Normandale/Hyland Lake

With some cooler (yet beautiful temps), we spent the morning strolling through some scenic areas not far from home. I've been wanting to check out this little waterfall/bridge for quite some time and we got the opportunity, with my camera in hand, today!

Taking pictures of Regan was easy today; Sidney was not interested :(

Someday she might have to pose here for her High School Senior pictures! I love this area!

Stay-cation -Day 1

Ryan and I took the week off from work, another "stay-cation". We have a lot planned but all fun! Kari brought the kids up again for a fun play date; the only downfall is that the day seems to go by too fast! We had a gorgeous day to play outside in the pool and all of the kids got to enjoy it this time, even William! He seems to be the star of the show lately, our girls just can't get enough of him.

Both girls were on hand as William got ready to take a dip.

My attempt at taking a group shot during snack time, what was I thinking!?

More lovin' on William! Regan had fun pushing him around on his little boat.

Thomas tossing a pitch to Ryan who tried using a noodle as a bat. They had a pretty good game going for a while!

And yet more time showing William some affection. I think Sidney would've jumped into the pack n play with him at naptime if we would've let her! Kari promises they'd want to give him back after just a few hours, but I'm not so sure!

Pool Party-Take 2

The second true pool party was held this past weekend, this time with Ryan's side of the family. We love being able to entertain and enjoy this Minnesota weather. The girls had a wonderful time playing with all of their cousins.

Sidney can't get enough of baby Paxton, even in the pool she didn't want to leave him alone!

Grandma Sheri found these cool horses used for a form of the old game "chicken"; amazingly Regan was able to balance independently after a little practice! Talk about core muscles! Unfortunately, neither horse held air for long and will be going back home to the store.

Ryan's starting to crack, he allowed not one but TWO dogs into our backyard!

The guys got busy working, much to my dismay (we had wanted a "no work, fun only party"). Jamie installed a beautiful new banister and Greg, Grandpa and Ryan installed a brand new (very expensive) pool light. Ryan was so flustered by the expense that he actually signed his name on the memo line of the check!; we saved on the electrician bill though! Hopefully we'll get some cool night shots from the party too...c'mon Ash, we're waiting!

Happy Anniversary to the one I love

These two sweeties were happy to wish us a happy anniversary this morning :)

It's been six years since Ryan and I were married. Who would've thought in six years we would've had so many changes in our lives; a new house, two beautiful children and a new job (for the Mr.). We had one of those wonderful wedding day experiences; and so far, our marriage has been all of the same!

A honeymoon in Hawaii proved to be nothing but the best!!

We are so ready to go back there; this time, with two extra special little ones in tow...now if only we could win the lottery to help fund it!

Lake Harriet

I took the girls to Lake Harriet this morning to help cheer on those participating in the big 3 Day walk this weekend. It was a lot of fun and quite educational for Regan. As I explained how far they were walking, Regan asked "you mean they're walking around the world?!". Well, kinda kiddo, it sure would feel that far for you!

After we chatted with my friend participating in the race, we stopped for a quick picture by some great flower beds.

and then walked down by the lake, hoping to see some ducks to feed.

Flashback Friday

This is painful to look at; but amazing to realize how much a body can actually deflate when a baby is born (and even more amazing that I'd love to give pregnancy another shot)! I particularly like this picture because Regan is posing with me/baby!

August 2008-roughly 38 weeks

Just girls

Ryan ditched us tonight and went to the Twins game; it's now in extra innings and he's still cheering them on. So what do us girls do without their daddy on a fairly chilly summer evening? Have fun!! Both girls have been giving us a run for our money, so I knew I didn't want to stay in the house all night or WWIII might break out. We got close, then we left for this place....

What girl doesn't love her ice cream! I'm not sold on the neighborhood mom/pop ice cream shop, but now that I've tried it, I can check it off my list and head back to DQ. Regan/Sidney didn't seem to care that it appears a bit run-down. The ice cream was tasty and that's all that mattered to them! (Regan's hiding her ice cream and was making silly faces, this was the closest I could get to a real smile)

After our snack we needed to burn off our calories, I mean energy. Sidney chased Regan down the block a couple of times leaving me to push her little ride-on toy. I'm sure the neighbors sometimes wonder about us because this is a common sight! It's pretty darn cute.

Wonder what we'll do on Thursday night when we have another girls night;

and Saturday too! So many options!

Summer school fun

Both girls have been having so much fun this summer at preschool; and thankfully the teachers take pictures! Regan's class has special activities daily; it's almost exhausting to look at the schedule. But she loves it and it's a good break from all the academics during the regular school year.

This particular day was "hat day". I think Regan went a bit overboard! She brought the white one from home and gathered up the rest from her classroom piling them high upon her head.

Regan and her "bestie" Madison. Two peas in a pod these girls. Madison seems to love Sidney just as much as she loves Regan so pick up time takes an extra 10 hugs and kisses from Madison when Sidney enters the room!

Not to be left out, Sidney's been having a great time too! With last week's humidity, the teachers opted for water day inside.
Those brave souls put big tubs of water inside for 20 toddlers to splash!

A visit from the Johnson's

Ryan's cousin, Ashley and her husband Jamie, along with their two little guys came to visit on Sunday. The girls would like for Paxton to move in I think; they have smothered him before, but this was over the top! They just love to love him up; too bad I didn't catch a decent picture of that!

