A Little Gem

I was sitting on the porch tonight after work, like I always do.  I was catching up on my daily news (AKA Facebook and Instagram) and came across a little gem.

I sometimes forget how much of a little person she is (Hannah, not the blanket).

Well done Andrews Park, Well Done

Over the past year + the city of Champlin has been working on a renovation for Andrew's Park.  It is finally done.  Complete with a new covered picnic area and splash pad.

 

It was a nice day today so we invited Jacob to come with us to go check it out.

Hannah and Jacob ran right in and started checking things out.  Hailey was excited to be there but not too excited about getting splashed on her face so she sat on the sidelines with me for most of the day. 

I love that our community has places like this for families.  I couldn't help but just smile as we sat there looking around at how blessed we are to be here.

The Year of the Frog?

Our neighborhood has been infested with mini frogs.  They are everywhere!

There have been multiple posts and comments about them from people in the neighborhood.

In one night you are guaranteed to see at least 50.  Sitting in the garage, they just hop by one right after another.  They are bouncing all over the yard and through the streets.  Hannah is not interested in touching them but Hailey picks up anyone she can.

You have GOT to be kidding me?!

I was on a conference call this afternoon in my car while I was on my way to meet my dad and Kristin for lunch.  While I was sitting in the car finishing up the call I noticed something crawling on the dashboard.  It looked the size of a grasshopper or something and I immediately got the chills but as I got closer I saw that it was a spider! ICK! ICK! ICK! ICK!!!

Now, I am not a fan of spiders but I am also not a huge baby about them.  I hate large spiders and if I ever saw a tarantula outside of a cage I may actually be paralyzed with fear.  But your normal everyday spider, I can tolerate killing those suckers.

This guy though.  He was chubby.  Large.  Furry.  

How did he even get in here?!  Who invited him?!  Why is he in Minnesota?!

I couldn't focus for the rest of the call and my eyes could NOT lose him.  I wasn't really sure how I was going to exterminate this creature but it had to be done.  He needed to leave.

 I have towels under the girls seats in the back so I grabbed one of those to arm myself while I spoke to Dave about KSI and their documentation needs.

This dude, the furry one in my car, just pranced around like he owned the place.  At one point he actually sat back on his hind legs and stood up trying to reach the windshield.  WHAT?!  This changes everything.....ICK!

I eventually couldn't take being on guard like this any longer so I went for it.  I wrapped my hand in the towel and somehow grabbed a hold of him.  I flew my car door open and threw the towel on the ground where I proceeded to stomp on it until I was certain there was no chance he could climb up my leg.  When I looked inside the towel I could see that he had been 'taken care of'.

ISH!

I hated him.

 

Here we go again....

Kristin hopes to get her invites for the wedding out within the next week.  I haven't started on them so it was about time I sat down to decide what to do.  After sending her a few examples, we landed on the one they like best and the production line begins!

Shhhhh someone's sleeping

It was almost time for supper and Hannah decided to wait outside on the front porch.  

She didn't last too long...

Has it seriously been 20 years?!

Tonight is my 20 year High School Reunion.

2-0, Twenty.

Our morning started at the cabin and our plan is to leave this afternoon with plenty of time to make it back so that I will have time to shower and get ready.

This morning Jennie took the girls on a 4 wheeler ride while Kristin and I took Reggie for a walk.  He was doing ok until Jennie drove past us and made her way onto the trail that led off into the field.

He started to pull in that direction and Kristin tugged back on the leash.  The second time he PULLED in that direction and Kristin TUGGED back on the leash.  On his third attempt he actually broke loose.  He PULLED on that leash and he was gone.  Trotting down the trail after his mommy.

I wish I could say that I didn't have any nerves about the reunion tonight but that was not the case.  I tried not to think about it and kept telling myself "you are close to 40- who cares what they think" but that is always easier said than done.

I didn't do a very good job getting the word out about it.  I put something out on Facebook and decided that if you didn't have a friend that was on Facebook that would pass the word along then I guess you weren't finding out.  Not very nice but there is too much going on right now to plan a reunion and track down people's addresses to mail invites, etc.  We had contacted an old teacher that put something on the school's website so there was at least that too.

Our class didn't have money to use to rent out a place and word on the street was that people were upset last time when they were asked to pay $10.  No way that we would have gotten a very big turn out trying to hold it at a hotel or something.  Half Time Rec here we come!

In my opinion, besides potential parking issues, that location was perfect.  There was a side of the venue saved for us and it was plenty big.  What more do you need but a place to sit and talk.

The band that was there was playing music from the 90's and they were good which was a bonus.

Hope to see everyone again in another 5.

The turn out wasn't that great but it's never good to plan summer events anyways.  

It was a fun night.  I am glad I went. 

