Thank-Yous

You may remember that Lucy had a bit of a "Hungry Caterpillar" theme for her birthday. Well, since you all should have received your thank-you cards by now, I wanted to share with everyone how we carried that theme over!

Lucy used thumb and fingers to make her own caterpillars with paint.
I added the face and antennae, and Lucy helped me stamp "thank you."

 

I love the way these turned out!



7/21 - Brandon's Birthday and Speaking to the Trees

This weekend we celebrated Big Brother's 19th birthday with a party at Grandpa's house on Friday night. The photos are on Husband's phone, but we had a fish fry, cake, and lots of fun hanging out. It turned out to be a beautiful night and it was so nice to finally be able to sit outside without sweating through our clothes!

Saturday morning we went to see Ice Age 3 with Daddy, Auntie Marcey, and Uncle Haver. It was a cute movie, althought I think it was a little beyond Lucy. It didn't hold her attention and she kept herself busy throughout by moving from lap to lap, eating popcorn, and various other fidgety activities.

That night Brandon came over and we headed to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner and to celebrate his birthday with just our little family. Lucy is always excited to see her big brother and wanted to play with him the whole time. We could barely leave the house, and when we came back afterwards she didn't want him to go home!

Sunday Lucy and I went to nearby Westwood Nature Center. We'd been there once before but the actual nature center was not open, and we didn't explore the trails very much. This time we were able to go inside and also walk around a lot more to see what the nature center has to offer.

I'm sure we scared plenty of animals away in this shocking pink outfit!

She was very worried about this tree stump, and we had to look inside to see if the Lorax
was going to come out "speak for the trees!"

Inside the nature center, there were plenty of snakes and bugs and lizards to observe.

We found these friends on the way back to the car!

 This was a beautiful space and there is much more to explore, so we look forward to making this one of our "regular" spots!

Summer Weekend Warriors 7/14 - [Raspberry] Jam Packed

Boy, was this weekend busy! Friday night Lucy had a movie night with one of her teachers from school, a gift we had purchased at a silent auction fundraiser. So of course while the kiddie was away, Mom and Dad had to play! We went to a happy hour with some of Husband's friends from work, and stayed downtown with another couple for dinner at Hell's Kitchen. It was good to spend a night out on the town with good friends and each other, it had been too long for both!

The best I could do...

Saturday, Lucy and I were invited to go swimming with her good friend Nathan and his mom, at her mom's house. She has a fun kiddie pool and a 3-foot  pool, and we had a great time. Lucy tried a noodle for the first time in the big pool, and really loved it. I didn't take any photos, but trust me, she and Nathan had a blast!

Saturday night Daddy joined us for a trip to Central Park in Hopkins for the Raspberry Festival. They had a petting zoo, music, and a few food and entertainment booths. Lucy enjoyed petting and feeding the animals (including a camel, weird!), playing on the playground, and getting a balloon animal. It was hot, hot, HOT so we didn't stay too long. That night I took Lucy back to the park to see the fireworks, which was a huge buzzkill. Worst fireworks I've ever seen! They were just too loud and crazy. No time to react to anything with "oohs" and "ahhs," just frantic pops and bangs. Lucy hated it, so we left after only a few minutes.  All we got out of it were a scared kid and some nasty mosquito bites. Bust!

The goats were very hungry!

Sunday we did some shopping as a family and were planning to go to the festival parade, but it was just too darn hot. The parade was at 1PM and it was well over 90 degrees by that time, and the parade takes place on Main Street, so entirely concrete. Plus, the night before we had seen that people had already put out blankets and chairs, so the chances of getting a shady spot were slim. Just not worth it. Plus, this gave us a little extra downtime before friends stopped by that evening. Jacquie and Erik came over for dinner before their soccer game, and Lucy was perfectly happy to show off for them. It had again been too long and we were so happy to sit on the deck and catch up with them.

When Lucy saw their orange shirts, she had to put on her orange soccer shirt, too!

Full weekend, we are all sleeping well tonight!

Summer Weekend Warriors 7/7 - Concert Time and Beach Girls

Friday night I had some "just me" time and went to a concert at the Minnesota Zoo with my friend Jacquie. This is the third summer we have attended a concert there, and we always try to see a band we don't know much about. The summer series at the zoo always has an outstanding lineup, so it's hard to go wrong. This year we saw DeVotchka. While it wasn't my favorite (I liked it, but a little goes a long way),  it's hard not to be somewhat entertained by a rock band that has a tuba as a regular instrument. Although it was 90 degrees at 6PM, the heat broke and it turned out to be a beautiful night. Best part was I got to catch up and spend time with a good friend!

