Baseball, Beer, Bumps and Better Weather

Well the sickness never quite left our house...although  no one else has struggled with stomach flu, we have instead passed around quite a cold.   However, the weather is getting better and with that...all kinds of spring fun has begun.  The snow in our yard is still quite deep in places, but there is now a melted path all the way to the lake. We enjoy going down to watch the new resident swans and Canadian Geese.  

The start of baseball season got Justin in the mood to visit Target Field and catch a game. He and Maarit played hooky from school last Thursday and went to the noon game.  The Twins lost, but Maarit had such a great time.  She got a baseball glove a few days before and has been practicing her throwing and catching, she is getting pretty good!

Gus insists on getting into a much trouble as possible. Here are a few shots we took of him after he got ahold of Daddy's beer, drank a huge swig and then decided it was nasty! He promptly smacked it all over the floor and cried because he didn't like it!

At the end of March our beloved Karhu was off her leash and decided to chase a car on our busy road. She did not fair well, and spent a night in the animal hospital to make sure there was no internal bleeding. She hobbled around on three legs for a week while her dislocated hip healed up. She has a lot of cuts and scrapes (some very deep) all over her back legs, but she is healing well.  She is pretty much back to normal now, although a bit sheepish.    We were very luck she survived and that a kind County Sheriff stopped to care for her on the side of the road while we got the kids in the van and ready to head off to the pet hospital.

With the arrival of more spring-like weather we have gotten out to some of our favorite spots in the area.  We visited Fisherman's Point the other weekend to enjoy a walk and a picnic.  Gus was so excited to get out and walk all on his own.

This bucket of plant soil was in our (no longer) screened in porch.  When Justin was out measuring for windows, Gus discovered it and climbed right in!  Unfortunately, after we bought the windows, Justin and Papa discovered that the whole porch was rot and it had to be torn down.  Now we have a nice deck!  And the local Menards was nice enough to take back the windows.

Gus's new thing is to be big like his sister. He now gets a treat and climbs up on the couch like she does when she is having her after school snack. It is so funny to see him try to be so much like her.

The river connecting our lake to the chain of lakes is pretty high and starting to crack up all the ice on our little spot on the lake.  Maarit loves to hack at the ice and slush.

Gus loves to hug his big sister.  The two of them are starting to play together really well and he just adores any time that he gets to spend with her.  He now calls her Maar Maar and when she is not around, he calls for her..."Maar Maar....!"

Gus's new favorite word, besides "Maar" is "Uh Oh!" Here he is with his "Uh Oh!" face.

And a video of the two of them playing where something has become an uh oh. This was the day that Maarit was home sick with strep.  Poor girl, she was feeling so icky, but still wanting to play with her brother.

Although Gus threw up the other day, we think we are all pretty healthy now.  Justin and Maarit have a fun spring break coming up. I will be at my prison school...my students don't have a spring break of course.  It will be a long week for me.  I am going to be wishing I was home with my family!