5th Birthday, Summer Stuff, and the State Fair

On August 22, Elsa turned 5! Unbelievable.
The birthday girl and her ice cream cone cupcakes. Ice Cream Cones were the theme of the party.


All the kids at Elsa's party (minus Lila): Ashley, Gracie, Elsa, Violet, Henry, Maddy.


Birthday pancake!


Elsa wanted a pinata, so I decided to make one. Who would pay $25 for a pinata? The people who have had to make one before! :) No, it was a fun project and turned out cute, but it's very time consuming.


The b-day girl takes a swing at the pinata.


Elsa's friend Ashley got her 2 goldfish for her birthday - her first pets! The girls named them Ice Cream and Sundae. Unfortunately they didn't make it past a couple days, and neither did the replacement fish after that. We went back and picked out a Betta, which are supposed to be a heartier variety. So far it's been 1 week and he's doing well. Of course they chose a pink one, but it has cool blue and purple accents on it. They call him Strawberry Rainbow Ice Cream Sundae. Yeah... I just call him Rainbow. :)


Lila is growing up fast, too. I showed her how to write her name and she did this all on her own: LLAI


The girls on our annual summer outing to Fawn Doe Rosa in St. Croix Falls.



The kids in front of the new house...


A view from the back of the house.


We couldn't wait for camping this September, so we had a backyard bonfire with S'mores to tide the kids over.


Tim spends a lot of time working at the new house, so sometimes we bring picnics over and join him for awhile.


I love this: an action shot of the girls being goofy and cracking each other up, as they so often do.


Yesterday we went to the fair. It gets more fun every year as the kids get older.

The fam.


We stopped by the Butterfly House this year and it was a big hit. Tim tried to give Lila a butterfly, but its big spider-like legs freaked her out too much. Me too!


Elsa's butterfly.


Me and the kids with butterflies on our shirts!


Auntie Jenny and Uncle Shane live right next to the fair, so every year we meet them there. This year was Avery's first year! Elsa, Shane, Avery, Jenny, and Lila.


Auntie Jenny and Lila.


Here are a couple end-of-summer portraits. It went by too fast!
Lila, 3 yrs.


Elsa, 5 yrs.

More Summer Fun

The weekend after the 4th, we went to our friends' Karl Oscar Days BBQ. Elsa went tubing behind the boat for the first time and loved it! L to R: Elsa, Sheri, Ashley.


We met Grandma and Grandpa E at South Center Lake and took a boat ride with them. The kids love to go FAST!


Tim has been busy at the land nearly every night for the past month. We're making a retaining wall out of the foundation from the old barn that fell down. He has to pry the stones out of the rubble with a crowbar, one by one, like this:


Here's Tim and his collection of stones so far! It's hard to believe we still need more.


Cousins! Lila, Avery, and Elsa at my birthday pool party.


Our niece Avery, 8 months old. Cutie!


A couple weekends ago we took the kids to the Chisago County Fair. The kids saw their first Demolition Derby and had a great time, despite the insane heat. Elsa's favorite thing was the rides, and Lila loved the cows and horses in the animal barn.


Lila, Tim, and Elsa ride the carousel.

Lila's Birthday, Summer Adventures, and a New Princess Is Crowned...

I've been so awful about updating, but who wants to be on the computer during these beautiful summer days?

On July 2, Lila turned 3! We started the day with a traditional birthday pancake, gift opening, and photos.




The rest of the day we had a pool party at my parents house. The weather was perfect.


Lila was very happy to get the Sleeping Beauty/Castle cake she wanted! Instead of getting complicated, I bought the toys at the thrift store, washed them in the dishwasher, and put them on top. Voila!



She also got something she wasn't expecting - a super cool new Barbie bike!


Today we went to the Rush City water park. We'd never been there before and I'm kicking myself for it! It was very fun and relaxing, the kind of place I could go nearly every nice summer day. They had a great shallow place for little kids to play, life guards, nice warm water, snacks, everything. Elsa even went to the deep end and slid down the big water slide about 8 times. Lila went once but didn't like getting splashed in the face with water at the bottom.


Elsa and Allie going down the big waterslide.


A sneak peek at the progress on the house.


Reading books in the summer sun always requires a parasol.


Elsa is awesome at riding her bike. Last summer it was slow going, but this summer she flies way ahead of us on the roads and trails. She always stops at intersections and stop signs. And yes, we accidentally forgot her helmet.


Quiz time. The Princess on the left is Snow White, of course. And the Princess on the right? That's the newest, most popular, and definitely most handicapped Princess of all around here: Mascillabob! I have no idea where they come up with these names.


Lila sometimes likes to style her own hair.


Summer Sisters.

SUMMER, and other exciting developments

Summer has arrived! We've been doing all kinds of fun stuff, like kicking back while the kids wash our cars.



A couple weeks ago was the last day of school for both kids. Here is Elsa with her preschool diploma! This fall she'll go off to Wyoming Elementary for Kindergarten. Lila will stay at the Family Center and attend 3-year-old preschool.


Yesterday was SO hot, and today will be even hotter. We ate popsicles, played in the pool, and went to our favorite beach with some friends. You can't really tell, but here they're doing a "welcome back summer" dance.




Yesterday was also the official first digging day of our new house! We went out there around 6 pm and told the girls we were going to go look at a big hole. Needless to say, they weren't too excited. But when we got there, they (and we) were totally amazed. It brought me back to when my parents built our house when I was 5 and my sister was 3 - the same ages as our kids. What kid doesn't love dirt piles?! They ran around and played house in the basement. Lila sat in the corner of the big hole and I said, "What are you doing?" She looked at me like the answer was obvious and said,"Watching TV!"

dancing, and some questionable new friends...

Last Saturday was Elsa's first dance recital. It was so cute! They danced to Daddy's Little Girl, Single Ladies, and California Girls. Also there was a surprise... Julie and I decided to do the Mother/Daughter dance, which was Mama Mia. There were a lot of moves and we only practiced twice, but I heard we did pretty well. I guess all those years dancing to Paula Abdul in middle school really paid off!

Me and Julie with Elsa and Violet.


Our little dancer, star of the stage!


Elsa and Mama.


Baby cousin Avery came to the recital, too. Here she is, cute as ever!


This is Lila and her friend, the water meter on the side of the house. Is it a water meter? Well, whatever it is, she named it Fee-Fo. She talks to it. One time I saw her grab it by the bolts on top and say,"Do you have ears, Fee-Fo? Yes, you do!"


They also have another friend. Meet "Mud Freak", the mud puddle. I kid you not. When the sun finally dries it up, they say,"Mud Freak has gone away!", then they pretend-cry.


I bought some plants and flowers the other day, and the girls each got to pick a plant of their own, then help plant them in pots. Here's what they chose:


Mmm, summertime snacks!


On Mother's Day, the kids got to see Avery. They just love her. They counted her toes, gave her kisses, and got drooled on in return. :)





How about this for a Mother's Day/Kentucky Derby drink? A perfect Mint Julep, made by Grandpa Barney. Yum!