Busy July Weekend

I came up with a walkway project to use up the sand box pea gravel I want to replace with sand...



So, I spent my spare time this weekend digging and placing some bricks. I still need to dig up the area under the stepping stones. Then, I'm going to have the kids bring me buckets of pea gravel to dump around the stepping stones to finish it off.


We also changed the girls' bedroom from this:


to this:


And of course organized their clothes better to store underneath...


We went to an American Heritage Girl family picnic on Saturday afternoon. Ellie tried each game from a three legged race,

to a sack race


to tug of war.


Then, we ran errands, went to church, and brought all three of the Stiles girls back for a huge sleepover. We can't begin to express how much we will miss them as they move in about a week. We hope that even though there will be an hour between us, we can still do this on occasion.


Our weekend was still not over though. Sunday, after a few naps, we went to Wendy's, then went mini golfing, and ended the evening with some DQ ice cream!

July 4th!

Even though we reached 100 degree temps last week, we managed to keep cool outside. Mikayla had a friend over for the first time this summer (because we've been so busy!) Elyana can't figure out the slip n slide and prefers to walk across it. Once in awhile we'll pull her on a float across it. The kids want a little pool so bad, but I don't know where we would put it in our yard.


I finally finished updating our upstairs bathroom. I installed a new light fixture, towel ring, towel bars, and hooks. Then, I sanded, stained, waxed, and added handles to the cabinets and drawers.





For July 4th this year, we went to Nate's sister, Connie's house in WI Rapids. The girls had a hard time waiting for night to come. They passed their time visiting and feeding ducks on the river. Connie's house is right on the riverfront. The fireworks were shot off directly across the river from us and were spectacular! I'm glad I thought to bring earplugs for them. I think that helped them enjoy them so much more. (I also should note that it was Elyana's first time watching fireworks.) Thanks Connie for such a wonderful time and a super breakfast this morning before we headed out!


Connie's band was playing downtown a few blocks away so after dinner we headed down to listen to them. I love this photo of Nate's mom, Joanne, walking with Elyana.


Here's Mikayla partying...


and Ellie sleeping...

Great Steak Sauce

At HyVee last week, I tried a sample of steak with some of Chef Curtis Stone's Chimichurri Sauce. I'm not one to go to trouble to make some seasoning when you can use BB-Q sauce or A-1 sauce, but this was great! It's got a kick to it!

In your food processor, blend:
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Milestones...

This has been a really eventful week! Mikayla returned from Disney World with my mom on Saturday. This picture didn't really turn out, but it's precious. The girls held hands and kept hugging each other, even while waiting at the baggage claim. I love the relationship the girls have, they are indeed very close and I hope that they always will be.

On Sunday, Mikayla discovered how to blow a bubble with her gum AND to ride her bike without the training wheels! She couldn't wait for her dad to get home on Monday! She can ride just fine it you get her started. Does anyone have any tips on how she can learn to start the bike by herself?




This Wednesday Elyana turned 5! The night before, Mikayla and I made and decorated her cupcakes (Dora style of course). Then we went to HyVee down the road and got her 5 balloons in her favorite colors (red and pink). We tied them to her chair at the table. Then, we placed her beloved stuffed monkeys on the table holding her card.



Her birthday was an eventful day with gymnastics lessons in the am and a birthday party at the House of Bounce in the afternoon. I have no idea how they were not exhausted. I sure am! I fell asleep on the sofa and slept through two phone calls! I'm so excited to have nothing going on tomorrow for the first time in June. I can finally sit down and fill out my W-4 forms for Kingdom Kids Preschool!

Making a wish...

June Flys By...

I can't believe that June is almost over. The girls are taking gymnastics this summer at JETS. They are really loving it and I can't believe how good it is for them! The week after Mikayla got out of 2nd grade, I had three cleaning jobs, appointments, regular chores, and I finished the bathroom upgrade project I've been working on. Then, Mikayla hopped on a plane with my mom to meet my sister's family at their timeshare in Disney World. To help Ellie not feel left out on that adventure, we left the airport and headed over to the Mall of America. We took Elyana to her favorite place, the Underwater Aquarium and then let her go on rides.








