Fresh

There is nothing better tasteing then freshly picked strawberries. We visited the strawberry patch after swim yesterday before the season is over. Like all the past times we have gone, each love gets their own to bucket to quickly fill up with freshly picked berries.

This was the first year Lainey got to be free from the stroller and join us in our row. She didn't last long before she landed flat on her bum in the patch.

We try not to eat too many just one or two and sometimes that third one just sneaks right in our mouth too.

Swim lessons resumed

Year 2 of swim almost started out great until Mackenzie, at the last minute, chose not to participate. It totally brought me back to where I was 1 year ago, only it was Landon fighting me not wanting to go. I'm not sure what it is that makes them dread it so much. We have a pool in our backyard and some days I have to drag them out of it. Maybe its the fear of the unknown.

The teacher offered to take Mackenzie from me to see if she'd go along. As I peeled her claws from my back, I handed her off and hid in the doorway. After 5 minutes, yes it was a whole 5 minutes, of her constant screaming I gave in and got her. I really wanted her to stay and give it a whirl, but sensing all eyes on me and them wondering when was I going to make the screaming stop I said enough. I'm not sure how tomorrow will go or if I will just forget it and say lets wait til next year.

The boys however have grown tremendously. Landon who pulled the same stunt last year that Mackenzie pulled today hopped right in the pool and was ready to go. Last year it took him 4 days to even get in the pool and not once did he put in face in the water. Today in he went, not clutching on to a teacher and even put his face in the water. SUCCESS!! There is no question in my mind that this year, for sure, he will finally graduate from level 1.

Micheal of course seems to excel in everything he does thus making this another task he can very quickly cross off his completed list. At one point today they had him doing the crawl and to my surprise he knew how to do it and even did it better than another boy in a higher level that I had watched.

WAY TO GO MICHAEL!



So for the next 2 weeks our mornings will begin at the pool improving our swimming skills. Bring on the water!

Weekend away

Its not very often that Steve and I get to go away with out kids. So when we received an invite for his cousins wedding that just so happened to fall on the same weekend as our 10 year wedding anniversary we jumped on the phone to find a sitter. After a few quick calls I had 2 of my sisters lined up to watch the kiddos.

Finally the weekend had arrived and off we went to Stillwater Minnesota. We left home at lunch time putting our arrival time around dinner time. Thanks to some recommendations we headed down to the Main Street in Stillwater. The streets are lined with antique shops, speciality clothing stores, art shops and restaurant's galore. We opted for the Water Street Inn so we could injoy our dinner on the deck overlooking the St. Croix river. The food was great and the walk along the river and store fronts was enjoyable thus leaving us glad to make the trip down there.

Since the wedding didn't start till early evening on Saturday we took a quick 30 minute drive to Mall of America simply to say we finally made it there. We were overwhelmed with all the stores we found inside. My main goal was to find the Lego store of course for the boys. It never seems to fail, no matter where we go, we end up saying...too bad the kids weren't here they would love this. The amusement park inside was simply amazing!

The wedding was absoutly beautiful. It was an outdoor ceremony and you couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!

The bride and groom looked stunning.

And the kids that were in the wedding looked adorable too!

Beaching it Up

On Father's Day Steve took the boys out to Random Lake to do a little fishing. Michael was most excited for this big venture. The only fishing they have done is just fishing off the end of Grandpa's pier at the island. After a busy day and late night Saturday (didn't get home til 12:30 am after the movie) the boys still managed to get up and out the door by 7am Sunday morning. Steve's Dad Gary and my dad Mike also joined in for the trip. Landon only lasted til 10am and then wanted off the boat so Gary kindly took him to his house til I could come get him.

 My Mom and I were planning on taking the girls to the beach so we headed out, got Landon and met the men at the beach.

 

 

 

The men joined us for a picnic lunch and Michael insisted on heading back out since he hadn't caught a 30 pounder yet. So off Steve, Michael and Dad went to try to catch some bigger fish.

Mom and I hung close to the water front and watched these 3 beach bums enjoy themselves.

 

Lainey has already fallen in LOVE with the water this summer. She just can't seem to get enough of it. She just grabs her little floating ring and toddles herself around and around. I love it when she kicks her little feet up and lets herself float about. I can't help but think she must have been a fish in another life.

