Seeing double

Regan has a set of identical twins who she has become good friends with over the past year. So when we invited them over for a playdate, we were definitely seeing double! They walk in and every time I ask "who is who!?". It all went well until they changed into swimsuits and I had to learn their outfits/suits all over again! 

 They included Sidney SOOOOO well, I was so proud of big sister Regan letting her 3 year old sister tag along for the whole day. Sure was sweet of the girls.

 Oh yea, and then they changed yet AGAIN into dress up clothes!? Keeping those two straight was next to impossible. I can pick out the daredevil of the two in the pool, but that was about it. 

And these 4 girls made a mess in no time at all! 

 Holy buckets was dinner loud! Four giggly girls, stuffing their faces and telling stories was near deafening. Sure was double the fun though! 

Regan dearest

Each night I lay the girls down for bed. It's a family event but I'm always the last to leave each girls' bedroom. As she gets older, I know my days are numbered for Regan to ask me nightly "will you lay with me?". So most of the time, I oblige. And lately, it's been more of a sense of "I have mom all to myself and I'm going to talk her ear off".

And so we chat.

and chat

and chat

Tonight she told me for the second time, all about her day making banana splits (note to self: I need to make more stops at her summer program!). She commented at one point in her story, having just tried one of these at DQ "mom, they are exactly like the ones at Dairy Queen. Only different".

Yes dear, I'm sure they were exactly the same then!

After she was finished, she asked me to tell her all about the things I do at the hospital. I started telling her about various aspects of my work and then, when I got to the part about "some people have to stay in the hospital for a week, or even a month!", she replied about as clearly as my patients "I would NEVER want to be stuck in a hospital for a MONTH!".

No dear, no one does. Thanks for telling it like it is Regan.

Love you love you!

Splash pad

Tonight I took the girls to local splash pad, you know, one of those places that has water fountains galore shooting water in every directions along with buckets unexpectedly dumping water constantly...the girls were pretty excited! We met up with some friends and while I sat visiting (staying dry), the girls had a great time getting wet and running around with their friends like crazy kids.

On our drive home, they begged to come back tomorrow morning....success!

Minihaha Falls

The falls are one of our favorite places to visit in the summer, spring, winter or fall. We really try to hit them up at least once/season, if not more. The girls adore this adventure and as soon as we pull into the parking lot, they started describing our last time here, what we saw, and where we will venture this time. Today we did something new in renting a 4 seater bike. It was perfect weather for a bike ride, actually a little on the cool side this morning. Throughout the hour, the girls giggled like little school girls, Ryan wanted to push me off the side as his legs turned to noodles ascending the hills, and I tried to capture all the beauty that this place has to offer.....

and for the record, I was pedaling too! 

ENJOY our pictures!

HAPPY SUMMER! 

Raspberries

The crop is depressingly poor this year, but we continue to come up with a few here and there. Not enough to even put in a bowl for later, but a couple to eat straight from the garden. 

 Contrary to what it looks like, we do feed this girl. Sidney's back physique is incredible. Her muscles are accented with each move she makes. It's truly amazing. She eats mainly fruit, sleeps like crap and is on the move constantly so I'm not entirely surprised, though I'm completely jealous!

 Regan's tall enough to help reach any fruit on the top and loving the gift of height. 

 This picture went something like this: 

"hey mom, take a picture of this"

and the next second, it was gone. 

YUM!

Another Saturday

It's always playtime on the weekends around here. Whether it's a busy day of playdates, a trip to a local zoo or park or just sitting around at home, we do a lot of playing. The girls are very into imaginary play at the moment. Generally it is with their American Girl dolls, as they take them shopping, to the doctor, iron their clothes or whatever other adventure they create. Today, however, Sidney got interested in kitchen play. I mean REALLY into it! Chef hat, "mittens" and the whole 9 yards, we played for a very long time. She made everyone their breakfast (a few times over), washed up the dishes and served up dessert.

She might be the cutest little chef ever! 

