No..me ( Laurel )do it.

We have entered a new phase of independence. Laurel wants to do it all....putting on her shoes, cleaning and dusting, pouring her own milk. climbing into her highchair, buckling her own seat belt and just today she put on her own skirt. You name it she is trying to do it. I am amazed by how determined she is to complete any task. Case in point last week I thought I would get out some beads from my days as a Kindergarten teacher. I thought she would think they were pretty and sparkly, but I didn't think she would create her own bracelet. Big surprise for me. She started beading right on to the pipe cleaner. I could see her little hands and eyes working so hard to thread the bead onto the pipe cleaner. I was so impressed with her fine motor skills. Everyday is a new amazing adventure.

Escanaba, MI trip to Grandma and Grandpa's

Another year in the UP of Michigan. Laurel had soo much fun playing with her cousins and of course playing with "Gama and Genka" translated to Grandma and Grandpa. We had a wonderful time playing in the backyard an a few trips to the beach. Laurel played in the sand and helped the big kids build sand castles. The fireworks were a hit. Laurel loved the boom and the bright colors in the sky. Every time they let the fireworks off Laurel would say "wow" and "ooh" "blue" as every color in the sky was blue. No fear for this girl she loved the fireworks and got to stay up until 11:30 with the big kids. We had a lot of fun on the 4th of July.
Escanaba is a wonderful place for our families to get together every year.

Midwest Vacation. Madison and Escanaba, MI.

Telluride Bluegrass Festivel

The Peterson/Dondlinger clan headed to Telluride to meet up with lots of old friends and to enjoy some good old bluegrass. Laurel was a dancing fool and she loved all of the festivities. It was great to get together with our friends from the rez and some of our old friends who have left the rez. What a beautiful venue..great friends, good music and yummy beer.

More hiking on the Rez

Don't need to explain..the land is beautiful and we have had 3 years of wonderful exploration.

Playing around on the playground..on the Rez

Luckily we have two playgrounds which Laurel and I visit almost daily. Laurel and I spent lots of time on these playgrounds so it was really nice to have Chris spend some time playing at the playground too.

Our sporty little girl.

Here is Laurel doing various sporting activities. Chris got a long board (skateboard) last week, who even knew he liked to skateboard?? Anyway, I think Laurel liked it more than her dad. She hopped right on and started pushing it with her feet. She cruised all around the neighborhood.
Then the following weekend Laurel and I went with Chris to his bike race "12 hours of Mesa Verde". It was a beautiful day and Laurel and I cheered on Chris, but more importantly Laurel had her first bike race. She can barely reach the petals, but she was determined to ride her bike and do the kids bike race. We did it!!! Chris pushed her across the finish line and she received her first medal. She was so proud; she wore the medal for most of the day!!! You can see she is proudly showing it off.