Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Arwyn Week 55: Wild Week in Wisconsin - 7/7/2014


We had a really fun week at Bear Lake, WI with a great group of our best friends.  There were a whole bunch of kids of all ages for Leia and Arwyn to play with, a whole bunch of parents to help with all the kids, and all you had to do was wake up in the morning, throw on your suit, and run down to the lake and start playing (no packing up a million things for the day, loading the car, and driving, only to have to turn around soon for naps).  It really was the best scenario possible, and such great company to boot.  Arwyn really improved her standing this week, we got really long counts of standing and balancing.  She's added "uh oh" to her vocabulary for when she drops things, and started to really assert herself and ask for things by using her "milk" sign; she seems to use it indiscriminantly for food, milk, and wanting to be held.  She's picked up a new skill of tapping her hand in front of her mouth while making a "ah" sound (the thing we used to do as kids when pretending to be Indians, but I know that's probably not PC anymore, so I'm not sure how else to describe it!)  Arwyn loved all the boat rides, especially because she loved having all the wind blowing in her hair and face.  And in general, she just liked playing with all the new people who gave her attention, although she was pretty Mommy needy a lot of the week.

Leia had both a really fun week, but all that fun and extra privilege caused her to be super bossy and whiney, so Josh and I had a pretty rough time dealing with her.  Luckily we did have extra help from some seasoned veterans, and when she was having fun she was a joy to be around. She had so many people to play with, she loved swimming in the lake, and it was just one fun thing after another from wake up until her temporary later bed time, so she was pretty much in heaven.  Leia learned how to bead bracelets and necklaces using really small beads.  I was really impressed with her concentration, attention to detail, and ability to thread the beads without dropping the whole string!  She had her first week in a lower bunk bed with no railings and didn't fall out a single time.  She had her first sleep in a tent, and saw her first fireworks.  You could tell she was from California where we don't have big finished basements very often because when we were at the Rygg's, she wanted me to come play with her in their awesome basement, but said, "Will you come down to the baseball mitt with me?"  All in all, it was a successful trip, but clearly we need to do a little reset with our disciplinary actions when we get home!

Leia like her "new carseat" that we borrowed, but we thought the head clamp feature was pretty funny!

Emmett was all about love and kisses all week, except when Leia would overwhelm him with a taste of his own medicine!

Such a sweetie pie!

Sisters rocking the upper and lower deck hammocks!

Arwyn was fired up to roll around in this crazy new type of swing!


Learning the love of a nice hammock rest.


Life is so funny for Arwyn these days!


Playtime in the grass, and there sure was a lot of it!

Father-daughter cuddle time for Ryan and Heidi.


Bathing beauties!

Papi got the first practice run for the first annual Bear Lake Log Rolling Competition!

Rygger had the small step technic down pretty well!



Daddy and his girls!

Making a charm bracelet with Brittany made Leia so happy.

Johnny Danger about the go down!

Bye bye Stacia!

John and Eric try out the doubles event.

Leia loves hugs, kisses, and snuggles with her family, but sometimes love hurts!

Aria and Leia painting rocks at the arts and crafts table for the day.

Collect, paint, hide, and find rocks...great entertainment and totally genius!

Bear Lake Pano

The first day she was afraid to get into the water by herself, but by day 2, she was a total pro who would run down and jump right in!

And she's off, no more fear of swimming for this little fish!

Brinan, Cody, and Papi enjoying a little down time.

Time to hunt for rock treasures!

So much fun is exhausting...had to wake this one up from the endless nap today!


Who's your money on in this pirate sword fight?

Leia is a force of nature, but Arwyn is looking pretty fierce and ready to defend herself!

Time for a little volleyball!

Got some new younger players in the mix this year!

Mommies and babies cheering on the sidelines!

Go Arwyn, new record for standing unassisted!

Jory says, "Wow Arwyn, you sure do have a lot of beautiful hair!  I'll take this piece please."

Arwyn's famous pillow floppies also work on beach chairs!

"Well well well, what is this great concoction that Mom left for me?"

"Quick, no one's look, chug!"

"Oh yeah, this is the good stuff!"

Hi there happy girl!

Is that not the sweetest face ever?

Cousin love.

Kissing cousins!  Emmett you naughty boy!


As she goes to step off the edge of an already precarious position on the armrest, she seems to have a little dare devil twinkle in those eyes!


Out for a little party barge tour of Bear Lake with these two cuties!

Cheers to Bear Lake 2016!

The Lange Family.

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!

Captains Eric and Aria at the helm!


"Aw yeah, check me out!"

She's got the smile of a superstar!


Finally these two alphas found something fun they could do together...hunting for mermaids!