She was so excited to meet Dora and Diego!


Elyana on the way home...mission accomplished.


A few days after saying "good-bye" to Mikayla, Nate took off for an Origins Convention in Columbus, OH. Elyana and I decided to have our own adventure and we went to visit my dad in Madison for a few days. We had a nice time. We went swimming, visited the Children's Museum, and saw the movie, Mr. Popper's Penguins (great movie!).

Elyana's favorite thing at the Museum, this cool climbing structure with a tube slide.


The Children's Museum has an incredible Rooftop Garden, and a great view of the Mad City Capitol.






Today, after a week of rain, we had a beautiful day. Elyana and I went strawberry picking with our friends, the Baskett's. Tomorrow I'm making my first strawberry pie with my mother-in-law's recipe.







Also, just to update, I have a job! I will be teaching at Kingdom Kids Preschool this coming year. On Monday's I will teach Art all day. On Wednesday's I will be teaching a class called, Young Explorers. It explores different areas of the world; introducing the children to the food and culture. Elyana is 1/2 day Kindergarten this year and I plan on picking her up during my lunch hour. Then, she will get to take Kindergarten elective classes in the afternoon down the hall while I'm teaching. I believe she will have a gym class on Monday afternoons and a Spanish class on Wednesday afternoons.

I plan on continuing my writing. (BTW, I have another article coming out next week for Rochester Women.) As a matter of fact, I hope to write even more. I have so many ideas and so little time, but I hope that will change as Ellie transitions to first grade the following year.

Well, as soon as the whole family gets home, we will gear up to celebrate Ellie's 5th Birthday on the 29th. She's so excited!

Memorial Day Weekend

We went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells over Memorial Day weekend. We had such a great time. I had saved up for it with dog sitting money and cleaning money. So, we were delighted when they upgraded us to a Condo for a mere $13 a night. We all had our own room, a full kitchen, and family room area. We all spent our time equally doing their water park and doing Magi Quest. The Magi Quest adventures take you all over the resort to find the next clues you unlock with your wand. Elyana just wanted to climb up to the 4th floor of the Magi Quest and go down all of their slides. I told Nate I thought I sounded like a Lord of the Rings "Balrog" coming down the tube slides after her. Great workout though! We made sure that we caught the big clock tower animated show and bedtime stories in the grand foyer. We love how it is so family friendly there. A lot of my pictures didn't turn out but there is this great picture of the girls in a neat sandbox outside of a restaurant we went to:



Mikayla had 2 more weeks of school after Memorial Day weekend. But, she is now a 3rd Grader! Wow! I believe I'm going to spend my summer doing home improvement projects (refinishing kitchen and bathroom cabinets and landscaping a bit), doing my regular cleaning jobs, and taking the girls to gymnastics on Wednesdays. Mikayla is going to Disney World in FL on Saturday with my mother and my sister's family. Nate is leaving for Origins (hoping to get a few prototypes published!) and Ellie and I will keep busy. Mid July the girls are taking a 2 week swimming lesson camp. The final thing we have planned for this summer is a road trip to South Dakota!

Good-bye Preschool!

Ellie's last day of preschool was so bittersweet. Even the teachers were wiping away tears. I can't believe I now have two kids in elementary school! Yikes! We were trying to pump up Ellie for Kindergarten. We kept telling her that she's a big girl now, that she's a Kindergartner now... I failed to tell her that she didn't start Kindergarten until September. The day after preschool, she jumped out of the van with Mikayla ready to start. Poor thing, she was very disappointed.

Ellie and Mrs. Brown


Mrs. Vierkant


Her preschool friends, each going their separate ways next year...