Mackenzie kept herself busy swimming, digging and building castles.

And then there's Landon. He put in his time fishing in the morning so he could enjoy the afternoon digging in the sand.

The fishing men finally got off the boat at 2 pm...way longer than I ever expected them to be out there.  And since Michael spent all day on the boat this is the only picture I got of him. I did send Steve with my old camera to take pictures with but, he took none. Oh well there's always next time...

On the go Saturday

I've lived in Ozaukee County all my live and never have paid the Pioneer Village a visit. It was on our summer bucket list last year, but because it is only open 5 times throughout the summer we missed making it there. We happened to be home this weekend and it was their free, and I LOVE free events, family day so the kids and I took advantage and headed over.

I admit I was expecting there to only be a few buildings to see and figured we'd be in and out in 30 minutes, but to my surprise there were 26 buildings to go through. There was an old school house, carpenters shop, barn, several houses, blacksmith, an old train station and a few others. All the kids really enjoyed going through the buildings and looking at all they had to see. 

They even loved giving this old laundry tub a whirl. They weren't too keen on me getting one of these to replace my washer, they said that'd be too much work.

They were also able to learn how to make their own candles.

2 1/2 hours later we made our way through it all. I was impressed at all there was to see. In September they are having a Revolutionary War reenactment and the boys are already talking about going back to see that.

Our day didn't end there. We went home to take a little break and then loaded up the truck to take the hour and 20 minute drive to the Drive in Theater. We enjoyed a picnic dinner and played some catch while waiting for the movie to begin.

As a kid my parents would take my sisters and I to Drive Ins for a special night out and we would love that. I wanted my kids to enjoy one of the few Drive In Theaters left out there so off we went. The long drive was worth it as the kids

LOVED it!

We are already talking about going back when Ice Age come out. We shall see. They all did great. Lainey spent more time jumping back and forth over the seats, but hey what do you expect from a 20 month old.

Relaxing at Home

Sometimes we just need a break from our busy schedule to relax and do nothing. The boys have been good and kept their room clean for more than just a few days , so I thought I’d give them a reward.

I was telling Michael how a coworker’s boys love Lego’s just as much as they do. I also informed him and Landon how these boys keep the Lego’s together, they don’t tear them apart 3 days later and leave them unable to be put back together. My boys were making some of their own cars and house so I told them how these other boys have a whole lego city built on a table that they can play with.

My boys instantly became excited and wanted to do the same thing. Only 1 problem, of all the Lego’s we own not a single one is a lego city all are either star wars or another superhero. Lucky enough for them I just happened to have airplane and truck set stashed for a rainy day. Even though it wasn’t a rainy day, I knew after the busy week they had, they could use a day to chill and build Lego’s

So I gave each of them a set and for 2 hours they worked like crazy beavers to get them done.

Years ago when the boys were into Thomas the train my dad made them a LARGE table to set the trains on. The table has been collecting dust in the basement so Michael and I hauled it upstairs to their room so that they would have a place to play with the new Lego’s. Of course they wanted a lake so I found a can of blue paint and added a lake for them.

For 2 days now they have been playing almost nonstop with those set and the best part, they are still together. I can’t help but think we have just wasted 2 beautiful days of summer in the house. But then I think of how great the boys have been playing together and we have plenty more sunny days ahead, so for now we’ll take a break inside.

Sidewalk paint

We gave this a whirl this week. I saw this on the ever wonderful Pinterest and instantly knew the kids would love the do some sidewalk painting.

It was super easy to make. ¼ C cornstarch, ¼ C water and a few drops food coloring of your choice.

The paint itself work great and the kids had a blast making the sidewalk beautiful. Next time I may try small paint brushes instead as the sponge seemed to absorb a lot of the paint making us have to re-dip the brush a lot.

No need to worry about any staining. Lainey unintentionally got paint on my pants. Once it dried it left a chalky residue and all I did then was wipe it off with my kitchen rag and it was gone.

Baseball!

Michael has started his second week of baseball and I am super excited to be able to watch and cheer him on.  Yep, I know it all already, I'm going to be that crazy Mom on the bench that every rolls their eyes at. I'm ready, Bring it!

