A party worthy of 4!

Yesterday Grace had her Princess Birthday Party, and she certainly was the princess! We had a blast with many grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, and of course a brother, sister, mom and dad!
My mom made the princess dress for the party, and Grace loved it! She looked so beautiful and just like a princess!
I made the cake- a castle with a princess, of course. She had hot dogs with pickles, chips and dip, veggies and dip, punch, and cake and ice cream. Lots of yummy favorites!
Grace had a great time being with family, and received some fun gifts from some very fun people! It is always fun to get together and celebrate something as wonderful as a fourth birthday!
Here is a picture of Grace and Emma, at the table after eating their birthday food! Emma is wearing the party hats that all guests were offered, but not required, to wear.
This is a dress that my mom made for Grace for her birthday gift. It is super cute, and Grace loves it.
All in all, it was a great party, a great birthday, a great week for a fabulous girl!

Four is a lovely number

Grace turned 4 on Tuesday, and has had a fun week of celebrating! We do weeks in our house, not just one little day. Happy birthday to our sweet girl!
She started the day with gifts from Mom, Dad, Ben, and Emma- she got many fun things, but new Playdough was one of the highlights. She loves anything that she can sculpt, draw, paint, cut, or otherwise do arts and crafts with!
She got to have a special lunch with Mom, a special dinner with Aunt Janelle, Grandma Pam and Papa Randy, and a fun day in general!
She also got to bring cupcakes to school, where they sang to her and gave her gifts!
A fun time, and it was not over yet!
Grace is such a sweet girl who loves to be helpful to anyone, loves her family, and loves to play and have fun. She loves the Fresh Beat Band, Dora, and princesses. She loves to dance, sing, and color her days away. Baking anything for everyone is one of her favorite past times, and she does it better than me! She is kind and loving to her friends and family, yet she will stand for what she believes in. It is amazing the girl that she has become, and we are so excited to watch her continue to grow and learn. It is a journey that we look back on with joy and love, and look forward to with excitement and amazement.
Happy Birthday Sweet Grace! We love you!

Family Happenings

Many exciting changes have been made in our family lately- for everyone. Josh ended work and started school. He is doing well, enjoying what he is studying. I have started working, and finishing school. I hopefully will graduate in the Spring, but will have some more credits next year for my license in special education.
Grace started pre-school, and loves, loves, loves it! Her favorite part of her day is anything at school, and the worst? "having to go home". Yup, loves it!
Ben started kindergarten, and has been very busy with friends and school. It is very good to be that busy when you are 5. We have to let him stay home on Saturdays, just to relax a bit.
Emma has been adjusting to being home without any siblings, and just a mom or dad with her. She is not upset about the special time that she has. Not one bit!
Some of the changes have been harder than others, but we are adjusting. It has been an interesting few months, but we are finding our new roles, and doing what we need to do.

Ben's 1st day

Big things have been happening in our family, and the biggest of all is that Ben Started Kindergarten! It has been about a month and he is enjoying it! He is making friends, enjoying his teachers, and getting into a great routine. It has been a great first month of school!
He loves Transformers, and had to have a Bumblebee shirt, which he wore the first day. He is one handsome kindergartener!
Grace and I cried the first day we brought him to the bus, and we cried everyday that week. Now we wait for Monday, and do not know what we will do next summer- school is gooood, very goood!
Yay for Ben and a great first month of learning, making friends, and GROWING!

Cool Summer Fun

Today was summer. All week, in fact, will be summer. Next week? Probably not. Last week? Definitely not!! However, today was warm. Actually, you could call it hot. 89, I think. Last week, I do not think we saw 70. Whatever.

Ben and Grace took advantage of all of that lovely warmth to spend some quality time with their pool. Almost every day this summer they asked "is it warm enough for the pool?". Sadly, then answer was always NO, NO and NOPE- too cold.

So today was the day. And we turned the yard into a water park, at least in the eyes of two sweet children.

I dragged the pool to the big yellow slide, filled it up, and let it sit in the sun all morning. Then this afternoon, water slide time. Sooo much fun, they spent the entire afternoon climbing up and sliding down.

Ben obviously had the most dramatic reaction to the cold, hopefully you can see his face in the pics. Grace's face showed more pure joy-

Enjoy the pics, maybe have a little laugh. Just remember, they deserved the happiness this brought them, they have been waiting a very long time!

Rummaging Around

I do not often go to rummage sales. Almost never. I have decided to rethink that position on certain items. You see, on Friday evening we were driving around in Hibbing and I said to Josh "I think I would like to go to a rummage sale, to look for a table to paint red" (thank you Colleen, for the tip:). Two minutes later, we are lost and looking for a sale that seems to be nowhere in sight. Why this sale? I guess Josh likes a challenge. I do not expect much from rummage sales, and usually walk in and out in about 5 minutes. Clearly that is what Josh was expecting, and hoping.
Not this time- I saw this sewing cabinet and fell in love. Yes, it is old and somewhat beat-up. Yes, the finish is wearing off. Yes, I have not taken my sewing machine out in years. I intend to, I really do. Plus, it is ideal for my own personal desk, for all of my bill paying and school work doing needs.
It does not look like much from the outside- where do you put your legs? But just look at the storage capabilities inside. With the doors open, it is a perfect desk, with plenty of leg room. The top has two pieces that are removable, for the sewing machine. Or they can stay there, for the laptop. Whichever. Love it!
I love that this is solid wood, it is strong and will last. Someday I will refinish it, maybe. Maybe not. I love the old look of it. Yay for rummage sales, at least this time!

The cherry on top? It cost $5. For real!

PS- I also went to a rummage sale the next day, and got some beautiful new ceramic tile to redo the entry way floor, and make it larger. Josh finished the grout last night, maybe I will post pics someday. Maybe not. Anyway, I got 115 tiles for $10. Love it, love it!

Cabin on the Lake

We spent yesterday at the family cabin, swimming and cooling off after a warm week (warm for Minnesota, of course:). The kids had so much fun, spending the day in the nice, cool water.

Emma loved being in the baby floatie- she would hum the entire time she floated- a sign of utter happiness! She also loved being on the beach in the little sandy "pool" her sister made for her, and throwing rocks in the water.

Grace is our little fish! She would spend all day, every day in the water. She also has no fear, hence the life jacket! She was in heaven, and it was rare to see her out of the water. She built the most beautiful sand castle, complete with landscaping.

Ben loved the water, and spent a lot of time with his remote control submarine, AKA rescue boat. Thank heavens for the boat, mommy was towed to shore more than once by the yellow rescue submarine. Ben also loved fishing- casting off the dock. He is still waiting for the "big one".

To share with you the beauty of the day, I had to show you the view off the dock- this view has not changed in the thirty years that I remember being there. Utter peace and quiet, especially on a Thursday. It was a great time, and so much fun seeing the cabin as I did when I was younger, and as my children do now.