Driving Range - It's Cold

Before one of Steve's golf tournaments, he decided to get some practice in. Naturally, Mallory jumped at the chance to hit some balls.

Only in Minnesota can you be at a golf course in July in a stocking cap. Why do we live here again?

Not sure exactly what aspect of the game Papa Jim is teaching Mallory, but she did enjoy playing with the bucket of balls.

Jamie is going back to the basics, showing Mallory the proper golf grip. Or maybe it is the other way around.

Sold Sign

Before we moved into the new house, the sellers invited us over to take a look at some furniture they were getting rid of since they were downsizing. And since we were badly in need of furniture, we happily took them up on their offer. It was also Mallory's first chance to check out the new digs.

Here she is posing with Mom in front of the sold sign. They are smiling now, but little do they know all the work that awaits them in the yard behind them.

It didn't take long for Mallory to settle in and start exploring her new home.

We even got the whole family into this one. Since everyone is still smiling, this must have been early on in the move process.

We are not sure who was more disinterested in being held for a photo: Mallory or Samson.

MN Zoo with Helds

Trying to make the most of their Minnesota Zoo membership, the family took another trip in July with Grandma and Papa Held.
Here Mallory is pointing out some wild, scary animals.

Mom's shoulders were the best place to sneak a peak of the giraffes.

We are not sure who was more excited about seeing some of the animals: Mallory or Papa

Mallory had a special surprise waiting for her at Grandma and Papa's house: a new car! And she made Papa push her all along the backyard in it.

Phone Call

One of Mallory's favorite games is to play with Mom and Dad's cell phones whenever one of them gets a call or message.

Here she has moved up to the cordless phone, not wanting to mess around.

"Hi. Mallory here. Who may I ask is calling?"

She appears to have inherited the gift of gab from her mother.

Lutsen - 4th of July

Another long holiday weekend meant another trip up to the North Shore.

We made a nice pit stop in Duluth, where Mallory took time to yuk it up a bit.

We also stopped along the pier for some ice cream. Mallory wasn't too inclined to share with the rest of the car.

We biked into Tofte for the 4th of July parade, which really wore Mallory out.

Thanks to her new buttless chaps courtesy of Aunt Stacey in China, Mallory was all set to watch the Nathan's Annual 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. U-S-A! U-S-A!

At the Playground

One of our last orders of business in the Shenandoah townhome was to visit the local playground.

Mallory got a kick out of riding the dinosaur.

And walking with Dad across the wobbly bridge.

She even felt brave even to fly solo on the big twisty slide.

Here she comes in for a safe landing.

What trip to the playground would be complete without a ride on the swings?

Moving - Part II

There was definitely more moving to be done, however.

Mallory and Papa Jim made sure that they were efficiently using the space in the moving van.

And she made sure that her sled made it onto the truck.

And she didn't trust her dad to take care of it either.

Here she is trying to get Papa Larry to move a little quicker with the boxes. Quite the slavedriver.