Hand me downs

This picture makes my heart so happy!

Our girls have out grown the pink Barbie car and it's been sitting in the pole barn at the cabin for the past few years.  This year we decided it was time to find it a new home.

Brian and the girls took a day trip up to the lake to pick it up and bring it home for Britta.

She is still a little too young to be the driver but the big kids took turns driving her up and down the block.  She LOVED it!  They all did such a good job sharing and taking turns.

Fans

Kari and the boys joined us tonight at the girls soccer games.

It was nice to have some company and the weather couldn't be better!

The Makeup Artist

Once again Jennie let Hannah do her makeup.  She does such a good job!

These two are so pretty :-)

Croc Convention at the Pub

The first Pizza Pub trip with the boys and Kari for the summer!

In this picture you can really see how much Agustin has grown.
He has crossed the line from kid into young man.  It's so weird.  It's especially weird when we don't get to see him much throughout the year and then when we see them we are getting a full years worth of changes all at once.  He's starting to shave, his voice is lower.  He has such a great sense of humor.  He is polite, intelligent and respectful.
My favorite thing about Agustin this year is seeing him with his phone.  I know this sounds crazy but let me tell you why.  This year he is all about his headphones and his music- just like a real teenager!


They are always so well behaved when they are here and I don't think that will ever change. Kari and Andy have always been better about limiting screen time and encouraging their kids to read, play outside and play games.  I absolutely loved watching him get so into his tunes. 
Of course he is still engaging in conversation, well behaved and polite but there was a piece to him this year that was 'so grown up'.  It's hard to explain.   It was almost like he seemed so much more independent- kind of like he had 'his own thing going on'.
I love these boys and wish that we could see them more often.  I know we are so lucky to see them as much as we do considering they live so far away but I can't help but to want more time.

Meet My Nemesis

Meet my nemesis.  The plastic covering over the tablecloth.

I don't get this.  Well, to be fair I 'get it' but it doesn't make it any easier to understand.

Grandma loves to have tablecloths on her tables.  Every table has a table cloth and every table cloth has a plastic cover.  Everyday.

I kind of understand her theory of putting a beautiful cloth tablecloth on the table and wanting to keep it clean therefore covering it in clear plastic but she even does this with the plastic tablecloths that she uses.  Now, I can appreciate her will to keep her tables/furniture nice but I can not get on board with this plastic covering.  Everyone that sits down seems to pull at the tablecloth a little bit so it's constantly moving.  There are little kids around trying to see what's on the table so they pull on it.  It's a constant push, pull, move, pull back, pull over, hold tight so it stops moving, over and over and over.  Not to mention the constant crinkly noise.  Ugh. 

Just two little girls and two little devices

The girls have a field trip with A Plus today.  They both were ready to go and waiting for me this morning.  Doesn't look like they cared too much....

Sushi Time

Ever since our trip to Disney, Hannah has been asking to go out for sushi.

Tonight we got all of us together for Happy Hour and dinner at Osaka.

Hannah was checking the menu for the perfect sushi to try.  There were a couple she had her eye on so we got a few different kinds for her to try.  She really really wanted to try salmon so we added one of those to the list.  

When the sushi came, she dug right in.  There was quite a bit of soy sauce on it and she put the whole piece in her mouth.  Within a few seconds she started to feel sick, spit out the sushi and decided she was done.  Not really sure what happened.  The smells were pretty strong in the restaurant, it was dark and pretty loud.  I think a mixture of everything and the anticipation and excitement just got to her.  Even I started to feel sort of 'off' half way through the dinner.

Osaka has never been my favorite.  Have had sushi other places and even though it's not my favorite I can usually eat it.  This time I just felt - ick.

I felt so bad for her, she has been so excited for this night- she has been so excited for a sushi date.  Up until today she was a sushi eater and now after this experience claims she will NEVER try it again.  I hope that's not true.   I love how adventurous she is sometimes.  WAY more than I ever was and in some cases, way more than I will ever be.  I love that part about her.

 I hope she keeps an open mind and someday decides to give it another shot.

Once we were done I ran her to Jimmy Johns so she could get some food.  After a few bites she decided she was done for the night and just wanted to go to bed.  Maybe there was something else going on.

Hailey had some type of Teriyaki Lo Mein and LOVED IT!  She definitely wants to go back.

Not sure I will ever get Hannah back....

Hannah Sandwich

Tonight Hannah's soccer team played against Meg and Sammy's team.  At first she was not happy but after the game started she played against them like she played against all of the other teams.  They ended up losing but she played hard and at the end got hugs from her besties :-)

Dip in the Pool

Kari wanted to make sure everyone was using the pool more than we have in the past so the best way to spend our first full day with them was to take a dip in the pool.

Coke runs a 'Share a Coke' program where they put names on the bottles and cans.  Today while at the store I saw the advertisement!  Amy and Davis!  LOVED IT!

Our Favorite Day in July

 Our favorite day in July is here!  The day Kari and the boys come!

It's always exciting to see how much the boys have changed.  

This year Agustin had officially turned the corner into 'teen'.

Nico has grown and may actually be taller than Hannah this year!

First lunch with Kari and family at Buffalo Wild Wings, Kimmy was feeling extra pregnant didn't care too much about getting into this selfie.  She's there with us, we promise.

