Vacation!

We have had a fun week and a half….

It all started on June 28 when we headed to Milwaukee, WI for “Nonnafest.” My great aunt Rita turned 90. We went to help celebrate with her! We saw a lot of extended family. Some I had never met, and some I had not seen in more than 10 years. It was fun to see everyone. I enjoyed the company, I think the girls enjoyed the hotel pool the most! Both were able to put their feet in Lake Michigan while we were there. Leah enjoyed playing in the lake, Amber was not too thrilled to put her feet in the cold water, and wanted to be held most of the time!

 

After coming home on July 1, the girls and I headed up to the cabin on July 2 along with my mom (dad was already there) and my good friend Sara and her boys Michael and Joshua. Joe had to stay back to work (boo)! We had a nice (hot, hot) day at the cabin, even though the lake was flooded and the dock was underwater! We had a bad storm that night which left us without power which was interesting because it was hot and muggy! I was ok (but I am always cold, the others were a bit uncomfortable (maybe I am saying that too gentle)! We also did not have a working toilet, thank goodness for lake water cuz I did not want to take a potty training 2 year old to the outhouse! We were still without power on the 4^th. We headed over to Eveleth for the parade where the girls made out with lots and lots of candy! Power was restored the evening of the 4^th. The fireworks had already been cancelled due to flooding, so we did not see fireworks this year. We spent a lot of time in the lake as both girls just love the water. Amber was constantly jumping “off” the underwater dock! Joe joined us on Thursday with a surprise guest for the girls…Grandpa Shorty who came all the way from Michigan! Leah was so excited to see him. She was grinning from ear to ear. Priceless! Dan and Tiff and the girls also came on Thursday. Shortly after their arrival, with enough time for them to remove a window, but not have time to put the new one it, the power was out again! Again it was hot, so we got a hotel room and figured the girls could use the pool in the morning since the weather forecast was for rain! Power was restored Thursday evening. We headed to the hotel (Joe, Shorty and I). The morning brought rain and cold. The girls had fun swimming in the “water park” which only had 2 slides – one was broken, the other was in the kiddy pool! They didn’t care though, they swam, jumped and went down the little slide. They just love the water. Amber really loved the kiddy pool since she could do everything herself! We celebrated Tiffanie’s birthday Friday night. Saturday brought a good bye to Shorty. Both girls were sad. As grandpa left, Amber said “Grandpa come back.” We finally got a boat ride as the water started to go down and my dad could take the boat off the lift. Joe and I left the girls with my parents Saturday afternoon to head back home. Amber and Leah came home with my parents on Sunday, I was told as they were leaving, Amber said “go back to the cabin.” Since driving up to the cabin, and being told by Nonna to look for cows and horses…every time we are in the car, Amber says “I see horses, I see cows!”

Sunday July 8, Joe and I were lucky enough to be able to go to the “Brothers of the Sun” tour with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw. The opening acts were Jack Owen and Grace Potter. It was the first concert held at Target Field. We had fabulous weather. The music was great (well, neither of us really were impressed with Grace Potter, but loved the others)! What an amazing night.

 

Recap

1^st road trip in our new vehicle

10/10 days with family and friends

9/10 days swimming

6 days at the cabin

2 states

2 birthday parties

1 Flooded lake

2 Power outages

2 trees down

1 visit from Grandpa Shorty!

1 boat ride

1 potty trained (yup, I can say that now) 2 year old!  

2 tired girls

1 great concert

200+ pictures!

12 days of not working!

Noah Michael Duffy born 6/11/12!

Joe, Leah and I headed to Eau Claire to meet baby Noah on 6/17/12!! He is so very handsome. Noah is the son of our very dear friends Beth and Rob! We are so happy for them. They are going to make wonderful parents. Noah is a very lucky boy! 

When we got home, Leah said to me, “I am going to miss Noah.” Awwww!

Swimming Lessons

Leah loves swimming lessons. She is doing amazing. She is going to Foss Swim School in Blaine. She is now in Big 3. She has a great instructor, Chris (who I think she may have a little crush on)! She is much more focused than she has been in previous sessions and it is paying off. She is learning the butterfly and breast stroke as well as continuing to work on her crawl stroke and back stroke. The breast stroke and butterfly are still very tricky, but she is trying and we are very proud of her efforts!

6/12/12 Como Zoo

We made our first trip of the summer to Como Zoo on 6/12/12. The girls had a blast. Amber seemed most fascinated by the fish and monkeys. Leah’s favorite animals are still the seals/sea lions. We watched Sparky the sea lion show, saw some animals, and of course rode some rides. Amber, still in the midst of potty training, made it through without any accidents! She did great. It’s always fun to go to the zoo!

Let me try to catch up...again!

It seems like I am doing these catch up posts a lot these days! There just is not enough hours in the day to keep up with everything especially this time of the year when things really seem to pick up.

