Our Friend Maggie

 

The girls have a great buddy who lives just down the street - Maggie.  Grace and Maggie are only two weeks apart, so their ages and abilities make these three a great match-up.  It's so fun to watch their friendship grow as they do.  Lately these three have really gotten into imaginative play.  And when I say "really," I really mean it!  Not too long ago, they played house in the basement for two hours - and that meant two hours of time to chat and watch tv for Jamie (Maggie's mom) and me.  Playing house means Olivia's the mom, Maggie is the big sister, and Grace is the baby - either named Ivy (Grace's cousin) or Elsey (Maggie's new baby sister).  When we check on them we typically find Maggie taking a nap, Grace with a toy bottle in her mouth, and Olivia bossing everyone around.  Grace has even gone so far as to climb into little Elsey's baby swing, and Maggie's been found sitting in the bumbo seat.  It's pretty amazing how serious they are.  

Our little trio is too cute to say the least.  It's amazing how well they share and how many giggles we hear as they play.  It's going to be so awesome watching these three (and soon four once Elsey get older and can join in the fun) grow up.  I certainly hope they continue to be best buds, and I know Brian is hoping for one heck of a tennis team made up of the girls and all their friends!  :)

Spinning

Ever since moving into our house, we've had an old swing set that the previous owners had left.  I found out through the grapevine that they had gotten it used from the family of two of my students.  The boy graduated last spring, and I have his sister in my English 11 class this year, so that swing set had seen a lot of action!

I've been a bit of a broken record since we moved in - constantly working on Brian, trying to convince him that we needed to replace the old metal "accident-trap" as I liked to call it.  It truly is amazing that no one ever got hurt on it - especially considering the fact that it took approximately 5 minutes for it to be cut and pulled (yes pulled) apart.  So, I obviously did succeed in convincing Brian, and the girls have been loving their new set - hmmm, I should probably take some pictures.

One thing the girls perhaps miss about their old set is the high-adventure spinning they'd do...we've since retired Grace's baby swing, so this would now be much too dangerous for Mom to tolerate!  Not surprisingly, Grace is the one actually experiencing the action here, but Olivia is more than willing to initiate it!  I wonder how many times in the future Grace will get in trouble for actually doing something that was originally Olivia's idea?  :)

Too bad these pictures weren't on video - it's pretty wild how fast Grace would get going!

 

Getting started...

 

Higher and higher...

Let her fly!  And, clearly mischievous smiles that say - Let's do that again!

Time with Great Grandma and Grandpa

  

One of the last weekends in July, we took a trip over to Wausau.  Things really fell into place - we had Mya's birthday party in Dubque on Saturday, so we drove down in the morning, and then left her pool party at nap time to drive to Wausau.  We hung out with the Roiger family Saturday evening and Sunday for a family reunion.  The reunion was held at Marathon Park, so it was a great place for the girls and other kiddos (sorry no pictures).  They had lots of fun riding the mini-train and playing on the playground and in the splash pool.  I was also pretty pleased at how well they held up without naps (although Grace did take a short snooze on my shoulder which I really treasured as that doesn't happen very often anymore).  It was great to see how comfortable the girls were with everyone - they obviously remembered everyone from our weekend in the Dells, and, honestly, I barely had to lift a finger once we arrived because the kids just took off!

Then Sunday evening we headed over to my grandma and grandpa Hanz's for dinner and visiting.  The girls hadn't seen them in over a year, so I was so thankful that the trip worked out so well.  They had lots of fun exploring the basement and all the "new" toys down there - I think their favorite was an old farm set that was my uncle Lyle's.  :)  It was wonderful to catch up with my grandma and grandpa about all sorts of things - and of course Brian and Grandpa talked business and politics non-stop.  The girls were quick to make themselves comfortable at grandma and grandpa's, and it didn't take long for them to overcome any shyness and become their usual chatterboxes.  Monday morning we got together again before heading home shortly after lunch.

 I so wish we all lived closer to one another, but the distance is also great motivation for keeping up with this blog!  Most importantly, it was great to see the girls truly getting to know their great-grandparents and having fun at the same time!

