family of four

to celebrate one of our last weekends as a family of four, we headed out on a mini-vacation to the twin cities.
first stop: the children's museum
[CAUTION: photo overload ahead...you've been warned]

it is heart-warming to see your children having so much fun. they were so engaged in every activity - eating up every moment they had to play pretend in an over-sized way. the first born tentative to try something if another child was watching, but when he thought no one was around, he was lost in his own little world. the little one oblivious to the other kids and ready for action. [insert annual family membership purchase here - thankyouverymuch]

second stop: the apple store
although we are late in jumping on the band wagon, we are now the proud owners of an iPad. I fought the idea for months, but have fallen in love with that thing. what I didn't fall in love with was the thirty minute search for a parking spot at the mall of america on a saturday afternoon so my dear hubby could battle the crowds and go to the apple store to get the iPad. yes I know they will ship it for free, but we were in the neighborhood. what's that you say? there is more than one apple store in the twin cities? duly noted. seriously. our extended time in the car did, however, offer an opportunity for the little buggers to snooze.

third stop: hotel
I have such fond memories of weekend getaways to a hotel in the twin cities with my family. ours almost always consisted of the embassy suites, mr. bulky's candy store, and fuddruckers (self service cheese sauce available to preteens...mmm hmm). certainly the highlight was the swimming pool. clearly this is still the case as evidenced by the slew of pictures from the pool and nothing else.

ah, so now I know why our parents chose hotels with kid-friendly pools; they have the power to induce extreme drowsiness in small children.

the chance to spend time alone as a family of four just weeks before becoming a family of five was priceless. it will be engraved in my memory always.

christmas in july

ok...so make it christmas in august. in any case, it has become our one big christmas gift to each other and we look forward to our week in the woods with nana, papa, and all of my siblings.  the way that it always seems to be "the same" each year is somewhat comforting, yet our family grows and changes each year and so it really can't be the same. but our goal of coming together for a relaxing week in the woods hanging out and spending time with each other is met and then some. so I guess what they say is true: if it ain't broke...don't fix it!


this year we stayed near brainerd on a beautiful lake. the weather was picture perfect and we took advantage of all things sunny, breezy, and warm. we played games, ate yummy food, splashed in the water, laughed, read, snuggled in pjs, ogled at the little boys, and loved.

going on a pinecone hunt with nana and josiah

it was nearly perfect; this year we were missing a few and that always leaves a little hole in an otherwise seamless vacation. but there is always next year, which is what I love about an annual vacation. we will have next year to do it all over again...and I can't wait.

seth - beth - josiah

blair - brian

my wonderful parents - a.k.a. nana & papa

our family of four

the gang - minus nykkole, helen, marc, and jen

just in case the umpteen pictures above weren't enough for you, here's a little video. enjoy!

sidewalk chalk and summer breezes

I will admit that I'm not a huge fan of the sweltering summer heat. the hot and humid summers that are typical in minnesota can be a bit uncomfortable. however, I do enjoy all other things summer - popsicles, days off with my boys, sidewalk chalk, baseball, bon fires, pools, flip flops, fireworks...need I go on? these things, in and of themselves, make the heat and humidity worth every moment. however, I'll take it as a little gift from above that this week's weather was absolutely, positively gorgeous. not like "ooh, it's nice out here!" - no, no, no. I will quote one of my fave friends characters here and ask, "could it BE any nicer outside?" it could not. 75 degrees, sunny, and dry...all the right ingredients to turn fun summer days into extraordinary ones. so miles and I made plans to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather. we decided to spend time with dear friends. we walked to the park, played in the back yard, watched a baseball game, and swam in the baby pool. it was magical and I soaked it all in. I'm not sure what I would do if did not have these summer days with my babies. being a teacher rocks, but summer vacations rock even more!

one of my "teacher friends", kate, and her darling little girls, kylin and grace, met up with us on thursday to walk downtown for thursdays on first. (my bestest friend in the whole world, laurie, also joined us. she is here visiting for a week. more on that in a later post.) before we left, miles wanted to show the girls his new storytime kit from the public library. it is chalk full of fun games, books, dvds, cds, and puzzles. this week's theme: planes, trains, and automobiles. it was a huge hit will all three of the little ones. once we had everyone packed up we set out on our 20 minute walk. we have matching strollers and had to brush off the many snotty looks from I'm-busy-and-important-so-get-out-of-my-way business people who thought they would grab a "quick lunch" out on the street with hundreds of other people. sorry sir, but this place is packed and I'll be darned if you think I'm about to come here without some sort of stroller to keep my babies shaded and contained. thankyouverymuch.

after a much needed nap, we headed back outside to play in the driveway. nothing says summer like a chalky mural on your driveway. we thank my wonderful cousin, olivia, for this week's art work. I love how miles sat patiently to watch her draw and how he was concerned about the chalk on the bottoms of his feet.

henry was content to sit and watch safe in the arms of daddy.

and who could resist a little late evening melt-down.

followed by a lesson in signing - first socks, then shoes

I'm completely in love with little babies in swimsuits or even plain ol' diapers, if that's all you have with! we had an impromptu picnic lunch and swim session on friday. impromptu is the best kind, right? the rogers' girls, sophia and jocelyn, brought along their parents and so did the world's cutest nephew, josiah. (he's mine, so I can say that!) what follows is a peek into our afternoon in the shade. the pudgy baby toes, splashes of water, naked buns rolling around in the grass, and squeals of delight from tiny littles is more than enough fun for this momma. I would do this everyday if I could. oh wait, I can...and I will!

and to make a long post even longer...here's one more of henry bug. I couldn't resist. this one captures his blue eyes and spiky peach fuzz hair so perfectly. love.