This kid eats, sleeps and breaths baseball which makes him more than ready to get out there and play ball. 

Landon has played baseball the last two summers as well, but this year he just wasn't excited about it. So he's taking a break this year and hopefully next year he'll be ready to give it a go again. Until then its off to the diamond we go Tuesday nights to give Michael a big Cheer!

Growing like weeds

No better time to try out the pool then on the last day of school. I couldn't help but smile when the boys said to me "mom did you get a smaller pool, this one's not as deep as last year." my response "no boys you just grew alot over the winter." Oh how I wish I could hit the pause button.

 Miss Mackenzie informed me over the weekend that she was not going to grow any bigger, she is going to stay this size forever. I am all for that.

As I watch all my loves grow little by little everyday, this day I realized Miss Lainey is on her way to independence. I had her in one of those baby floaters in the pool with the kids. She was LOVING floating around as the kids splashed around her. Then I gave all the kids one of those small round tubes and instantly she wanted nothing to do with the baby ring...she wanted a big kid ring. So I stood close, gave in, and let her have it. Oh my gosh the smile she got as she was able to float around all by herself was the best! She just loved kicking her feet up and floating around in that tube.

So here we go headed into another fun filled summer, with my final little love growing way too fast right before my eyes.

Bucket List

It is officially summer in our house and that means its time to start crossing out our bucket list. Last year I got the idea from another blogger Sarah to put together a list of things to do with the kids over the summer and as you accomplish them the kids get to cross it off.

I loved having a list of ideas written down on paper as that way we were never left wondering what to do that day. At the summers end it made me feel like we have accomplished something and not just wasted a whole summer doing nothing.

The kids loved looking over the list and helping me plan what we would do the next day. And of course they loved to cross off each item as we completed it.

So here we go with our running shoes on. Let our summer begin with a list of fun filled things to do.

Our List

1. camping

2. visit Vinny and Sophia (their cousins)

3. Bradford beach

4. Random Lake beach

5. Fire works

6. Go to grandpa's cabin up north

7. Go fishing

8. Zoo

9. See a parade

10. Sprinkler parks (1, 2)

11. Regner Park

12. Bonfire with s'mores

13. Make Popsicle's

14. Pick strawberries

15. Go out for ice cream

16. Library adventures (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

17. Help mom pick veggies from garden

18. Go for a bike ride

19. Harrington beach

20. Picnic dinner

21. Feed fish at a pond

22Picnic lunch

23. Water gun fight

24. Geo caching (1, 2)

25. Make smoothies

26. Lemonade stand

27. Go hiking

28. Day trip to Bay Beach

29.Breakfast picnic

 30. Have friend over for ice cream sundaes

31. Visit Pioneer Village

32. Water balloon fight

33. State Fair

34. Play at possibilities playground

35. Visit great grandma Krocka

36. Take a long boat ride

37. Catch fireflies

38. Sign up for summer reading program

39. Play at Port outdoor pool

40. Go to drive in theater

41. Visit Farmers market

42. Find a treasure at a rummage sale

43. Send a post card

44. Find a treat at a candy store

45. Discovery World

46. Lunch with Dad

47. Card board  box fort

48. Make and use side walk paint

49. Fly kites

50. Camera day (everyone gets their own disposable camera to take their own pictures with )

Sadness

I am deeply sadden to announce that our little friend Kai, the tadpole, has passed away. I'm not sure what happened, he was growing so well. I was so excited to post how he was growing and changing daily and then he passes. His tail was just about gone and he was looking a lot like a frog. The other tadpole that was sick passed away as well. So for now we'll focus on the last day of school and begin working on our bucket list. Maybe come fall we'll get some new tadpoles and give it a try again.

Late

I do my best to always be on time, but Friday I failed. This was the day of Landon's kindergarden program. I was only a few minutes late, but because I was in a hurry I forgot my camera. It didn't even enter my mind as I was running out the door. I didn't even think of it til I walked in to hear them singing their first song. And to make it worse he was dead center in the front row. Oh how I could have gotten some great pics. Now it will just be a memory in my head that I hope will last forever. As I write this I can't help but think how silly this sounds, but hey I'm a mom and that what I do stress over the silly things.

