Day 180 of 365

Beach day, finally! Is there anything cuter than a sandy bum? I think not.

Day 179 of 365

Travis found these old pants of his while sorting through some boxes. McKenna was excited to inherit them, but they're still about 4 sizes too big.

Day 178 of 365

As I write this, we are all still in our pajamas. This is what I love about summer. We all slept in pretty late, had some breakfast and now each of us is engaged in our of version of play. Lillian is building with her dad's old Fisher Price tool set, McKenna is off in her room doing "big girl" things and I get some computer time. I love having absolutely no agenda.

Day 177 of 365

I'm not sure if this is just a girl thing, or maybe it's just my girls, but they are constantly setting up "beds" around the house. They layer blankets, sleeping bags, pillows and stuffed animals and then cuddle or play together in that spot. This particular "bed" was located at the foot of the main staircase, not a very convenient spot for those who needed to go upstairs.

Day 176 of 365

What do you get when you put together 3 old college roommates, 9 kids and a pool? Lots of fun. Despite the cool and even rainy weather, the kids had great fun swimming and playing together. A massive slumber party (one "big" kid area and one "little" kid area) rounded out the evening. Thanks for hosting, T! The girls are already looking forward to next year.

Day 175 of 365

My old college roommate and her kids are in town, and I had the pleasure of photographing them tonight. I've been wanting to practice silhouettes, so we gave it a shot at dusk. Her kids were great, but then McKenna and Lillian wanted to give it a try. McKenna is showing off her karate kicks in this shot. I think I'm hooked on silhouettes!

Day 174 of 365

Another wet, chilly day. Thank goodness for the bright idea of Mama R of the R Family to take the kids to Kiddywampus! A whole hour of free-for-all art, including paints, stamps, stickers, crayons and markers galore. We even managed a quick trip to the park and lunch. Is it too much to hope that the sun will shine tomorrow?

Day 173 of 365

These lilies are a nice bright spot of color in what has been a dreadfully gloomy week. Gray skies, lots of rain and cool temperatures do not make for a happy summer! I have visions of lazy days at the beach, and instead I had to dig my fleece out of the closet today. June is nearly over and it still doesn't really feel like summer.

Day 172 of 365

The library was our destination this morning. Lillian is all about speed while choosing her books - she just grabs the first ones she sees and heads for the activity tables. McKenna, on the other hand, thinks about which books she wants before we even get there, and then takes her time choosing just the right titles. Today she came home with mostly Geronimo Stilton books.

Day 171 of 365

McKenna received one of those above ground soft-sided pools for her birthday late last summer, and we finally got around to setting it up today. She, of course, wanted to play inside of it before we filled it. With the cool temperatures we're having lately, it will be August before the water warms.

Day 170 of 365

Happy Father's Day to my own wonderful dad, who had to work today and wasn't able to join us at the cabin. I think my father-in-law enjoyed himself; we had two long pontoon rides today and the sun even made an appearance this afternoon. Cheers to all the dads!

Day 169 of 365

It rained almost non-stop all day, so I decided to paint over the bright blue and red sponge-painted walls of our cabin bedroom. McKenna entertained the younger kids for hours, but by about 4:00 she had apparently had enough. She crawled on top of all the junk piled up on the bed and fell asleep in the midst of my painting project. I wish I could sleep so soundly in such noisy conditions.

Day 168 of 365

We got home from the cabin about an hour ago, so I'm just getting to my weekend postings. Papa Dennis bought a used pontoon and we took it on an inaugural outing Friday night. It was my first time seeing the "big lake," as our cabin is located in a rather secluded bay. The kids loved it, and I'm excited for many lazy summer days cruising the lake.

Day 167 of 365

We brought out the sprinkler this afternoon and enjoyed a couple of hours outside. I'm not sure why the girls insist of wearing goggles anytime they are in or near water, but that's the way they both operate.

Day 166 of 365

More rain again today. The girls worked on fuse bead creations for quite awhile this morning. I am surprised at Lillian's patience with these, since she rarely sits still for anything. We have so many of these around the house, what to do with them all?