 After nap it was off to one of her dear friend's birthday parties. Thankfully, she also has a sister about Regan's age who happens to adore Regan. So it was an afternoon of treats, juice, bouncy houses and more outdoor play. 

 This birthday party gave me a wonderful idea: instead of the traditional "bring a gift for the birthday girl", we were all told to bring a wrapped book for a book exchange. All the children then took part in the opening of presents and went home with a new book. How cool is that!? 

Something tells me the girls will sleep well tonight....boy I hope so! 

The girls

With Ryan working his tail off this summer, it's been a lot of just us girls. Thankfully Regan and Sidney are generally best of friends and we all have a wonderful time hanging out together. Tonight, like many nights, we hopped into the pool after a quick dinner. Pardon Sidney's face painting, she turned into a unicorn at school today apparently.

All grown up

Yesterday, Regan grabbed a sheet of paper and excitedly said "Mom!, I have to write a note to the fairies!, I need a diary!!" (more about the fairies later). She went on to tell me what a diary might look like, what it might have (ie lock and key) and what she might write in it. Then I asked her a question that I was afraid to hear her answer: "Regan, who can read your dairy?". I quickly prayed in my head that I'd be allowed inside....

Relief spilled over me when she said only a mommy and herself! 

I can't imagine, at age 6, what she will write, but I'm happy that she is still willing to share those thoughts with me. 

So tonight, the fairies delivered her diary and left a wonderful note as well. 

Oh yea, and those fairies....thanks to a sleepover a few months back, Regan has been writing to the fairies on occasion and asking for varies items. Usually it's a note that says "please leave me a present", to which the fairies oblige and will often leave a little home-made bead bracelet or a small piece of candy. I'm waiting for the day where she asks the fairies for a super big present....good thing that fairies are small, they just can't carry anything too heavy!

Look out world...

here they come!

 We are soaking up this last day of July, wishing the summer would last another 3 months. We go from swimming to games to swimming to ride-ons to more swimming all in a matter of an afternoon.

And then Ryan got home from work and decided to teach them the game of "chicken", not super smart but thankfully Sidney darted out of the way long before imminent danger!



Silly faces

No explanation really, just two little girls who asked to make silly faces for the camera tonight. 

Sick kids and more pool

Last night was a rough one; if you know Sidney (or read about her), you know she's not a great sleeper. Never has been. Last night was particularly difficult. Sidney struggled to fall asleep, struggled to stay asleep and ultimately, ended up sleeping in our bed. She complained that her ears hurt, and I knew by the cry that she was serious. A run to the doctor this morning proved an ear infection was the culprit of our horrible night...I'm really hopeful this is a bump in her road and not a path to another set of tubes.

Despite her pain, we forged ahead with a swim this afternoon, complete with some of my coworkers.

Regan took flight....literally!! That girl LOVES to be tossed around in the water. 

And tonight we hope they both sleep deep and that Sidney's pain is subsiding with the help of some antibiotics.



Steamy summer softball

With Ryan on an early morning golf outing and Regan waking at a friend's house sleepover, Sidney and I ventured to watch the first of two of Hunter's softball games today. She is playing in nationals and we're fortunate that they are convienently located just down the road! And with a lovely 3 year old that wakes at 6:15am, I was overjoyed that we had something fun to start our day at 8am! 

The rest of the family along with a bunch of others joined us for her next game, one at a more reasonable time. It turned out to be a pretty steamy day. Thankfully the girls don't seem to mind the warm weather and enjoyed sipping on an icee and sucking on seeds.   

Good luck on your final day of nationals Hunter!

Success!

This summer we have been working hard on teaching Regan how to dive. She had nailed it from a kneeling position, and today, she shocked us both by walking across the board, standing with her arms perched above her head and DIVING! Maybe it's the Olympics she's been watching :) 

Way to go Regan! We are so proud of you!

Movies!

We have hit up our fair share of movies this summer, having seen all of the recent pint-sized shows: Madagascar 3, Brave, and today, I took the girls to Ice Age 4.

