Sara's Shower weekend

On Sunday, we celebrated Sara joining our family with a bridal shower.  We held it at Aunt Debbie's house and invited both sides of the family.  We enjoyed delicious food, a few games, amazing desserts, and lots of gifts and well-wishes for such a special person.  We couldn't be happier about her becoming an Ory in September.  She is kind, conscientious, and thoughtful and we feel so fortunate that Tom has chosen her for a partner.  We can't wait for the wedding!

Polka Dot Village

The Briar House hosted a book reading of "Polka Dot Village" by Rhinelander native, Betty White.  It was a beautiful, sunny morning and the kids had a blast listening to her read her sweet story while sipping their Italian sodas and mowing down Rice Krispy bars with polka dot sprinkles.  We finished off the event with a scavenger hunt for polka dot balloons.  We love that Aunt Sandy is doing fun events like this at the Briar House and can't wait for the next one!

Nature's Niche

The Lindners invited Nolan and Livi to join them at the Nature's Niche library program the other day.  They got to learn all about various animals found in the rainforest.  Both of them touched lizards and turtles, but their proudest moment was when they touched the 175 pound Burmese python.  I'm so happy they had the opportunity to have these encounters (and was even happier that I didn't have to be there!)  Hopefully, with the help of the Lindners, we'll manage to raise a generation of kids who aren't freak shows about reptiles!

Sleepover

Nolan and Olivia stayed overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's the other night.  They had a great time playing outside, taking care of the greenhouse, and having a movie night with popcorn!  They were both really brave and didn't get scared or nervous at all this time!  We're so thankful for the close and special relationships our kids have with their grandparents!

Great Big Storm

Last night we had plans to go to Holiday Acres for dinner.  Unfortunately Mother Nature also had some plans for quite a worrying storm to come through the area.  I'm not generally one to get overly concerned about weather, but this storm was rumored to bring damaging winds, hail, and possibly even tornadoes!  We decided to go ahead with our dinner, but would try to make it home before 8, so we would be home for the storm.  The sky was a weird yellow-purplish color on the ride home, and you could hear the menacing rolls of thunder in the distance. When we got home, we decided it would be smart to gather some flashlights and such, so we were prepared for a power outage, and that's when pandemonium struck.  The kids became paralyzed with anxiety and stole the flashlights off the table as quickly as I could find them.  The storm was coming full force by this point, so we decided we should probably go downstairs.  The kids began sobbing hysterically, wandering aimlessly, despite our calm directions.  We finally got them downstairs and they were still absolute disasters.  It wasn't until I broke our panic-stricken goon of a dog downstairs that the mood lightened.  Miles' excitement of being able to be downstairs trumped his fear of the storm and he got the zoomies...running goofily and maniacally from room to room, with wild eyes and giant tongue hanging out.  The kids got to laughing so hard that they forgot about being afraid and things went much better after that.  We did learn, however, that we need to practice emergency drills...maybe next time we could avoid the panic...

Swimming Lessons

The kids both did swimming lessons this summer.  This was Olivia's first time doing any kind of class, and she did such a great job.  She was fearless and separated from me without incident.  Unfortunately her teacher was very inexperienced and lost control of his class very quickly.  She didn't learn very much about swimming, but she had a great time.  It was so fun to see her happy, smiling face as she was splashing around!

Nolan took lessons too, and really made a lot of progress.  He is now able to swim the short distance of the pool underwater.  He still needs some practice with his floating and with keeping his legs straight while he's kicking, but it's so cool to watch his love of swimming grow.   He made so much progress with Miss Karen this time that I'm considering some private lessons with her in the future.

Though the kids did a great job, it was a very intense two weeks getting both kids to the pool, and showered and changed in the locker room, all with Simon in my arms.  The little bugger was not interested in being set down, even for a moment.  In total, it took us a little over two hours each day.  Livi asked if she could try Adventure Alley, so she went there to play during Nolan's lesson.  Again, she had no trouble separating from me, which was a big part of the reason we decided we are going to send her to school this fall.  Sometimes it's astounding at how quickly they grow and change.  A few months ago, she would not have had the confidence for this.  Look out world; she's ready!

Three in the Bed

There were three in the bed and the little one said...

Squirrel!!!

Miles considers it his life's work to eradicate squirrels from our backyard.  Here he is scoping out his prey from the window.  He has never caught one or gotten close to catching one in any way, despite his repeated attempts to climb that tree.