 

Auntie Thyme

 

We had a fun week with Thyme in July.  My parents and Thyme had come down for the weekend to watch the girls while Brian and I took a short camping trip with college friends and then attended a wedding up in the Cities.  When we got home on Sunday, my parents headed home, but left Thyme with us.  It was a week that went quickly by!  I appreciated the extra help with the girls.  Thyme kept them entertained while I cleaned, cooked, or did laundry.  It did humor me when I'd hear them argue like siblings from time-to-time too!  :)  We stayed busy heading out for a picnic, playing outside, at the park, and at the pool, and generally meandering about Decorah.  I enjoyed evening chats and TV watching with Thyme.  We're both big readers, so it was nice to just spend nap-times sprawled out on the couch with our noses in books too!

During her visit, Thyme and I got out one evening to take some pictures.  We had done this last year too as a surprise to Mom and Mark, so we figured we'd better make it a tradition.  Plus, it's super fun for me to take pictures of someone who is cooperative, smiles when I say, and sits still! 

Thyme, you are a beauty inside and out!  Thanks for coming to spend the week with us - I hope you can come again next year...that is, if you're not still tired from all the little girls chasing you had to do this year!

Here's some of my favorite pictures! 

 

 

 

 

Winneshiek County Fair

As usual, I'm a bit behind in my posts, but I've vowed to myself to get all caught up by the weekend - inservice starts on Monday, and then who knows how chaotic it's going to be moving into my room all over again.  My room was re-modeled over the summer.  I went in to school the other day, and it really does look amazing, but I have so much unpacking to do!  It's crazy how fast this summer flew by - it's been a good one though, so no complaints on my part.  Well, okay, so maybe I complained a time or two about the hot weather.  :)

Anyways...shortly after Olivia's birthday, we headed out for a night of fair fun.  Believe it or not, we dropped 50 bucks on tickets - are you kidding?  When did fair tickets get so expensive?  The girls had an absolute blast, and I was majorly impressed by both of their willingness to try rides that we didn't even think about putting them on last year.  While Grace seemed to favor the carousal, Olivia was absolutely in love with the cars.  They also both hit up the roller-coster, but in hind-sight, Grace was probably a year to young.  Tough cookie that she is though, she handled it just fine - we just didn't get the smiles that came with every other ride.  Brian took the girls down the tall slide, and I took them on the "dinasaur ride" which was basically a little-kids version of the tilt-a-whirl.  I was impressed when they wanted me to spin the wheel to get us really whipping around, and I was also thankful that yours truly and her mini-self (Olivia) didn't get sick in the process!

After rides (see pics below), we spend so time admiring the animals and then enjoying malts - the perfect respite from the sticky, hot weather!  All-and-all, a fun evening out!

Grace couldn't stop smiling on the carousal.

 

Olivia - apparently having the time of her life riding the cars.

Seriously - this was her face nearly every time they circled by...
what a ham.

 

The mini roller-coaster...another big hit according to Olivia's face.

I'll let you judge Grace's expression yourself.

In my opinion it's either - "Okay, I'm warming up to this," or

"Get me off of here now!"

The "dinosaur ride."

Happy 4th Birthday Olivia Ann!

 

This morning, at exactly 8:57, Olivia told me, "Mom, last year I was 3."  Coincidentally, she was only 7 minutes behind being perfectly correct.  It's overwhelming to think about how different our life has become since our sweet little Livy came to be.  Not that long ago, Brian and I were talking about the girls, and I commented that I had no idea what we used to do to fill up all the extra hours.  How bored we must have been!

To be honest, this morning got off to a bit of a rough start with Olivia putting up a stink about her clothes.  She's become a dress-only wearer - a fact that drives me nuts as she has many cute, non-dress outfits sitting in her dresser!  However, determined not to let my feathers get ruffled on her birthday, I called Beth to vent for a minute.  She said, and I agree, Olivia is "The Queen" of stages...  And, that's a good place to start this entry.

