Friday, September 27, 2013

What I'm Loving This Week

As I look back over this week, here are some of the things I am especially thankful for:(in order of the pictures below) 1. A curious Marlee as she is thinking-- "What is that? What is it doing? Can I do that?" 2. Seeing Randy playing with the kids 3. Clean and happy kiddos 4. My 1-on-1 time with Bennett during the day--this week we made playdough! 5. Access to fresh garden tomatoes for making salsa and pasta sauce, and for apples from our land!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Marlee is 10 Months Old!

Is Marlee really old enough to be in the double digits now? We have a busy little crawler this month. Marlee loves to zoom around on the floor crawling to anything in sight. Her favorite things to get her hands on are socks-- dirty or clean-- it doesn't matter. She also likes to pull herself up to standing. She is seeming more and more like a toddler than the little baby I once knew-- sniff, sniff. She has more teeth this month too. One popped through on the top with another popping through on the bottom for a total of 4 teeth. The other top big tooth is almost through as well. At her check-up a few weeks ago she weighed 17 pounds ( 25% for weight and 90% for height)-- she is going to be long and lean. By next month we might be starting to walk! YIKES! Love you Marlee! Also, a bonus picture of Marlee and her BFF Janie (almost 1 year) this past weekend!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Bennett's First Day of Preschool

Bennett had his first day of preschool today! He was VERY excited to see his teachers and play with any "trucks or tractors" that might be there. As we arrived he then started to feel a little less excited and more anxious. I reassured him that he was going to have SO much fun, and that I would be back in an hour (it was a shortened day today) to get him. Drop off went well, and once he saw the trains, tractors and cars he forgot I was even there. Thursday will be his first "full" day (2.5 hours instead of 1). We can't wait to see how much he is going to learn this year! Bennett by his locker!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Blake's 1st Day of Kindergarten

We have a full-time kindergartner living in our house! Blake is off for his first official day of kindergarten today! Yesterday we got to go to his classroom to drop off his supplies and meet his teacher, Mrs. Gruber. Blake was excited to see that he has some friends from last year in his class, and also some new friends too! We had a "Cherry Berry" treat to kick-off the start to a successful year of learning! I got snapshot of Blake before school (see below) Do you think Randy and Blake had a conversation of what his future occupation should be? Hmmm... Blake enjoyed his traditional first day breakfast-- First Day French Toast-- but this year it is "5K Style!" Dropping him off at school went well-- no tears from anyone! Now that I am sitting here on this quiet afternoon as Marlee and Bennett are napping I am realizing just how QUIET it is without Blake here. He was usually the one here in the afternoons keeping me company. I have had moments of sadness rush over me knowing that my first-born is off to discover the world. I know it is time for him to spread his wings little-by-little, hopefully really little. :) I also know he is probably having an awesome first day, and we can't wait to hear about how it all went. I know he will be exhausted. I know that he is still by baby boy. I will post an after school picture soon. Here are some pictures from yesterday's Open House, and enjoying our treat! His favorite thing about his first day was--- Phy. Ed. class and seeing his friends. It was all smiles and surprisingly lots of energy as Blake got off the bus. A successful first day for sure!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Labor Day Weekend: Running, Friends, Fishing and a Birthday

This past Labor Day weekend was action-packed and fun-filled. We started the weekend by running our annual family road race- the Buckshot Run. Randy and I both ran the 5 mile race while our friends, the Callaghan family, watched the kiddos. It was a great morning for a race and not as hot and humid as it was earlier in the week. Randy had a personal best in the 5 mile running it in 38 min. 39 seconds. I always think it is such a blessing to be able to get out there and try to keep up with the amazing runners we have in our area. I finished 2nd in the women's division and 1st in my age group with a time of 33 mins 8 seconds. Our other good friends, Karen and Mike Eckerman were in town from Rochester, MN and also joined us in running. Both Karen and Mike finished in around 36 minutes! Great job guys! Following the 5 mile race, our whole family, along with the Eckerman's and Callaghan's also ran the 2 mile race. Blake was able to run almost the entire 2 miles and Bennett ran the last 3/4 mile. By the time we headed home the kiddos were pretty exhausted. We always enjoy this annual race because it is so family-friendly and supports such a great cause- Special Olympics of Western Wisconsin. That night Karen, Mike, Randy and I all headed out for a post-race date night. The kiddos stayed back at our house with a sitter. I think both the adults and kids had an equally fun time! To cap off our Labor Day weekend we celebrated Randy's birthday on Monday. We headed down to the backwaters of the Mississippi near Nelson, WI to do some fishing. It started out as an overcast cool day as we all put on our long pants and sweatshirts to see if we could catch some fish to stock up for our freezer. What a successful day of fishing it was! We caught 22 fish overall, 20 of them being some pretty big perch! Randy said this was one of his best birthdays yet!