Introduction to James, Elias, and Cora

We have traveled to Northern Minnesota again this summer to visit family and attend the Polk County Fair in Fertile, MN.  Tobias wasn't able to attend due to work commitments, but the boys and I had a blast. James is now tall enough for all of the rides at the fair!  He was ready for the scary rides, but I wasn't!  He was able to do some of the big kid rides this year though - and loved them! James loved the roller coaster! James and two of his cousins on the slide! Part of the fun is the food.  We enjoyed a treat every night and James' favorite was the ice cream! Motorcycles are always fun! Eli even attended the fair for a couple of hours.  Too much excitement for him this year, but we're pretty certain he'll have a blast next year! Eli's favorite part of our trip was getting hugs from family! James and Grandpa Mel enjoying a walk on the Walters Family Farm! Goodies from our garden.  James and Tobias are quite the gard...

We celebrated Independence Day by going to a local historical landmark, Sotterly Plantation.  It was unbelievably hot, thankfully they had a kid zone where we all made patriotic fans.  The scenery was beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves very much. I think Eli really enjoyed his first 4th of July! It's hard to tell in this picture, but James is showing off his marching skills in his special 4th of July shirt. Our handsome boys together - notice they're both sitting independently! Eli is still working hard to figure out criss cross applesauce. Six months and sitting up, right on track! Doesn't look too comfortable for either of them, but still a cute picture. The look on James' face is priceless.  You can almost see the gears turning... "How does this work?" James was pretty apprehensive of the sparklers, even with Tobias right there.  Eli has started eating some solids, Bandit fondly remembers this phase!  Before now Band...