I am playing catch-up again. So if you are interested in the little details of our lives between Duluth and now, scroll down every once in awhile. You just may find something new.
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So I remember these from when I was a kid. They were $3-$4 at the fireworks, and every once in a while Dad would have enough cash on hand to get us all one. They come a lot cheaper now… $1 for a pack of 5 at the local dollar store. So we have been enjoying them! The first photo on just a random evening that turned into late-night summer fun, and the next of the kids with their glo-sticks from our National Night Out event – "was it a party, or a festival?" Zach wanted to know, because the glo-stick package said "for parties! Festivals!" As a belt, a light sabre, or a frisbee, they bring the same sense of wonder to nighttime now as they did then. For less $$. What could be better than that.
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Late start.
Swim lessons.Lunch with friends at the park by the pool.More swimming. Zach getting the hang of it, Emma jumping in all the way under. Carter saying "done" the whole time.A 3.5 hour nap for Carter, and a lazy afternoon for the rest of us. We watered the plants, talked, made pizza – the kids were so excited to make their own little ones, and it was fun to have the time to let them do it.I ate my dinner reading Sister Hinckley's "Letters", while Carter (STILL) slept and Emma and Zach talked to their friends through the fence. Why make them come in when Nate wasn't coming home for dinner, they were having fun, and they didn't care if their pizza was cold? So I didn't.There was even a big OJ spill at dinner, and it didn't matter one bit. See what a perfect summer day can do for you? -
Who decided that "delete all" was a good idea to put on a digital camera? Without any little prompt like you get on a computer that says, "You are now going to delete all of the photos on this camera, including those that you have not yet uploaded to your computer. Are you SURE you want to do this?"
Luckily it had only been 4 days since I uploaded pictures when I had my little accident, but still… the ones I lost were of Carter sitting still for the first time reading a book (Big Sarah's Little Boots on the couch with Nate); Carter and Emma blowing bubbles for hours on the back porch, Emma with the motorized blower and Carter waving the wand like crazy and loving every second of it; and the kids at swimming lessons today, learning how to "actually swim", as Zach put it. Things I am sure we will do again but never in quite the same way. Boo, delete all feature. I could certainly do without you. -
The kinderball season ended with a bang, as #7 Zach Adams hit a home run to end the game. He nearly got tagged out at home, but didn't – and I'm sure if they were keeping score (which they don't in kinderball) it would have been the game-winning home run. :)
Highlights of the season:– school friend Nate on the team– lots of practice hitting off the tee with Dad in the backyard, and hitting lots of balls OVER OUR HOUSE!– priceless looks on spectators faces watching Zach prepare to bat… just like a major leaguer.– every time the team got 3 outs in an inning (otherwise they'd switch at the 9th batter… most of the time…)– catching fly balls– Dad being the assistant coach.We all had fun watching him play – proud to say we never missed a game. Carter ate a lot of clover and Emma made a lot of bead jewelry and we can't wait till next year for more of the action. -
It was time for our annual berry-picking/jam making. Word from the berry farm was that they would have two weeks of berries left. We thought we'd wait till the second week when our schedule was a little less crazy. When we got there, the barn was CLOSED. So I knocked on the door. It was true. The woman who runs the farm with her husband said they were done for the year. I got back into the car and we headed toward home. We were all bummed. Zach and Emma cried. I pulled over and found the number for the farm. I called, explaining to the lady that even though she just told me they weren't picking any more berries, we would pay her a couple of dollars to just pick a handful, to appease the disappointed kids. (And their disappointed mother.) All of us like the picking as much as we like the berries. She was a saint, and said we could pick two pints. I was so grateful. It was so fun. One of my top 5 favorite things about Rochester, to be sure. So I didn't feel too guilty when we snuck off to the bushes and she told other two other cars that they were closed. Zach and Emma were great pickers and Carter was a great eater. He already knew the word "berry" and put it to good use in between mouthfuls. And to top it all off, after we added a little apple juice, we had enough berries for a batch of freezer jam. Happy day!
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Discovered at a friends' pool Thursday afternoon and hidden in my bag by a curious little treasure keeper until it was discovered by me today… a dead bird skull, complete with feathers and all. I am trying not to throw up as I write this – way too grossed out on the way to the garbage to take a picture.
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I offered Mickey Mouse. She took me up on it. He raised the bar a little. The little one didn't care about the shape, and only ate the chocolate chips. Everyone was happy, including the "artist", who had more fun making breakfast than she'd had in a long time.
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When Nate was home studying for boards, Carter developed a fascination with the skulls in his office. (Not a strange thing for a maxillofacial surgeon to have in an office, I promise…)
ANYWAYS. Carter loves the skulls. He would stand outside the door saying "Daddy! Skull!" And when Nate would let him in, he'd immediately point to the skull, saying "That skull!" over and over. He loved it. And it seemed like such a strange word to list with his other 15 month words, but it's true. And it's cute. Here's to carrying on Dad's interest in the skull. -
Nate had some time off, and we took a short family vacation up to Duluth on the shore of Lake Superior. It was our first time up there, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Nate's only family rule for vacations is "Everybody has to have fun!" and nobody broke the rule for too long, at least not when we were out of the car. (Emma and Carter had to have a pillow wedged in between their seats for the drive…) I couldn't choose just a few pictures so I will put them in an album on the sidebar. Highlights included watching the bridge go up and down, Nate driving through the thousands of seagulls so they flew all around us, riding the 5 man bike WAY off the "recommended route", the huge piece of driftwood that Nate caught, hiking at the waterfalls, throwing rocks, feeding more seagulls that could catch bagel as they dove in the air, ice cream for lunch and fries and pie for dinner, soccer on the beach, the maritime museum (but not the lost hat). It was beautiful and so much fun!
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