Last minute before back-to-school fun

 Checked out a new nature center. They have 100 acres and more than 2 miles of trails. We will be back in the fall for some fall colors, and this time with bug spray!

Turkey feather

August won a free ticket to the ball game after a reading initiative in the spring, so he and daddy and grandpa had a fun afternoon. (most fun: eating hotdogs and getting a new stuffed animal)

Meanwhile the girls and I had lunch at Culvers and home to watch Frozen.

This happened a few days ago, elbow dislocation. Thankfully it had already fixed itself before the doctor even came in. 

I backed into a brick wall with Doug's jeep. I was thankful it wasn't another car!

The kids and I checked out another nature center where I grew up, I hadn't been there since elementary school. It was really nice. 

They had this gorgeous door into the kidscape area

We picked all these veggies from my mom's garden while she was on vacation. And the kids demolished the entire thing in one evening.

Doug and I had a date night, we saw the Twisters movie (so good!) we had the whole theatre to ourselves.

And this was actually our only day at the beach this year (!) The kids had a blast in the sand.

This was the 3rd groundhog caught this summer. Altho not before utterly decimating my zinnias, climbing beans, a lot of bush bean plants, and possibly the melon leaves too. 

And one more playground this morning

We've had a good summer overall. Lots of togetherness. Lots of squabbles. Getting excited for back-to-school, altho not the getting up early/rushed mornings. And still nervous about home-schooling 2 now, while balancing a soon-to-be-3'nager mini-tornado ball of energy. But we shall see how it goes!

Birthday trip to CO

 I may or may not have a history of returning birthday gifts. 

Which is odd for me because I would say gift giving is one of my love "speaking" languages, but it's not a receiving language. I've been working on it. 

But anyway, this year turning 43, Doug decided to get me something he knew I would love. A trip to visit someone! I decided to go visit my brother. 

We saw him and his family in June. (and actually he came for my Grandpa's funeral which was unexpected in July). But normally I only get to see him 1x a year. 

Plus he'd just moved and I wanted to see his life in his new space and maybe have some 1 on 1 time with his girls. I remember when my first niece was born and I was just obsessed with her. Then you have your own kids, and it just changes. Not the love of course, but the availability, I would say. Whenever we see them I am busy watching my own kids, or they are busy playing together as cousins (which is also something I super value). But I do have a sense of fomo or just sadness that things are different. 

He picked me up late from the airport and we got started right away with good chats. The next day the girls were actually at their grandparents so we went on a bike ride through their new neighborhood. 

The girls came back and we all went to the pool. Then out for a tasty Mexican dinner and then cake and icecream at their house.

The next day I had really wanted to hike Horsetooth. I hadn't done it in years. So Joel and I and the 2 oldest girls went. It was a gorgeous day and such good exercise.

See the horse's teeth?

We went out for smoothies and came home and showered and relaxed. Then I spent time with the girls while Joel and his wife had a date night. The girls and I made cookies and watched movies. It was nice. I do wish I saw them more often, there was that element of distance/unfamiliarity, but I enjoyed my time with them and was thankful for it. 

Then breakfast together the last day and back to the airport! Short but sweet visit, and was very thankful for it. And of course, thankful for another year of life.

July goings on - and Grandpa's passing

 Little lady made herself a place to be cozy and watch tv from around the corner

Grew enough green beans for a family dinner's worth!

I got the soap in the background, but it smelled bad. And I'm all like "life is too short for bad smelling soap!" .... but then I'm yet too cheap to throw it out... :P

My cousin got married, so we did a quick weekend in Chicago. Got to see the Bean!

Speaking of beans...

One day I had a beautiful lush green flowering bean plant starting to climb up the trellis enterance into my garden, and then next morning...

Noooooo!!!!! I don't know if it was deer, almost every leaf was delicately devoured. I was so sad.

Last night Doug set up a "fence" of fishing line. The idea is the deer bump into the line, but since they can't see anything, they get nervous and go away. It has worked in the past. 

But this morning...

Several Zinnia heads and leaves were gone. Like 20 plants. So maybe still deer, or maybe rabbits. Who knows. But I was very very sad. 

Nothing has made it into my garden actually, but I had these flowers all around the perimeter for beauty and to attract pollinators, so it has been very frustrating to see all your hard work just chewed away overnight. 

The by far biggest sadness was the passing of my Grandpa Ken. He was my last Grandparent. I had the opportunity to live with him (and Grandma Marie) on/off/on about a decade while I was going to the University near their home. I had a busy social life at the time, and I'm sure part of it was just me being selfish, and I have a regret of not using more of my time to invest in actually spending quality time with them during that period. 

Over this last decade of being married and having kids we were able to spend time with him, probably every year, after he moved up North (after my Grandma's fall, and worsening dementia took them to live with my doctor uncle). And these photos and video clips are of that time. 

My grandpa was 103, my grandma has been gone for 6 years now, and I know he was feeling ready to go to heaven for a long time. Sometimes he would joke "your uncle won't let me die!" We are so blessed, as a family, to have had him around so long. It has been amazing to see the sacrificial love from my uncle and his wife for caring for them/him  for so long, And I am thankful he passed peacefully, knowing he was going "on his journey" to heaven, and at his last breath his son was there reading the passage where Mary Magdalene came to find the tomb empty. Who could ask for a better passing. I am thankful. But he was very loved, and will be very missed. 

I had the chance to facetime call him when I was at work last week. He couldn't hear me, but my uncle said "it's your granddaughter Anne Marie saying she loves you" and he answered out "and I love her!" and again I'm just so thankful that his last years have been happy and full of love and, for the most part, peace. When we were kids it seemed we were always in his way and he seemed grumpy, so it's been really wonderful to enjoy this other side of him as the lasting memory. 

Oh the peace that comes from knowing that someday I will see him again. 

Until then, Grandpa I love you.

so much to catch up on

 It feels like it's been a very busy season of life. No way to catch up on 2 months, so here's a bit of what's been going on:

MAY:

$6k for a new septic field. Pro- I now finally understand what a septic field is. Con- still planting grass seed and dealing with that mess

mother's day kisses!

August's first pet! A little caterpiller he named Frankie. (RIP Frankie)

Doug took down my old falling apart garden boxes and made me new ones from cedar

This boy finished 1st grade

Rollar skating end of the year party, so fun

Beautiful girl

My sis and I went on a women's exercise/Christian wife/mother retreat in NC. It was SOOO good to spend time together and fellowship with other women believers

Here we are with the woman who helped me get back into shape after pregnancy with her GlowbodyPT workouts. (we were totally fangirling!)

Had a date with this guy.

JUNE:

Grow garden grow!

Father's day

My brother and family was in town and we all went to Wisconsin for a family reunion. They sold the family (my grandparents 100 acre) farm last year so we all went one last time to say goodbye. It was bittersweet, so many memories in that barn. I miss my grandparents. 

We had a lot of fun with cousins at the waterpark resort we stayed at

Bummed my brother lives so far away, but always so fun to get together again

It was my first time at the Wisconsin Dells, this was a view from the Upper Dells boat tour

Later we hiked at Devil's Lake state park

this was after we hiked up to Balanced Rock (we got soaking wet with rain on the way down, but no one fell or was struck by lightening- WIN!)

Pretty girls by the flowers at our airbnb

We also went on a Wisconsin Duck boat tour, fun!

And toured a lavender farm

Then we went on to Minnesota to visit 2 other cousins (and get a picture for our US family travel map!)

It's been a busy couple months, but enjoying the summer.