bits of sunshine

It's hard to believe that summer is almost gone.

I just want to soak up every last bit of sunshine and daylight because I know that in a couple of short months we'll be donning our winter coats and gloves, boots where our sandals once were and scarves covering our tan lines.

We'll be trekking through eight inches of sloppy, wet, dirty snow.

Salt stains on our freshly drycleaned clothes, big bulky coats and warm cozy sweaters (those I can handle).

Pot roast and football.

Ice fishing trips and grey, dreary days.

Scraping the car windows and losing my mittens. Again. For the eighteenth time.

Hot chocolate and an extra five pounds. Snuggies on the couch and watching lots of Fall Television...

It's depressing really.

But, on the brighter side.... I have these guys...

 And when the days get way too long and grey, I'm going to look back at this post and smile. Remembering the last days of summer. That one last trip around the block in the cruiser. The warmth. The humidity.

 I'll steal the sunshine from their smiles and shine it down over me.
It will keep me warm and cozy and brighten my day in the dead of winter.

Who needs a Snuggie when you have your own sunshine?

kiley discovers ranch

I had a little time to myself with Kiley on Friday while Jaxon was golfing with Scott. So, I thought I would teach her to enjoy one of my favorite things.

Ranch dressing.

While I'm almost certain she's had it at daycare as a dipping sauce, I like to think first times for things ALWAYS occur at our house. So, even though she dug right in like a pro, I choose to believe she had her first Ranch Dressing experience with me.

She really seemed to enjoy it.

Oh Kiley, if only you knew you'd be embarking on a lifelong love of dips...

dance moves

I haven't decided yet where he gets his dance moves...

but I'm sure they will come in handy someday...

the irrational rash on the trip to grandma and grandpas and the greatest fireworks ever

This weekend we made a trip to West Fargo, with lots of things on the agenda. It never quite works out the way we plan... but then, we plan for that too.

Friday afternoon we headed out of town. We got to my parent's new house just in time to throw our stuff down, slam a beer, and get everyone out the door to get to the county pit to see the 'greatest fireworks show on earth'.

Seriously. According to twitter, facebook, and all of my family, the World Firework Federation (or whatever they are called) are the best ever. I even had a co-worker ask if I saw them while in town. She knows what's up.

After a much anticipated 8:30 start time, and an actual 10:30 start time, they finally got the show going. And it was admitedly pretty decent. I watched most of it from the car with Kiley. Winter is already coming to Fargo--it was COLD!

Jaxon was well-equipped though with his earmuffs and his dump truck. Just in case.

I will never forget the dance moves Jaxon showed us that night. So awesome.

So Friday was the first time I think my kids have seen midnight. You would think they would sleep in a little bit, right??

6:30 Saturday morning... Jaxon's up because he fell off the couch at Grandma and Grandpa's (he's too big to sleep in the pack n play now); (okay, you would think most kids would outgrow the pack n play by age 2); (but I like to live in denial and teach that to my kids).

7:00 Kiley is up... with an unidentified rash. All over her body. It looked like ebola. We thought we might have to call the CDC. But I called the nurseline instead. She told me it was probably an ezcema flare-up and to give her a bath...

Well, after lots of running around, naps, etc. it was finally dinner time. We noticed Kiley hadn't eaten much all day, was super crabby, and her rash was spreading. Though we hadn't yet quarantined ourselves, we were beginning to think something was off with her.

And since we'd already met our deductible earlier this year... we decided on a two hour ER trip.

Seriously. What a poor decision. Next time, remind me that ER's are for disjointed shoulders, painful cramps, and COPD flareups (all of which were part of our Fargo ER visit).

After a printed definition of 'viral rash' and an all clear to be in public, we left feeling a little foolish, tired, and mostly glad that we didn't need to break out hazmat suits. We came to find out however, that two of the kids at daycare had Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. Sounds scary huh? Probably what Kiley has too.

Anyway, that is a long winded post... Now to a couple of funny moments:

On Friday night, Goldie asked Jaxon how old he was. I heard him as I was going up the stairs say, 'I'm three. But two at the movie theater.' Spilling our secrets!

We also were able to get the kids to pose for a few shots before heading out for a walk...

