Magic Moments

I hate packing lunches.  Tom hates eating packed lunches.  It's a recipe for disaster.  I refuse to cut him loose and let him buy lunch everyday because I know what kind of stuff he buys and I also see how much it impacts the budget.  I've tried a variety of different things in Tom's lunch hoping to strike gold, but usually just ending up with something he thinks is edible at best.  Things this week have changed.  Enter the Bento Box. It's perfect!  Tom likes to eat little bits of a variety of things so this is great and it's really fun to be creative.  I'm just starting my Bento journey so I'm still learning and still collecting a variety of containers. This was my first attempt. This website has been super helpful with "How To" and with ideas. And lo and behold I just realized you can get Bento Cookbooks.  I don't think I'm there yet.  Maybe someday. But checkout this picture. I think that must be a gourmet Bento lunch. If you h...

For the Grandparents who just love hearing about each and everything we do, here ya go. I think that August will bring a quieter month so maybe my blog will read differently instead of just news about going here and there and here again. July was busy!  After more than a week at the cabin, a week with my parents, a week of Bible School, and another weekend or 2 back at the Cabin I'm ready to enjoy August from the home front.  Maybe we'll frequent the pool or the park or the nature center, places we haven't been to enough. Aiden and his cousin, Emery, got to enjoy Bible School together last week.  The short story is I think (actually I know ) they both had a really, really fun time.  Even though I played Taxi cab a lot, it was nice to have a couple quiet mornings while Sage napped to get a few things done without interruptions. I know Aiden really enjoyed Bible School, but truth be told I'm glad that having him gone is not always an everyday thing. They had...

Everybody loves Heroes and my son is no exception.  If you ask him about heroes he'll launch into a monolog about Spiderman.  Even though I haven't been able to find any skeletons in his closet, I'm not really a Spiderman fan.  So I took it upon myself to tell Aiden the story of real hero....his Great Grandfather. If you remember, my Grandfather is Sage's (middle) namesake and was a World War II veteran. To make the story come to life for Aiden I had the opportunity to take him to see World War II Bombers this past weekend.  I was really excited because there is only one fully restored and flying B-24 Liberator in the United States and it was going to be on display.  A B-24 is what my Grandfather flew his 27 missions in as the Gunner in the Ball Turret.  As cool as it is to look at and as heroic as it is to think about, it gives me chills and I cannot even come close to imagining the anxiety and fear one would have as you get into the ball, shut and lock th...

I love going home.  I don't mean home here, which I do also love, but home to where I grew up.  Home at my parent's house.  Home where nothing else could be more familiar than inside the house I grew up in. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I had not been there in probably 3 years.  I don't really know why.  My parents come here so much that I just hadn't made the trip.  My parents were so sweet to come and get the boys and I since I can't really travel by myself with both of them since Sage screams in his carseat. He's been known to scream for close to 2 hours before Tom and I have done the unthinkable and taken him out of the carseat for a bit.  Anyway, I am NOT waiting so long this time before we go back. I think by next Summer Sage will hopefully be a better traveler and I can go myself and make this at least a once a year event.  Now Tom and I just need to make a plan to make regular trips to his home in Indiana. The boys were spoiled....

I had written off Chivalry, assuming it was dead, because I have had the door left to slam in my face while having two kids in tow at various places...the library, the store, etc.  Each time I was left standing trying to open a door while holding a baby, a diaper bag, and keeping track of a 4 year old I promised myself that I would raise Gentlemen.  Gentlemen, in case you've forgotten what one was, are the kind of men that hold doors open for ladies.  They let ladies walk in front, they pick things up when you drop them, they take their hats off to eat dinner. Raising gentlemen is a work in progress so we are doing just that...working towards progress.  Just as I had lost all hope and thought perhaps my boys would be the only gentlemen on earth someday, I was surprised in these past couple weeks by random acts of kindness and I've seen seen the kind of gentlemen I hope my boys grow up to be. I was grocery shopping at Target last week...major shopping, not just pick...

To wrap up the 4th of July week at the cabin I'll share just a couple more photos from our ridiculously hot week at the cabin.  Just so you don't all think we ''roughed" it all week, I should add that my dad put in an air conditioner at the cabin.  My mom and I were begging (kind of) but since my Dad is a Boy Scout he saw no need since he's used to "roughing it."  However, once my dad heard that Tom's parent's put in an air conditioner (or 2 ) at their cabin, he caved.  I guess he figured that since the cabin veterans, who have been coming to the cabin since the 1950's, thought it was justifiable then we could get one too. After all, it was the hottest 4th on record. Our little window air made the cabin so much more cooler and made sleeping a bit more pleasant....especially for this mama who holds a squirmy baby all day. :) Bliss Our 2nd beach baby Watching fireworks Timmy's shadow A fisherman in the making ...

During the week of July 4th Aiden got to tag along with my dad, Tom's dad, Jim, Mark, and Abby and go to Fort Ripley and tour the Military Museum.  Judging from the pictures I think they had fun.

If it wasn't for our Parents we wouldn't have our dear Cabins.  And even more important, our children (and us!) wouldn't have the great influence of their Grandpa, Grandmommy, Pappy, and Marme. Our parents are building such a great legacy for our sweet boys and their cousins.  Words cannot say how appreciative I am of the time our parents give our children teaching them, playing with them, and investing in them with memories, life lessons, and love.  I can't describe how blessed we feel.  I know that many people have wonderful childhoods.  Tom and I have decided that our children are living a Fairy Tale.  God is so, so good.

 Every year there is a boat parade on not just our lake, but also on the two connecting lakes.  Everyone who wants to participate "soups up" their pontoon with a certain theme and then the boats parade around all three lakes and past the judging panel.  The kids love this tradition and this was the first year Aiden was old enough to handle the 2+ hour boat ride.  I think the kids love it more than the adults because it is a very long, very hot ride.  One woman usually goes to help with crowd control and to mother all the kiddos while Uncle Jim usually drives and another Uncle goes with to keep him company. All the "Things 2-5."  Missing is Uncle Jim who sported the Thing 1 shirt. Audrey and Abby were Sally and I think maybe Mark was Nick who isn't pictured.  All the credit and creativity goes to Stephanie. She had the vision, gathered all decorations, painted the sign, and just made everything very Cat In The Hat-esque complete with the ra...

There is a certain comfort found in things you can count on and I think traditions are good for the soul.  We have some long running traditions, I'm talking traditions spanning generations, at the cabin and, although simple, these traditions make me feel at home.  They make me feel good because I know they are coming, they bring fond memories, they bring us together as a family, they make me feel happy.  My family are cabin newbies, but Tom's family has been coming to the cabin since Tom's Dad was a boy.  So, I've claimed their traditions as my own and they've been nice enough to share, spreading the Cabin Magic as far as it will stretch. The LollyPop Tree My personal favorite. So full of magic and promise. Anticipation and hope. I love that my sweet boys get to be a part of it and even when we plant it on the last night at the cabin when I'm dog tired and ready to go home, I'd move mountains to make sure my boys don't miss out on the Lollypop tree.  ...