I will say that he did an excellent job. He was belting out the songs and doing all the actions, which had me quite surprised since he is my shy child. I couldn't help but try to hold the tears back as I watched him perform and think, oh my he is now a 1st grader.

After the performance we sat down to make a picture frame and the teacher took our picture to put in the frame. So once I get that photo I'll have to post the one photo of our mommy Landon day. I can't wait to see it and add it to the fridge next to Michael's frame from kindergarten.

Landon has always been my Momma's boy, and I absolutely LOVE feeling so loved and needed, I just hope that when he turns 16, 18, 21 or 50 he still loves me the same.

Tadpoles

For Christmas my mother in law gave Landon a kit to grow his own frogs. While most parents would be turned off by this idea I will admit I was excited for it. I don't know about your kids, but mine have an OVERABUNDANCE of toys. Much of that is due to their own mother spoiling them, so when he got something other than a toy I was ecstatic!

The kit came with everything but the tadpoles which we had to order. 1 came free, but since this was new to us I order an extra in case something happened to one of them. Then we waited 2 long months for our friends to arrive. Due to the winter months they couldn't be shipped out until it got warmer.

(picture taken 3/24)

At the end of March we received a package with a small bottle that contained our new friends. And thus began the waiting and waiting and waiting for changes to start happening.

 During that time 1 of the tadpoles began to start floating upside down. I kept him in the tank basically waiting for him to pass so I could remove him, but after 1 week of this behavior and he was still alive, he remained. Over the next week I noticed the active tadpole was taking on these same weird characteristics, and in a panic, not wanting them both to die I quarantined the sicker of the 2 to a separate tank. The remaining one quickly bounced back and is now doing great. The sick one is still alive and always laying upside down in his separate tank.

(picture taken 5/16)

After just under 2 months of waiting we finally sprouted 2 back legs!

(picture taken 5/28)

Then this past weekend we went out of town for 3 days and came home to 2 new front legs. I was SHOCKED to see those new legs grow so fast. Even looking at him now a week later he has changed so much.

The time leading up to his changes had taken so long and now the changes are fun to watch happen right before our eyes!

As for his friend he is still alive, and slowly going through the changing process. He has only grown very small back legs, so we shall see what happens with this little friend.

 

Memorial Weekend

The morning started out wet, cold and rainy. But that wasn't going to slow us down. With everything loaded and the kids all ready to go, away we went to camp in the rain.  45 minutes of the ride had us driving through nonstop rain. I must admit I was getting nervous to have to spend the day in the rain so we made 1 final stop at a Walmart for some last minute rain jackets. I rain through the pouring rain into the store, and upon my return to the car I was so excited to find the rain had stopped and the clouds were clearing allowing the warm sun to peak through. Whoo Hoo!

Excitement ran wild throughout the truck as we pulled into the boat launch....finally the return to camping has arrived! Much of Saturday was spent cleaning up the ever so lovely mouse droppings from our cabin, picking up sticks left scattered about from the long winter months and simply just getting things unpacked for the summer weekends ahead.

We only had 1 more small episode of rain Saturday night around bedtime, but that just made it easier for me to get the kids gathered into the cabin to call it a night.

We woke up Sunday morning to warmth and sunshine and it didn't take long for the kids to start begging to go into the lake. After much reassurance we explained to them that there would be plenty of time to swim their hearts out.

I love that we brought this little pool out a few years ago, it made for countless hours of fun going down the slide and a Mom who was able to watch from the comfort of a lawn chair!

The water was still ICE cold, but that didn't seem to phase anyone, nor stop them from taking a few crazy jumps off the end of the pier!

The rest of the weekend was spent pushing Lainey and my niece Sophia on the swings. Oh how those girls love to swing. So much in fact that we got a few pouty looks when we tried to get them out.

I feel so blessed to have such an amazing Dad that is so patient and willing to spend countless hours at the end of the pier helping the kids catch fish after fish after fish.

 

I'm so grateful for this little barn that always provides my little loves shade while we pull the boat out of the water. I'm even more grateful for the little loves that remember every year to immediately head to this spot upon exiting the boat to wait for mom and dad.

Till next time time my loves. I can't wait to capture more moments from my constantly growing children!