They were being pretty silly, egging each other on as they tend to do now. It's humorous and annoying all at the same time. The annoying part comes into play when you are trapped in a car together for five hours. The humorous part happens when you're at someone else's house and you can pretend like you need to use the restroom because you know grandma and grandpa will watch your kids.

And that was our trip to Fargo, in a nutshell.

excuses excuses

jaxon's excuses and/or stories about why he cannot and/or should not go to bed from the past week...

• 'my eye hurts', because there is a shiny light in it; not the nightlight, a different kind of light
• 'I'm scared'. Of what? 'Sharks'. Sharks live in water and there's no water in your room. 'Yes there is' as he holds up his sippy cup of water.
• 'dinosaurs', lots of dinosaurs...

thirsty thursday

What is it about my kids that make me want to use my bottle opener every night?

7 Things that have me thirsting for more (and smiling) today...

1. Tim Mahoney. Yes, you know him from the voice, but those of us who have been around have seen him here and there in local venues. Tonight I took the kids to see him at the Woodbury Outdoor Music Series. Didn't remember how great he was. We were having a fun time until...

2. Kiley started eyeing the little boy behind us- he was having a picnic. With lots of yummy food. Kiley was still hungry...you know the rest (girl sees boy with food, boy covets food, girl screams wanting food, mom exits politely telling her boy that everyone is going home soon).

3. The joy (and subsequent mess) from Jaxon's cotton candy ice cream from Maggie Moo's. They had to know that would be a big seller with kids. Great marketing idea Maggie.

4. Red Velvet ice cream from Maggie Moo's. 'Nuff Said. Seriously though? Tasted like cake. Okay, 'nuff said.

5. Hearing Scott's voicemail and watching Kiley light up, saying 'dada' and 'buhbye'. So cute she recognized his voice and the fact that he is gone, on the greatest trip ever.

6. The excuses Jaxon makes to try to stay up later. Though this didn't have my smiling right away... it initially led me to my reason #7 for smiling today...I think I will start a new series each week with a post on just his excuses. Some of them are priceless.

7. Always having cold beer in the fridge.

Women's Chambers

Almost every month for the past five years, there's been a secret meeting of women...

...in the 'Women's Chambers', anything goes.

We meet for a purpose. Our cover story is a book club, but the purpose isn't always to discuss a book.

Sure, we share some thoughts and feelings on the writer's style, the plot, how ridiculous Nicholas Sparks is. But more than that, we share really good wine, yummy food, and friendship. We've listened to one another as we've planned weddings, funerals, shared stories of dating and relationships, marriage and children. We've laughed at each other's mistakes, congratulated one another on job promotions, and cried over pure heartaches and tragedies.

There are few groups of people I look forward to hanging out with more than this one. I'm so glad we came together over some beer five years ago and that really smart law student suggested we start a book club. Just as soon as she finished her bar exams.

This past weekend, most of the Women's Chambers ventured into the vast wilderness of Frontenac State Park to do some rough and rugged camping. It was crazy ya'll!

 Saturday morning brought us a two-hour breakfast. Always seems to take longer to make breakfast when you have several people magazines to catch up on... nothing to do... and have to wait for your baristas to get back with the coffee!

 But, we ended up with some really fantastic omelets in a bag... and some really delicious coffee. Much better than when I tried to make it with my coffee mill a few years ago...

After breakfast, we headed into Red Wing for some exploration. We hopped on our groupon-sponsored trolley tour to see the sights! I won't bore you with them, but there were many. Just trust me.

After grabbing a beer (or two) and the most delicious nachos and smothered waffle fries known to man at Marie's Underground Bar, we headed up to the lookout spot. We were on a bluff.

It might just look like a hill with trees. And it is.

But it's also a bluff. Says Jonie the Trolley Tour Lady.  

Then we headed back to camp. Gotta get some camping in, right? Played a few games, read some more people, had some good conversations.

And then it was time for a hike.

And some handstands.

and some modeling. Missy- this is the one that is going to make you go places. For sure.

 and one last self-portrait before the storms came rolling in...

The only thing that could have made this trip any better was having our fifth member there (that law student with the brilliant idea not so long ago). We really missed you Chris!

Don't worry though, we didn't really discuss the book, so you didn't miss much ;-)