Silly Lilly

You have a way of melting my heart little Lilly. There is something about you that is very special. You have a way of making all those around you smile. So innocent, so full of life, so full of love. We are incredibly lucky to have you as our daughter. Thanks for brightening our days silly Lilly!

Summer Playdates

The kids had a lot of fun meeting various friends for playdates this summer. We ventured to various parks, pools, and splash pads with our buddies. We even went to the Library, Bounce Depot, and Space Aliens on days that the weather didn't cooperate. Many pizzas were shared, juice boxes were sipped, and Popsicles were eaten. Loads of sunscreen was applied, bug spray was used, and Bandaids/hugs were given. Tons of fun was had, laughs were heard, and memories were made.

A Must See Sale!

HUGE Multi-Family Sale!

Name Brand Kids' Clothes (Gymboree and Gap),

Tons of Toys, Housewares Galore,

Scrapbooking and Stamping, Country Crafts,

Jewelry, Bedding, and Miscellaneous Goodies

you don't want to miss.

This is a MUST SEE SALE!

Preview Sale Wed., Aug. 12th from 4pm-7pm,

Thurs. 8am-5pm, and Fri. 8am-2pm.

901 21st Ave. North~ Sartell

The kids sold Lemonade, baked goods, and candy.
Profit: $27.00

Each year I like to do what I call a "clean sweep" through my house. This simply means going through every closet, cupboard, and drawer to clean and reorganize the space. It also means pulling out items that haven't been touched in the past year and marking them for my yearly garage sale. I believe that if I haven't touched it, or in some cases forgot I even owned it...I probably don't need it.

With the move, I came across many sellable items. Most of the treasures came from the storage garage. When you live without half of your belongings for close to eight months, why put them back into a cupboard or closet? I forgot we even owned some of the things I unboxed from storage. Sad, I know. The date for the sale was set the day we moved in. Each box I unpacked was sorted and placed in it's new location in the house, or put back into boxes labeled "garage sale". Before I knew it, one side of the garage was filled with boxes of things that I didn't want to put in the house.

If you have ever had a garage sale, you can empathize with how much work they are...but it you haven't, beware! At one point, I contemplated taking all the boxes in the garage to the Goodwill and forgetting about it. I was so tired from moving and unpacking that I wasn't sure it was going to be worth all the time and energy. Well, thank goodness I stuck with it. After gathering 10 eight foot tables, seven card tables, one clothes rack, marking hundreds of items, placing the ad in the paper, and putting out a half dozen signs... I was ready for business.

Cars were lined up in front of our house close to an hour before we opened. Ladies seriously poured into my garage the minute I put the doors up. It reminded me of the "Day After Thanksgiving"...where people wait outside of Best Buy and then form lines to the back of the store the minute the doors open just to get the hot deals.

A few ladies actually took empty boxes from the back of my garage to load up their loot. It was quite a sight! $1400 was made in the first two hours! I guess you could say it was worth the effort. Many of my friends brought items to sell as well. When it was all said and done, $2500 was made and just a couple of boxes were brought to the Goodwill. It felt good to not have to store those unwanted items in the house...and of course make a little money for new treasures.

Rub A Dub Dub

Rub A Dub Dub

Look who's in the tub!

Nolan and Lilly broke in our whirlpool tub tonight.
Bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles... everywhere!
The jets have a way of making them multiply.
They were definitely squeaky clean after this bath.

Off to the Fair

The kids and I got away tonight to meet their cousins Brandon and Carter at the Benton County Fair in Sauk Rapids. Summer just wouldn't be complete without the traditional trip to the fair.

Nolan was pretending he had a Harley just like his Grandpa Jim.
Vroom! Vroom!

Lilly really enjoyed the rides this year too.
She is finally tall enough to go on the kiddie rides without Mike or me right at her side.

Even I couldn't pass up the Merry-Go-Round.

All Aboard!

Pure excitement...I think he is ready for the "big kid" rides.

Nolan has no fear when it comes to rides.

Of course, we couldn't leave the fair without a special treat.

Lilly LOVED her tasty snowcone.

The Big Move

As much as our family loved living at Grandview Estates, we were soooo ready to get back into our own home. Originally, Mike and I planned to spread the move out over a week. We thought it would be nice to take it slow and do a little each day. There was no rush, so why get stressed trying to do it all in one weekend? Well, once we got going, we really got going! Our helpers were awesome, and the move was done in a day! Jason brought his truck and trailer and two other friends showed up with their SUV's. By noon, my grandma's basement and our storage garage were empty and the guys were asking what they should do next...so off they went to bring everything from the apartment over. They had it all in the house before three o'clock!

It was amazing...and a little stressful. Watching four men box up my stuff was interesting. :) We spent our first night in our new house on August 1st. Thanks for your help everyone!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Mike didn't want anything too big planned for his birthday this year, so we kept it pretty low key...rice and beans from Pancheros for supper and of course the traditional ice cream cake from DQ for dessert. The best part of the celebration was that we got to enjoy it at the kitchen counter of our new home. Mike's birthday meal was the first official meal shared together in our house. That alone made the day pretty special. Happy Birthday Dad!

