More Beach...

Last week I promised 4th of July, Birthday and Wedding pictures...instead I just didn't get around to blogging at all! So, for this week, I give you yet more beach pictures!

This summer has been one of the hottest summers on record in Minnesota...so we have been spending plenty of time either at the beach or out at the pool at my parents house. Surprisingly enough all the kids prefer the beach over the pool!

My kids both knows the road we take to get the beach...James get excited and starts screaming and Elsie starts yelling, "Oh look, it's Indian Carry Road and the beach!" Now we can't drive past the road that leads to the beach without a little pleading from the kids to please turn and go to the beach!

The beach is actually a very relaxing place to go...I wade in the water until I cool off then I go lay on a blanket by the shore and rest my belly while the kids play. Thankfully the little aunties and Ceara are always with me to help keep an eye on the kids!

Sandy toes on tanned legs...a sure sign of a successful summer!

My little swimmer girl...I can't believe how good she is at swimming...completely self-taught too! Her goal of the summer is to swim out to the buoys...I don't think I will be okay with her doing that since I can't even touch way out there! She was able to use a floaty and go out to the buoys last weekend with the aunties, though...so maybe that will keep her happy!

James is getting a little too used to the water...he sometimes freaks me out a little! He likes to go way out...he hangs onto the dock and just kinda bops along...he bops along until he almost goes under water trying to touch the bottom! When he can no longer touch he just flops forward on his belly and does his best to swim...which mostly ends with a mouth full of water and a quick rescue from whoever is closest! His summer goal is to bop out to the end of the dock or to float under the dock...he is funny and quite a dare devil!

I think James favorite thing to do at the beach though is to give my legs a good mud bath! Good think there is plenty of water for washing all that mud and sand off!

As much as I would like to complain about all the super hot and humid weather we have been having lately, I won't...I keep reminding myself that all too soon we will be 'enjoying' below zero weather and a simple trip to the beach won't make us quite so happy!

Music in the Park...

A few weekends ago our whole family went to Music in the Park a few towns away. The weather was perfect...the kids had a blast...we love to enjoy simple events together as a family...

Our little group...we were a smaller group than normal...Jon was working, Ted was busy, Ryan was gone, Jordaan did show up in time for the fireworks...We joked that people probably were very confused by our family...lots of women and kids and only 2 guys!

Elsie had an absolute blast...When you get Elsie and auntie Emma together with Emma M. and Abby, there will be wild laughter, dancing, and a good time!

Listening to the band...the band was very good and played lots of country music that the kids knew!

Proof that I was there too! I had laid on the couch all day with lots of pain, and was thinking about not going, but in the end I was glad I went. {even if I did have to take an almost ridiculous amount of pee breaks in an attempt to relieve some pressure!}

Clap, clap, clap...I am praying that the kids do not inherit my lack of rhythm!

Ceara and her adorable little cooler. He cooler is like Mary Poppins magic bag...the stuff she can pull out of the cooler is amazing! Watermelon, cantaloupe, fruit snacks, sandwiches, water bottles, mayo{not sure why!}...that's a lot of food for a little cooler!

Little Lydia even enjoyed the music...she is such a calm and good baby! {I have high hopes of Angelina being just as laid back!}

My Mom and I...{yes, I am clutching my phone...Instagram, ya know...and texting Daddy pix of all he was missing out on!}

I am pretty certain that these girls only sat down for about 5 minutes! They were dancing fools...

This picture is proof that babies are not loved much in our family...we just shove them in the corner and ignore them...haha! Quite the opposite really...everyone literally fights over who gets to hold the baby, who held her longer, who got her to smile more...I think we are almost ridiculously gushy over babies!

James...my wild man!

James broke out in a few dance moves...when he wasn't dancing, he was just running around being good and wild!

After the music ended it was time for the fireworks...we all headed over to the beach to find the perfect spot to watch. By the time we got home it was well after 11:00pm...both kids fell asleep in the car...exhausted from a super fun filled evening!

Beach Time with Daddy...

I am pretty much all out of words for tonight...We are still in recovery mode from the busy weekend...my uterus needs some relaxing...thus my brain quit working a couple days ago. As a result, this post will be mainly pictures, with a few words here and there...