So, since my last post…

5/22/12- My mom and I took Leah, Amber, Thea and Delila to the Mall of America for some fun at Nickelodeon Universe. It was the first time Amber was really able to ride the rides and she had such a great time. She really is an adventurous soul.

Memorial Weekend was spent at the lake with my parents, Dan, Tiff, Thea and Delila. We had a cold, rainy weekend, but the girls didn’t seem to care. They all love the cabin! The love the water, the love the fish, they love the fire, they love being outside, and best of all they love being together!

6/2/12- We spend the day celebrating a lovely 8 year old's birthday! Kaylee, Leah’s good friend, a friend I hope she has forever turned 8. Hard to believe they are growing so fast. Kaylee is the oldest daughter of our very dear friends, it is so great that Leah and Kaylee are friends. They also have another beautiful daughter, Kaysee (my goddaughter) who will be forever friends with Amber if their mommy’s have any say in it!

6/7/12 – Leah’s last day of first grade. It is so hard to believe that my first born is a second grader. So, she is doing well in school, but she is a social one and could be doing better if “she worked to her potential!” Apparently, she likes to talk to her friends and she likes to pay attention to everything that is going on in the room. The great thing, though, is that she is always the first to help when another child is in need of assistance. I am proud of how she is doing, and I hope that we will be able to help her reach her potential!

6/7/12 – Amber’s first day of no accidents. So, after the first potty training trial ended with a yeast infection, we were ready to try again. Amber started back in underwear on 6/3, and only 4 days later was a potty pro. Okay, not a pro, but getting the idea. She has #1 down, but is still working on #2. A small set back on Friday when she came down with a stomach virus, but she seems back on track today. She even used a public toilet (in the family bathroom at the mall – they have a child size toilet)! She would not use the big toilet in Kohl’s.

Some other fun stuff about Amber since I haven’t updated on her accomplishment:

*She is a talking pro –
 my favorite Amberism: “I hold you” when she wants to be carried
 Amber's favorite saying: "I do this"
 When told that we are out of something that she wants more of: "I see it"

*She counts to 4

*She is starting to sing the ABCs (again, just starting)!

*She loves to be outside, in the water, jumping, running, climbing – well, just moving.

* She is the definition of a 2 year old – into everything, and wants it her way!

Mall of America

Memorial Weekend: Cabin, Grand Rapids, MN

Kaylee's Birthday

6/5/12 - Almost the last day of school!

Crazy week!!

Wow what a week!

Delila’s friend birthday party was on Tuesday 5/15 at Build A Bear. The girls had a blast and Leah and Amber just love their new bears! Hard to believe Delila is already 4.

Leah had a very busy week with birthdays, gymnastics and dance which carried over into a busy weekend – Dance Recital (5/19) and her Gymnastics Spring Fling (5/20). She was a superstar of course in both shows!

This last weekend Amber was on the stage for the first time as well in the Krayola Kids Daycare Spring Show/Preschool Graduation. The toddler class “sang” 2 songs. They were all so darn precious. Amber decided to take off on shoe during the first song and held it the rest of the time they were on the stage. She did not stay on her mark, she decided to walk around the stage instead. She did a few of the actions for the song, but for a majority of the time, she just stood and stared at the audience!

We also had Delila’s Family birthday party on 5/20. The girls always have such a fun time together. It is also fun to see them starting to include Amber – as well as making sure Amber is taken care of! They had a pinata. Thea made sure that Amber got her fair share of candy. Once Amber had the candy, good luck taking it away! Surprised that she did not end up with a tummy ache!!!

Delila's 4th Birthday Party 5/15/12 - Build A Bear (Ridgedale)

 

 Krayola Kids Spring Program 5/19/12- Isanti Middle School

Dance Dynamics Dance Recital 5/19/12 - Cambridge Isanti High School

Perpetual Motion Gymnastics Spring Fling 5/20/12 - Blaine

Delila's 4th (family) birthday party 5/20/12 - Maple Grove

A very difficult process-- getting all 4 to look at the camera at the same time!!!

4/29/12 March for Babies

Every year more than 7200 babies are born prematurely in Minnesota. $1.8 million was raised statewide on 4/29/12. It will go toward research and programs aimed at helping parents have healthy, full-term babies. I am so proud to say that we were a part of that, and that I have so many family and friends who were able to support us! Through your support, we raised $685!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

We had a great day. The weather cooperated (finally - this is the 6th time we have walked, and, I think, only the 2nd time with good weather)!! Leah, Amber and I walked with my mom, Tiffanie, Thea, Delila, Sara, Michael and Joshua. Ahead of us, but with us as a team - Jaclyn and Nicole! Michael, Thea, and Leah walked the entire time with Delila walking and taking a break in the wagon from time to time! They did so great. So proud of all of them. Amber was also very well behaved as she enjoyed the walk from her stroller! In the last segment of the walk, they had posters with different baby's stories, I would guess at least 20 - maybe more. The kids stopped and looked at everyone of them. I really think they are starting to understand why we do this walk!