First Day of Preschool

Last week Thursday Eddie started 3 year old preschool. He was super excited, although slightly nervous.

posing with Daddy

Being silly

The kids weren't co-operating too well with a picture (notice Edith's backpack too!)

Hitting sister in eye with elbow

In his classroom - too busy to look at camera!

 While Eddie had his first day at school, Edith and I came home and hosted our first playgroup of the year.  We'll be meeting with the same moms and kids two Thursdays a month throughout the school year. She was super excited for that and asked "where are my friends?"

First playgroup

 Eddie had a good first day. The teacher even emailed me several pictures. Eddie is looking forward to the rest of the year.

We ended the day with a trip to Dairy Queen and ice cream cones!

Belated B-day Celebration

At the end of August we had a special visit from JoJo. We really made the most of her visit - trips to the park, the zoo, the beach and out to dinner. Uncas and I got to go to the MN State Fair (for those who don't live in this state, the state fair is a HUGE deal around here) and do some solo shopping trips.  We also were able to celebrate JoJo's birthday which was the week before. I told her she could have any type of cake and she picked cheesecake. It looks plain in the pictures, but there was homemade raspberry sauce and whipped cream.

Helping blow out the candles

Post cheesecake snuggles are the best!

Riding the monorail at the zoo with JoJo

Edith and I on the monorail

Enjoying a convertible ride!

Sadly I didn't take many more pictures of the visit, but we enjoyed the warm weather and the company!

August Family Vacation 2013

This August we did a big family vacation to the same place in Northern Wisconsin. This year my mom, father-in-law and brother with his family all joined our crewed.  We got two cabins and it was a fun-filled week. The little kids had fun playing in the sand and rocks and fishing. The adults had fun playing games, eating and fishing too! In some ways it was a tough trip because my dad was very much missed, but we know that he wanted us to go and have fun, so we did. Here are a few highlights (cause I took a ton of pictures!)

Girls' Weekend - 2013

I just opened blogger and discovered that I had a post that I never completed. Well, technically I barely started because when I opened it, all I had was this picture!  Anyhow - way back in July (like almost 2 months ago!) I had a girl's weekend with my favorite gal pals Lisa and Amy! Each of us has had a rough year emotionally and this was actually planned way back in January or was it February (so long ago, I don't even remember). When I first suggested this to Lisa, it was just going to be a fun weekend up here sometime during the summer.  Then like a day later, we found out that NKOTB (New Kids on the Block) were going to be touring and be up in Mpls in the July on a Saturday night - perfect!

I kicked my husband and kids out of the house for the weekend, so it was truly just the girls (and Sammy). We did fun things like eat yummy food, shopping, pedis and manis, a concert, more yummy food and lots of chatting. It was perfect and I can't wait to do it again next year!!!

Growing Up

So, this also happened in July:

We switched Edith to her toddler bed. It sounds more glamorous than it really is. I took a side off of her crib. We have been fortunate that neither child ever tried to climb out of the crib. And as a result, neither child gets up out of their bed.  In my opinion, Eddie was too lazy (or it never occurred to him) and Edith genuinely likes her crib/bed. I think there are two reasons for this, 1. she likes to play with her babies and animals and 2. it's the only place she is allowed to have her nuks.

I think we'll be looking to switch to a twin bed come the fall which means redoing her room a bit and it also means saying good-bye to the glider (sniff, sniff). But for now, she likes her little bed and is sleeping great!

This Happened in July

I made it a personal vow to not write about potty training on this blog or any social media. I don't mind reading what other people have to say, but I just decided to not really talk about any of the details. If you've encountered me in person in the last 6 months, I've had A LOT to say about it. But let's just say that that after months of stressing out about it, we did and we made through the other side. Thank you to my mom for helping during the worst of it.  Now we have pictures of him hanging out in his underwear. It's adorable!

One down; one to go! Hoping we can be diaper free by the fall!!!

Heat Wave

A couple of weeks ago Uncas spent $6 on a pool for the kids.  They love it and we've gotten a lot of use out it since it's been rather hot lately.  In fact it's been so warm that after dinner they have been playing in the pool - usually naked. And of course, not just playing in the pool naked, but running around the yard naked too! Uncas and I love it because we can sit back and watch them burn off some energy.

Making their own water slide

Busy with the water toys

I love this picture of her

Working hard at something

Playing in the pool in the evening

They think it's a bath tub!

Running naked in the yard!