Weekend with Ely in Hayward

Our weekend away with Ely

Daddy has been visiting Hayward, WI for his job and found a hotel that will take dogs.  We brought Ely to the town's annual MuskyFest.  There was a carnival and street fair we all went to.  We even took Ely for a short paddleboat ride!  The girls got to swim in the pool twice.  Daddy took the girls mini-golfing while I walked Ely around.  Samantha even got 2 holes-in-one!  She was so proud of herself!

It was awesome to realize we can take him with us on a 4+ hour drive.  We love that he's portable and can join us on our adventures!

International Children's Festival 2013

We got to spend the whole day with our friends at the International Children's Festival.  It's a tradition that we've done for a few years.  The dads weren't able to come, but we made the best of it.  We ended up heading back to our friend's house for dinner and got to spend the entire day with them!

I tried to keep the girls out of the house since it's smelly from all the work that's being done.  I'll completely admit that I'm nervous about the chemicals in new carpet, varnishes and paint.  Thankfully, the paint was no-VOC which was the best possible outcome.

 

 

 

Sofia's last days as a preschooler

Sofia's last week as a preschooler included a playdate at a friend's house (with good manners!) and her spring program at school.  Daddy had been out of town, but made it back to see his girl shine. Nana, Papa and Grammy came to watch her too.

Her smile has changed quite a bit since she lost a top tooth in a scooter wipeout last week.  Yesterday she pulled the other top tooth out herself (it had been hanging since the crash) and was very proud of herself.  I saw the fall and remained calm throughout - I was grateful it wasn't worse, but it was scary for me to watch.  Sofia refused to come home afterwards and insisted that we walk Ely.  It was obvious she was in pain, but she got right back on her scooter and moved on.  I think she enjoyed showing off the various cuts and scrapes too.

It's hard to believe that Sofia will start kindergarten already.  As I took her to school this morning, she said, "Two more days of preschool and then it's on to kindergarten at GH".  Wow... she really does understand!  I'm relieved she seems to be handling the transition well so far!

Samantha's final days in 2nd grade

Last week I went to school to see Samantha's class perform a play to thank all the volunteers from the year.  Her friend got to play me with the Art Adventure program, which was hilarious!  Samantha played Mrs. Braun which was a surprise to no one, I'm sure.  Another volunteer asked if I was her mom and when I said yes, he stated that Samantha is in control of her environment.  I laughed and nodded.  I hear so many positive comments from adults who know her. 

Yes, I think this kid is extraordinary.

There was a school picnic, the final chess club tournament and the bags of schoolwork that made their way home.  I'm proud that Samantha got through ALL of it so it's one less thing to do when summer is over.

Memorial Day Weekend 2013

Antie and Uncie came up for a visit so most of our weekend was spent with them, Nana, Papa, Uncle Todd, Aunt Shelly, Jordan and Dylan.  The kids were great, the food was great and the company was even better.  Time flew, but it was a wonderful weekend.

Uncie came on a stroll with me, Ely and the girls.  I guess we forgot to tell Daddy and Antie that we were leaving because they were surprised to find us gone.  Whoops!

On Monday we also paid our respects at Great Grandpa Irving and Great Grandma Rose's graves.  We placed our rocks on the headstone and were silent for a moment.  Then we found Irving's parents graves.  

Since we are preparing to sell our house, we spent most of the day going through the girl's rooms.  They hung in there for hours deciding what to keep and what to discard.  (There was a lot of stuff to go through!)  We did jumping jacks to keep our energy up and completed the task.  The girls and I find the lack of art work on the walls disturbing, but Daddy likes the "clean look".  Slowly, we are making this home into a house to sell and I find myself getting more nostalgic than I care to admit.  As with anything, this too shall pass and it's all part of the process.

Grandparent's Birthday Party (and Sofia's 1/2 Birthday)

We started the day out with Samantha's last day of Sunday School, then went to Susie and Stu's house to see Ben, Ellen and their baby Micah.  It was nice to see Aunt Merrian again so soon since our visit Mother's Day and catch up a bit with Ben and Ellen.

Later in the afternoon, all the grandparents came to celebrate their birthdays.  Coincidentally, Sofia's 1/2 birthday falls right in the middle of the grandparent's birthdays.  We made jokes all day long about only singing half the song, getting half a piece of cake.  Sofia laughed at most of our humor.  It was another day filled with blessings for us.

Happy Birthday to Grammy, Nana and Papa!  We are lucky to have you close in our lives!

Samantha's Birthday Gift

Originally we planned on redecorating Samantha's room for her birthday gift.  With us planning to sell our house, that's not really an option anymore so I came up with another idea that we were finally able to execute last night.  I took her and a friend to the Water Park of America and we stayed overnight in the adjoining hotel.  When we arrived at the hotel room, I heard, "Wow, this is nice!" from both girls.  There were meals with only junk food and I said yes to nearly every request.  

Samantha's friend told me that they would remember this the rest of their lives... What else can I ask for?  Samantha has an awesome friend and is a good friend back too.  All you need is one friend you can trust with anything and you have the support to make it through anything.  I'm grateful Samantha has friends like that, at least as much as her age group can have!