Day 165 of 365

Lillian, McKenna and neighbor E made a fort on the porch using umbrellas. Too bad Target Field doesn't have such a cover, the Twins game Travis and I were supposed to attend was a rainout.

Day 164 of 365

McKenna receives $5 per week for doing chores around the house. She then divides that money into three envelopes: Save, Spend and Give. Well, she's been saving for a DQ Blizzard Maker for months and today made the big purchase. It seems rather cheaply made to me, and doesn't really make blizzards, since you simply add the candy after the ice cream is made, but to a 7 year old it's a pretty cool gadget.

Day 163 of 365

Now this is a sight I never thought I'd see - my mom scrapbooking. She was very patient with me and my need to have every layout perfectly planned and aligned. She was even using the Xyron machine by the end of our time today. We did manage to get through all of the photos up to about 1990, but another weekend or two is needed to finish the project.

Day 162 of 365

My parents 40th wedding anniversary is approaching next month, so it was fun to revisit their wedding photos while scrapbooking. I thought 10 years of marriage was a big milestone; 40 is hard to imagine. I can only hope Travis and I are so happy three decades down the road.

Day 161 of 365

I am introducing my mom to scrapbooking this weekend; a hobby I love. She and my dad organized all of their photos by decade, and now we're working on getting them into albums. We progressed rather quickly through the really old photos (late 1800s-1940s), since there are so few of them. Now we're stuck in the 1970s with no end in sight. I hope to see the 1980s by Sunday.

Day 160 of 365

Last day of 2nd grade! Summer is finally here. All the kids were greeted by parents and siblings as they got off the school bus, and one neighbor brought ice cream sandwiches for everyone to celebrate. Then we headed to another neighbor's house for root beer floats. Have I mentioned how much I love our neighborhood?

Day 159 of 365

Once again, I am a day behind in posting...

McKenna got a day off toda; since she is contagious with strep throat she has to stay out of school for 24 hours. When I got home she gave me a run down of her day - went to the park, ran through sprinklers, had a picnic lunch, played multiple board games and cleaned her room. Doesn't sound like much of a sick day to me!

Day 158 of 365

We have a courtyard at the school where I teach and each spring a pair of ducks will nest there. It's a completely enclosed courtyard, and the only way out, besides flight, of course, is through one of two sets of doors that lead into the school. Our custodians provide fresh water for the mama and her ducklings, and when they get to be about this size, our head custodian will open one of the sets of doors and lead the duck family through the building to the greater outdoors. It's really quite a site. Today is this family's last day in the courtyard, so I'm glad they came out to play long enough for me to snap a few photos.

Day 157 of 365

I am a day behind in posting; I just can't seem to get caught up with anything lately. I'm hoping things calm down after school is out this week. One goal I have is to work on editing this summer, rather than just posting these photos straight out of camera. We'll see if that actually happens!

Day 156 of 365

At long last, it was a perfect Minnesota weekend, weather wise. The kids run wild through the backyards (ours and our neighbors) all day long. I love our neighborhood and raising our daughters here.

Day 155 of 365

We attended a wedding yesterday near Alexandria of a dear friend (and old roommate). It was an absolutely perfect day for an outdoor wedding, and the vineyard setting was gorgeous. I want to take the kids there to do some photos this summer.

Day 154 of 365

What was I thinking 9 years ago when I planted 4 barberry shrubs right in front of our house? I love the color, but hate those nasty thorns! No matter how much I prune them in the fall, they come back bigger every year. Meanwhile, the shrubs I actually like seem to be dying a slow death.

Day 153 of 365

It was Super Kids' Day at the elementary school (read Field Day for all you children of the 80s). There were probably two dozens stations set up and run by the older kids. This was the "Heavy Ball Toss" station; not one I remember from my own youth. At least the shuttle run still exists, a true classic.

Day 152 of 365

I love this face. Lillian had a fun night with Nana, Papa and Aunt Barb watching McKenna's cub ball game. She really didn't watch much of the game, but did have fun at the park adjacent to the ball field. We have a whole summer of Wednesday night games to look forward to.