Day 210 of 365

Meet the newest member of the Gullickson family, Luna the Betta fish. Lillian received Luna from her big sister as a birthday gift. McKenna came up with the idea to get Lillian a fish and this little female is who we came home with. She was a bit lethargic and sat at the bottom of the tank for the first two days, and I had visions of running to Petco to replace her, but she seems to have adjusted and is swimming about quite actively now. Here's hoping for a long, happy fish life.

We're off to the cabin for the next week and weekend, so I'm signing off until August 8. See you back here then!

Day 209 of 365

I shudder to think I'll be back at work one month from now. I love that the big decision of the day was whether to hit up the pool or the beach. Beach won, and it was pure bliss.

Day 208 of 365

The Tigers played their last game of the season tonight. It was another hot and humid July day in Minnesota, and McKenna wasn't thrilled to play catcher, but she played hard and had two big hits. Officially, the score isn't tallied, but unofficially, the Tigers went out with a big win.

Day 207 of 365

The girls were pretty creative today. First, they built a "house" with three rooms, using cardboard building blocks. One of the rooms consisted of eight Barbie dolls riding in "cars" which were concocted using upside-down bridge shaped blocks. Genius (as least in my biased opinion)!

Day 206 of 365

I can't believe it's already time for Baby S's three month photos! Boy, has he grown since April. He was so cooperative, and even slept for me, allowing me to get some great shots of all his little parts. I could just eat up those baby ears, toes, thighs, noses...

Day 205 of 365

Lillian's ice-cream themed birthday party was a hit. We had three kinds of ice cream and about 15 different toppings. Sprinkles and marshmallows seemed to be the most popular choices. The four-year-old crowd was fairly well behaved, although I gave up trying to get them to play the organized games and eventually just let them loose in the backyard and playroom. I have to admit, I'm glad it's over!

Days 200-204 of 365

I'm back from the annual 'Olson's Up North' gathering, which is basically my mom's extended family (her maiden name being Olson). My cousin Sara and her husband are brave and generous souls who host the whole clan each July. I think I counted 42 people this year, although people come and go throughout the week. The pictures show a glimpse of our week, with some of the highlights being tubing, fishing, turtle races in Nisswa, Chocolate Ox candy store, scavenger hunt, campfires, delicious food, pontoon rides, games, swimming and, of course, family bonding. Can't wait for next year!

Day 199 of 365

Lillian's birthday party is next weekend, but since we're headed up north tomorrow for the annual family cabin get-together, I'm trying to get as much done ahead of time as possible. She's having an ice cream theme, so these are my attempt as some table decorations. I think they turned out pretty well, but it took much longer than anticipated, as so many of my projects do!

Day 198 of 365

Mother Hen McKenna just has to hold Baby S whenever she gets the chance. It was a great day in the backyard with the neighbors, with kids running from the pool to the water slide. Even I tried out the water slide - it was too hot and humid otherwise.

Day 197 of 365

I took McKenna into downtown Wayzata tonight for a stroll by the lake and mini photo shoot. She was pretty excited when a train whizzed by, and we both welcomed the breeze it created. It was downright HOT and STICKY tonight, but the location and lighting were divine for photos.

Day 196 of 365

I wonder where they get this?

Day 195 of 365

The girls created a "bed" this rainy morning by removing all the couch cushions and pushing the ottoman adjacent to the couch. Throw in some blankets, animals and pillow pets and you're all set for watching a movie (Marley and Me was the choice of the day).

Day 194 of 365

Got the van washed today; it was well overdue. Lillian was so engrossed watching it she failed to notice the popcorn machine. There's a first time for everything.

Day 193 of 365

The girls have been playing a lot with Barbies lately. They had been packed away for months, but are suddenly the toy of choice when we're not outside. I passed along my entire collection of Barbie dolls and clothes to the girls, and they love to open my old red trunk and dig through the contents. Many of the clothes were hand-made by my aunt, and are still in excellent condition today. I love watching them play with the same toys I had as a child, and it's a good reminder to me to pack away some of their toys for future generations.

Day 192 of 365

Finally, I'm back on track with my blog postings! I'm actually doing today's photo on today's date (with 10 minutes to spare). I am so happy with one of my weekend purchases - winter boots for the girls found on clearance at a surplus store in Wisconsin. I am in no hurry for winter to arrive, but am pretty happy knowing they are set in the boot department for the coming winter.

Day 191 of 365

This is the part of coming home I dread - loads of laundry. Wet towels, stinky bedding and lots of dirty clothes. Not to mention the sand that seems to make its way home with us.

Day 190 of 365

This being our first year as cabin owners, there is a lot of work to be done. My generous aunt gave us her patio furniture, so I put the girls to work washing it. Each had a rag and a bucket of water and they scrubbed the chairs and table like old pros. McKenna did a top-notch job, but I made Lillian do a few spots twice. You can't always count on those 3-year-olds to get the job done!

Day 189 of 365

Lillian wore herself out swimming. She is getting more adventurous in the water. Where she previously required three flotation devices (life vest, water wings and an inner tube around the waist) to ensure she wouldn't sink, she has now moved down to only two, deciding that perhaps the water wings were overkill.

Day 188 of 365

Made it to the library for the third week in a row. Soon McKenna will have read all the Geronimo Stilton and Ramona books. I feel like we're just settling in to our summer routine, and then Target puts the school supplies out. You can probably imagine how I feel about that.

Day 187 of 365

It was hard to choose a photo today, as I took so many between our trip to the community pool, McKenna's cub ball game and then a stop at Coldstone for some ice cream. I just love the colors of this popsicle, though. It reminds me of the bomb pops I would eat at the beach where I spent a good part of my childhood. I hope my girls look back on these days just as fondly.

Day 186 of 365

Lillian is pretty good at playing by herself, and she did so for about an hour this afternoon while I was getting caught up with laundry. When I went to her room, rows of cars, like this one, awaited me. She told me they are all friends who are visiting one another. I can completely relate, since I remember playing cars with my brother and naming each one. Like mother, like daughter!

Days 181-185

I left my laptop at home while we spent 5 days at the new family cabin, so I'm consolidating those days in one post. I can't remember a holiday weekend with such good weather. There were storms one night, but the days were full of sun and heat. Lillian caught her first fish, which she refused to touch. McKenna is finally baiting her own hook and even removed one fish, although she requires gloves to do it. We put many miles on the pontoon and participated in the Horseshoe Lake Fourth of July boat parade. My parents came up on the 4th and spent the day with us. The only blemish of the weekend was Libby - our 11 year old chocolate lab - running away during fireworks. She is terrified of fireworks and pees everytime she hears one, so we had her outside on the deck with us while we watched the show in the bay. We realized around 10pm that she had disappeared. Two hours of searching, one phone call to the Barron County sheriff's department and car and foot searches yielded no dog. Poor McKenna was in tears and I was envisioning the worst. Finally, at 1am the neighbor's dog started barking like crazy and I ran outside to find Libby on the road in front of the cabin. She has never run away like that before, and I would love to know how she spent those 3 hours! We already decided next year she's getting locked in the bathroom.