Kayaking on the St. Croix

Last month, Jeremiah and I went on a kayaking trip with some of the men from our church. It was a 30 mile trip downriver and we divided it into two days. We started late Friday afternoon and pulled into a campsite by evening to spend the night. One thing of value that we learned at this campsite is to always bring bugspray! Because there was a burning ban we could not start a fire, which will typically help keep the mosquitos away. Even though we did bring bugspray (which did help), we were still swatting flies, mosquitos, and gnats while we set up and were eating. The gnats were especially bad in the morning. When you would hold your food up for a bite, you'd receive more then just the anticipated bite; with it would come a number of the pesky things! Jeremiah, unfortunately, seemed to be a favorite target; during his breakfast he had a cloud of them around his head. : ) I saw him walking around multiple places, trying to find relief. He came by me and sat down, smacking his face and rubbing his hair. I then found myself doing the same thing even more than before! They really were following him.

But the trip was definitely worth this and has left us with many fun talks and memories. It was such a wonderful experience to spend time outdoors and see the wildlife. We're both looking forward to doing it again.

Special thanks to Mr. Kelley, Mr. Richter, and Mr. Phillips for making this this trip possible.

Mr.Kelly in his kayak.

Jeremiah and his kayak, with "supplies" on the back.

Isaac fishing at the camp.

Jeremiah, Mr. Phillips, Isaac, Bob, Mr. Kelley, Mr. Richter.

Southern friends

Recently, some good friends from Missouri were traveling through Wisconsin and Minnesota.  They stopped for a visit, came Saturday night, and left Monday morning.  Some of the things we did included games such as capture the flag, freeze tag, catch phrase, sardines, ultimate frisbee, and lots of others in the pool.  We had a wonderful time together as families.  Here are some of the pictures that we got during their visit:

 The little boys did some chalk drawings as a welcome to the Nobles.

We did some backyard tent "camping" Saturday night.

 

Sunday, after church, we went swimming.

 We had "floaty" wars...

 ... and noodle fights.

After we went swimming, we had a big dinner. 

Later, we walked down to the park and played ultimate frisbee. 

We did a little climbing before the game. 

That night, we had a big Catch Phrase game. 

Before they left, Jeremiah gave Austin a book called

Thoughts for Young Men by J.C. Ryle, which we highly recommend.

Group departure shot.

Left to Right:

Brooke, Hannah, Elijah, Wesley, Austin,

Jeremiah, Jonathan, Christian, Jonathan

Twins Baseball

Recently, Papa and I (Elijah) had the opportunity to attend a Twins baseball game.  They played the Detroit Tigers.  We were given two tickets by some friends.  We were seated on the second deck, above the Twins' dugout, which is directly behind first base.  This was our first time in Target Field, the Twins' new stadium.  It is an extremely nice stadium and I was able to get a lot of pictures (thanks to Hannah letting me use her camera).  Papa and I enjoyed some Father/Son time together and had a great time.  Here are some photos of our time together at the game...

Outside the stadium:

Inside the stadium:

A view down the hallway.

A view of the Twin Cities from inside Target Field.

Practice before the game.

TC, the Twins' mascot.  Personally, I think that

he is one of the best mascots in baseball.

Bert is one of the former Twins' players, now in the hall of fame.

A view of the field.

Joe Mauer, the Twins' catcher at bat.

It is incredible how these guys can pitch!

A view from up above on our way out.



Week in Iowa

This past week, all five of us spent some time with our family in Iowa.  Our uncle lives out in the country and has a pond.  We camped out in his backyard for three nights.  We also went fishing, canoeing, went to an archery range, climbed trees, learned new skills and much more.  It is one of the most memorable times that we have had in Iowa.  I thank God for the priviledge of enjoying His creation.

We had a wonderful view of the corn from up in the tree.

This was our first experience in canoeing.  We had a blast!

Camping by the pond.

God blessed us with some amazing sunrises and sunsets.

Part of the morning's catch (we also caught a Walleye).

Instruction/cautions on the dangers of catfish.

L-R

Uncle Spencer, Jeremiah, Elijah, Grandpa, Uncle Nick

Samo's big buddy.

After we filleted them, we had a fish fry.

First we dip them in the batter, then the eggs.  Next they were tossed in potato buds.  Then they went into the fryer. 

It made for a great meal!

Jeremiah's first crappie.

Christian getting pulled in by his first crappie.  (just kidding)

Jeremiah and I had a "blast" lighting off fireworks on Sunday night.

Christian "riding" his dream.

A salamandaer!

Uncle Spencer's domestic geese, Gus and Sarah 

 (they have a nest in the back of the pond).

Too busy chowin' to keep a good look-out (fortunately I wasn't a cat!)

Rain storms on the way home.