We had the theater to ourselves, and I mean entirely to ourselves! Let's just say there is an odd sense of eeriness being in a big theater all by yourself. Thankfully the girls have not seen the news lately with the horrific theater shooting; I, however, have and thus, was a complete mess throughout the show. I tried to relax and was kept busy with Sidney asking for popcorn, her Icee, gum, a napkin, repeat. Eventually she caught on to my constant looking over my shoulder routine and turned around in her chair asking me who I was looking at. Regan was so into the show, she simply loves movies. She memorizes lines after just one viewing but will watch them over an over again.

I think next time I'll wait for Ryan to be able to join us!

Sunday pool party

A weekend just isn't complete until we host some good friends for a pool party. It happens every weekend, and the visiting family always gives us some good laughs and great memories. Regan and Sidney sure love to share their pool and toys with those who are visiting. This week it was a good college friend of Ryan's and his family. The kids' table was moved poolside which is always a treat! 

Sidney is NOT going to drown with her tube and life jacket, but our little 3 year old is sooooo brave these days! She jumps off the board without problem, decked out in her safety gear, with a big huge grin on her face. 

I'm so proud of her!

Papa's boat

There are many things that the kids look forward to while visiting grandma's house. One of the biggest is playing in Papa's boat. They just love to sit and pretend to drive it, fish and take in the scenery around their made up lake. They are counting down the days for their next real boat ride! Thankfully grandma is such a good sport and sits in the 100 degree garage to play along on their make believe adventures!

Summer wedding

We headed to New Ulm this weekend to help celebrate Ryan's cousin's marriage. It was a steamy humid day but the girls were dolled up in pretty dresses. Elyse looked like a princess and Sidney was actually a little nervous to be so close to her! 

 A trip to New Ulm just isn't complete until we ALL take a turn holding sweet little Harlow. If I could guarantee a baby as good as her, I think I'd have Ryan convinced for #3! She's adorable, sweet AND happy! 

 This picture makes me smile. Sidney was definitely into the whole wedding dance. She loved watching the "first dance" and then got out there and busted her own moves. She had a good time people-watching the dance when her legs grew tired. 

Let's not forget the treats! Weddings have sure changed over the past several years. The kids thought the endless "candy bar" was amazing! I think they are still bouncing off the walls from all the sugar yesterday. Wowzas! Look at Sidney admire the cupcake cake....she simply could not wait!

Congratulations to the bride and groom! 

Summer playtime

Each morning, sometimes a wee bit too early, Sidney will bounce down the stairs (at roughly 6:15am), round the corner and give me a big "GOOD MORNING MOMMY!". Honest, she is a chipper one with just 9 hours of sleep under her 3 year old belt....someone fights sleep on both sides of the clock. Regan usually straggles down a little later, dragging her feet, eyes barely open and collapses onto the nearest couch. Not so chipper :)
Eventually they get on the same wave length and are ready for play time. This morning before our friends arrived to swim, we cracked into all sorts of arts/crafts activities. They opted to set up a "face painting" shop, I love their creativity. Regan drew out all the options for their customers and then they went to town, painting away on each other's faces and hands. 

Listening to them play (nicely) just never gets old.

Melts this mommy's heart.

Slip n Slide

I picked up the girls after work this afternoon and boy o boy were they squirrelly! We know enough to realize that this isn't a good position to be in after a full day so I knew I needed to find something to keep them occupied seeing it was just going to be us girls all night. Regan had been given a birthday invitation for a friend's slip n slide party in the coming weeks which prompted her to ask "can we slip n slide tonight?" Why sure we can!

So I pulled out the slip n slide that Ryan and Hope had bought 7 years ago and it works perfect! I tried it just once and realized those things STILL inflict pain!

 Regan got a brilliant idea and moved the small slide and the girls went flying off the bottom down the slip n slide, with much less pain than running and sliding/kneeing/laying. 

Nice idea Regan! 

Girls' Night Out!

 It was a well deserved night out last night and i'm so happy to be able to spend a weekend catching up with Kari when she comes to visit! We sure have a lot to talk about even though we text and email thousands of times each month :)

And what better way to spend a sunny Sunday than catching up on some Vitamin D and continuing all those lovely conversations from the night before!