Jaime and Jennie

Justin

Andy Mac

Mollie and Mark- have been going to school with these two since Kindergarten!

Adam

Welcome to the Cabin Little Guy (ha! I mean giant!)

It's Friday in the summer which can only mean one thing!  Pine City or bust!

Reggie joined us this weekend and LOVED the large number of sticks in the yard.

The girls were happy to get on the 4-wheeler with daddy again!

Flood

There are a lot of things that stink about not having grass in your yard.  

1.  It's dirty

2.  It's boring looking at brown dirt

3.  When the wind blows your face, front porch, window sills and sidewalk get covered in sand

4.  Your children act as though they have a 20,000 sq foot sandbox 

5.  Your kids feet are never clean

6.  Your kids hands are never clean

7.  When it rains, it floods

 

Super Powers

Anyone:  "Hey Hailey buddy, will you grab me ______?"

Hailey:  "Sure.  Want me to use my super speed?"

Yard Bling

We received a nice little surprise today.  Our landscaper stopped over to plant a few trees and complete the landscaping for the front of the house.  It's amazing what a little edging, rock and shrubbery can do to spruce things up!  

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!

Today was a pretty low key day. The girls and I met my sisters and dad for brunch at Axel's in St Paul.  After that we went home to pick up Brian and then went to his parents for a BBQ.

Brian got a new TV for the garage from the girls and I- have a feeling we are going to get a lot of use out of that!

 

Cherry on Top (of a spoon)

I had the day off today to take the girls in for their physical appointments. Afterwards we went to my work to see the ladies and had lunch with Molly and Loriann.

On our way home I decided to bring the girls to the Walker Art Sculpture Garden to see the iconic Cherry on the Spoon.  I always point this out to them as we are driving on 94.  Depending on the season, sometimes they can see it and others it's covered by the trees.

When I got off the freeway they started asking where we were going.  I pulled up to park and parked the car.  It wasn't until we got out and started walking that they actually caught a glimpse of it and realized where we were.  Once Hannah saw it she started running down the path "It's the cherry on the spoon!  I can't believe it!"

 

They thought it was super cool and even better that it was misting on them as they got close to it.  

Just Ten Minutes

Sometimes you need just 10 minutes.  

10 minutes to just be alone and do whatever YOU want to do.

 As a working mom I feel like most of my time isn't mine.  There are demands all day from people at work, I fight traffic to get home and once I am in the driveway it's go time.  

I realize that I am not the only one that feels this way.  We all have demands and things that pull us in multiple ways.  Brian is constantly feeling the tug from work and the poor guy can't even take a day off without being woken by a text or phone call.So I am not looking for a pity party or think for one minute that 'nobody gets it'.  Life is demanding and that's just the way it is.

Since moving into our new house I have had more time to myself than I can remember since the kids have been born.  They have made lots of friends and have even started 'playing' in their rooms.  They spend time in their loft or outside riding bikes and scooters up and down the block. 

Tonight they went to their friend Vanessa's house and after a while Brian walked down there to meet the neighbors on that side of the neighborhood.  I stayed home and although I felt a wee bit unsocial it was pretty amazing to sit out on the porch and watch a show on the iPad.

The new season of Orange is the New Black has been released and I have been anxious to get started on the series.  And just for the record, drinks taste so much better when you are on the porch!

1st Year of School Comes to an End

 Today is the last day of Kindergarten!

When Hannah was picking out what she was going to wear today she told me that she was looking through her closet to find something that 'popped'.  She 'needed' to wear something that her friends could see when they were on the playground so they would always know where she was.

She was excited that school is coming to an end and that in just a few short hours she will be a big first grader!  She is also a little sad and worried about not seeing her friends everyday and that 

Ms Stauffenecker wouldn't be her teacher when school starts back up.

When I pulled into the driveway tonight after work she came running out of the front door telling me to come watch her video.  Her teacher had made a DVD of pictures set to music for everyone in the class.  The video opens with a snapshot of each kid from the first day of school while the song 'Let Them Be Little' plays.  There were pictures from each month of the school year during class events, field trips, etc.  I started tearing up almost immediately and when I looked over at Hannah and Hailey, their eyes were filled with tears too.  About half way through the video Hannah put her hand on her chest she looked over to me and said "Isn't this so emotional?"

The video ended with a letter from their teacher and then Hannah told me about how all of the kids were crying through the day and during A+ this afternoon "Kids were crying so hard you could hardly even think.  Everyone is really going to miss each other."

I am glad that she had such a great experience and I am thankful that for everyday that I asked "How was your day?" I heard a response of "Awesome!  or Amazing!"

