Pushcars, Pirates and Pizza - the Perfect Playdate!

We had an awesome playdate over at our friends AJ and Sydney's house on Wednesday. There were 9 kids, ages 1 - 3 1/2, and 4 moms. I'm pretty sure that every toy was taken from the toybox and not a piece of sand went untouched in the sandbox. I also felt pretty bad about the state of Dana's kitchen when we left. I did what I could, but it was barely a dent.

The kids raced around the driveway on their little cars and trikes. There were enough that all the "big kids" had something to ride on. This was great, since we don't have a good driveway to play on, the girls are used to riding on the lawn or on the bumpy sidewalks.

A Pirate Says "Argh!"

Addie discovered that her friend AJ has some awesome dress up pieces in his toy box. She was having a ball, running around yelling "argh!" The kids and I were exhausted when we left. My legs felt as though I had been on my feet all day long instead of just chasing kids around. It was a good tired though. I love getting together with this group of friends. They're all so supportive and our kids get along great.

Swim Lessons

It's our second week of swim lessons and so far they have been a BIG-HUGE-Wonderful Hit! Addie loves swimming with her friend Eric. She does a great job floating and seems to have absolutely no fears whatsoever. It's hillarious to watch her sitting on the side of the pool waiting for her turn. She chats with Eric, she chats with her teacher, she chats with the lifeguard that is closest to her, she splashes her feet. I'm just waiting for the day that the ants in her pants get to her and she just bloops right into the water. Good thing they have pfds on!


Last week at open swim after her lessons, Addie started jumping into the water in the deep end by holding onto my hands. By the end of the 45 min open swim, she was jumping in and letting me catch her! She didn't even mind if her head went under water. She was having a blast!!

Here's how it rolls:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Consider yourself tagged! If you play along, let me know - I love looking at these mosaics!

1.Jess 2.Chocolate 3.Boyceville 4.Blue 5.Patrick Demsey 6.coffee 7.maui 8.strawberry pie 9.nurse 10.family 11.giggle 12.knittingupnorth

Whee!

"Cowboys like us sure do have fun
Racin' the wind, Chasin' the sun
Take the long way around back to square one
Today we're just outlaws out on the run
There'll be no regrets, no worries and such
For cowboys such as us."
George Strait, Cowboys Such as Us.

Grandpa got both girls into the saddle for a ride on their horse. Lily was a little worried about being up so high, but once Grandpa tied the "seatbelt" on her, she felt just fine.

Ye haw! Geddi-up Horse!

Lily also had a high flying adventure with Auntie 'Rene. She loved getting airplane rides. She was having a really hard time getting her legs to stick out straight behind her though. I don't know if her stomach muscles just aren't back to normal yet after her surgery or if it was apprehension. However, Lily just kept coming back for more!!

One more time Auntie!

I Wanna Be a Cowgirl Baby!

Addie had a ton of fun at Grandma and Grandpa Dude's this weekend. One of the highlights was riding on Grandpa's new saddle. Grandpa just got back from saddle school at the end of May - he brought this saddle back with him (making a saddle was his graduation requirement). Despite having taken riding lessons in 6th grade, I don't know a lot about horses or saddles. Dad however, can tell you all the specifics about his custom made saddles. This saddle was made specifically for his mule and is an Old West design. I think he said it was common in the 1870's.

Ye haw!

Addie loved riding on the saddle. She thought this was a ton of fun. Lily wasn't too sure about the saddle at first. We finally got her up there with Addie. However, no one took those pictures on my camera and Auntie hasn't shared her pictures yet.

Here's the saddle before being oiled. If you're interested in a custom made saddle, Dad is the guy to talk to. He's now taking orders. You can catch him at waywest(at)centurytel(doht)com - I think you guys are smart enough to figure out what to replace to make that a workable email address. Tell him I sent you!!

Duck, Duck, Goose!

We taught the kids to play Duck, Duck, Goose this week. It was pret' near hillarious as my Grandpa would say. Addie got the rules right away and always wanted to be picked. It made me think of playing this game at a birthday party on our front lawn. I remember almost dancing bouncing up and down on my butt because I wanted to be picked so badly. The anticipation of Duck Duck Goose was enough to give a 5 year old a stroke! Lily on the other hand, didn't really understand the rules at all. Every time Addie got up to run, Lily would too. We laughed, we cheated (Adam has longer arms and it's not fair!), and we generally just had a really good time.

We had a big discussion over whether it was Goose or Gray Duck. Western Wisconsin prevailed over the Twin Cities! What's your preference & when's the last time you played?

Against All Odds...

Against all odds, the lilacs are blooming. Despite the fact that we've gotten very little sun in the last week.

Against all odds, I got the girls dressed and out the door this morning. It was touch and go there for awhile. I'm not positive that they won't hate me for this photo when they're 16, but hey, they picked it out themselves. Lily's legwarmers are hysterical. I knit them for Addie when she was about 2. It's obvious that Lily has chicken legs compared to Addie - the legwarmers just fall right down around her ankles. The girls desperately wanted to wear dresses, but when it's 40 degrees in June you want a little something covering your legs to keep off the chill.

Dear Anonymous, (& Weekly Food Plan)

Dear Anonymous,

I hope that you are not complaining about having a free night to yourself last week where you were able to eat anything you wanted without your wife worrying about your youngest child not being able to eat the pizza rolls that everyone else is chowing down on. If memory serves, this is the night that you were also able to watch whatever you wanted on television and not have to do a single thing (like pick up toys or even do your own dishes). This is the night that you were able to eat your favorite food (pizza rolls) and drink beer and basically just be alone. Because, if you were to be so foolish as to complain about a free night without wife or children at home, you may find yourself cooking dinner for your lovely family every night. SO BACK OFF BUDDY!

Sincerely,

Your Loving Wife

Now, on to our food plan for this week.

Monday- Steak sandwiches and leftover potatoes, guac salad & veggies
Tuesday- Pork & Potato Stroganoff
Wednesday- Minestroni Pasta
Thursday- Fish
Friday- Chicken Salad
Saturday- Mom and Dad's house for Father's Day
Sunday - Father's Day Grilling

Dandelion Farming

Adam dug up the garden last weekend in preparation for me (finally) getting some plants in the garden. It's been so cold that I haven't really wanted to put anything in the ground yet. However, it was beautiful last weekend and Adam felt like doing some manual labor. :)

The girls were playing outside and decided to take a break and watch Daddy work. We've had a few issues finding a sun hat to fit Addie's unusually large noggin. I think we finally found one that might work - Adam's swamp hat! She loves wearing "daddy's hat." Lily on the other hand, is still in the hat she wore last summer. I think it's a 12 month size.

Weekly Meal Plan - June 1-7

Addie's home! Addie spent a week at Grandma and Grandpa Dude's house while Lily was in the hospital and recovering. Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie 'Rene kept her very busy. She must have had a wonderful time because Addie told Grandma that she wasn't coming home and that she was going to live at Grandma and Grandpa's house forever.

So, we're back in the saddle again in regards to menu planning. I'm trying out a new website, but I'm not sure I'm crazy about it yet. More details later.

Sunday- Momma and Daddy are going out, kids get pasta at home with the babysitter
Monday- Hamburgers on the grill
Tuesday- Sesame Chicken
Wednesday- Fish
Thursday- Shrimp and 5 Bean Salad from Super Suppers Cookbook
Friday- Pork Chops on the grill
Saturday- Leftovers