~

These pictures were taken on a hot overcast day a few weeks ago...

James is pretty proud of the fact that he can go on the dock alone...he knows he can go out to first pole on the dock...and he never tries to push his limit.

Love the left over red hair dye in his hair...we had been practicing for his 4th of July style!

Elsie wanted to try her new arm floaties out...so Daddy helped her in the "deep" water...

She kept afloat! She does pretty good with those arm floaties...I didn't want to buy them for her because I didn't think she would really swim with them...guess I was wrong!

Because James must do everything his sister does...

He was pretty proud of himself...

What a fun afternoon at the beach...the kids love it when Daddy gets to do those fun things with us!

One of those Days...

I love these pictures...my mom snapped them from through the window...while she was in the comfort of her steaming hot 100' house on a nice and comfortable 100'+ day.  {did you catch the sarcasm? I was really not so lovely!}

I had been having a bad day of lots of contractions...and because it was so beastly hot outside, I decided to bring James on a car ride in my air-conditioned van for his nap time. I though the car didn't sound quite right as a left the drive way, I began turning down the a/c and the radio so I could hear better...I heard a funny {and loud} thump. thump, thump noise. And the steering wasn't quite right. So, I pulled over 2 houses down from my parent's house, got out to investigate and found a very flat tire! Lovely. Before I could even get the kids out of car, the neighbor guy come riding his bike over to see what was going on...he assured me he knew something was up by the way the car sounded when I drove past his house. He looked at the tire and said I better not drive back to my parents house unless I wanted to wreck the rim. So, we did the next best thing...we walked back. My little sisters and one of the boyfriends met me half way and walked home with us. As we were walking home, yet another neighbor walked out to see if we needed any help...I guess my parents have some friendly/ helpful neighbors!
My dad was fishing on the lake down the road, so after he got home, he walked down the road, took the flat off and put the spare on...which was no easy task either, since the spare had to go on a back wheel and the front tire was the flat one! { I am sure my dad loves rescuing me again and again!} One of the neighbors came out and sat along side the ditch though and kept my dad company...so at least he had someone to chat with while he fixed my car {in the still 100' heat!} Thanks Dad...again!
In the end James did get his nap...I drove him in my parents van. And the next day Ceara and I brought my van into town to get the tire repaired and put put back on. Always something exciting going on...

{You can tell that my parents live in a pretty good neighborhood though, the neighbors all come out to make sure everything was okay. And we got half ways home before I realized I left both the windows down all the way, with the keys on the front seat!}

Weekend...

Our weekend was a crazy one, a good and happy weekend filled to the brim, but oh so busy and crazy! We have had nothing short of late nights, lots of family, and hot weather for the last several days. And the big event of the summer...My little sister, Ceara got married! So, yes, crazy around here to say the least! But, a good kind of crazy.

My blogging has been not very regular lately...so maybe sometime I will get around to those 4th of July pictures, James birthday pictures...and the Wedding Pictures!! Sometimes I think we lead a boring little life and just don't do anything...then I look through our pictures and realize we are always doing something...too many little things to even begin to keep up with on  the blog! {or maybe we just take too many pictures...is that possible!?} This week just may have to be a catch-up week on the blog so next week can be a wedding week!

{These slip-n-Slide pictures were taken weeks ago...and they were just to cute not to share! My happy, summer-lovin' girl! and all the lovely junk in the neighbor's yard!}

Hot, Hot, Hot...

Last week the weather was downright brutal here...the temps were over 100'...one day it was 108' with heat index...for we hearty Minnesotans who enjoy -20 temps all winter, it was a shock to our systems! Our Minnesotan bodies are just not made for that kind of heat!

My parents do not have central air...so their house was slightly hot! Thankfully they have a fully finished cool basement! One night my kids just couldn't fall asleep in the upstairs heat, and they had belly aches and head aches due to heat...so at 11:00 at night my mom and sister, Lisa, made us a cozy little bed in the middle of the school room floor downstairs...the coolness felt so good! The next day the kids and I packed up and slept in our house with the central air...set at a perfect 75'...{because we are super spoiled!}

Because we have central air, we don't have any fans around our house...so my kids think the fan at Grammie's house is beyond fun! The enjoy yelling into the fan...and dancing in front of the fan...and cooling off those armpits! When it's hot out, we are perfectly willing to do anything to keep cool...we would have slept outside, but the mosquitoes would have carried us away!

