Well there is really no JUST about it… February and June are two of our busiest months. (February) June has our anniversary (16th), Father’s Day, my birthday, my stepmom’s birthday, our two god daughter’s birthdays and of course first day of SUMMER! Yup, lots of mailing and doing and enjoying in the month of June. And don’t forget a welcome visit from TWO of our Canadian friends! You can read more about Karyn and Lauralee’s visit HERE.

We had all sorts of fun in June – We played Legos at Mall of America.

Of course we did the monthly Home Depot project with Father’s Day as the theme.

Spent the majority of our weekday morning at the YMCA enjoying ClubY for the 4 older kids, daycare for Miss Echo (and on Friday’s Little Lotus Yoga) and working out for mom. Plus swimming and an hour of quiet mom time all wrapped up in a 2 mile walk each way.

These are shirts they did up in club.

It was well worth our effort. The kids had a blast playing games, meeting friends, doing stuff without me. Echo was the darling of daycare with her 2 hours a day. And me, well I got on the treadmill, swam with my baby AND had an hour of time that was my own to sew, read, socialize and just be without the kids hanging off of me.

Trinity even managed to find time to get her PINK wristband.

Mommy hour!

Gavin worked his buns off on the shawl he entered in the County Fair in July.

And while Zander tried to join the run club, he was the only sign up and did not make the minimum count. So off he went to TRACK AND FIELD. Where we quickly learned he is a distance runner and NOT a speed demon.

I have to share the amazing yarn Ken picked up for my birthday. A portion of the proceeds went to help the people affected by the wildfires in Alberta. AND it is gorgeous… win win!

We snuck in some learning, but for the most part June was a month of outside time.

Getting to know our YMCA better and take full advantage of our membership. I was never so glad as to be able to walk 2 miles with 5 kids as I was this June. There was whining and trudging but we had so much fun when we got the the YMCA and felt so much healthier by the end of it. AMAZING.

New noodles

I played around with hair colours too.

The one thing that stands out when I think of June is just how much we smiled. So important and simple… we had a month full of joy.

Day 1 – August 3

For the first time in OVER 2 years I had an overnight trip! What a rush! Karyn and I took a two day trip to see the scenic Wisconsin…. Ok so the scenery was MOSTLY corn fields (seriously – where were all the cows????)… and we had a ton of rain on the road… but it was so much fun!

We started out the morning of the 3rd all dressed up with a cooler full of drinks and a bag of snacks. We had over 4 hours on the road… first to the bed and breakfast and then on to Madison Wisconsin. Miss Echo had to show off her all in white fashion as well.

Walking Iron Bed & Breakfast was lovely (HERE). We had the William Thompson room (HERE). Trust me the bathroom WAS decadent. What a tub!!! And so much space. We lucked out and the other guests were not yet checked in so we got a chance to peek into ALL of the bedrooms they have available. Ours was one of the smaller but they all were equally amazing. They certainly put a lot of work into each and every room in the house. The dining areas were lovely, the hallway and stairs so gorgeous. Check in was simple and after we brought in our bags and such we HAD TO take pictures. The B&B has a continental breakfast the morning we are there, a spa we did not use and complimentary drinks including tea and coffee 24/7. The wi-fi was a little wonky (they were having issues and trying to get it repaired) but otherwise our stay was AMAZING.

After properly photographing our temporary abode it was time to head into Madison for some shopping and dinner. There are some absolutely LOVELY craft stores to peruse in the capital city of Wisconsin. We started with art supplies and cross stitch bits. Our GPS sent us on a few adventures this trip. They led us right over to the WRONG mall which had us have the happy accident of finding not only Sephora but a food place called Potbelly that was absolutely amazing. Karyn had had it before in another state and was unaware that it was a chain. We had flatbread. So yum!

I have to admit it was fun to be out and about without kids AND dressed up all fancy. I finally got to wear my birthday indulgences… my brand new rose patterned skirt and red crinoline. Not only comfortable but the compliments!! I lucked out and before Karyn got here found a fitted t shirt to match for now. I look forward to budgeting in a blouse from the Tatyana store one day!

Apparently Madison Wisconsin is the place to go if you want to find an amazing selection of yarn. It was in a rather dead mall but well worth the bungled up GPS instructions. I could easily have indulged hundreds of dollars worth of amazing yarn. Restraint was hard to find!!! Thank goodness for a budget and the realization that we still had another day of fun in Wisconsin to come.

After shopping and dinner at Potbelly and MORE shopping it was time to find a 7-11 to try a slurpee. Not quite the same as back home but a definite improvement on the Icee! Almost a taste of home and an awesome reason for such a fun odyssey.

After all that fun it was back to the B&B for a well earned rest! 

July 2-3

I have to say, having the reason to celebrate BOTH Canada Day AND Independence Day has made our July much more interesting. Of course since one is July 1st and the other the 4th we DO have two days in between. This year was unusual as everyone (including Joe, Faithe, Gabbi and Zachary with Nana and Baba) was going camping starting on the 3rd… Except me and the girls (Mosquito allergy) and Ken (leaving the morning of the 4th after his appointments). This marks one of the VERY few civic holidays that Ken and myself would not celebrate together. As I mentioned in a previous July 4th entry HERE, we 3 girls did manage a fun time without our boys. But we did miss them!

Anyway… the 2nd and 3rd… We started with a half day of school. Mainly reflections on what it means to each of the twins to be Canadian…

And pictures of things that represent Canada to Trinity and Emanuel.

The boys are very serious about improving their reading. The twins are thick into chapter books and Emanuel is struggling less and less.

The kids got their newest souvenir from Nana and Baba’s travels… animal puzzles!

And then it was time for cousins and playing.

They are set to move to Florida at the end of July. Quite the big move and a wee bit unexpected so I made sure to grab early July 4th group photos. I even dressed the kids up in their colours. I couldn’t let a holiday go by without that! (I posted an image or two from this photo shoot HERE.)

Especially without a group shot of the kids. Every year we do it!

On the 3rd we saw off everyone BUT Daddy, but really snuck out before the chaos and met up with Renee, Nathan, Evan, Jeffrey and Renee’s sister Karen (you will remember her from the amazing June wedding Ken was in HERE).

This is a pretty amazing series of parks. There is a play park, then a splash pad (not a park, just a cement pad with water spraying out) and then the manicured and lifeguard included beach!

Ken was odd man out as usual but the kids had a blast, and it was so fun to get to see the sisters together. Now that Ken is healthier and working on becoming the healthy and HAPPY man we always knew he could be he is the first out the door to allow for the possibility of us expanding our social life. Karen and Renee are such a welcome addition to the list of people I have locally to hang out with. I feel so lucky that they include us on outings and time with the kids! (Karen is an amazing math teacher as well! And so interesting to talk to about possible school ideas… something I have been missing here in Minnesota what with all my librarian friends up north!!)

The girls didn’t even miss their wayward brothers and even made up for the lack of boys by playing with Nathan and Evan.

I was amazed at the absolute confidence Miss Echo showed. We didn’t have to convince her into the water or even follow her around!

Of course we brought lunch!

After our playdate it was off to Joann’s to spend the amazing gift card my sister in law Holly sent me for my birthday. She sent it with the direction to “buy yarn” so I went all out random.  And since it was clearance time spent way less than expected!!

With just the two girls and then Daddy gone to appointments was our afternoon and evening ever QUIET!!! So weird, not only having just girls but only 2!!!! But a nice break before the next special day!

Enjoy the beach filled overflow!