Book Worm and "Two Hands and a Half"

Like mother, like daughter. Here's a snapshot of one of the things we like to do together in the summer- go to the library. Sadie completed one book sheet already and earned herself some stickers and a free meal at OLD COUNTRY BUFFET! Woo hoo! OCB- here we come! She picked out some more books, and especially likes books about doctors and dentists. (She seems to be very frightened of these people in real life situations, but is captivated by the pictures in the books.) She also likes laughing out loud when mommy reads Junie B. Jones books to her. Sometimes Phil joins in and reads the "boy" parts and that's always a crowd pleaser, too. Sadie's also said this a couple times and I want to write it down before I forget it: When I asked her a few days ago if she could take her suitcase down the stairs she replied "I can't, Mommy. I only have two hands and a half!" Then she said it again when I asked her to pick up her toys and take them to the toy room! I don't know what it means,and apparently it hinders her and makes it nearly impossible to complete her chores, but I was thinking that life would be so much easier if this mother had two hands and a half!

Fairmont or Bust!

Sadie and I took a journey to Fairmont this week to stay with our best buddies, the Stenzels! Ethan greeted Sadie at the door with a big hug. (He told us he got his basketball jersey from Walmart!) They immediately went out to play, and stayed there the entire day. Kellen and Sadie tried out the glider. Uncle Troy played "bad pirate" and threw the kids down the slide. Auntie Julie and Momma... just sat in lawn chairs and drank beer. Later we caught fireflies and watched a movie before hitting the sack. The next day, we did much of the same, but visited the fair in Blue Earth where Sadie had blue cotton candy and fresh-squeezed lemonade after taking a few spins on the horse and buggy ride and bouncing her brains out in the castle jump. We can't wait for our return trip for Mommy's birthday in August! (Get your cackilackies ready...) Love you, Stenzels!

Show me some of that Spanish dancin'...

Do ya'll know the song reference? Come on. OK. Well, she might not be a "black-haired Flamenco dancer," but she's pretty darn cute. Paige and Natalie took an amazing trip to Europe a few weeks ago and bless their hearts, haggled with a man to bring Sadie and Finners the cutest little Flamenco dresses and fans I have ever seen. As you can see, Sadie REALLY got into character. Man, I love her. She's so dramatic!

Congrats to the Bells and Reiters!

Here are some pics from the weddings Phil and I have been busy attending, as if you care! Geri Adamson, one of my oldest and dearest friends from TRIMONT married her love on the 4th of July and had a fabulous Swedish 4-course meal afterward! Yummy!


Last weekend we had Nate and Kelley's wedding, our dear friends. I was busy as I was a bridesmaid and singing with Cassie, Cam and Annie. (The groom, Nate, played the guitar to accompany, as well.) We danced all night (you should have seen Phil's moves) and had a blast! We stayed in a hotel downtown in order to enjoy all the festivities to their fullest! Of course, we are overjoyed that our good buddies have found true love and happiness. Maybe someday we will, too... Ha ha! (Just a little jab for Phil, there.) Here's to love!

Hey, we're out there havin' fun!

Here are some pics of Sadie enjoying the Minnesota summer weather! (We've had some scares, too, as we spent Thursday early afternoon in the basement sheltering ourselves from a dangerous storm!) We've spent a couple of days at the Lifetime pool with the McDermotts, but I thought Sadie needed something more, of course! Anyhoo, I bought Sades a princess pool, thinking she'd love to splash around in it. She liked getting her picture taken by it, but thought all in all the water was too cold to stay in. Oh well. Then I brought the pool to Auntie's, where we mixed hot water with the cold. This seemed to be more the ticket, but the girls were still in and out, which is fine I guess. What did I want? Sadie to just sit her little butt down in that pool and stay there for an hour? Geez! :)




Sadie has also been very brave, as you can see in these next pics. She got in the tube with her mom and Auntie Cassie, and rode behind Grandpa's boat. At first she was very cautious and we took a VERY slow, leisurely ride around the lake. Phil had a go, too, and went very fast, which Sadie wasn't so sure about. But then, after we taught her the signals for faster and slower, she thought she should use them, and actually went pretty fast! She kept saying, "I can't stop laughing!"

For Grandma Joyce...

We had a good 4th of July weekend spending it at Geri's wedding and Troy and Julie's house, and when Sadie came back from her dad's, she was welcomed home by her Grandma and Grandpa and Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Joyce and Bud. Grandpa Bud did what he does best and inspected our new house, while the Grandmas and I stuffed our faces with Spinich Dip. Then the men decided to put in the new kitchen faucet, and thanks to Grandpa Bud's genius, it is now installed, working, and looking fine! Grandma Joyce had this pajama set to give to Sadie, and she LOVED it. When she woke up the next morning, she said, "My pants are so silky. I think I need some soft slippers with an orange on top to match!" I didn't have the heart to tell her that I hadn't seen any slippers of the sort anywhere... ever. We ended the night eating at Applebees and then the Grandparents began the long trek home to Waseca and Baltic, SD. We love you!

Happy 4th of July!

Yes. These are really Phil's shorts. Yes. He really wore them in public. And to work today. Here's to fireworks, friends and family. God Bless the USA!

Summer fun

So... this is kind of a hodge-podge of pictures, but they're all very cute, right? Sadie has been having fun in the sun, but she's starting to ask to go back to daycare to see her friends. I don't know if I should be insulted or just happy that she likes daycare and has fabulous friends there. Hmmm...

Anyway, the first pictures here portray the walk that Sadie, her baby and I took to the park one morning.

Then we took a trip to South Dakota to celebrate Father's Day (a week late). Sadie was so excited. Grandma bought her a DVD player and Alvin and the Chipmunks to entertain her for the long journey. She jumped into the pool immediately after arriving at the hotel and swam her little heart out- showing off to Grandpa, Grandma, Cam, Cassie and Finn. Then, on the way to meet Grandma and Grandpa Skancke and the rest of the fam for dinner, she fell asleep. When we turned around to look at her, we noticed that her little hand was on the Bible... which she must have found in a hotel drawer somewhere! Hysterical!

There is also one here of Sadie and Finley, who stayed with us for two days and a night. It was interesting. Although Sadie absolutely loves Finn, when she came to stay over, there was a bit of jealousy and competition going on. At one point, Sadie had put Finn out in the hallway and shut her bedroom door! Uff. What an only child.