Vacation (recap)

We've just gotten back from an extra-long week with my parents. I had all of these lofty dreams of taking all sorts of photos (after all my family and the scenery are extremely photogenic). 

Alas, I only took one photo in nine days. Big time failure!!

We took the kids to Storybook Park in Aberdeen  and I snapped the kids sitting on the cement horses. I think I've taken multiple photos of Caroline on these through the years so I guess it's only fitting to continue this with both kids. 

Even though only one physical photo was taken we got tons of mental pictures... Me doing 4-H cattle chores and teaching Caroline how to do them, celebrating my beautiful grandma's 80th birthday, mowing the yard, visiting historic Fort Sisseton, and hanging with distant relatives at a family reunion. 

Yes lots of memories made...just not a lot of actual proof!

Palisades Park

A few weeks ago we took the kids on an afternoon adventure to the Palisades State Park by Garretson, SD.  Even though most of the hiking trails were under water due to heavy rains, we found one trail to go on.

Owen was real excited by the trip - can't you tell?!  Note to self:  two year-olds really don't care to hike...

At camp this year, Caroline learned about Jesse James and his leap over the river.  She could hardly believe that she could see where this happened.  She enjoyed the area - her only concern was that we might venture off the path...such a rule follower!

Water Fun

The heat and humidity has finally arrived here which means it's time to get out the swimming pool and slide.

The kids love to play in the water.  Whether it's going down slides or filling buckets - it's all fun!

Even Owen, who isn't tall enough to go up the big slide by himself, has become master of the small slide.

Owen's face sums up how I feel about this time of year too!

Farm Memories

Someone was pretty excited to drive a 'tractor'...when we can't find Papa or Dan to drive him around a lawnmower will work just fine.

Caroline pretty much had this smile on her face the whole time.  She got to ride horse, drive a lawnmower, and play with her cousin.  

Owen loves his being a farmer just like his Papa. 

Caroline got to ride her horse Amber all by herself.  She did well and Amber should be sainted. 

I'm so glad that the kids are able to spend so much time at the farm.  So many memories made!

Happy 4th!

Happy belated 4th of July!  All of the cousins were festive thanks to Grandma Suzie.  Although we celebrated in Sioux Falls, we made it a four-day celebration by spending a few days at the farm.  

Caroline helped me make some yummy pretzel bites. We found the instructions on Pinterest.  And Caroline was pretty excited to help make something in the kitchen.  They turned out cute and quite tasty!

Summertime Sweets

In yet another effort to give my children healthy food options (because fruit snacks and goldfish aren't two of the food groups) we made frozen yogurt pops this week.  I saw a post from my friend, Alicia's blog and thought if those sweet kids like this treat that maybe mine would too.

I mixed up vanilla greek yogurt (since the last time I fed them plain, they accused me of giving them sour cream) with some freshly sliced strawberries.  I put the mixture into the Popsicle molds I found in our basement and let them freeze over night.  

Voila!  A healthy afternoon snack that both kids loved!

Summer Vacation

Some people may get to take their kids to far-off places in the summer. We took our kids an hour south to Yankton. 

We visited an aquarium. 

Fed trout. 

Looked at sailboats on the lake. Built sand castles and played in the lake. 

And some of us enjoyed chislic on a stick on the way home. 

Summer Zoo Days

I wish my hubby to take every day off from work to go on excursions with us. Our trip to the zoo was so fun (minus being on a train that hit an animal...whoops!)

It's my hope that as the kids get older they remember all of the good days. (And not so many of the ones where I lose my patience) 

My View

It's been a lovely June here (although a little rainy, as mentioned in an earlier post). Warm but not pool weather yet. So we've been spending a lot of time in our yard and local parks. Both kids can entertain themselves a little so I can kick back a few minutes at a time. Love it!

Summer Pictures and a Few Thoughts

It's been said that parenting consists of really long days and short years.  Back when I was home on maternity leave with Caroline I thought that there would be no way that the days would eventually fly by.  After all, she was colicky and not sleeping.  Little did I know that the years would fly by.

After Owen was born, I tried my best to sit back and soak in all of the baby memories.  I had learned from my experience with baby-Caroline that all too quickly babies grow and cuddling comes less and less.

