Wordless Wednesday

You saw my post yesterday. Snow. They closed school, for what reason, I have no idea. The roads were fine. It got up to 40*F and the snow all melted. Now I hear rumblings of some more of the heavy wet stuff on Friday. We'll see.

I'm getting a bit anxious for spring. I love every season here in Minnesota (and yes, that includes winter), but part of that is the anticipation of the next season. The following pics are from last year...but hey, we all need a little Spring pick-me-up, right?

Can't wait for my front yard to look like this!







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Happy Spring...wherever you are!

Wordless Wednesday

One of my favorite's...after a surprise shower...


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Wordless Wednesday

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Rain...Rain...We need RAIN!

We are really trying to keep the grass green, but it's brown in spots. It has been HOT the past week. Today and the next week is supposed to be gorgeous though; 80*F and sunny! No rain in sight until next week!

The girls dug out their rain boots the other day and I thought, HEY! Maybe that will do the trick. If they wear their rain boots, maybe it will rain!

We were all goofing around outside, watering the grass, the flowers, etc. Oh, how I love the lazy summer evenings!




Let's see...what else has been going on this summer? Well, swimming lessons went pretty well for their first time. They are very hesitant in new situations, so all in all, I was quite pleased. We went every day for two weeks for 45 minutes. I was nervous about the large class (10 kids), but it was needless aprehension on my part. There were at least six instructors with the class every day! It was practically one on one. I also liked that they could be with a group and see the other kids jumping off the side and bobbing underwater. When they had them on the diving board either jumping or dropping them off it the first day, I thought, wow, they really get them used to things right away! Here's Sydney doing her "big arms":

Sydney and Lindsey going off the diving board:

You can see all the pics in their Swimming Lessons set on Flickr. We thought it was so much fun that we signed up again. The are going August 6-17. YAY!

I'm still working on our pics from vacation to Michigan (Boyne, Mackinac Island). I took about 240 pics so it's taking me awhile to wade through them and delete the crap ones, the duplicate ones, etc. We had just so much fun! I can't wait to tell you about it!

Off to fill up the pool and make lunch...

Thrifting, gardening and babies...

I've been doing a little thrifting here and there. I came across this lovely afghan. The colors are beautiful and pictures just don't do it justice. It gives me sort of a...whimsical feeling.


I also found some children's books that the girls love. My favorite is "There are Rocks in my Socks!" Very cute!

We were out at the garden last weekend and things are happening! The peas. Oh my! They are lovely and I just couldn't help myself. I had to eat some. Nothing better than fresh peas eaten right in the garden! DH also picked some beets and the lettuce looked good. The green beans will probably be ready this week too!


And the daylilies have just been so BEAUTIFUL in front of our house!

Our front garden is looking so full; so different from a month ago. I think a little weeding is over though. This garden is one of my favorite parts of our yard. I love the little pond. The birds love it. The two crabapple trees are a gathering spot for all kinds of birds; cardinals, blue jays, robins, finches, orioles, bluebirds and we have some hummingbirds too. It's a gorgeous view from the kitchen table each morning!




And because I can't not post any pics of Lindsey & Sydney, here they are at soccer last week with one of their classmates's new baby brother! They were very proud to be holding the baby!

We started swimming lessons yesterday. More to come on that soon!

Things going on over the past week..

Seems I have a little bit of catching up to do. The girls and I have mostly been hanging out. Last week, we spent a little time planting some seeds that we acquired. I'm not sure where, but thought, hey-we'll try these out and see how it goes. It was fun just letting the girls do their thing. We planted three things, Zinnia, Helicrysum and Gypsophila. I don't know how they'll fare as it has been HOT here. Monday it was over 90*F! Too darn hot for us, especially in May. Plus it's been so dry. Our grass is already turning brown so we're having to water it. We'll keep you posted on how they do.


My perennial gardens are doing well, really coming in nicely. It's been so fun seeing what's coming up. I'm sad though, as the crabapple trees are done blooming and the lilacs are on their way out too. It smelled SO GOOD here for several weeks!




Also last week, Dad took Lindsey on an errand and Sydney stayed home with me...AND with no tears! THIS is a big deal. We have been trying to ease our way into having a little separation between the girls. Literally, I can count on my two hands, the number of times they have been apart in their 4.5 years. The few times that we do separate them, there is always crying. THIS last time, NO crying! I guess the little trips more often are working. One thing that I've been doing with whoever is staying home with me (and it's usually Sydney), is trying to do a fun little thing; do a new craft, a project, etc. This last week, we popped popcorn on the stove and Sydney got to help from start to finish...and of course, then we ATE it! LOL! I have to admit...it is pretty cool to watch those kernels pop!

And last but not least, I've been really getting into the thrifting these days. I'm just getting my feet wet, seeing what I can find, but it's been really fun! Last week I found these great children's books. The first was called The Hungry Fox and the Foxy Duck and the other was called A Garden for Miss Mouse. The girls LOVED them! Great illustrations. They took them to school for sharing time and they were a HIT! I'm always on the lookout for good books!



This week, we will be heading on a field trip with the girl's preschool class; to the farm and then a picnic at the lake! Should be fun!

Pediatric Opthamologist appointment update and other things...

I took Lindsey to the ped opthamologist yesterday where it was decided that we need to treat the Amblyopia with more than glasses. It was totally up to me as to whether to go with the patch or the drops and if one doesn't work, we can always switch to the other. I really wasn't sure which one to do, but after thinking about it for a bit, I decided on the patch. She doesn't like eye drops, so I figured that she would tolerate the patch well, knowing that if she doesn't, then we'll have to use the eye drops. She was pretty enthusiastic about that.

She has to wear the patch for four hours a day, so she will not have to wear it to school. We're planning on wearing the four hours before bed. Then, we'll go back again in another eight weeks and see how she is progressing. Here's a pics of my little sweat pea...

After the appointment, we went out to lunch and we tried one of my favorite Chinese places, Leann Chin's. Boy, did Lindsey surprise me! I ordered the Lemon Chicken and fried rice and we split it. She ate all hers and asked for more chicken! She loved the fortune cookie!

Then, we headed home to pick Sydney up at school, after which, we ran a few errands. One of our stops was at the Salvation Army where the girls picked out a few new books and items. I LOVE going there and coming out with all kinds of neat stuff for $5! I'm definitely heading back there, as there was some table cloths and crocheted afghans that I was looking at. There's another thrift store in this town too, that I need to check out. Next time, sans two little girls though.

The girls sure make me chuckle every day. I'm pretty adept at reaching into the back seat of the van, picking things up off the floor, handing them to the girls, etc. (as I'm sure MANY of you moms are!). As I was doing that for the millionth time yesterday, Sydney says to me, "Mom, it sure is a good thing you have really long arms!"

Gosh, there was something really funny Lindsey said too, but the ole Mommy brain hasn't kicked in this morning yet. I imagine I will remember it, but I think I need another cup of coffee first.

We have been having the most beautiful weather. My flowers and trees our blooming and we have so many birds here. I love waking up to the birds. Here's to a wonderful week!