July Reprise

Well, it is now August 23rd so I thought I would post some July photos. We have been having too much fun out of town so I have not been by a computer. We have been so busy we have had a hard time getting groceries or mowing the lawn. Dave started mowing the lawn today and I just finished mowing the lawn in the complete dark while he put Luke to bed. I used my kinestetic ability to navigate and align the mower with where I thought I went the last pass. We will see how it looks tomorrow.

This one is for Grandma... the tomatoes are about ten times larger than when they started. I have been letting Luke really do the work, so they are not perfectly cared for. The bottom photo is of all the tomatoes Luke has helped to pick.

In mid July we went camping with friends from church. I was amazed at how many happy campers there were in the rain and in the cold. I was impressed by how many people actually enjoyed camping with toddlers and infants. I decided that I will never go back to tent camping again unless we are backpacking. We used a pop-up for the first time and it was great. I had easy access diaper changes and a dry and warm bed. The furnace ran throughout the night because it got into the 40s by my calculations.

I didn't get any pictures of the adults but you can see all the cute kids lined up below.

A birthday party with Sparky. My twin nephews had their birthday party at the fire department. It came complete with decorations, a cake, and a fire engine ride. They also got a visit from Sparky the fire dog... or mascot. He had to get all dressed up for just 6 kids, 4 of which were not impressed with his costume and two of which were scared. I wondered how the firemen choose to who would be Sparky for the day because it was not the honored position. The boys were fully impressed with every vehicle and piece of machinery.

I get to see my old best friend from grade school once a year. Here she is with Eva.

Pamela Therapy

We haven't gotten a great photo of the entire family since Eva has been born. The camera logistics are more difficult when you don't have a spare hand. We went away with my family for five days and took two pictures on one camera and about five on another. So...we are very thankful to a college friend Pam who took our pictures in Whitefish Bay. She has a special knack of capturing emotion and life in her pictures. Just looking at these photos does my soul well. It reminds me of what is important in life. She has captured the highest dynamic of having children. Looking at these pictures will balance the crying and struggles of having children. It will balance when Luke pulls my hair up into two horns and says I look like a yak. It will balance when Luke is being oppositional about everything. I call it Pamela Therapy. Her website is www.psphoto.org She has a blog on that site to view examples of her photo shoots.

I am not derserving to have such wonderful children, such gifts from God, but that is how God works.

Firefly, Hazen, Blue Harbor

Due to some technical difficulties we could not download the pictures off of our new Cannon 40D. So I am posting our summer pictures in November. I will not comment much, but I will say that I love family traditions of spending time together in summer. Wisconsin is a beautiful place in summer. Enjoy the photos.

Happy Fourth of July

Ever since I started reading my mother's Better Homes and Gardens I have wanted to make a red, white, and blue dessert for the Fourth. I have never made the festive dessert, but she is kind of a sweet fourth of July treat. Eva is 8 months old.

My Darling

Anytime I talk about Eva I guard my heart by saying that I know she will only be this sweet once. Being with her is like holding a special edition that will soon be discontinued. It is like if a life staple, like food or gasoline, was going to be discontinued you would want to determine how you could get as much as you could as fast as you could. All I can do is say that I love her and cry a few tears. Childhood is a precious thing and I am not going to let it rush by.

Chicago

Well, for the first time in 3 years and 3 months Luke woke up and jumped out of bed and put on his clothes practically before his feet hit the ground. He said, "I have to get dressed, I have to go to Chicago." We had a hard time distracting him until 9AM when we officially started the drive. Once we were there he just kept saying, "I am excited," as he skipped around.

We love going to visit Julie and Tom in Chicago. We had such a great time. They have a son, Jake, who is going to be two in August. Luke enjoyed watching traffic for a total of three hours. I enjoyed going out to eat twice, grilling out, and just being away from home. Dave liked learning about Julie's new camera. Dave has been asking for a digital SLR camera and now he has been fully inspired to get one.

We had a great time going to the local park and hanging out with Julie and Tom. I love staying at their place on the south loop. I also fully enjoyed using her BOB jog stroller and taking Luke for a jog on the lakefront. I used the swivel wheel the expandable sun shield and the cup holder.

Growing tomatoes with Grandma

Anytime we have a question with our yard we call grandma and grandpa. They both have a special knack for keeping things beautiful outdoors. We just hang up the phone and they arrive with their suburban, enclosed landscaping trailer, John Deer tractor, professional blower, hoses, rakes, fertilizer, and beautiful flowers. This time they were focusing on teaching Luke about tomatoes. They mixed potting soil and fertilizer into two containers. Then they planted two types of tomatoes. We have been watching them grow and now they are triple in size.