My kids are creatures of habit though...even in that 100' heat they insisted on wearing Pj's...I had James striped down to just a diaper...but he threw a little fit until I put pj's on him! Elsie did sleep in just undies and a cami...for half the night...she woke up in the middle of the night and freaked out until I gave her some shorts! Crazy kids! I would have gladly slept in just my undies and a cami...but I think that would have been more that my family could handle...haha!

I have never been bothered by heat...when I was just 8' off the equator in Africa, the lady I shared a room with said I made her feel slightly jealous because I could lay there and sleep with no problems while she was dying of heat! Since being pregnant though the heat does not agree quite so well with me! I am happy to report though that this week the weather is a much more agreeable temp of high 80' with not so much humidity...so we are no longer dying of heat around here!

Wedding...

My sister, Ceara, is getting married in 4 days...which means we have all been pretty busy! While Ceara is doing most the work herself for the wedding, we have been doing little things to help her out...like a fun evening at my house to put together literally hundreds of bulletins!

 We waited until James was sleeping...then we called Ceara, my Mom, Lisa, Emma and Marissa and told them to come on over...and to bring the movie Bride Wars...because you have to watch a bride movie when doing wedding stuff! The moment everyone walked into our house, the tornado sirens started going off outside! We like to live life on the edge {haha} so we stayed upstairs and watched out the windows...we saw nothing but rain...soon the sirens stopped, so we popped the movie in and started punching holes and stringing ribbon...

 Finally around 11:00 {maybe later} we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer and had to call it a night...I'm sure we put together close to 100 bulletins...which is quite a few, but trust me, there are many more to do! Getting ready for a wedding is a lot of work...soon the bride and groom will be husband and wife...and all the work will be well worth it!

Oink, Oink...

My parents have a couple pigs at their house...they are not my parents pigs, my parents are letting a friend keep his pigs in their pen. The kids love to go visit the pigs...

I love this picture...I noticed my son is walking around the pig pen barefoot! I would like to say he never walks in pig pen barefoot, but that is probably not true...and I would like to say that I am a responsible mother who promptly washed his feet after, but that is probably not true either...

Elsie is the opposite of her brother...she likes the idea of visiting the pigs...but standing back a bit is more her thing...and she always keeps her shoes on!

James Man...

 My little James- man is a pretty happy little fellow...but, like any almost 2 year old, he is a bit happier when he gets his own way! James will be two in just one more week...though we already had a big party for him on the 4th. {perhaps I will get around to posting pictures in the next few weeks!}

Like I said James is a happy little fellow...his mind is always spinning...he is an explorer...whether it be the Tupperware cabinet or the search for frogs and salamanders with the older the kids, James is right there exploring! James new love is the water hose...he firmly believes that if he is going to be outside the hose needs to be on...and on full blast at that! He loves to do "Nitro Circus" stunts while yelling out "Nitro" at the top of his lungs...stunts like, falling off his trike or jumping off a piece of furniture. We is Wild! He also believes almost everything is either a 4-wheeler or a dirt bike and should make a very, very, very loud reving up noise...just today he was told to either put a muffler on or go to the other room! He also loves to gross his sister out...by doing things like putting his butt on her and trying to let out a little toot! Or pooping in the bath-tub...that one grosses out both his sister and his mother...which makes James giggle all the harder!

James is not typically a gentle and calm child...he is often rough and wild...but he does have quite a soft spot when it comes to babies and if someone gets hurt. If someone should so much as talk about a owie he runs for a band-aid or several!

With turning 2 also comes the love of becoming very independent! He can turn on those heart wrenching tears pretty quickly when things don't go quite his way! His favorite new phrase is, "did it!" He no longer likes help to do simple things like take his clothes off or put clothes on...which is why sometimes his shorts are on backwards! He likes to unscrew the cap from the milk jug and "help" to pour the milk in his cereal. He likes to open up his own band aid wrapper and stick a band aid {or several} on an owie. I'm sure you get the picture here...James has become a very independent child! This new found Independence makes life pretty exciting, I tell ya!