So how is it even possible that I have a six year old and a two year old?  

Both should still be little babies that need to be rocked and held.

Instead they are running wild, learning new things every day.

I know that someday soon I will look back and miss the loudness, the messes, and the craziness that comes with childhood.  My house will be clean, the couch cushions crumb-less, and the kitchen floor spotless.

I'll look back and think of how endearing the finger smudges on windows were.  

Of how sweet the spilled glasses of milk were. 

Each stage of my kids have been 'my favorite'.  And this current one is no exception.  I would love to freeze time and keep them six and two forever.

However, next year when they're seven and three I'm sure that I'll say the same thing.  That's the thing about parenting, I suppose.

A Summer List

As I type this there is under two hours of school left before summer vacation begins.  I know I should be excited, and I know that once we find our 'new normal' I will be.  But right now I keep thinking about all of the hours of the day that I will need to fill with ideas and activities.  Luckily I turned to Pinterest and got lots of idea for how to have Caroline take charge of her summer vacation.

First, I had her set her summer goals.  I found this summer questionnaire from Cottage in the Oaks.  Caroline filled it out...yes, she would like to paint with me.  I was secretly hoping that she'd want to go summer dress shopping or get our nails done.  But instead it looks like we'll be painting.

Second, I'm a total list maker.  I usually add a couple of easy things on my list each day that I can quickly cross off (yep, totally Type A).  Caroline also is a little Type A, so I created a to-do list for each day.  Hopefully that will keep her on track...and not in her pajamas all day.  We'll see if it works...she's pretty excited to have a list like mine.

Thirdly, since if left to her own devices, Caroline would have a diet full of fruit snacks and goldfish.  So I got this healthy eating chart from Etsy.  I paid $4 for it, and I'm hopeful that she'll like pushing herself to make the best choices, food wise.

I'm sure I'll update all of these ideas to make them work for us for the next three months.  Until then, I'm going to try and let it go and have a great summer with the kids.

Science Experiment

This afternoon I was looking for a quiet project for Caroline to work on. On Pinterest I saw the baking soda/colored vinegar activity and thought we'd have fun.  

I put baking soda in a clear pan and colored some vinegar with food coloring. Then Caroline spooned the vinegar in the pan to create colored bubbles. Very fun and very easy!

Field Trip

Over the weekend we took a family field trip to the arboretum. Caroline was kind of excited for the adventure. 

We learned about the history of the stone cutters here in Sioux Falls. Or I think that's what we read about. 

We saw the remains of an old house foundation in what used to be East Sioux Falls. 

And we saw and climbed a large rock. We'll totally go back and explore more. 

Summer To Do's

Summer can now start, the annual to-do list is ready. There are a few new items this year like finding shark teeth. Nate thinks we can find them here in SD. Do he and Caroline can go on an adventure. I might be home completing another item on the list-drinking wine on the deck!

Summer Challenge

This summer I decided to try a couple of things TOTALLY out of my comfort zone. First was to run a 5k. My sister and I did one last year, so this wasn't totally new to me. But I started running to get ready for it. Whereas last year I just winged it and totally paid the price!

The race was a few days ago and it was so much fun!  I can totally see myself continuing to run. 

My second thing was to take a month of ballet. I always wanted to be a dancer and I figured it was now or never. Wow!  I have so much respect for dancers. It's incredibly tough but so much fun!

Challenge yourself to try something new this summer!

Who Needs Pets

Who needs house pets when there's a bunny living under your deck. We've named her Emma and Caroline has prepared a delicious meal of grass, lettuce and a baby carrot. (Here's a photo of her meal since I can't seem to get a picture of her)Someday we might not get to get away with this. Until then, we'll gladly look no further than our own backyard. 

A Much Needed Break

After spending the last month playing,painting, reading, and playing some more I'm ready to come back to the blogging world. It's my goal to blog more and share more photos of our fun summer. 

4 months

Happy Four Month Birthday Owen!

The Zoo

Our most recent trip to the zoo tired Owen out. 

Caroline was very interested in studying how the ducks swam.

And yes, I was a sucker and bought a camel ride for Caroline.  She loved it!