Truck wash

Jack loves to use his dump truck to help me dispose of weeds and plant brush from the flower beds. After he ran his dump truck through the mud in the neighboring empty lot he stated "mommy, I think it is time for a truck wash". I gave him the hose and let him have fun. If you ever want to keep a 4 year old boy entertained just give him unlimited access to water. I bet Jack spent close to an hour washing his truck this afternoon. Of course, when he was done he was soaked from head to toe and we put him straight into the bath tub (thanks mamaw grandma!).

Popsicles

It was a hot and humid day today. It was the kind of day where it was too hot to be outside for any length of time. In fact, at 7:00 pm when I checked the temperature it was still 94 degrees. We decided to brave the heat for a few minutes this afternoon to enjoy a popsicle outside. Elizabeth seemed to enjoy her very first popsicle; although with the stifling temperature I'm not sure how much she actually licked before it melted! I hope our beautiful NE WI weather returns soon. We are definitely no longer acclimated to 90+ degree temperatures.

Happy Father's Day

A Father's Day picture of Matt with Jack and Elizabeth. We love you and think you are the best daddy ever!

Kisses

Jack and Elizabeth were sitting on the porch this morning and I was lucky to capture these cute, but rare, moments of affection between them. I needed to remind myself that they really do love each other despite the seemingly constant fighting that goes on between them. Elizabeth just adores Jack. She wants to do everything that he does, wants what he has, and always wants to be near him. From Jack's perspective I can see how he needs his own space but I know he secretly adores his sister as well. For example, yesterday Elizabeth hit her head on the wall and Jack went over and gave her a hug and kiss.

Pictures from today

Another busy summer day. Jack had swimming lessons this morning and after that we went to the castle park and then came home to play outside before lunch. Jack and Elizabeth had fun jumping through the hopscotch course I drew for them. Elizabeth had fun drawing on the driveway while Jack was a maniac on his motorcycle. Even our crazy dog, Misha, loved being outside. We had an invisible fence put in a month ago and you can see by the "smile" on her face that she is enjoying spending more free time outside as well. We are loving these long, beautiful summer days.

A busy weekend

We had such a fun weekend this past weekend. Matt was off on Friday so we took Jack and Elizabeth to see Thomas the train at the National Train Museum. Jack loved the train ride, which was pulled by Thomas. He also loved the bounce houses and could have spent all day bouncing! We left just before lunch and melt down time.

On Saturday, I participated in the Bellin 10K run which is the fourth largest 10K in the United States. There were over 16,000 participants but with the wave start it didn't feel overwhelming. However, I was a bit frustrated at the beginning when I got held up behind slower people and people who decided to walk from the start. It was a gorgeous morning for the race and I was so thankful that Matt and the kids came to cheer me on. They were at the end of mile 5 and gave me the boost I needed to get to the finish line. I was hoping to finish in under an hour, but my official time was 1:00:17. I doubt I could have ran 18 seconds faster. The last two miles were really hard and I wish I would have had a few more weeks to train for the longer distance. Anyway, I ended up finishing 1551 out of 8079 women so I was pleased with that considering it was my first race.

On Sunday, we enjoyed more family time and after church had a lazy summer day. I finally got some flowers planted after dodging several thunderstorms and Jack enjoyed his new favorite treat, a fudgecicle.

50 degrees in June

We've had a cold, rainy snap the last few days with highs barely reaching 50 degrees. So, what do we do when it is too cold and wet to go outside? We make yummy cookies and according to Jack, the best part is licking the spoon!

Smiles

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Another reason I love my new camera is that I can finally capture Elizabeth's smile which was almost impossible with my old camera. I'm in love....with her and my camera!

A cute pic

Matt bought me a Canon Rebel for my birthday so I've been playing around trying to figure it out. I love the lens and how clear the pictures are. Also, I love how fast it takes pictures, making this picture possible. I think this is the best birthday present I've ever received!

Return to MN

We went back to Rochester for a very quick (less than 36 hr) trip to get Jack's 4 year, Elizabeth's 18 months and a family picture taken at the Plummer House. I wasn't anticipating the disaster that it would be. Within 2 minutes of being at the Plummer gardens, Jack had mud and grass stains on his white shirt that he was supposed to wear for our family picture. I figured that Elizabeth would be difficult during her pictures and would scream and refuse to smile and that Jack would be the ham for the camera. Boy, did I have that mixed up! Jack refused to even look at the camera most of the time and Elizabeth was the star of the show. I was so disappointed in Jack's behavior which was most likely due to lack of sleep (we arrived in Rochester around midnight Thursday night). I didn't even bother to have him change into his second outfit since I knew it was a waste of time. Jennifer is an excellent photographer so I'm hoping she captured at least one good picture of Jack. I tried to capture a few pictures myself at the end of the session but ended up grabbing Elizabeth out of the pond before she went in head first.

After lunch, the kids and Matt enjoyed a long nap while I visited my old lab. I always debate if I miss working and truly I do, at times, miss the mental stimulation of working in a research lab. After spending time in the lab Friday afternoon, I concluded that I do not miss the disfunctional environment I used to work in. Believe me, when I say disfunctional I am being way too nice!!! I miss most, but definitely not all, of the people I worked with and am not surprised that certain people have not and will not change! I don't miss being told how many hours to work and that what I'm doing is never enough. I don't miss being torn between staying late to get my work done or picking up my kids from daycare so they were not the last one's left at the end of the day. I'm glad that I get to spend the days with my kids without worrying about what else I should be doing. I'm glad that I can cuddle them in the morning for as long as we want without worrying about getting to work on time. I'm glad that I'm the one to wipe away their tears when they are hurt, tuck them into bed at naptime, and witness the countless ways they amaze me everyday. I will say that I was probably a better, more patient mom when I was working. I devoted all my attention to them when they were awake. Now, it's hard to get everything done in the day while giving them all my attention and I certainly do miss my "me" time during the day, including time to go to the bathroom in private and enjoy a cup of coffee with friends. But at this point in my life, I can now say that I'm happy to be where I am. Home with my babies.

It was too short of a trip to Rochester. I didn't get to see most of the people that I wanted to see since I was also fighting a migraine the entire trip. I didn't even get to drive past our old house. We had to get back Saturday early enough to pick Misha up from the kennel. So to my friends that I did see, it was fabulous! And to those that I missed, I'm truly sorry and hope you understand how hard it is to pack in that much into a 36 hr trip.