a birthday wish

Dear Kiley,

 

Smile. You have a gift of making people's hearts open when you do.

Keep opening the windows, turning the music up, and dancing. It doesn't matter if you're good at it or what you look like, as long as you feel the music!

Make funny faces. Why not?

 

You decide. What you want, when you want it. I remember reading somewhere that colicky babies grow up to be very headstrong, good business people, because they know what they want and how to get it. As an example, tonight you convinced me that you needed your sheets changed because there was a spot on them and it might get you. You also had to put three bandaids on very specific locations on your knees where they were barely scraped in a fall, and had me holding you and cuddling you so that nothing touched those owies. Oh, and you also had to have some very scary looking books (The Way I Feel and Underpants Zoo) taken out of the room because they were 'looking at you' and you didn't like that.

 

 Girl, you are going to go far. 'nough said.

 

 

Wear a striped skirt, your swimsuit top, and loud shoes. And accessorize with your Hello Kitty purse and polkadot bows. It doesn't matter what other people think- you've got your own style and you know it. Have confidence in yourself and you can do anything.

Keep up with the boys. You are at a stage where you constantly follow Jaxon around, copying everything he does, says, and shouldn't do. Don't ever let someone tell you that you can't do something because you're a girl. Just prove them wrong, and then do it better.

Cherish the simple things. Right now, you are amused by birds and bugs and bunnies. You love to put colors and stamps all over yourself just to see what it does. You delight in making up stories, telling jokes about eating apples, and you are plenty satisfied with a day at home, pretending to be a teacher or a mom or even a baby. Don't ever make life complicated like the rest of us. It's about spending time with the ones you love and making memories. Pure and simple.

Be careful who you choose as your friends. They will shape who you become. They won't make choices for you, but they will influence you beyond what you consciously are aware. I can tell you're pretty good about this already. You have a few friends at school- Charlotte and Liberty. But mostly you stick to yourself or with Jaxon or the teachers, people you trust. I know you'll make some mistakes someday, but when you find those true friends, hang on to them and don't let them go. Life is long and it's easier when you have positive, uplifting people in your life.

 

Be yourself. You're beyond words. I hope someday you know this and believe it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are my wishes for you on your third birthday. I love you with all my heart, Happy Birthday baby girl!

Those magic summer days .....with Grandma & Grandpa.....

Hi, this is "Puppy Grandma" writing a guest blog post for Kiley & Jaxon. 

I remember spending long summer days with my Grandparents, they were the best days of the year, great food, afternoons at the pool, trips to the park, and battles to beat Grandpa playing board games.

So you can imagine, how excited this "Puppy" Grandma & Grandpa were when Zoe, Jaxon and Kiley came for a 4 day visit a few weeks ago.  It was  time to make some magical summer memories.

 All three playing catch with Grandpa and a football with fins toy......

Zoe and Jaxon racing for the fun of it.....

Grandpa getting creative with the football fins!!

 Zoe and Jaxon had a great time at Park # 2, trying the firemen's pole..Jaxon's favorite at this park!!

 

 Kiley & Grandpa spent most of their time on the big slide.... Smiles all around..

Even as we were leaving the park, heading home....lots of smiles.  We headed home for a game of Qwirkle with Jaxon keeping score.

Kiley & Grandpa not sure about that score...

Grandpa had a surprise for the kids, a water pistols fight!!

Zoe & Jaxon trying to get each other wet!!

Jaxon in his element!! This boy loves to battle his cousin Zoe and Grandpa!!

Grandpa encouraging Kiley to join the battles!!

Nothing like 2 grand kids ganging up on Grandpa!!

Kiley was happy watering Grandpa's flowers.

So it was a wild weekend full of games both outdoor and indoor, visits to 5 parks....lots of laughter, giggles, smiles, and Grandma is hoping, memories that will stay with her grand kids for years to come.  We ended the weekend with a camp-out in the family room, complete with tent, flashlights, sleeping bags, popcorn and a movie.  We also told some stories and listed to Kiley's 5 minute joke monologue.  Unforgettable and forever etched in this Grandma and Grandpa "Puppy's" memories. 

Grandma & Grandpa "Puppy's" favorite grand kids!!

and it begins...

Summer has finally made it's way to us! And life is BUSY.

A couple weeks ago Scott and I were able to jet set all the way to Vail, Colorodo for a quick weekend getaway. The kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa (the puppy ones) and had the best time ever. Of course we were still recovering up until this week from all the rule breaking and whatnot. But as my mom says, 'What happens in Fargo, stays in Fargo.'

While in Vail, we took in the magic of the mountains, did some hiking, lounged a bit, took in some beverages, and watched a great deal of slacklining (good 'ole mountain entertainment). We met some interesting people (pretty sure most of them were taking advantage of the legalization of marijuana) and just had fun being with one another. So much fun.