Let Them Be Little by Billy Dean

I can remember when you fit in the palm of my hand
Felt so good in it, no bigger than a minute
How it amazes me, you're changing with every blink
Faster than a flower blooms they grow up all too soon

So, let them be little 'cause they're only that way for awhile
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh, but let them be little

I've never felt so much in one little tender touch
I live for those kisses, your prayers and your wishes
And now that you're teaching me how only a child can see
Tonight while we're on our knees all I ask is please

Let them be little 'cause they're only that way for awhile
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day

Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh, but let them be little

So innocent, a precious soul, you turn around and
It's time to let them go

So, let them be little 'cause they're only that way for awhile
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh, just let them be little

KMNO

I am not sure what this adorable little lady has against the letter L.  

She says yeg, yove, yetters, yourieann, yewhoa, yights, yady and so on.

I have to admit- I yove it.  I have all confidence that by the time she needs to say it correctly she will and if we make her stop and take her time to say those words she can.  She just needs to think about it in a different way.  I will ask about it again at her Kindergarten screening and if we need to worry they will let us know.  For now I am going to yisten and enjoy :-)

Grab a level, Another Plus to Being Married to an Engineer

 I have been trying to think of a way to decorate Hailey's room.  While we were looking at bedding online I found a bunch of cute sets that were patterned but when I showed them all to her she really wanted the pink ruffly one.  I saw these glitter chevron decals at Target while we were living at Denny and Judy's and have been keeping my eye on them.  I finally decided that I should go back and look at them again to see their size, etc.  The decision was made when I got there to find that they were on clearance for $5.98 a pack (three sheets, they were normally $19.99).  

I thought I could hang them by myself so I consulted with Brian to see what he thinks about how I should get started.  He looked at me like I was on drugs for thinking that I could just stick them up.

He instructed me to grab a level and the small ladder from the garage and my quick project turned into the night's event.   These decals come in small sections, by color.  We decided the pattern we wanted and started peeling and sticking.  

The girls were next door at Jacob's so they had no idea what we were up to.  I looked outside to check on them and saw that the neighbors were gathering for Happy Hour in someone's driveway outside.  Poor Brian- he was stuck in here playing with stickers while there was a party going on.

 But he stuck with me, pardon the pun, and within a few hours our work was complete.

It certainly paid off.  Hailey LOVED it!

Now to figure out the rest of her walls...

The Sun Sets Out Our Window

One thing that I never expected when we moved was that we would have the most gorgeous sunsets out of our living, dining room and kitchen window each night.  Not a bad view :-)

CBPA Serenade

Tonight was the Kindergarten Program at Hannah's School.  It was actually held at Jackson Middle School.  She was so excited!  One at a time the teacher's brought their students in and lined them up on the bleachers.  It was probably then that I started crying.

The kids than sang while each class was introduced.  It was absolutely adorable.  Their voices are so sweet and innocent.  The boys were singing just as loud as the girls and as the kids sang they looked around and smiled at each other- like a little community.

I kept crying for that.  But in my defense- it was just some watery eyes.

For the last song of the program the kids sang "I'm Proud to be an American"

Ummmm.....yep.  I bawled. 

They started by asking anyone who served in the military to stand.  Then these little angels started singing the song and when it was time for the chorus, they all held hands and raised them up above their heads while they sang. (lots and lots of tears)  There was an older gentleman standing up in front of us a few rows, during the song he was cheering the kids on and giving them little fist pumps as to say 'You go kids!".  It was very touching.

When it was time to pick Hannah up after the concert, she asked if she could take a picture with Ms Stauffenecker, her teacher.  She was great and Hannah just adored her.

We also got a picture with her BFF Samantha. 

The World As Hannah Sees It

Hannah has been sent home with some of her journaling that she's done during the school year.  

They were to draw a picture and write a sentence describing what was happening in the picture.  Tell a story.  Each little journal had three pages to it.  These are my favorites pages.

"We were outside.  Me and my dad were riding my bike."

"I was real good riding my bike.  My dad was cheering for me."

"Me and Schmit were playing in the lake.  If the stick got too far out I would get it for him."

Still getting used to the place

Yesterday was the official Epic Go Live for the hospitals and a portion of our clinics.  Also one of the reasons why this blog, my health, my family and friends have been neglected.  

This project has been painful to put it gently and unfortunately our team hasn't hit the hard part yet.

For the next few weeks we are working crazy hours and my first shift today was to start at 5 am and I will be working until 4 pm.  I woke around 3:30 and as I was walking downstairs to leave, the new house got me and I fell down the stairs.  Thankfully I didn't fly through the huge window in the landing or break the railing on the way down.  

Ouchee

Tonight was also the last night of Tball (the girls are thrilled!)

 They had their last practice and then received medals and cookies.

During their medal ceremony they each had to shout out their name as their medal was hung around their neck.  Adorable.