Two Weddings and a Pool Party

Much more fun than Two Weddings and a Funeral as the movie suggests!
We took an "are-we-there-yet, is it my turn for the i-pod" road trip down to Aunt Polly's for her annual pool party to celebrate the Birthday's and Anniversary's. Such a nice day! Uncle Harry on the grill with the wings and pulled pork sandwiches, and everyone brought a dish to pass. Our Smoked Salmon from Uncle Butch was quite a treat! We also enjoyed some taco dip, Mom's Deviled Eggs and Olives. Callie had a "hand" full!
Callie was really enjoying watching me get ready for my cousin Stephanie's wedding. The compliments were flowing. "Mom, you look soooo beautiful." "Dad you look sooooo handsome." "If I had a dress like that, I would never take it off." This comment was the best....I was debating between two pairs of shoes, one much fancier than the other, I told Callie I was confused, which one I should pick. Callie said, "Mom, it I had shoes like those, I would never be confused!". The next day she even made a point of asking us, "if we enjoyed ourselves at the wedding."
They got married downtown. As I was walking out of the church after the ceremony, my dress totally blew up with the wind! Some guy came up and thanked me for the Marilyn Monroe moment. This is actually the second time this has happened to me. The first was with a real exhaust grate in Madison. We were there for our friends Erica and Mike's wedding who we share our anniversary with.
It was a small wedding, great band. Everyone in my Dad's side of the family lives far away so we don't see them that often. It was fun to spend time with them. My sister, parents and I danced the night away!
Hey Mom, Miami Vice Called, they want Dad's tie back!
It was another "family" reunion at Andy and Sara's wedding. These boys are like our brother's. We consider them to be family. And our "sister" Heather was here too! The whole gang was back home to the lake. Carol was in her glory. The entire evening she was grinning from ear to ear. Could a mother be happier? Her crowning moment was "Sweet Carol Stein". Sung to the tune of Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond, but modified by my cousin-in-law Dave at our wedding. It's been a tradition at every family event since. I was honored to be asked to take some pictures for them! Look, I even got-in one!
Back from the 80's....how cool is my Dad? Though still maybe a little Miami Vice, but Crockett was pretty awesome, and my Dad did like that show!

Happy 5th Birthday Callie!

Happy 5th Birthday Callie Girl! Three party's this year! IceCream cake at Aunt Polly's, Cupcakes at Grans and a giant 5 layer cake made by Marshall at our house! Plus a visit to Laubers. What a Lucky Girl! You definitely look 5 now Callie. You can even reach the handle to the front door! Boy can this girl Hula-Hoop!

Noah's Ark

It seems each summer we consider doing several things, that never actually seem to happen. This summer, I am proud to say, we actually did one! The kids were thrilled to go to Noah's Ark Water park! After all, we do live near enough to the water park capital of the U.S.!
With a little advanced planning, and the use of a rain date, we transformed ourselves into pruney little watersliding fish as we closed the park!
There were some things Callie couldn't go on, and one thing Trent couldn't. Unfortunately the one thing Trent couldn't go on, was the one thing he really wanted to, America's First Looping Waterslide! He plans to eat a whole lot so he can weigh 90lbs by next year! Let's hope that's impossible!
The kids are requesting this be an annual visit. I guess we WILL have to go back next year since I forgot to get my traditional rock candy from the candy store in the Ark!

Four Cheers!

Because the holiday was on Sunday, and some had work committments the week before, we decided to spend the week after the 4th together. Mentally this threw me. Usually we spend the week leading up to the big weekend. This year the big weekend came first! Too fast!
Filled with Family, Fireworks, Food and Fun, another fantastic 4th of July has come and gone. With the just about the whole family on my Mom's side, we spent the week relaxing at the lake. This year we were missing two important family members. My Grandma who was of course enjoying the Fireworks and water from a very safe distance all the way in heaven! She never did like being out in the sun! And my Cousin Keith, who has been told he is not allowed to miss any more 4th of July's!
Covered from head to toe in Arbonne sunscreen we set off each day to join the gang at the lake. We usually got there around lunch time, but most of the crew were camping out or camping in at Grandma's. Trent spent a lot of his nights with the rest of the boys in the tents. I felt like I only spent a total of 5 hours with him the whole week! Independence for Independence Day! How appropriate!
This year's Independence Award goes to Colin for learning to walk. In years past we've acomplished many milestones with kids. Mostly potty training, but independence none the less!
For a couple years in our dating life, the 4th of July was just plain jinxed for Marshall and I. Not to dwell, but more to document. There was one rough 4th for the family too which included head lice and the stomach flu.

The parade was pretty short, but Trent's candy net was extra long!We are so lucky to have the experiences we do, and I am so thankful for the time we are able to spend together as a family. The positives abound and the bads are laughed off as part of the past.
Mark this one down as one of the goods.

Have I told you lately?

I hate SAND!
Why must the boy FILL his pockets????

Callie Can....

Callie has accomplished a couple "big" things these past couple of months.
She can ride her two wheel bike with out training wheels, only a few crashes, no minor scrapes! She just picks herself up and gets right back on!
Sorry for the poor video quality, I had to run to keep up!

She can whistle.
She swims like a fish,
and she can blow bubbles with her gum!
The countdown to 5 has begun!

Ahhhh, Summer.

lIt's official, First day of Summer. That's what the calendar says, but I count the day the kids get off of school as the start of summer, so we've already been in full swing! We put on the tie-dye shirts one last time! They sure took to it, amazing how fast that happened! The next day we were already on the summer schedule of sleeping in late. And sleeping in some unusual spots including the kitchen floor? Surrounded by a fort of boxes? We celebrated Memorial Day at the Rummage-o-rama and the Corn and Brat Roast on the Square followed by our first visit of the summer to Lauber's for IceCream, faces pressed up against the candy counter. Another sign that summer is finally here! The kids did some full participation in the rummaging, selling some of their things and making pretty good money. The point of course being to get rid of some things, but they ended up taking some of the money they made and buying other rummagers things, or getting them for free!! The beach has been the theme of the summer so far. Both Callie and Trent's classes had end of the school year beach parties. Trent brought Hot Dog Octopus to his pot-luck. We went to our beach here in town for the first time this summer. How great is this? Movies on the Beach! It was a very cold night, but we brought lots of blankets! Of course we have been spending a lot of time at the lake. Callie caught her first fish of the season. The lucky fishergirl that she is, on her first cast! Marshall has been doing long daily walks with the dogs in the nature conservancy. We join him on occasion. The ticks have been in abundance this year! So much so that I am finally accustomed to them and not getting the creepy-crawlies after every outting. Father's Day weekend was spent with my Dad in his favorite spot, the sailboat on a windy day. We sailed two and a half races. Only a half race because we tipped! I couldn't believe it! I've never known my Dad to tip. Especially with two people on board! We were doing so well too! As we were swimming there he said to me, "I already saw myself wearing the shirt!" Bummer. Hi-5's after all the other races, especially when we snuck in a 3rd place finish at the finish line! Callie made up a special song for Marshall for Father's Day. Happy Father's Day!