Time

So much to do...so little time. How can that be you may ask? Nobody feels too sorry for the teacher who has her whole summer to herself. Every day an open slate right?! Sleep-in time, time for fun, time to waste, time for just about anything. How can there be all this time when at the end of each day I ask myself, "Where did the time go?"

From sun-up to sun-down there is never a dull moment. Anyone with kids knows that they alone are a full-time job! And boy do they know how to take their sweet time...especially when I need to be somewhere on time. They certainly don't like to hear the words, "Naptime!" Which in the end, means more of "my" time is gone.

This past week, I really didn't take the time to think about my blog. Sad, I know! Never thought there would be a time when this didn't come first. Life has been crazy busy and we've had a nothing but a great time... Nolan played baseball at Sports Sampler, Lilly danced her heart out at Wiggles and Giggles, they both enjoyed the Magic themed story hour at the public library, babysat for a good friend, had a date night w/ my hubby, went to the beach, rode our bikes, played at various parks, had a pizza party, celebrated two grandmother's birthdays, went to auntie Celina's house, went swimming, got to go four-wheeling, watched a movie in the theater, and went out for ice-cream. I am afraid I don't have very many pictures to post this time... too busy to take any!

As I type this entry, I am once again reminded of the time. The computer clock reads 11:55 PM and this is the first chance I've had all day to sit at the computer. I can see that it's time for bed. Tomorrow is going to be another busy day and this mom needs to catch some ZZZzzzzz before it's time to start all over again.

It's times like this, that make me stop and think... Wow...Time is a gift! I am so glad I have the opportunity to be home with my kids during the summer. It is so nice to be able to create my own schedule. Time flies when we're having fun! Life is wonderful! I don't want to miss a single moment.

Pictures to come...my camera is giving me a hard time. :)

A Big Surprise

I was all packed and ready to go to the beach on Saturday, when Mike walked in with a suitcase and told me I had 20 minutes to pack. I looked at him very confused, because this wasn't what we had planned for the day. Of course, I began asking questions because the planner/organizer in me wasn't comfortable at that moment with the quick change in plans. With a little nervousness, excitedness, and extreme curiosity, I did as I was told. He didn't tell me where we were headed, so I put three different outfits into the suitcase and followed him out the door 10 minutes later. He had already packed the kids, rearranged all the weekend plans, and gathered what he needed for our Mystery 10 Year Anniversary Trip.

We had made plans to celebrate our anniversary on the actual day (July 17th), so it really took me by surprise. Mike has always been good a surprising me. He is honestly the best gift giver. He has been known to go above and beyond when it comes to spoiling me. I definitely caught a keeper!

The kids were dropped off at his mom's and we left town at the exact time we had planned to leave for the beach...which I later found out was planned too. My stepmom, Mary, had changed the time on me earlier in the week. At that time, I didn't think anything of it, but could now see that many people were in on this surprise.

Minneapolis became our destination and off we went. Mike told me he had to use the bathroom about 50 minutes into the journey...which I thought nothing of at the time...until I got out of the car. I was about to go into the gas station, when out walks Denell with a dozen roses in her hand. I was SHOCKED! My mind couldn't put together how she got there fast enough. Her and Kevin stood there smiling, and told us we were there to pick them up. This of course excited me even more. It is always fun having good friends nearby...even if it is an anniversary trip.

Back on the highway we went. Mike pulled in the Grave's Hotel downtown Minneapolis...which even blew Denell's socks off! We were both pleasantly surprised by Mike's taste in hotels. (Way to go Mike!) They escorted us up to our room and we toured the hotel. Mike had brought a handful of options, but told me I could choose what I wanted to do. He told me we had 8:00 reservations somewhere and the rest of the day was mine.

I was up for anything...so off we went...having nothing but a good time in downtown Minneapolis. You can view our day below:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It was perfect... like a fairy tale. Mike is an amazing husband and father.

I am so lucky to be his wife!

Welcome Home

David and MaryBeth, along w/ her sister and the twins came to MN last week to visit. It has been close to two years since we've last seen them, so we were very anxious for them to arrive. Of course, they too were excited about seeing everyone...and the weather was perfect here in MN (unlike the high temp. in TX). The twins, Ana and Rita (who are now 2 1/2) really enjoy being outside, so we were happy the weather cooperated.
They were able to stay right here at our apartment the first week of their vacation. The guest suite in which they resided was right next door! They arrived on Tuesday, June 30th and were with us until July 8th. There was never a dull moment. We had a lot of family get togethers, day trips, meals, and fun while they were here. It was really hard to say good-bye on their last day. Thankfully, I captured close to 300 special moments that we can all look back on. We are so happy you could come home. You're already missed!

Make a Smilebox slideshow