Magic Moments

I think that Jenny might just be the friend that I've had for the longest time. We were neighbors our freshman year of college and met because eating lunch at the Linden cafeteria together (even though we were complete strangers) sounded a whole lot better than eating lunch by ourselves. The rest, they say, is history. It's so fun to catch up with one of your best friends and fall into synch and realize that they are the exact same person they were when you lived together for 3 years in college. Jenny is good enough to come visit every year even though it takes an airplane to get here. I look forward to that week of catching up and reminiscing and having heart to hearts. The boys love their "Auntie Jenny." In fact, Sage was looking for her this morning even though we dropped her off at the airport yesterday. Our lives have taken different paths, but friendship (and ISU) is the tie that binds and we're looking forward to next year! We stayed busy. We went to ...

Our family was all together this weekend as we mourned the loss and celebrated the life of Tom's Uncle Craig. It's difficult to put into words the emotions of the weekend. We are praying for God's mercies and taking comfort in Him as an all loving and compassionate Father who shelters us under his wings. We are thankful for each other and the love that abounds in this family.

The boys insisted on playing outside today so I wasn't surprised at all when I found them soaking wet. Between the water table (most played with toy of the Summer), squirt guns, and some popsicles they managed to stay cool. I stayed inside. ;)

To go sailing with Grandpa you'll need your trusty yellow life jacket. (This week I cheated a little bit. I didn't take these pictures. I stole them from Tom's phone since he took them on Wednesday when the boys were at the lake. I had a couple other pictures I could have used that I took, but since the sail boat is my favorite boat I went with these pictures. I would have loved to see how they turned out on my camera, but I'm just happy to have these sweet pictures of the boys on Grandpa's sail boat.)

Thanks to my friend, Stephanie, we toured the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam this morning in Downtown Minneapolis. The lock and dam is right by the Mills City Ruins and Stone Arch Bridge so the surroundings were beautiful and rich with history. Aiden and I learned a lot. Sage was mostly just liking the chance to see the river and the chance to run around. For your information here are a few fun facts: 1. A Lock and Dam is like an elevator for boats 2. There are 29 lock and dams along the Mississippi but only 27 are numbered. That is why we toured the Upper (there is also a lower) Lock and Dam. Rather than redoing the whole number system when they were installed the two most Northern Lock and Dams are just called Upper and Lower (I think I have that right. It's hard to listen and chase a two year old). 3. Upper St. Anothony Falls accounts for 10% of the elevation change along the Mississippi 4. No electricity is used, just a series of valves and water pressure (I think). ...

Yesterday morning we headed to Berry Hill Farm to pick raspberries and Uncle Erik was good enough to join us. Aiden ate and ate and ate. It reminded me of picking raspberries with him several years ago. He was younger than Sage but he would plop himself down by a bush and stuff himself with raspberries. Sage was an honest to goodness helper while picking. He will be my worker bee someday. While Aiden will be investigating mysteries and exploring the seven wonders of the world, Sage will probably be home riding Pappy's John Deere. :) Sage was a little confused about which raspberries were ripe and which ones weren't so Uncle Erik helped him "pune" his basket a bit and fill it with good ones. In Sage's eyes Erik became the raspberry expert and with each raspberry he picked Sage would ask Erik, "Is this one ready to eat?" And most of the time Erik would say, "Not yet. Put it back and let it grow more." So Sage would throw it away and start over. R...

Aiden lost his very first tooth! The tooth was extremely loose but Aiden didn't want anyone to pull it out, and so it was hanging by a thread. And then, on Tuesday night while Tom was at work, Aiden said to me, "Mama, I want you to pull my tooth." So the job I was counting on Tom to do fell on my shoulders. I had to pull the tooth. Eww. But the tooth was so very loose it came out with really no effort at all. Aiden was so excited. We put the tooth under his pillow and he had a wonderful time thinking about the magic the Tooth Fairy would bring. I went about my night and thankfully I remembered at about 10:30 that the Tooth Fairy needed to come. It was then I realized how unprepared I was for the Tooth Fairy to visit. We had no special pillow with a pocket to put the tooth in and I called Tom at work to make sure the Tooth Fairy would arrive with Fairy Dust and gold coins. The Tooth Fairy had a lot of kids to visit that night and she ran out of gold dollars, so she had to...

The boys went up to the lake today to soak in more Cabin Magic. I stayed home because someone around here has to work for a living. Haha. As it turns out my clients cancelled but I was not notified of this until I was almost to their house. Thus, it was disappointing since I could have gone to the lake as well, but the day at home was nice. My house is clean (until the boys arrive home with their sand filled clothes), I went shopping at the mall by myself, and I lazily laid on the couch and watched a couple episodes of my show with zero interruptions. Win!!! As I'm finally sorting through pictures I'm reliving the wonderful week at the cabin, thanking Jesus for his provision and for this place and for what it means for our family and for my kids. Life is good. Happy 4th of July! Last year this ride was fun, this year not so much. He's a big kid now! Giant slide with Mama! At the carnival. Being silly at the carnival. The patriarch of the family....

 A big, huge box of curriculum for the Fall came in the mail. But, I'm choosing to ignore it because I don't want Summer to end. It's been down right glorious around here.

20140617_170942.mp4 from Jenny on Vimeo .

Week 28: Yummy-Grandmommy has spent Summers at the cabin for decades. She has created something we lovingly call Cabin Magic. And while there are many elements under the umbrella of Cabin Magic, two of the Cabin Magic traditions that are the boys' favorite include the Lolly Pop Tree and Cabin Magic Stories. Cabin Magic Stories are only for kids and no adults are allowed (although I did get to listen to my first and only story when I was 19). T he stories are told with the magic story lanterns and always involve a yummy treat, which is most often oven s'mores but this year it was homemade twix bars. The stories are magical and Aiden loves them. He also LOVES the yummy treats and time with his cousins. The other most magical event of the Summer is the growth of the Lolly Pop Tree. Sometime during the week of the 4th of July, when the soil is just right, Grandmommy announces that the night is right for a Lolly Pop Tree to grow. Before bedtime all the kids go outside ...