A+ Day

Today was another perfect day.  Started with the girls taking a swim and then Brian took us for a pontoon ride.  Uncle Tom swam to the raft with the girls and Davis played in the sand.

I love cabin weekends.  Sitting on the beach, in the sun, kids out swimming, surrounded by friends and family.  Brian hanging out on the boat enjoying some well deserved downtime.

Reggie was walking around on the dock, watching the kids swim and checking out the water when all of a sudden he decided he needed to be on that boat with Brian. 

Apparently this one had a little too much sun for one day- lol

 
 

This summer Hannah has been real interested in makeup.  Not so much for her but applying it to others.  Jennie has let Hannah do her makeup multiple times this year and surprisingly she does a pretty good job.  I guess all of those  You Tube videos have payed off.

Bob showed us his most recent tats today.  

These are of the temporary variety, not the usual Sharpie variety that we are used to.  

It cracks me up to think that he is constantly updating and changing his tattoos. 

Chloe's Turn

It's Chloe's turn to come to the lake with us!  The girls must have had a busy day at A+ today, they are already snoozin.  I hope they get well rested, it's going to be a beautiful weekend!

FRIENDS

Aleah, Hannah, Grace, Kaitlyn, Hailey, Chloe, Becca

All sorts of fans at soccer tonight!  Hannah and Hailey both had games at the same location today which doesn't happen very often.  Hailey is on a team with Chloe and Becca, who have older sisters- Grace, Aleah and Kaitlyn, that Hannah is friends with.  The girls had come to watch their sisters and then stayed for Hannah's game.  These girls are all at Adventures Plus together and are all good friends.  I love these families and love that they all have each other. 

This is NOT Goodbye

The Goman's are moving soon.  

They are just moving a few miles away into Champlin but it doesn't make it any easier.  

It's hard to see great neighbors leave.

Mary was pretty clear that she didn't want a party but I just felt like we couldn't let them go without doing something.  So tonight we had a 'Celebrate our Friendship with Jacob Party'.

Complete with his favorites- mac n cheese, hot dogs, grapes, chips and Starburst (just the pink ones).

We made him an OCW Crew Member T-Shirt that turned out pretty cute.

We have had a snake in the rocks in the backyard this summer.  Brian saw it slithering through the rocks one day when he was mowing the lawn.  I haven't seen it in person yet, only through pictures and it was enough to assure that you won't be finding me near those rocks for quite some time!

We are going to miss Jacob around here :-( 

Ewwwwww!

Today I was working from home and out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of something brown crossing our yard.    It then hopped off the grass, into the street and slithered into the sewer.

Then like a groundhog, this little guy popped his head out and sat there perched up looking around- keeping his eye on the neighbors.  He was there for a good hour and eventually must have fallen into the sewer.  I am still not really sure what it was.  I think it might have been a muskrat. 

Ewwww- gives me the shivers.

"Is this it?"

 


Tonight while I was driving home I was Face-Timed by Hannah.  She wants to make dinner, she had some questions and dad was busy.  She is growing up, that's for sure!  She's always been very helpful, I hope that never changes.

MN Junior Rolling Twins

Hannah's friend, Mackenzie, is on the MN Junior Rolling Twins Softball Team.

Today we went up to the park by our house to watch her game.

Extra bonus- Ethan, our neighbor, is also on the team so we got to watch both of them today!

It's amazing what these kids are capable of!

Most of the kids on the team have Spina Bifida.  Mackenzie can put weight on her legs. She typically uses walking sticks, although can walk without them and will use her wheelchair in certain circumstances.  During their sporting events, the kids use sport chairs which have tilted wheels.

#Caughthim

 


The girls have been trying to get Bob to play with slime all summer.  Of course he acts uninterested although we all know that if he just gave it a chance, he'd love it.  The girls were heading down to the lake and they once again offered up a container of slime for Bob to play with.  He turned them down (no surprise). They left the lid off and set it on the table next to him.
Within a few minutes his hand was in the container, just touching it.
I looked away and when I looked back I caught him!  Stretching, pulling, twisting- at least 20 minutes of entertainment.

Brian rented a stump grinder and cleaned up the yard, once again- the hero of the day!

 

Flowers and Shovels

This weekend Kaitlyn came to the cabin with us.

I love that the girls want to bring friends up here.

As soon as they get out of the car they run straight down to the lake.

They are all so excited to spend the day swimming tomorrow.

  We played Royal Rummy tonight.  A card game where you place money (or beans at the Miller's) in each of the bowls on the board.  During the game you can win the mini-pots based on cards that you play or cards in your final hand.  We finally talked Hailey into playing and she had us cracking up!
She kept calling the clubs "flowers" and the spades "shovels".  At first she was so serious and of course the more we laughed, the more she played into it.  Fun game night!

 

First Time Tubing

Today we were invited on the Hulke's boat to go tubing.

The girls have never been and were so excited to try!

We went up and down the river and they had the best time.

They all took turns and kept changing riding partners.

Thumbs up to go faster, thumbs down to slow down and thumb sideways to keep at that speed.

Even though I ended up motion sick by the end of the day, we had a great time!

Tonight we will catch the fireworks around the neighborhood.  The Hoium's usually have a pretty big show and many of the others neighbors around here light stuff off too.