The kiddos also enjoyed some lunch next to the pool before swimming. Thankfully it was nice outside because our new dining room table hasn't been delivered yet.

Sidney is learning how to share, though not always liking it. She did share her swing with Hudson and took a turn on the "big girl swing"!

SKOL!!

After a gorgeous August afternoon of heat (and some humidity), the temps cooled off just in time for the Vikings first pre-season game. Regan was all ready to cheer them on from the pool deck, Vikings floaties and all!

Sidney skipped the evening swim and came inside with me to actually watch the game. I couldn't resist putting on her garb :)

As much as I love football season and watching the Vikes, I'm so not ready to call an end to this MN summer. I don't look forward to months and months of cold, wet, snow. So Mr. Sun, please stick around for a very long time and keep us warm and humid!

Flashback Friday

This week marks the 3rd anniversary for Ashley/Jamie (Sidney's Godparents). At just 18 months, this little cutie was honored to be a part of their big wedding day as a flower girl! She did a remarkable job and had a wonderful time.

Uncle Warren took Regan for a dance at the reception;

we all miss him so much as he went to heaven too soon this past month.

I guess Regan did have as many curls as Sidney does!

Happy Anniversary!

Jump and swim!

Our brave girl let go today; Regan has decided she is confident enough to do the doggy paddle all on her own :) We're both incredibly nervous, but she's doing so well we hate to discourage her. At one point, she took a noodle out to the deep end and then ditched it so she could swim to the edge unassisted!!!! Plus then she asked Ryan if she could jump off the board without holding his hands. She's come a VERY long way in the past 2.5 months. Congrats Regan, we're so proud of you! Coincidentally, swim lessons ends tomorrow so we'll see how she does at her last class.

PS: Sid did jump at the end, but my memory card was full :(

80's hair

I cropped this photo to make it a bit more internet appropriate; but you should have seen these two silly girls covered from head to toe (literally) with their foam soap tonight in the tub! Who doesn't love foam soap; it's like shaving cream but soap. Works great for the kids to lather themselves up after a messy, but fun, day in the humidity.

And that 80's hair on both of them, where did that come from??!

Girly girl

Sidney by far is a girly girl. She loves to wear dresses, play with her shoes and carry around a purse. She was pretty protective today of her purse (and it's contents of bracelets, necklaces, brushes for her "makeup", etc) and didn't appreciate anyone wanting to play with them while we attended a bridal shower. Can't say I blame her, I don't like anyone digging in my purse either!

And are you surprised with this picture? When it's 90 and humid, it doesn't matter what time of the day it is; it's a given, we go swimming.

What to do when it's hot and humid.

This sure has been the right summer to move into a house with a backyard pool. It's been hot and humid so often that when it does rain, we breathe a sigh of relief that we can run errands! Our morning rain was short-lived and when the sun broke this afternoon, the company came over and into the pool we all went. We might not even know what to do with ourselves come fall! You mean there's life beyond our backyard???

Sidney's becoming so brave, she enjoys jumping off the board into daddy's arms.

The Ryans and their babies enjoyed some time splashing around.

Any child that is close to, or smaller than Sidney, is considered a "baby" in her eyes. Megan is 8 months younger than Sid and she was such a good BIG girl with Megan. She shared not only her life jacket but (gasp!), her snack!! Sidney loves to eat and sharing a snack is not always easy for her.

Friday Playdate

It's not often that people can say their best friend from middle school remains their best friend; I'm lucky enough to be able to say that :) It's been even better now that Kari/family have moved closer to our home town which is a much shorter distance to us than any previous city they have called home. Today they headed up for a visit and everyone had a wonderful time!

Of course, there was lots of swimming by the older 3

Which resulted in some well needed breaks

And once the little ones woke from nap, we had our hands full!

William was ready to go head first into the pool; his face lit up when his toes hit the water.

They enjoyed every corner of the toy room too!

Thanks for coming to visit! Can't wait until next time!

Ready, Set, Jump!

Regan got brave tonight and jumped in for the first time at swim lessons! Just like that, she did it :)

Accidents happen...

...but not today!!

Elmo, who now sits in our bathroom, tells us that "accidents happen" but Sidney doesn't want to listen to him today and that's fine by me! Today is day 5 of potty training our almost 2 year old and we went accident free ALL day long! I'm so proud of our little girl, and she might have an M&M mustache to prove her success :) Of course, I've done this once before so that's not to say she won't have a day full of accidents tomorrow. But this one goes down as a perfect day in my book of potty training!

Congratulations Sidney!!

Preschool Open House

We have chosen the best preschool for the girls. It's official, the best! Tonight was their usual summer open house and they've out-done themselves again! The girls had so much fun showing us around and exploring the many "fun" activities in store for the evening.

The directors brought in yet another jumper and despite the 90+ heat and humidity, the girls had so much fun on this fire truck slide jumper!

Sidney insisted on going down with her big sister but then wanted to back out at the top. Regan's been around long enough to know about "forced fun" and just tugged on Sidney and down they both came together.

Crazy hair and face painting were a part of the fun too :)

And what's a party without food and ice cream!

All you need is love

After an incredibly difficult weekend, the girls showed us just what life is all about: Love