Other August Highlights

Here are some other highlights from August:

Lindsay's last day was early in the month.  They had a ball for their last week together going to the pool and beach, Mall of America and just playing.  We will miss her!

The girls got to sleep at Nana and Papa's 3 nights!  They've never done that before, but being true to form they didn't eat one vegetable (because french fries don't count)!  The girls got their fill of TV and got in some fishing too with Papa.  They came home exhausted, but happy.

I took Samantha to a playdate at her school.  The weather wasn't optimal, but Samantha had a ball with her friends and we marveled over the rainbow that we saw.

We survived a weekend trip to Ikea and managed to get everything assembled the day we got it.  Samantha loves having a chair in her room to read at and Sofia likes her new nightstand.  It's nice to be rid of so much toddler stuff!  

I finally got to take the girls to swim during my week with the girls and Nana.  It was a hectic day, but I'm glad I got to see the girls swim in water that was 12 feet deep.  This is a huge source of pride for the girls!

State Fair

Since we had house guests we weren't able to fulfill the tradition of visiting the State Fair on my birthday so we went the first weekend.  The girls and I spent time in the horse barn talking to owners and petting horses. Both girls went on the rock climbing wall.  Samantha cut her first try short after Daddy told her she was doing a good job.  She asked to do it again after I said I didn't think it was a good choice to give up because Daddy (or anyone) said, "Good Job" and that I knew she could reach the top.  I told her that encouragement doesn't mean you are done and can take it easy, but she should appreciate it and keep moving up.  If that isn't a life lesson, I don't know what is.  Not surprisingly, she made it to the top on the next attempt.  Both Daddy and I told her that we were proud of her because we are!

And of course we did the Big Carpet Slide.  This time Daddy took Sofia and Samantha went on her own.  In the video they are on the left side.

Foods we ate this year:

Falafel
Coconut macaroons
Stuffed olives
Foot long hot dogs
Big Fat Bacon
Malt
World's greatest french fries
Pickle dog
Snow cone/ ice cream cone
Buffalo shrimp
Cheese curds

S_Girl's Camping Adventure

We headed out on the road with Antie She for a camping adventure.  Yes, it was me, my best friend and my daughters.  Thank you to Auntie She for lending her gear and being up for a S_girls adventure!  We haven’t been camping since I was pregnant with Samantha and it was the first experience with the girls.

Thursday – We were a bit delayed getting there and chose to ask a neighbor to assist with fire lighting so the girls didn’t have to wait for s'mores.  It took a while to get set up, but the girls explored and we had fun.  The girls slept well and as the grownups crowded into the tent (we all fit – barely), a storm came through.  It was special for me, because there was nothing to do but listen to the storm.  I marveled at the fact that I had never even thought to do that before.  I was engaged with nature and loved it.  I couldn’t sleep so I made the best of it.  The best part was Sofia sleepily mumbling to us to stop turning on the light.  Unfortunately the lightening she was referring to was out of our hands, but such an innocent request!

Friday – We woke up early and got ourselves going with some breakfast.  There wasn’t any cell reception inside the park, so we made the drive to make our calls.  Eventually we made it to the beach and hiked up to the bluff top.  Sofia kept calling it the “Buffalo-top” which kept the rest of us giggling as we climbed.  Afterwards, the kids played on the beach (the river was FREEZING, but the kids stayed in it!) while the grownups assembled lunch.  All our food was heated via campfire and it was awesome!  Of course, we finished with more s'mores.

By the time Saturday came, we came home since Daddy was finally home from his trip.  It was an adventure and Auntie She and I agreed the trip exceeded our expectations.  They even want to go again!

My week with the girls

I finally got to indulge in some time with my girls... no work, just home chaos and the joys of girl time (and Ely).  I've been in my job over 2 years and have never taken a full week off... I'm a little ashamed of that.  I have really enjoyed being able to just focus on my family since they are what matters most.

We started early on Friday by taking Ely for a morning walk and a trip to the coffee shop.  Then, the girls went to "camp" at a friend's house, followed by more park time with Ella and Johanna, followed by more playtime with them at our house.  Then, Ms. S brought Kaya and Kayde over for more playtime.  It was a great way to start the vacation!

Saturday morning the girls and I went out and about for a bit while Daddy got ready for his trip and did outdoor chores.  I took some time out in the afternoon with my friend Rene' to go shooting.  I'm a fairly good shot, and it was fun to try a muzzle loader rifle from the 1800's.

On Sunday we dropped Daddy off at the airport.  The girls rode their bikes while I ran with Ely for a full hour.  Sofia was exhausted, but it was good!  They kept doubting me on where we were going and it was comical to see them try to navigate.  At the playground by the car, we took Ely down a few slides and he went in the tunnels... we all laughed and cheered him on!  The girls noticed an airplane and waved saying, "We love you Daddy and we miss you already!"  It brought tears to my eyes.  We all miss him so much when he's gone and we know he misses us too.

Of course, Ely jumped in the lake so I had to give him another bath!  (Last week he had one too after going in the water at the dog park.)

Sunday continued with a kid switch: I had Sofia and Kayde while Ms. S (a teacher at Sofia's school) took Samantha for a sleepover at her house.  It was an easy way to split my girls up to give them a break and it was fun to host Kayde's first sleepover by herself!

Monday was spent recovering from the sleepover.  Other than walking Ely and playing around the house, we really didn't do much and that was fine.  Tuesday Sofia had swimming and then we all got haircuts.  That took a while, but everyone managed themselves and there were no behavioral issues.  I was very proud!  Wednesday the girls had some other friends over before we took Grammy out to dinner, which was nice since we haven't seen her much lately.  We got to see Nana at her local community center too.

Adventures at the pet food store

I was on my own with Ely since Daddy was out of town and the girls were staying at Nana and Papa’s house To prepare, last Sunday the girls and I went shopping with Ely so I could have plenty of distractions ready in case he was nervous or misbehaved. (Ely really is easygoing, but will vocalize (read: BARK REALLY LOUD) his protest and I just wanted to be prepared.) Samantha asked to take him and wander through the store while I browsed the dog toys designed “for powerful chewers” since Ely will destroy any other toys. Sofia was busy trying to figure out how to get me to buy her a fish. Everything was fine until I heard, “Your dog is in the water” from the clerk that had just been helping me. What water you ask? Well, in that store there is a pond with fish and frogs and I had underestimated how store Ely’s drive is to get into water – any water. It’s not surprising when you think about it and thankfully the staff was more amused than anything. They said they had never seen a dog do that before.  I asked for a mop and settled for being grateful Ely didn’t kill anything. We all laughed and I told Samantha that it was really funny this time, but it wouldn’t be if it happened again so I’d keep Ely from now on. She agreed that would probably be best and another memory was made for us!

Weekend at Gull Lake

A friend invited us to his family's cabin for the weekend and we had a blast!  The Olympics were usually on in the background at night while games were played, the kids all got along well and we had plenty of time in and on the water.  Our girls loved the wave runner and both got to drive the boat.  The weather was a bit cold on Saturday, but we made the best of it and had fun!

We were having too much fun to take more than a few seconds of video here and there...