My dear Livy,

You are a creature of stages...of habits...  Let's concentrate on the stages - well, when, you were first born, you went through a stage where you got up every night at 11 and 2:35 on the dot.  Then, you went through the stage of being allergic to milk and not eating bread...or cookies...or cupcakes...or anything else other kids can't get enough of.  Hmmm...then came the stage of freaking out in the car seat because the buckles were so tight, and this, of course, was soon to be followed by the stage of nearly all types of clothing being too tight and the stage of getting up 15 times at night.  You've had stages of being obsessed with the Elmo's Potty Time DVD, Dora, the game Memory, and soon to be the games Candyland and Shoots & Ladders - birthday presents from Mom and Dad.  You've obviously in the stage of loving "looking pretty" in dresses, and you've been so interested in brushing your hair nice, putting barrettes in yourself, and taking care of your teeth (so you don't get, what you call, "witch teeth").

And, these stages, while often trying, make you, you - and I love you.  You're shy, sweet, wild, and sassy all at the same time - how do you manage that?  You've got an amazing vocabulary and speak so well...when you speak up that is.  You still love your silky, your thumb, and cuddling.  I love when you wake up first in the morning because that guarantees me an extra 1/2 hour of sleep with you right by my side.  Sometimes, when you're sleepy or sad and I'm holding you, you'll still pat my back as I pat yours, just like when you were a baby.  At times, you truly have a mischievous glint in your eye, and I have a million pictures of you with your head tilted to the right with a sweet, shy smile on your face - your classic pose.

You are one of the most caring sisters I know.  Tonight, as we were reading books, Grace laid down, not with her head in my lap, but with it in yours.  You sat there quietly, patting her back, playing with her hair, and bending down a couple of times to give her little kisses.  The sight made my heart happy.  The bond between the two of you is incredibly strong and special - and maybe someday when you guys are fighting, you'll read this and stop arguing over whatever...probably who stained whose shirt, or something like that.  You guys like to sleep together when allowed, and being told "no" to this has caused your sister to have a few tantrums.  At Camp DuNord, you two slept together every night, and usually when I'd go to bed, I'd find you two cuddled up together.  You and your sis love playing babies, house, and kitchen along with coloring, jumping on the trampoline, swimming (You've now passed the Preschool lessons twice!), and running around outside.  We've spend so much time at the pool lately, that you haven't been that interested in biking, but I hope that's something we'll get back into soon.

Otherwise, you've turned into quite a Mommy's little helper.  You like to help vacuum and do other house chores...please can that continue as you get older? You fold clothes and blankets, and when you asked me to put your shoes in your shoe organizer in your closet, your Daddy laughed and said you were just like me.  He quickly followed that up by saying that that was a good thing of course!  It's true though...a little shy, a little emotional, a tendency to get car sick...the list could continue.

What else can I say...you've gotten taller this year and have thinned out a little.  You still cry about the most small injuries - today you actually limped around because you got a 1/4 inch cut on your knee, and a while back you took a bath with your arm raised above your head the entire time because you had skinned your elbow.  You're doing great with letters, numbers, and staying in the lines while coloring.  You love drawing with chalk, watering the plants, and explaining to Grace what she can and cannot do.  Actually, you're a bit of a tattletale right now, but we're working on it, and I think you're starting to get it.  You've grasped sharing (well most of the time), and you doing pretty solid with manners in general.  You've started exploring the world of bread - we've always told you it was tasty! - and tonight, at the pool, you learned how to float - all by yourself, and proceeded to do so numerous times with the longest float being about 30 seconds. 

Overall, you've made your Mommy and Daddy very proud, and we can't wait to see how much more you grow in this next year.

Hugs and Kisses,
Mommy

PS - Here's some party pictures...

DuNord Nature Shots

For the first time, our family attended the auction at Camp this year.  It turned out to be a really fun experience that raised $1500 for Camp - pretty cool considering all the items are donated by Camp families.  At one point, an $100 was raised in order to make all the councilors jump into the lake - good times for a good cause.  While there, I got the idea to take even more than usual nature pictures with the hope of catching some especially great shots that I could frame and donate for next year's auction.  It was a fun little venture for me too since I enjoyed walking around and looking for good images.  The weather proved to be a bit of a challenge as many days were a touch cloudy, but here's a preview of some of my favorites.  (PS - The coloring of these on the blog is just a touch darker than the actual pictures, but at least you can get the general idea.)