Deck Renovations Set Into Motion

In the next few weeks, we will be getting a back patio poured and a new sliding glass door. To pour the patio, the deck stairs have to be removed. So, that was Nate's project this weekend. I spent time last week transplanting flowers that would be in the way of the patio. Come springtime, we will finish the project with getting the deck replaced with laminate decking. I'll post more pictures as the process continues.

Always Getting Into Something

Tonight I was just pulling a few weeds from the driveway cracks. I turned around to see that Elyana has gotten into something. My guess is she rubbed her hands on the van tires or something. This picture doesn't do her justice as she also had spaghetti in her hair from dinner and poop in her pants.



Also forgot to mention that Mikayla had her first opthomology appointment. She squints her eyes a lot and I had to get glasses at an early age. She was thrilled to go thanks to a recent Junie B Jones book we read (where Junie B. Jones gets glasses in first grade and everyone thinks she looks so cool...) It was going great until they had to dilate her eyes. The lady tells her it feels like when you get pool water in your eyes. "I love the pool," Kayla exclaims. Minutes later, she's crying and saying, "You lied to me, this burns bad." The lady wasn't sure how many drops were getting into her eyes so she kept putting in more. I think this is why instead of the 2 hours the dilation is supposed to last, it lasted the poor kid almost 24 hours! Good news though, her eyes are just fine.

To Catch You Up On The Last Two Weeks

On the 12th Nate went away on his annual GenCon trip in Indianapolis. I went to my mom's in Madison and then on to my sister's in Appleton to do some back to school shopping. It was a fun but long weekend as Kayla and I had colds. Mikayla had a hard time seeing Daddy go back to work after the long weekend. She said to to Nate, "Why do you have to go to work today, why don't you just go to the bank?" Very precious comment. The next day I had to take the girls for their dental cleaning. We had a babysitter come over to watch Hannah (my daycare baby) while we were gone. On our way out the door Mikayla said to the sitter, "It's okay if you want to teach her a little kung fu while we're gone." That would be awesome to see Kung Fu Hannah when we returned.

Another thing last week that some of you don't know about is we were considering selling our home to see if we could purchase a nearby neighbors home whose house just went on the market. After meeting with a lender and our realtor, we decided to stay put. It would be too difficult to pull off time wise and financially. I was bummed as it is an incredible home, everything I would want in our next home. However, we both feel incredibly at peace about it.

Saturday, I ran the Rochester 5K/half marathon with my friend Jen. It felt so good to be running with her again, we really push each other. Although my finish time didn't reflect it, I ran the entire way. (I always would have to walk a bit here and there in past 5K's and Triathlons.) Jen and I are already trying to figure out what our next race should be. With my new bike and my "new" ability to run the entire 5K, I'm thinking ahead to next summer's Triathlon. I really really like the route and the all women atmosphere of the Trek Women's and the Danskin Triathlons. But I don't like the distance I have to travel to get there. I don't like the Rochesterfest Tri because I don't like the swim in Foster Arend and the route. So, I'm looking for something not so far away with a better route. Meanwhile, I'd like to do more 5K's to keep myself motivated and staying active.

Sunday we left for a two night stay at the Great Wolf Lodge in WI Dells. We had gotten a great deal on it because we had stayed there in February and had all gotten very sick when we returned home. We got to stay one night for free and the next night at the employee family discount. Our room was cool, it had a separate area for the kids to sleep with a bunk bed and their own tv. We of course hung out a lot at the water park, but discovered their newest family adventure, Magic Quest. You have to buy a magic wand of your choice (and can go to the craft area to decorate it), and you purchase game time. You go to this huge 4 floor building that is converted into a magical kingdom. You go to this big tree, point your wand at it, and you learn what your first quest is. It's basically like a scavenger hunt where you have to find talking pictures, treasure chests, fairies, dragons, etc. and point your wand at it to get your next clue. After you do a certain number of quests, you can then choose an adventure. Although we thought it was overpriced, it provided hours of family fun and exercise. Our trip home on Tuesday was eventful as we had issues with our van. The air conditioning broke again, my window was stuck and wouldn't roll down, AND, the check engine light came on as we were leaving the water park. We were so glad to get home and get the van to the mechanic. Our mechanic is so awesome (Auto Techs). He let us bring in the van to get looked at right away and didn't even charge us. The motor in the window was just stuck, the check engine light was on supposedly because the gas casket was loose or something, and there was a leak in the ac that they couldn't find. They put some die in to see if they can find it when the coolant leaks out again.

I got an amazing amount done today: 4 loads of laundry, mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, did some major grocery shopping (with the kids!), took the kids to the park, caught up on 2 weeks of ironing, and got the kiddos to bed. On that note, I'm heading to bed myself.

Yard Pictures

I like these two solar lights I bought for the front yard, but it's still too shady for them to light up a lot.


We finally have the front flower bed how we like it, but I don't like that the dirt splashes up against the white paint when it rains...


Anyone know what kind of purple and pink flowers these are I have growing in our corner garden?


Remember a posting awhile ago of my tomato plant? You've got to see it now. It's psycho. We now have two kids rakes, pvc piping, a board, and a walking stick holding it up.

My 6 Year Old

Mikayla had her 6th Birthday at the House of Bounce. She had a blast. It amazes me how hard they always play there. The kids were sweaty and asking for food and drinks; we had to request the pizza and cake 1/2 hour early than they usually serve it. Here are some of the pictures from the party.











Later this week Nate is going on his annual trip to Indianapolis with the guys. I'm headed to my sisters to do some back to school shopping. Christine's daughter is going into Kindergarten, Mikayla 1st Grade, and Elyana is starting Preschool! I can't believe how fast the girls are growing up, especially Mikayla. I think it will be a tough adjustment for the two of us for her to go to school all day. I get sad already thinking about it. I'm praying she'll have some good kids in her class and makes some good friends this year.