traveler, sleeping for over 2 hours of the trip, a quick stop for some grub and back in the car for another hour with no crying this time! We all had a wonderful time and got a lot of rest and relaxation in, thank you to Grammy Cindy and Papa Gary for organizing the trip!! We took too many pictures to post them individually so I put together a slide show...enjoy!