This, That, and Tunnels

I know you're all on the edge of your seats waiting to hear how our garden is coming along. Here it is...

That should be good for one night of BLT's don't you think? The garden isn't the only thing coming along nicely. The plantings on the side of our house are looking good too...

The school where Grandpa Art works had an auction last week. Gracie and Ella scored this basketball hoop...

And this bag full of balls to go with it...

Grandpa also brought us two fun tunnels to play in. This is what happened while Gracie was playing in the tunnels...

She has a tendency to lose her pants while doing physical activity. I wish I had that problem. She decided while her pants were down, she might as well show you her new undies (you know, just 'cause they're cute)...

More tunnel fun...

If I'm taking pictures, well, then Gracie should be taking pictures too...

And crawling around in tunnels and losing your pants is exhausting so we had to have a snack...

And with our snack a little love...

Arriving March 2010...

Baby #3!

just another day at the beach...i mean pool

Esther Bible Study Group

Top row: Joyce, Pam, Arlis, Julie and Marsha

Bottom row: Ruth, Kim, me, Becky and Georgia

As Beth says, Bible studying women are dangerous women for the Kingdom of God! I think that would make a great t-shirt don't you!?

New Sleeping Arrangements & A Sleep Over

Up until recently, the four of us have all been sleeping on the upstairs level of our house. Hubby and me in the largest bedroom, and each of the girls in one of the two smaller, conjoined rooms. Last weekend we, Hubby, myself and Gracie, decided that she was ready to have her own big girl room. Oh, and Hubby and I were ready to reclaim our master bedroom on the main floor of our house. You know, the room where all our stuff is. We spent all day Saturday rearranging furniture and belongings and clothes. Here is Gracie new room...

We bought chocolate brown suede curtains to match her (which used to be our) duvet cover, a new bright pink shaggy rug, and really cute striped sheets.

Her dollhouse now has a proper home instead of being in our hallway.

And she has a closet big enough for her clothes plus all her toys. I'm happy to report she's doing very well sleeping in her new room.

Friday afternoon our friends called and offered to take the girls overnight so we could have a night out. Did I mention that these friends have two small children of their own? Brave souls. We weren't sure how a sleep over would go with a four year old and a two year old, but these friends live close by and it wouldn't take long to go get them if we had to, so we decided there wasn't much to lose by giving it a shot! Hubby and I went out to dinner, hit a few stores, went to a movie, slept uninterrupted all night, and slept in until 9 on a Saturday morning. It was so nice!

The girls had a blast too! They set up a tent in the living room and had a camp out with flashlights and smores. At bedtime they went down well and slept all night. Of course, they didn't go down until after 11:30 and were up around 7, but I still call that a success! Thank you Lord for generous friends!

On Sunday we took Ella into Urgent Care after church. She had been complaining for several days that it hurt to pee. We had called her pediatrician, whose nurse had told us to give her vinegar baths and see if that helped. It didn't. So the doctor at Urgent Care decided we needed to do a urinalysis to determine if she had an infection. Hard to do a urinalysis on a two year old who isn't potty trained. So, we'd have to use a catheter, but he and his nurse weren't comfortable using a catheter on a two year old. So he sent us over to the peds unit at the hospital. Thankfully some friends of our had taken Gracie to the beach with them so she didn't have to witness the trauma. Hubby and I managed to hold back the tears while we held her down and whispered to her that she'd be okay. UGH. It was terrible you guys. The urinalysis confirmed she did indeed have a bladder infection and we were able to get her on antibiotics. Thankfully, it's over, and I pray we never have to cath any of our small children ever again.

For Aunt Deb

Auntie Deb, here are some pictures of me in the dress you and Uncle Alan gave me for my birthday!

Not So Small After All

Ella had her two year check up today. Several months ago, a doctor who saw her at urgent care told us that she was only in the 60% for her height and that she'd probably only be 5'4" or 5'5". Today her pediatrician said that was a mistake. She's in the 90% for height and 15% for weight. So she's the definition of long and lean. Otherwise she's doing great. She's on track with all of her developmental milestones. I guess I have to stop calling her petite. She's not short at all, just a skinny minnie.

Two Birthdays and A Wedding

Wow! We had a busy, but fun-filled weekend with family. Our trip started out in Sioux Falls at Hubby's sister's house. Our great-niece, Emma, turned one on July 3rd. Here she is planting one on Gracie...

And here's Gracie cleaning up after...

The big girl and her cake...

Dressed up in the outfit she got from their foreign exchange student, Jiwoo, who sent it from Korea...

The other birthday girl. Ella turned 2 two days after her cousin turned 1...

Me and one of our nieces, Amanda...

After Emma's party we headed on to my mom's house in Edgerton. We spent the night there and then got up bright and early Saturday morning to drive to Minneapolis for my cousin, Chris', wedding. Here are the girls right before we left for the church (dresses, hats and purses courtesy of Grandma Genie)...

Ella with the groom...

Chris and his bride, Erin, cutting the cake...

Chris and Erin Fransman...

Ella dancing with my Aunt Deb...

The girls with Erin...

The day after the wedding was Ella's second birthday! We celebrated by heading to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. Right after a quick trip to IKEA. The girls had a great time on the rides and just exploring the mall. Our good friends, Dan, Rachel and Emma also happened to be in the cities for the weekend, so we got to meet up with them for a short time.

Later that night, before heading to the pool, Ella opened her presents in the hotel room...

Thank you, Lord, for Ella. She has been such a blessing to our family. We look forward to continuing to watch her grow in the years to come. She truly has the sweetest heart!

Monday morning we headed for home. The girls have gotten some much needed sleep and are getting back into the swing of being home. It's been a summer of travel.

Next, we look forward to Grandma Genie and Uncle Daniel's visit in August!

Last Night Of VBS 2009

Tonight it was the end of the line for the Boomerang Express. VBS was a great experience for all of us. Gracie really became buddies with her two guides, Pam and Elsie. In fact, I think she spent most of the finally rally tonight on Pam's lap. Someone she didn't even know five days ago. That's just what VBS does to you! At the closing rally there was a slide show of the week's activities. Gracie and I were excited to see ourselves up on the big screen, having fun. Here are some pictures from our final night...

Opening rally...

Gracie with one of her guides, Elsie...

Ella making friends...

Hanging out together...

Worshipping together...

A beautiful sunset on the way home...

I would also like to add that I let both my 4 year old and my 2 year old eat ice cream sandwiches in my van on the way home. What's that you said? You don't believe me? Well, I guess I don't have any photographic evidence to support my claim, but take my word for it, it's true.

What OCD? It's just what VBS does to you.