Saturday was pretty quiet, and by Sunday late morning I was a little stir crazy. I decided to take Lucy to the beach. We went to Lake Harriet in Minneapolis and had a blast. It was a beautiful day and Lucy had so much fun. The water was nice and clear and there were lots of little bluegills to chase. Lucy used her new pelican floating ring and got a little braver venturing around in the water. I enjoyed sitting in the shallows keeping an eye on her, and of course I didn't realize until I got home that while I slathered Lucy with sunscreen, I neglected to put enough on my own back and shoulders. Burn, baby, burn. Oops, and ouch! I'll be paying for this for awhile!



Amazingly I got her to wear pigtails!



My big girl.

 

4th of July

This Independence Day was a bit different than years past, in that we actually stayed home instead of traveling back to my hometown in Iowa. I hail from a small town, but it puts on quite a 4th of July celebration, and the holiday has always been a family affair. There's a parade, carnivals, events, games, and fireworks - you name it. It's been quite a few years since we have not traveled there for the 4th, but since it was in the middle of the week this year and Husband couldn't get any other days off, it just didn't seem to make sense to go for just a day.

I found myself really missing my family and the events on this day, and I really wanted to do something to celebrate the holiday with Lucy. What I really wanted to find was a good parade, and luckily, I was successful! I found one in the nearby suburb of Edina. We went a little early because I wasn't sure what to expect, but parking was a cinch. It was obvious that most of the attendees live in the surrounding neighborhoods, because there were already a lot of chairs and blankets set out and many people walking to the route. We couldn't find a spot right on the street, but found a patch of grass behind the sidewalk and most importantly in the shade, because it was a hot and humid day. Some people right on the street were kind enough to let Lucy and a couple of other kids sitting next to us go and sit on the curb so they could be front-row for the candy tossing.

Before the parade. I actually got her to wear a ponytail, and she kept it in the whole time!

It was a great parade with all of the standards - marching bands, political candidates, veterans, classic cars, cartoon characters, and much more. Lucy was enthralled with everything. I loved watching her watch the parade. Many times she was so busy studying what had just passed, that she didn't see what was coming up next! It was great to see her stand up with everybody when the flag bearers passed, and to clap along with everyone else for the veterans. I know she doesn't know quite what it all means yet, but but it means something to me that she start to learn about these things and feel part of what it means to be an American. I can't lie, I got a little choked up at times - part missing my family, part feeling patriotic, and part watching my daughter. It was a wonderful time.

By the time the parade was done around 11:15 or so, it was starting to get really hot. We got in the car and stopped at Bruegger's for lunch, which luckily happened to be open because the girl was getting a little cranky from hunger! When we got home she took a nice long nap, then we played in the pool in the yard for awhile and made supper. We weren't sure if we would make fireworks or not, since it had been such a long (and hot) day. At around 9PM Lucy was still awake, but laying on the couch. When I asked if she was tired, she said, "yes, lay with me." I laid down with her and within 5 minutes she was snoozing. So that answered the question on fireworks! I wasn't too sad since it was still 90 degrees at that time of night!

All in all a wonderful 4th, even if it wasn't our traditional course of events.

Summer Weekend Warriors 6/30 - Picnic and a Whole Lotta Nothin'

Well, the warriors took a break this weekend. It started out ambitious with my annual company picnic, which just Lucy and I attended on Friday evening. It was held at the picnic area at Minnehaha Falls Regional Park, which is a great park and although it was hot (when isn't it lately?!) we had a good time catching up with people and eating some delicious cheeseburgers off the charcoal grill. Even though I work with these folks, it's nice to see their families and compare how the kids have grown over the past year. Plus, with an office of over 80 people now, I don't see everybody and there are a lot of new faces to meet. I appreciate getting people out of context!

Lucy enjoyed the kiddie-sized picnic tables.

After the picnic we strayed over to the nearby kiddie pool, and I remembered that I actually had a swimsuit for Lucy in her daycare bag in the car, so we changed and I let her jump in. We stayed awhile and she enjoyed splashing around. This is a nice little pool because the depth varies from 6 inches to 3 feet and the shape and size of it make it so the kids are always within eyesight. Lucy is getting a little more independent in the water, and it's fun to see her discover what she can do on her own. This little pool excursion was an unexpected but very enjoyable part of the night. The only unenjoyable part was trying to get her out of the pool, and her playing me like a fiddle by wading out to the 3-foot part, because she knew I didn't want to get my capri pants wet! Stinker.

The rest of the weekend we did a whole lotta nothing. I shouldn't' say nothing exactly, because we caught up with some stuff around the house, including cleaning out the shed. It was SO hot and humid, but once Husband gets an idea in his head, there's no turning back. :) It really needed to be done and I'm glad we got it out of the way, and Husband really took the lion's share of the work anyhow. The rest of the weekend was just putzing around the house, playing in the kiddie pool, that sort of thing. I guess it's perfectly fine to not stray far from the house sometimes!

And June has ended...where did the month go?