Watering Memorial Flowers

Watering the Flowers

We've been stopping by the memorial to water the flowers because it's been so hot and dry this week.  

The kids have so many questions and comments about Grandpa: 

"Are we standing on him" 

"Where did he die?" 

"Was he sick?"

"Maybe he was just passed out"

"How did they know that he didn't just pass out?"

So I did my best to answer all their questions, and then Leo throws out his real concern about dying... "Mom, who is going to feed me in Heaven?"

We added a flag to the flower bed, and then the next time we came back we bought Grandpa a pinwheel, oh and the kids got one too!  We watered the flowers and then the kids watered any real flowers/pots in the surrounding memorial markers.  They are really sweet kids.  

Later that week, we stopped in again, and the kids wondered why to which I said that Dad  hadn't been there in awhile.  So Leo says, "Dad, he's dead."

Oh my gosh, I don't think I laughed so hard... as if he may not have known.  You gotta love kids!

Easter 2014

Easter Service at St. Raphael's

We went to see Grandma and family in the Twin Cities for Easter.  We went to the beautiful St. Raphael Catholic church for Easter service. 

St. Raphael's Catholic Church

Shortly after services started, seconds I am sure, Leo started  'log rolling' down this aisle as many parishioners were onlooking some with smiles and the others... well you know the disapproving looks a Mother who can't control her child gets.

Leo

So I took him outside to burn off some energy.  Where he proceeded to roll around in the grass, and throw landscape rocks (against my directions), and look into the flood lights around the 10 Commandments thinking it was a telescope.  

Thank goodness Lulu was an angel! 

Coloring Easter Eggs at Grandma's

Staying in a hotel for holidays is less than ideal especial when young children are expecting Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny and some traditional type activities that cannot happen easily in a small room.  So I planned an GLOW-IN-THE-DARK Egg hunt the evening before Easter.  As you could guess it was a big hit and nearly impossible to get the kids to bed after that!

Glow-in-the-Dark Egg Hunt

Leo & Lulu

Christmas Cookies

Lulu and I make cookies all the time but I generally measure everything and let her add it to the mixer, but for this special occasion I let her do all the measuring to make cookies. Of course the only thing she couldn't do is load the cookies in and out of the oven.

It's been a very tough year in our house financially speaking. In any case it was decided that we would send Homemade Maple Syrup to our family members this Christmas. Although many may not know how much work tapping, harvesting and cooking sap to make syrup is, it didn't quite feel like we were giving enough so we also decided to include homemade cookies. In reality all the stress of gift giving is so silly because truthfully I wish everyone would send us some food for Christmas!

Crawling around being silly.

Nana's House Christmas

Lulu is helping Penny and Ezekiel put up the Christmas ornaments.

Cousins and fast friends! They were like 2 peas in a pod.

Everyone loved the train, which was later relocated to the floor around the Christmas Tree.

A new fan of the Candy Cane!

Decorating for Christmas

I am not much of a holiday decorator but since having kids I feel obligated to step it up. This year we put a fiber optic tree in the front bay window and a manger set. We let Lulu put the bulbs on the little tree for practice before the big tree.


Then Lulu helped her Daddy put up the big tree, she danced with the branches and then handed them to him.




Later when Leo was up she was I found her putting her favorite toys into the tree as ornaments. Gosh, how brilliant... an appreciation for her current toys, and nothing breakable to boot!





By the way, Leo LOVES her "jump high."

Thanksgiving Day 2011

We went to Nan & Tata's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Somehow I only managed to take a few pictures... Leo snacking and myself target shooting. Oh well, food was good and the weather for Minnesota was WONDERFUL!

The guys were suppose to go to the Twin Cities for Thanksgiving but with the Chicken pox just being over and Leo not showing any signs yet plans were changed. Lulu was going to go with The Birthday Boy* to see his family, then it was decided if either of them were carriers (which I have since learned wouldn't be the case) it could be bad for the siblings who haven't had Chicken Pox.

Halloween 2011

For Leo's first Halloween we made our first stop at Beagle Books. Then we went into Bella Cafe, where Leo and Nana stayed warm and Lulu and I ventured out to all the Downtown Park Rapids Halloween shop stops.

A big shout out of THANKS to my friend Tracey for loaning us 2 costumes this year, and to Mary Miller of Candied Creations by Mary for the Halloween basket Lulu carried. It came filled with designed candies and toys displayed on sticks. It was so cute, Lulu ate most of the candy before we made it downtown!

Pumpkin Party & Maze

I was so lucky to capture this incredible picture with 2 smiling babies at the END of a trip to the Carter's Red Wagon Pumpkin Party with a Corn Maze.

Lulu, Leo and I (The Dreadful Gardener*) were accompanied by our favorite babysitter Hailey, also referred to as Hailey Ice by Lulu (we are not sure why). This was swimming ducky race was Lulu's favorite game at the pumpkin party. I think Hailey seemed to enjoy it to, except the water was cold and the wind was blowing too hard to enjoy wet hands!

The big slide was a Lulu favorite too. The ladder side of the slide is made of hay, pretty interesting. This was their first trip down the slide, by the end Lulu was going by herself and face first. She's definitely more gutsy than I was at her age.

I am not sure what this was called but it was tons of hay rolls stacked next to each other and some piles into tall stacks for a sort of maze. Lulu ran around like a nut jumping over gaps in the hay along side Hailey, and although Leo wanted to join in he was bound to sitting still (not quite crawling).

These strange adult/child pull toys were one of the last things the kids rode on because they were pretty busy the entire 2 hours we were at the Carters Red Wagon Farm.

Although I do not have a photo of the Corn Maze it was pretty cool. My suggestion to anyone going next year is go during opening day when the maze isn't smashed down in places where people got stuck/lost and cheated.

Another delightful day in the small town USA!

Mid-Summer Celebration

Parade watching, jumping castle & fireworks baby! The first time she's ever picked candy out of the street at the parade. She was a little hesitant and wanted me to hold her hand while she did it... but she watched my friends kiddos do it and caught on by the end of the parade.

"Jumping High" with her friend Matthew.

"Jumping High" with her friend Aiden

Holding on to the corner wall when the big kids come in jumping and doing flips. There really should be one jumping castle for just the little kids!

Afterwards we all enjoyed the fireworks. Leo stopped eating to watch the colors in the sky, and surprisingly he wasn't bothered by the noise at all, pretty good for a first firework viewing. Lulu loved the fireworks! She had a sample of what fireworks were the weekend before when we were at the Lake for the 4th of July. She sat on her Daddy's lap putting sand on his legs saying "Oh yeah BABY!"

What a Difference a Year Makes

4th of July Weekend

Leo is going bananas for bananas! His silly sister thought it was funny to give him her water from her sippy cup too, and he loved it crying when she took it away. So we're moving past the bottles I guess.


Lulu canoes with The Eagle Scout*...

...and finds it a calm environment to take her afternoon nap.

Leo watches out the window...

...while his sister plays in the sand.

While Leo naps... but just a short one, as all his naps these days are 20

Lulu takes her first spin in a canoe with Uncle John.

We blew bubbles with the bubble wand... where's the bubble? Lulu is looking and jumping in circles.

Father's Day at the Farm

This year's chickies are getting so big. Lulu loves to check in on them and watch them wander around the yard. Lulu driving the golf cart around with myself and Leo as passengers.

A new place I can set Leo while I do things in the kitchen! His legs are getting a little beefy for the Bumbo.

A little Father's Day relaxing on the hammock with his children.

Ending our afternoon with a boat ride on Blueberry lake. This lake is not a lake to fish with children in a boat, too many weeds.