There's just something magical about your first (in memory) boat ride!

The mermaids under the water and the wind in her face...Arwyn's found her happy place!

So fun to run across a big open lawn!

Per usual, Leia has invented a fabulous new game...some sort of cross between corn hole and volleyball.

Successful first ever nap in a tent for Leia!

85 degrees and a stuffy tent under a down sleeping bag after a big day of fun...can you say conked out sleep coma?

A little groggy and confused at first, but otherwise happy as a clam!

Happy 4th of July from these festive cuties!

Leia's first time beading...total pro!

Total concentration!

Leia already loved Brinny and Addy, but today she bonded with Cody, the bead master...talk about Love!

She's normally so spastic and impatient, I never would have imagined that she would have so much patience for such microscopic precision!  Go Leia, so advanced as usual!

Tried for a kids photo, but all we got were tears from pretty much everyone!

Hooray for the Mamas and the Kiddos!

Transue 4th of July spirit!

"Argh, walk the plank you scallywag!"

Hey there bug eyes!

Leia and the big kids swimming in the deep part of the lake...no fear!

Arwyn didn't want to be left out of all that swimming fun!


Getting a little far from the boat and the group, but it was no problem for our little fish.

There's that happy tongue...I guess she loves swimming!

Daddy's little girl...snuggling up to get warm!

Josh, Keith, and Ryan helping to take care of dinner prep tonight.


Arwyn's signature sunglass pose...mid-grab, ready to pull them off!

Soaking up some warm sun with this little cutie.


Look out, Aria's got the tractor keys...probably better than the car keys though!

Huntsinger Farmer in training!

Love it when you tell kids to smile vs. when they just smile naturally.

Such a little cutie.

"Hello to this great day!"

Toe check, are they dry yet?

Pretty piggy toes!


Snuggling up with her Auntie Stacia.

Ok, no more hugs, but Emmett sure has a cute smile!

Standing solo WHILE flinging this charm necklace in a circle...now that's good balance!

Handsome little dude with a great smile, that's my nephew!

Josh's famous cast-iron chicken and cannelloni beans dinner...yum!


Leia's first sparkler...talk about exciting!

Can you tell we aren't in dry California anymore?

Great little 4th of July dance show courtesy of Leia!

Peek-a-boo, I see you!


I just love the hugs and kisses from this little sweetheart!

Evan and Josh, preparing for Ninja training!

Ninja must learn blindfolded rolling.

Leia was so psyched to be included in the very special Ninja training session with all the big kids!


Blindfolded Ninja hide and seek, using only sound to find each other.

"Uh, what are all those weirdos doing??"

Ninja master and his students.

Ninja team building...walking with the legs tied together.

What a great little team!

Leia's first time tubing.  I thought she might be a little nervous, but we quickly graduated to "Chicken Fart Turns" and she was all smiles!

Always so laid back and relaxed!

Thought we escaped the week without any Swimmer's Itch, but Leia did finally pick up a little case of it on this final swim.  Luckily it never really bothered her like it did some of the others.

Back on Rygg Rd., relaxing and recuperating after a big week at the lake.

Arwyn loved this shiny new bike!

So relaxed and peaceful when she's asleep in my arms!

Eric took Arwyn and I for a ride in the Ranger to check out the proposed site for a new ski hill called KT-10!

She was a little pissed about the carseat thing at first, but once she realized we were on an off-road adventure, it was all smiles!

Captain Rygg at the helm again.

Such a fun space with so many toys in the Rygg's new "baseball mitt."

Pushing the jeep in her high heeled "glass slippers"...can you just picture this tough broad/fashionista in a few years?  Yep, we are in trouble!


So proud of herself for getting her first ticket...I think it was an illegal left turn!

Actually, she insisted on getting 2 tickets, probably illegal parking for the second.

Sorry, I just couldn't get enough of this ridiculous scene with the suped up jeep, high heels, and ticket...where does she come up with this stuff??  Such an actress!

Awesome new play structure at Casa Rygg!

Had to take off her dress because it was in the way of her climbing...all the way up with no help!  Guess we'll have to make an angled wall at our house until she gets more comfortable with climbing.

Bye bye Ryggs, thank you so much for an amazing week!

On to Minnesota to finish up the trip with a visit to Jen, Benson, and Soren.

Not sure what Arwyn did so wrong, but Leia plopped her outside and locked the door, determining that Arwyn needed a "time out."

"Ha ha, you're funny Sister, but let me back in now please!"

Taking advantage of her new crib-less and monitor-less freedom...turned on the lights, dug through the entire suitcase, changed her clothes (looks like multiple times), and took off her diaper.  And poor Arwyn was trying to sleep through all this!



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