Katharine Lange: L&A Years 4&2 Week 4: Part 1: Wisconsin Adventures

Leia has started to be really competitive, which is not really surprising since she is a Transue. She turns every activity into a competition and yells out, "I win, you lose!" when she's done. And just like her father, she "always" wins. I have tried to explain to her that it doesn't have to be so black and white, and the other person doesn't have to "lose." A close second place is ok too! Leia did pretty well on the airplane on our trip to Wisconsin/Minnesota. She helped roll the small suitcase, which was a big help, and was pretty well behaved the whole time on the plane. She had an absolute blast playing with Aria all week. They played a ton of dress up, and kept lending each other's clothes back and forth. She did lots of swimming and swinging, loved going tubing behind the boat. Unfortunately she also did lots of whining to get what she wanted because she figured out right away that there were lots of new treats around that she didn't usually have access to, like special drinks. She was really bossy and acting like she was in charge, even with us, but luckily she and Aria seemed to be able to work it out and co-exist with their mutual bossiness. When we got to Jen and Benson's house in MN, she flourished in the role of "big sister," and really took Arwyn and Soren under her wing. She really surprised us one day when she expressed a fear we had never seen before. We were at this really cool indoor playground that had fun obstacle courses and cool tunnels to climb up and curvy slides to slide down. We were trying to get to to climb up the to the high slide (which was all enclosed, so no chance of falling), and she kept refusing and was getting a bit upset about the whole thing: "I don't like this Daddy, I'm really afraid of heights!" Don't know where that came from since she's never once expressed fear on any chairlifts! Neither Leia nor Arwyn ate very good meals all week because of all the excitement of being around so many fun people.

Arwyn, our mellow little Arwyn, was not so mellow on our plane ride! She was super excited for our trip, happy to be cruising the airport with her sister, and totally amped to get to ride an airplane, so I thought things were looking good for the day. Oh no. She threw a full on tantrum when we were waiting to board our first flight because she was so excited to get on the airplane that she just couldn't wait for her turn. Even though we had early family boarding, we still had to wait for all the A Group to board, and she was screaming "My turn, my turn!" the entire time, despite me telling her we had to wait for our turn. She was screaming for the last 20 minutes of a couple of our flights because the evil flight attendants said that she had to be strapped into her own seat with her seatbelt on tight. She was not interested in doing that. I kept trying to tell them that she was lap child age and needed to be in my lap, but they insisted that if we bought the seat, the child had to sit in it, no matter what age. I finally figured out the trick to have Arwyn breast feed during take-off and landing, and no one messed with us while we were doing that! Plus it helped Arwyn anyway because she was so exhausted and about to melt down by that time. Arwyn loved playing with baby Sabrina, and she loved swinging on the spider web swing more than anything else! She also had a blast playing in the nice warm water. When we got to Minnesota, she really hit it off with her Cousin Soren, to the point that every time she started having a tantrum, she would call out that she wanted Soren to come to her to make her feel better. Arwyn, Leia, and I all shared a room all week, and it definitely took a toll on Arwyn's sleep time. Normally she snoozes in bed a little later in the mornings, but as soon as Leia woke up, Arwyn would as well, both in the morning and at nap time. So since she was a bit sleep deprived, she was also quite cranky a lot of the time. And when Arwyn gets cranky, she gets mean. If she's tired and you do something she doesn't like, she gets this raging look in her eyes and then goes into fight mode. She grabs our jugulars with her long sharp nails, scratches at our faces, and tries to bite and pull Leia's hair. She's totally ruthless, and it's so hard to calm her down. I don't know how we are ever going to kick this nasty little habit! On a lighter note, Arwyn loves to wear "my san-al shoes" (aka sandal shoes, aka flip flops), and it's so cute the way she says it. And she's still loving to tell us all to watch what she's doing, "Mommy, Daddy, watch dis!"

Early morning arrival at Reno Airport with our little travelers.

Such good little helpers.

So exciting to wear back packs and roam the big airport!

Arwyn had a hard time choosing between sitting with Mommy or sitting by the window. Our first flight was empty, so she just kept going back and forth.

Leia claimed the window on every flight, much to Arwyn's distress.

Not too sure about this headphone thing.

Leia's turning into a much better traveler, thanks of course to the iPad (movies and some books too).

The airplane hadn't gotten old yet.

Arwyn took a turn on everyone's lap.

No one slept on any of the flights, so of course they crashed in the car!

Conked out!

It's fun to have little friends!

Kids' table!

Evan was definitely kicking some foozeball butt!

Arwyn was definitely intrigued by this cool game.

Arwyn was loving the lounger swing!

So nice to have a completely deserted street to ride on!

Nice wheels Arwyn!

Arwyn wanted "the baby" to sit in her lap, but they almost look the same size!

Made sure to get plenty of snuggle time with this little cutie because I felt a little deprived when I saw her last time.

Wahoo, we made it to Bear Lake! Time for a little water skiing!!

The Bow Princesses!

Fun tubing session with Leia.

There was only one pair of high heeled glass slippers, so the girls worked it all out on their own and decided to each wear one!

Fun new swing set out on the lawn. The spider web was a big hit!

I love Arwyn snuggles!

Everyone fits on one swing!

Our little circus performer!

The rings were a fun option too.

I'm always so impressed with Arwyn's ability to support her own weight while hanging!