Thanks again for coming to visit Kari!!



Softball wrap up

In the 90 degree temps, we suffered through a rather large softball tournament this weekend. Regan participated in her very first tournament and she had a great time....well, she didn't like the heat, and didn't like that they won games which meant they kept playing more games and she therefore was missing a play date, but she did like winning and she did like trying her best! This year she played softball (coach pitch), not tee-ball. She was the youngest on the team, sharing the spot with only one other kindergartener.

Regan's littlest fan, wants to be just like big sister. Sid was a trooper, watching as patiently as a 3 year old can wait for the end of each game. We kept her busy with gum, sunflower seeds, colors, my purse and finally a DVD in the only shade we could find (behind my chair).

Regan tried with all of her mite, and she improved like no other, but nerves get the best of her when she is at the plate. She has yet to hit a fair ball during a game. She fouled and hit decently in practice, but that left leg starts to rattle and shows her nerves. When asked she replies "I'm not nervous!". And it hardly phased her that she didn't get to run the bases during a game (there's enough practices where she got to practice). She would mostly come bouncing out of the batter's box, wondering about something or another (like wanting to tell me a quick story about a butterfly, or singing a pop hits song). 

The team eventually lost and were handed their medals

and the did one last "TURTLES" cheer before saying goodbye for the year

She proudly sported her medal(s); happy to accept one for her dear friend who was gone for the weekend. Congratulations on a great first year of softball Regan! We are so proud of you! 



Stay-cation Day #5

Early in the week, I secretly invited a bunch of Regan's friends (and moms) over for an end-of-the-week pool party :) She was so excited to have her friends join us for a picnic and a swim. The kids sure miss each other and really get along well. After lunch, Sidney was looking pretty sleepy and actually asked to go up for a nap!! Shocking! She climbed into bed and napped for 2 hours while the rest of us played in the warm summer sun. 

I love our girls to pieces....but they are growing up too darn fast! 

Stay-cation Day #5: Sweet surprise

Stay-cation Day #4

Wild Mountain: Taylors Falls

This morning we headed north to Taylors Falls and took in all that Wild Mountain has to offer. 

 Water slides, kiddie slides, lazy river, alpine slides and go-karts. FUN!!!! We ended the day with dinner and Maddi joined us; what a great ending to a great day!

Ryan took the day off from work too and joined in the excitement, boy was he glad he did! 

The 4 big water slides were super fun. I had to pull a little "forced fun" on Sidney because she wasn't so sure about going down, but I knew she'd love it. And she did! We got to the end and she half-laughed/half-whined and said "now I want to go on the blue one". HA! She's hooked!

Too bad Ryan couldn't convince me to go down the slide that actually goes INTO the ground!! Yes, the tube is buried under the ground and then shoots you out....Ryan claims you don't breathe the entire ride and it lasts all of 5 seconds. For this claustrophobic girl, I had a nightmare last night that I got stuck underground and there was no convincing me that this was a good idea. Ryan, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of it. Sorry mom and dad, no "forced fun" for me today! 

We packed a picnic and enjoyed it in the shade, taking a break from all the fun. I realized then that taking pictures at a water park like this is next to impossible. When we weren't wet, we were heading up a ski slope on the chair lifts, preparing to ride down hill on one of the two Alpine slides in the state. This is something to put on a bucket list. All 4 of us simply loved the ride. Regan couldn't get enough of it and although she had to ride with an adult, I put her in (nearly) full control of the speed and that girl wanted to just FLY down the hill! Honest, I'm afraid we would've gone over if i didn't slow her down! 

R: "Mom, I want to go FAST!"

Me: "We ARE going FAST!"

R: "Just let me do it!" (insert giggle, laugh, giggle)

They have adult and kiddie sized go-karts too. We weren't sure how Sidney would do on the go-karts, but she got the hang of it and round and round she went. Regan was like a pro, at the perfect age to navigate the car. 

Stay Cation Day #4: One for the record books!