Iowa City

On our last night in Iowa, Chiara, Jim, and I took the babies downtown to get some ice cream and play on the jungle gym. It was a great time. It was a lot of fun to spend time with Chiara, James, and Norah, and to watch Ethan and Norah "play" together!

Naked Babies!

After the State Fair, we decided to let Norah and Ethan play in the pool naked. The funniest thing happened when Ethan got out of the pool, walked over to Norah's red tricycle, put his hand on the handlebar, and peed on the front tire- like a dog marking his territory! It was hillarious! Norah and Ethan then carried buckets of water over to the tricycle to rinse off Ethan's pee!

Iowa State Fair Con't . . .

A few more pics from the fair. It was very crowded, but a very good time. We indulged on state fair foods such as pulled pork sandwiches, deep fried Twinkies on a stick, fresh lemonade, fried cheese curds, Italian sausage sandwiches, etc. etc. It was all very delicious! Ethan and Norah were so exhausted by the afternoon that they fell asleep in their strollers!

Iowa State Fair Time!

Jim, Ethan, and I headed to Iowa mid August for the State Fair. It was a lot of fun and Ethan had a great time seeing the different animals and attractions. The pig in the upper left corner was the largest pig at the fair weighing in at over 1,000 pounds!

Exploring

It was fun to see Ethan experience something new and different, so I'm glad we were able to take him on this camping trip.

By the time Saturday came around we sure were ready to get back home though! Zero seemed pretty happy to be home too- we've determined he's an inside dog!

Mullet Lake

What an unfortunate name for such a pretty lake! Aloha St. Park was on Mullet Lake- which is acuallty a pretty big inland lake. We had one nice day of sun so we went down to the lake to let Ethan play in the water and sand. He had no fear of the water and would walk right out into it. Here are a few pics of the Bradford Men!

Relaxing by the fire

A few pics of Ethan enjoying his first camp fire. Let me tell you, bringing an 18 month old camping where there are fire pits is a bit nerve racking! Ethan did pretty good though- anytime he came anywhere near the fire pit, we would all react and say "hot" as we moved him away. Soon he would say "hot" when he looked over at the fire pit!

Reality Check!

This is acutally where we spent our time camping . . . it wasn't so bad- the tent stayed dry even when it rained! Ethan did suprisingly well sleeping in a tent for his first time- the part that wasn't so fun was when he would wake up in the morning and realize we were right next to him- he would repeat "mamma" or "dada" over and over until I would get up, oh well!

Mackinac City

This is the lovely home we rented near the campground . . . Just Kidding! We were driving through Mackinac City and Sue wanted to drive by this house becuase it has been under construction for the past four years! Isn't it crazy big? We are pretty sure it is a single family home- there was a two stall garage and a gorgeous front door- it was ridiculous!

First Camping Trip

Jim, Ethan, Zero, and I joined Grandma and Grandpa Bradford at Aloha State Park (northern MI, not Hawaii- unfortunately!) for Ethan's first camping trip. The state park is about 30 minutes from the Mackinac Bridge. Here are a few picks taken in Mackinac City at a little park near the bridge. Ethan is enjoying his new yellow shovel- which I purchased for him b/c he was trying to take similar toys from other campground kids!





Ethan and Grandma Sue enjoying the sights.