Password = Leia

Giving Dad a Run for His Money from Katharine Transue on Vimeo.

When you have a few acres of gorgeous green grass, you kinda just need to run around on it!

Nice spot for cocktail hour.

Doing their make-up before they head out! (How does she even know how to do this...it's not like she see's it getting done at our house!)

It's a scary future with these two heading out behind the wheel!

Lovely sunset dinner cruise with the whole gang!

Arwyn was on the lookout for lake monsters!

Up up in the sky, Arwyn can fly!

Beautiful sunset.

Leia catching up on life with our friend Cody...we missed her beautiful smile!

Arwyn likes the sunset cruise!

Arwyn said, "Fire hot my face!"

Out for a little paddle boat with my girls.

The glorious Camp Rygg as seen from Bear Lake.

So many fun things to do around here!

Last year we tried out the sport of log rolling, and decided it left a bit to be desired. This year it was all about "King of the Lily Pad," and it was definitely a big hit for all ages!

You can stand, jump, wrestle, try not to get knocked off, or just relax in the sun...so many great uses for this thing!

Fun jumping around with Arwyn, testing her balance and agility!

Up up she goes!

Leia's so tall it's a little bit harder to get the right loft.

I love how comfortable both girls are in the water!

A little dolphin!

Arwyn, we know you're excited, but no running on the dock!

Happy Birthday to Evan! Having a bit of trouble with the candles and the wind.

"I want keck!"

That's some nuclear blue frosting there!

A girl after my own heart...eating around the chocolate. I donated my piece to the cause so she could have extra vanilla.

Arwyn pretty much spent 24/7 on that spiderweb swing.

Luckily she had lots of willing pushers.

Basking in the sun.

There was no mercy to be found with this King of the Lily Pad, but definitely lots of laughs.

It really was a great way to bring the whole group together.

Pretty indestructible too!

Arwyn was flirting with the Paparazzi!

Check out that form, and think she could be a pro quarterback!

Big smiles.

Running in for the touchdown.

Such a little cutie!

Wielding some sort of weapon with a devilish grin!

Water balloon fight! Get Eric!

No mercy from this little guy, he kept going for the close range slams!

Heading back to reload.

Leia was such a good big sister, always made sure to get a balloon for Arwyn too...those balloons disappear quickly when big kids are around!

Uh oh, the camera lady is the next target!

Just when we though it was all gone, here comes Eric with an extra hidden stash of water balloons!

Hey, not fair to through it at the guy who just supplied you!

Arwyn is usually good at throwing, but all her balloons pretty much went straight down.

Hunting for more balloons and more victims.

Love that Leia, always helping to make sure Arwyn doesn't get left out.

My lovely Leia at age 4.

Keith helping her get ready for her first ever fishing experience.

Line's been cast...

...instantly the fish are biting!

And she's got one!

Wohoo, Leia's first catch!

Pretty much the perfect size fish for the first catch of a 4 year old.

Off to show Dad!

And she's back for more. Caught a second fish as well.

Cute little guy. And yes, we did throw him back.

Naked fishing?

Cody and the littles.

Sabrina was so chill, so fun and easy to have around.

Arwyn is already learning all the tricks and variations to the classic swing.

Arwyn was so happy to have someone younger than her to help care for.

So strong!

Thanks Keith and Andy for the most delicious fresh fish fry!

Mmmm, deep fried pickles wrapped with ham!

The mosquitos were relentless, but Keith was too tough to worry about those little guys!

Josh's campfire art.

The Bow Princesses are back in action!

The view from the tube when things started getting wild!

So awesome for me to sit next to Leia and watch her experience all the fun!

Grinning from ear to ear...I think she was having a good time!

Thanks Eric for the wild ride!

Password = Leia

Leia's Wild Tube Ride from Katharine Transue on Vimeo.

The smiles couldn't get much bigger when getting pulled behind a boat at high speeds!

Someone's a little tired. Plus it does get a little boring when you just have to watch everyone else get to play.

Brinnan, Aria, and Leia laughing it up.

And she's out. And I'm stuck.

Sleeping cutie. Notice the drool sliding down the life preserver/headrest.

Brinny on the Zup Board.

Evan showing us his awesome moves on the Zup Board.

Somebody's hiding from me...

Peek-a-boo!

"Daddy back, Daddy back!" says Arwyn.

Human pyramid!

Upside down Arwyn.

Daddy play time is the best.

Classic Arwyn pose when she's discussing something serious in life.

Is this an Evan banana?

Do you see the lake monster down there girls?

Getting silly.

Fun last day at the lake with no nap...or should I say delayed nap once we finally got in the car!

Tired turtles.

It's hard work having so much fun!

Checking out the awesome new workout/ballet room!

Big tractors at work picking all that horseradish at Huntsinger Farms!

Checking out Eric's awesome new mustard kitchen!

Arwyn was a little intimidated by the size of these huge tractors. Actually took a little convincing to get her up in one.

Thick as thieves these two were.

It was a little scary, but Arwyn made it to the top!

Password = Arwyn

Arwyn Conquers The Rock Wall! from Katharine Transue on Vimeo.

Arwyn was clearly scared to be climbing up so high on that rock wall (not to mention in pain with her bare feet!), but she overcame her fears, conquered the obstacles, and made it to the top all by herself!