Kids Kids Kids

Here are some pictures of the kids. We had a truck load of top soil dumped in our yard. Dave rented a uniloader to move it and the kids had a blast!

Here are the boys with their buddie standing on top of the dirt pile.

Isaac after a long day of climbing in the dirt. Both boys had to be hosed down.... they had dirt everywhere!

We couldn't keep Isaac out of the tractor. He is still asking where it is. He was really trying to figure out how to drive it.
Carson had a blast riding "driving" with Dad!
We had a bar-b-que this weekend with friends. Here are Carson with another buddie relaxing by the bon fire. They were waiting to roast some marshmallows for s'mores.



A funny Isaac picture from today.

Iowa Flooding

The boys and I went back to Iowa at the exact time the Mississippi was flooding the area. It was wild to be part of the flood of 2008. I lived in Burlington during 1993 flood, so to see it twice was pretty amazing. The waters of 2008 were higher and destroyed more homes. In fact, two towns right across the river from my hometown was swallowed by the Mississippi when a levy broke. US Hwy 34 was closed because in parts it had 10 feet of water on it.

Here are some pictures that I took while home.

Burlington's residential area is mostly built up away from the flood plain. Our downtown, however, is not. Here is a picture of our Amtrak Station.

A street sign...
This is Isaac standing in the Big Muddy's restaurant parking lot. Behind him you can see the Port of Burlington.
This is another view of downtown, Main Street.
Finally, my parents were watching the news one night and a picture of this house was displayed to show the devastation that is being caused by the flood waters. It just so happened that this is my brother, Adam's in-law's home. There house is a two story house. You can see the white roof of their garage, and only the top part of their pole barn. They are not planning to return due to the damage. They did have enough time to move all of their belongings out prior to the flood.

Peru

Dave and I went to Peru to hike the historic Inca Trail 26 miles to Machu Picchu. We had a great time, went with 3 other couples (and no kids!) Here are four pictures from our trip. We took hundreds...

This was one of our campsites. It was breathtaking. We (8 of us) had 2 guides and a support crew who cooked and portered our tents. It was luxury camping with great food. You can see our kitchen tent in the background.

A beautiful vista along the path...

Dave and I near the Sun Gate looking at Machu Picchu. We started hiking at 3am in the dark to make it to this point before the sunrise hit the city. We made it!

Dave and I climbed Waynu Picchu the next day. This is a shot of us on the top looking down on the other side of the city.
There are so many more great pictures.... we had a blast!

Biker Boys

While Dave was working with the tractor, I took the boys up to Whitefish to ride their bikes at the park. We live on gravel, so riding on a paved sidewalk is a treat!


And of course, a video showcasing my fearless 2 year old!

Excavation Decoration

Here are some pictures from Dave's latest landscaping creation. He shopped for months to pick out the right rocks for our rock stairs that lead down to the fire pit. He rented an excavator and went to work! They look awesome!

A picture of the mud slide that we used to use to get to the fire pit...



Dave is digging the area out to make room for the stairs... notice the boys are right there!
This was the first rock which probably weighed in at 1000 pounds.



Here is Saturday morning, the boys and I were still snoozing, but Dave was at it.

The finished product and the man who did it himself with an ice cold refreshment!

A video of work in progress and his cheering section. I mean, dirt, a tractor and your dad driving it... it was hard to keep them away!