 

The drive from Denver...

 

Morning coffee and breakfast- lentil burritos. No wonder he's scowling!

Setting up the Mountain Games and slacklining competition.

 Heading over to the mountain climbing competition.  

More Slacklining. This really was fun and amazing to watch. These guys can actually land on that little bungie strip and do front and back flips. It's 'gnarly' as the announcer put it. Seriously. He said gnarly. I'm not kidding about that marijuana folks.

After tearing ourselves away from becoming slackline groupies, we actually went on a hike. We didn't find any berries, but we did flex our muscles a bit.

 

 



 

Oh, and we added a new mountain game- check out that gun show!

 We learned to use our self-timer at about 8,000 ft elevation.

 

 And Scott decided to impress me with his lumberjack skills of folding trees in half. Mwa ha ha ha...

 

These trees were my favorite!

Just when I thought things were going well, Scott decided to jump off the side of a cliff.

And he had to climb for his life to get back up.

 

And then, not realizing you could catch the gondola ride at the bottom of the hill, he decided to climb the tower and hitch a ride here.

 I had to talk him out of it before they kicked us out and took away his Hyland Park ski pass (inside joke, you'll never get it.)

 

 

And back at 7,000 feet... we still love each other after all these years.

Thanks Mom and Dad, for this priceless weekend getaway. We look forward to taking you up on your offer again soon!

great expectations

For the past few years over Memorial Day weekend, we've been traveling a few hours north to Osage, MN and spending the weekend with my parents and brother and niece.

 

We rarely have great expectations for nice weather. It hardly ever happens. We also really ramp down any expectation of catching any fish-we usually don't. And, generally speaking, we lower our expectations for accomplishing anything personal, including reading, blogging, running, or any other sort of private moment. It's usually too busy for that.

 

But at least for me, I always have great expectations of this being a time spent with family and loved ones. A time when laughter abounds and good times are remembered. This year was extra special- my grandpa was able to join us and we were able to see my mom's side of the family on Saturday for a wedding reception. It was like a three-fer (and that's better than a two-fer).

 

Of course there was lots of fishing even if they weren't biting all that much. Zoe commented several times, 'I can't believe Jaxon is still fishing!'. I'm not sure if he just really missed his dad after Scott being gone for a week, or if he was just having that much fun in his pajamas catching little sunnys, but this boy is a fisherman! I think he is ready for Cedar Lake!

 

Meanwhile, Kiley played house at the park, being her cute lovely self.

 

We rented a pontoon on Sunday and all of us went out for a couple hours until the little ones got stir crazy. My grandpa got to fish with my dad, which I think was pretty special, having watched these guys fish all their lives pretty much...  it was great to see the happiness in both of them.

Jaxon fished some more, though he really just talked the whole time. You can see  his mouth just getting ready here to ask a question or say something like, 'hey! I just missed that nailer! I need another worm so I can catch another nailer!'.

And then he caught my dad.

 

Kiley was more interested in her fashion and eating M&M's. Because that's what girls do.

And they blow bubbles and look cute.

 

 

Though Jaxon enticed her to get a little closer to the edge to check out his nailer.

 

 

Zoe had a new rule imposed on her by grandma-no cell phones at the dinner table. Allowable on the boat, but not at the dinner table. I mean, there are a lot of things to text your friends about when you are riding around on a pontoon.

Saturday night, we drove back to Fargo to attend my cousin Matt's wedding reception. It was great to see everyone having such a great time and fun to watch the kids-they love a good party, especially a wedding with free lemonade and glow bands.

 

 Kiley was rockin' the off-the-shoulder look. Told ya she was into fashion. You should see some of her color combinations. Solid.

 

 

 Kiley missed daddy too.

Then came the dancing. Jaxon never disappoints.

I'm thinking I'll start wearing these to work, maybe it will help with my next performance review.

 

Best of all was watching these three. So glad my kids have a cousin like Zoe. They adore her.

 

And then there were the Geurin Girls! We got a photo of the best looking ladies at the reception- my mom, grandma and her two sisters (Sandy and Laurie), cousin Kiara, and then Kiley and Zoe. So fun.

Sunday was a decent day weather wise. Again, no great expectations, so it's always better than it really is. Perception is reality. Something like that.

Weather be damned, we decided to have a beach day. That's me in the kayak with long sweatpants on and a sweatshirt under my life jacket. Not exactly tip-over and swim weather so glad neither of us tipped over. I was nervous about Jaxon going in the kayak, but that boy rocked it! He was awesome and I we loved it. Can't wait to do that again with him.

 Then of course there was some beach time to play in the sand and water, even though it was freezing! Kids just don't seem to care about that as much as us old moms and dads.

 

All in all, it was a fun trip. Great expectations indeed.