On the Beach

"Look, Mom!  I'm on the beach!"

Balloon Glow

One of the things we've been wanting to check out for the past several summers was the Wausau Balloon and Rib Festival.  With Grandma Patti's help, we decided we would try and tackle it.  We knew it would be a late night for the kids (the glow doesn't start until almost 9), but we thought it would be worth it.  

Eric and I apparently were not on the same page when it came to the packing. As we were rolling into Wausau, Simon started crying.  Figuring he was hungry, I opened the diaper bag to make a bottle.  I dug for a bottle.  There were no bottles packed.  I thought Eric packed them when he packed the thermos and formula and he thought I packed them since I was packing the rest of the bag.  Simon was getting more and more upset, and we knew we needed to get this situation figured out sooner rather than later.  We found a Target, and while I hurried in to buy some new bottles, Grandma tried to entertain Simon with some singing.  He was hanging on until she started "Big Spender." Then the big lip came out and the real tears started.  We got him a bottle in short order, and though we were later than we planned, we still had plenty of time to get to the rally.  

We parked at Aunt Jackie's house since they only live a few blocks away from the festival.  Kevin and Jamie and their boys joined us, too, and the kids had a great time playing together.  They enjoyed the bouncy houses while Eric stood in line to get food.  After almost an hour of standing in line, we finally met back at our chairs with our dinner.  Apparently the black cloud hanging over us wasn't planning on leaving soon...We set the food on the ledge of one of our chairs while we were getting it set for everyone, and the whole ledge collapsed, dumping $45 worth of food in the dusty dirt.  We were able to piece together enough for the kids to get something to eat.  

Frustration continued when we realized our packing snafu included more than just the bottles.  Wipes, sweatshirts, headphones, and baby socks were also on the list of forgotten things.  It was definitely not our smoothest trip!  However, the balloons were absolutely beautiful and unlike anything I had ever seen before.  It is positively relaxing to watch them float up into the sky, their bright colors shining.  We couldn't stay for the fireworks because Nolan was really worried about them being too loud without his headphones, but on our way out of town, we were able to see the beautiful fireworks go up into the sky.  Livi was so impressed since she has never seen them before.  Overall, it was a cool event, certainly made more memorable by our many bobbles!

Making Cookies

Olivia ALWAYS wants to make cookies...which is both a good and a dangerous thing, since I ALWAYS want to eat them!!!

Fossils with Friends

Isaac invited Nolan to join him at the library to learn all about dinosaur fossils.  Nolan was thrilled to get to spend time with his best buddy.  Their friendship is so sweet.  I'm so glad they have each other!

Choo Choo

I love watching their creativity at work.  Today they were in a train and the laundry basket was the caboose.

Missing Tooth!!

Nolan's front tooth has been wiggly for months, but this past week it was dangling by a thread.  We could see the permanent one peeking through every time he wiggled it, but Nolan was adamant that he didn't want his tooth to come out.  We pleaded with him to let us help him pull it; we offered dessert and treats, but his nerves got the best of him and he would not let us touch it.  He said he was afraid he would be embarrassed without his tooth.  We respected his wishes, but on the third night of not being able to eat his supper without pain, we again encouraged him to take the plunge.  It was after an hour and a half of negotiating when he finally let Eric pull it.  It didn't take much.  Katie offered to take a special picture to remember the day and to celebrate his adorable toothless grin.  I can't wait to see what he looks like with those permanent teeth.  Like it or not, he is growing up!

Fourth of July weekend

We kept up our Fourth of July tradition by heading downtown for the parade.  The bummer this year, however, was that Mom and Dad's truck broke down a little bit west of Wausau, so they were unable to make it in time.  Luckily, they were able to connect with Eric's cousin, Scott, who brought them to Rhinelander later that day.  The parade was good, but hot.  I also really wish they be a little more considerate in terms of the volume level of the participants.  This year there was a snowmobile at the end of the parade that was absolutely deafening.  It was unbearable for me, let alone my littles, and it was super stressful trying to protect their little ears!

After the parade, we headed to Tom and Sara's new house for some swimming and family fun.  The kids had a blast with their cousins, playing in the sprinkler, the lake, and going on the boat.  We had delicious food and ice cream sundaes (which Livi shared with Skye...)

Mom and Dad stayed a few more days before I drove them back down to Wausau to pick up their truck from the shop.  It was a nice family weekend together, filled with lots of fun and sunshine!