The Beach

One of the things still on our "Summer Fun" list as of last week was going to the beach.  Braden and Olivia wanted to go down to Lake Michigan and play in the sand.

Braden was entranced by the rocks lining part of the shore.  He reminds me so much of myself when I was young...he can't help but climb on everything!  He was in his element navigating the small mountains and exploring the deep crevices.  

Olivia wasn't so sure but he was a GREAT big brother (as he always seems to be when it counts) and helped her climb around.  She is not as sure on her feet as he is!

Can you believe this cutie is starting preschool this year?  Ugh - I just want to eat her up at times and others... well, I try my darndest to keep my cool.  She is 3 with the sassiness of a teenager already. :)

  

This pumpkin had her first taste of sand - literally.  She liked the feel of it and was doing a great job not putting it into her mouth but as soon as I stepped away - in it went! Yuck!!  

  It is hard to believe that school starts this week. I will miss the long, leisurely days of summer where we can pick up and go at a moments notice.  I will miss full days with Braden and the interaction we have with all of our friends.  With that said I am really excited for school to start. I am anticipating the routine, the slowing down mixed with the busy schedule and the small break that the kids will have from each other with the hope that absence makes the heart grow fonder!    

My Readers!

Norah is just starting to like books!  We went downtown to Central Library last week and checked out some great new reads!  She likes to turn pages and touch anything that is puffy, bumpy or sticking out.

Olivia also loves to read... do you see a problem here?  Ha!  This was on our trip home from Duluth and she wanted to look at the magazine I was paging through. I couldn't help but catch this picture.  I think I'm in trouble with her. :)

Pretty Darn Proud!

So this was my first fix-it project of the summer and I have to say that I am pretty darn proud of myself. I bought this dresser off craigs list for Norah.  It's antique, solid wood and has been refinished.  I felt like I got a pretty good deal but got it home and decided the drawer glides weren't sturdy enough for a child to be using. After pulling the drawers out I saw why.  They were plastic and falling apart. I did some measuring, visited Lowes (quickly becoming my new favorite store!) and then ended up ordering some glides online due to the age of the dresser.  

The glides came in record time and I couldn't wait to get started.  The problem... the directions were written for someone in the construction business and I obviously am not that person.  I again had many conversations with my dad, Steve, friends and the kind people at Lowes.  Gathering all the materials that I needed I set to work and replaced each of the glides on the bottom of the drawers.  

I was sooo proud of myself that everything lined up and actually worked.  When we do some repainting upstairs I plan on painting it white and replacing the pulls to match Olivia's dresser.                                                                                   

As I was thinking about why I LOVE projects like this the conclusion I came to is that I have my dad to thank.  I have wonderful memories of helping to paint/build a fence in our backyard, I watched him build a treehouse, and helped him build a step stool that we still use in my house today.  He was busy with his hands and he included us.  I am really thankful that I have the confidence to try things and the patience to tinker through.  

The second project was fixing a light in our basement. It is above my washer/dryer and had a pull chain. Nothing fancy... but the chain pulled right out last week. Ugh - so frustrating.  I went to... yes you guessed it... Lowes!  I ended up buying a new light knowing that Steve would have NO interest in trying to rewire the light to add a new switch.  Unfortunately we found that to get the old light down we had to take it apart anyways.  After taking off the bottom piece we could see the switch.   My head started turning and I knew I just had to try to replace the switch.

As you can see from the picture, I was able to rewire a new switch and wa-la!  I have a new light!  Again...so proud. :)

Thanks Pa for involving me in all of your projects when I was young. There is such a sense of accomplishment when I am able to fix something on my own.  Oh yes... did I mention that I fixed the garage door last week! :)  Gotta love an old house paired with someone who likes fix-it projects because there are ALWAYS things to be done.

Hiking at Retzer Nature Center

Steve was gone last Sunday so I took the kids to Retzer Nature Center for a hike.  Besides being completely infested with mosquitos it was a wonderful trip. I plugged Norah into the backpack and we did a 1 mile loop through the woods, prairie and over a big hill.  

A few times in the beginning of the hike both kids asked if we were almost done but as soon as we started hunting down bugs, butterflies and birds they were entranced.  I LOVE being outdoors hiking, walking and enjoying the natural world we live in.  We are all happier during the trip and after.  It seems that being in nature and using all of our senses does something calming for our souls.

I look forward to going back sometime later this year when the mosquitos are better so we can linger longer in the woods, enjoy the small water falls and stop to truly smell the flowers!  

Sexy Ladies Book Club Family BBQ

Sara R. decided it was finally time to get our families together.  She did an awesome job planning and organizing.  There were fun games for the kids (including 100 water balloons!), and great eats for everyone.  

It was really nice to be able to visit and watch our children interact.  I absolutely love this group of ladies. I enjoy our conversations, the perspective I get from them all and the sheer time that we've been together.  It's fairly amazing to think that this core group has for the most part been together for the entire time.  

The entire way home, as well as the next morning, my children were asking to play with everyone again. I am hoping we can make a fall playdate to meet there some Saturday or Sunday for a short while.

Thanks ladies and spouses for a great gathering, thanks Sara for all of your time planning and organizing and I'll see you all in a few weeks to discuss our steamy book!

Snack Attack

We bought these great cinnamon alphabet cookies from Trader Joes last week.  I sure do wish we could shop there more often...if only it wasn't so far away.  This was the result! :)  Braden told me it was the best snack he had ever had!! Oh the little pleasures.

Just one of those great days...

The other day was just one of those great days where everything seems to fall into place and it's easy to see all the blessings that surround you.   

To start off Braden and Olivia tried making their own lunches!  I got the idea from a preschool calendar that I printed off a website.  It's got small ideas for many of the days each month. I thought I'd hang it up and pull from it when needed.  This was our first attempt.  

They decided on the menu: turkey sandwiches, melon, a nectarine and dessert.  They loaded on the butter (and I mean loaded-I did step in to remove some of it!), plopped some turkey in the middle and were pleased as punch at their creations.  They scooped some fruit into bowls and ate away.  

It was so cute to see them pleasure over something that I often labor through.  We'll definitely be doing that again sometime soon.  

Steve surprised us by coming home early - he finally finished jury duty after almost 2 1/2 weeks and a very intense trial.  He had been working so hard all day at jury duty, then coming home, playing with the kids, helping me out and eventually retreating to the red chair in the living room to get to his work-work.  He would work tirelessly into the wee hours to get caught up only to start over again the next day.  We thought we'd tell him how grateful we are that he works hard to take care of us by making cookie cutouts and decorating them.  He caught us in the middle of decorating!  Oops.  

For dinner we decided that we needed a little "adult" celebration and finally broke open the fancy bottle of wine that Steve has been saving for YEARS! We decided that it was time to enjoy it and think about all the things that we are blessed with.  

It was delicious... and we're still enjoying it...trying to savor every sip!

We are thankful... for days that are slow enough to remind us how lucky we are, for children who are open to fun, new activities, for a family who is healthy and vibrant, and for Steve, who works really hard to give us everything we have.