The LIC quilt auction

Last weekend was the Lutheran Island Camp quilt auction. Every year, we drive up to the camp that Mike and I both love and enjoy a day of "reunioning" of sorts. We have also made it our tradition to bring a quilt along every year and watch it hit the auction block. In past years, believe it or not, we have been able to squeeze a little time out of our schedules to make a quilt.
This year, with the new baby around, we thought it was pretty much impossible....

...but then My Husband kept moping around from time to time, whining that he was depressed because we hadn't made a quilt for the auction. So, after one too many mopes, I told him, "stop moping around and make a quilt already. We can do it...let's just pull an all-nighter like we used to do in college."

So, it was off to WalMart to buy fabric. We started the project at about 9pm and worked pretty much all night on the thing....I designed it and ironed like a fiend, Mike sewed and sewed. We recruited our friend Jessi to cut out what seemed like millions of squares. By four AM, we had the front all done . I made a trip back to Wally World the next day to buy some binding (that's the shiny stuff that goes around the edge, I learned....)

We felt great when we went to bed that night....but unfortunately, had a rude awakening a couple of hours later. You see, Miss Julia had been sleeping since 8pm the night before and was bright eyed and bushy tailed at 730. I had forgotten one important detail: we didn't have an infant and a toddler when we were in college. Oh well, it was worth it. Our quilt brought in $160!

Miriam (Bocca) and Ben (FunGuy) posed for a picture. It's so great to see friends....I wish I had a picture of Josiah to show you....he is darling!

99th.....

Mary-bell had her two-month well child check today. When the nurse came in to give the shots, she complimented Mary on the size of her thighs....plenty of room to give four shots. Turns out Miss Mary weighed in at an impressive fourteen pounds. That's the 99th percentile. She also grew 3 1/2 inches since she was born. Boy am I glad they are born at nine months and not eleven.....OW.

The Lord's Prayer...

Today, I had one of those "mommy moments" that makes you remember....it's all worth it: I was putting Julia to bed after she had been particularly annoying....you know...screaming every time something isn't perfect, pouring quarts of water on the coffee table and then smearing it all over the carpet, poking the dog in the eye, etc...

When I laid her down in her bed and told her it was time to pray, she said, "I DO IT, MAMA..." I let her, expecting to hear something obnoxious, but we folded our hands...and she proceeds to recite almost ALL of the Lord's Prayer by heart. She needed a little help with "and lead us not into temptation," but otherwise it was just perfect. Wow. I wish I could have recorded that. I wanted to hold a microphone up to her mouth for all the world to hear.

Doorknobs!

Yesterday was a milestone for Julia. We knew this one was coming, but were reveling in the fact that it hadn't occurred yet.

She figured out how to open her bedroom door.

Gone are the blissful mornings where we lie in bed, hearing her in her room reading stories to herself because she is locked in her little prison... Instead, I awoke yesterday to a toddler sticking her finger in one of my nose holes saying, "find a booger?" which was shortly followed by "GET UP, MAMA!"

"Mike....did you let her out this morning?"
"No, did you?"
...
"oh crap."

Well, it was nice while it lasted. Now we just have to wait for the days where she doesn't want to get up in the morning until 11AM and WE can roust HER out of bed. Ha ha ha...payback.

A weekend of fun

Last weekend, we were HOME in DULUTH....which is such a rare thing these days. You know, the summer is kind of supposed to be a relaxing thing, I usually picture a Grain Belt Premium in a can koozie, a grill, some lounging in the sun, and lots of time to do "the stuff that needs to get done..." In all actuality, I think we're twice as busy in the summer with family get-togethers, weddings, etc....especially on the weekends. It's nice to have a whole weekend at home where we don't have to pack up everything we own into little bags and laundry baskets, pack non-perishable food items, and load everything into the minivan.

This past Saturday, we went to Carleton Days, a little town festival just outside of Duluth. It was very small, but we had a great time. There was a craft sale for mommy to explore, a used book sale for papa to explore, a "portable zoo visit" and lots of yummy foods for Julia, and shade for Mary so she could eat in peace. All in all a good time. I bought some homemade wash cloths from a lady, Mike bought a bunch of used books for five bucks from the library fundraiser (which was being hosted by the same lady who made the crafts.....these small towners know how to multi-task.) Julia ate some corn on the cob and a candy necklace, she also commandeered our root beer float and walking taco.

The highlight of the day was when Julia heard the TRAIN coming. She LOVES trains. And like most MN small towns, there's a train track running through the center of town, just past the grain elevator and just behind the storefronts of downtown. So we took off running toward the tracks and Julia got to see the train first hand. The engine guy....(is that the engineer?) tooted his horn at her and it was so loud she cried...but then laughed, I think... She tried to jump up and down in excitement, but she hasn't figured out jumping yet...one leg goes up and the other stays on the ground. She also does this "happy dance" that looks like an injured gazellle....you have to see it, I guess. Anyways, we saw the train and headed home after a busy afternoon and NO NAP. Mommy and Papa were happy to put her highness to bed at 7:30. Ahhhhhhh.

On Sunday, while the girls was napping, I left Mike at home and went boating on Lake Superior with a buddy. So, fortunately, there WAS some Grain Belt Premium, a can koozie, and lounging in the sun. What a lovely relaxing way to spend a beautiful day!

Here's Mary, looking shocked to hear that we were planning to make her sit in her carseat while we drove to Target. (She hates the carseat....this look could also be called, Not Acceptable!)Here's my seafaring buddy, Jeff, who was the captain of our Lake-dwelling vessel
Here's Mary tolerating her car seat on the way to Carleton Days
Julia and the train. She looks like she's posing for a musical number...don't you think she looks like she's about to turn around and start singing the chorus?

Here's the tortoise from the portable zoo.

Mary was happy to be home that night....notice the change of outfits during the day. Mayday Mary struck again.

Up at the Lake

Hi there,
Here are a few more photos from our trip up to the lake. Grandpa Dick took them...he's a much better photographer than I.

We had a few firsts that I forgot to mention while we were up there: Miss Mary had her first dip in the lake (the shallow water was like bathwater!) and her first non-milk food: Watermelon. The best part? She ate her first real food WHILE she was in her first lake dip! Yup...a two-fer.

Julia also had a fun time...the last time we were up there (April 08), we tried her on a tricycle because my parents have this huge blacktop driveway that we dubbed "the parking lot." We thought it would be a great place to try a new trike.... Well, even after daddy/grandpa duck taped wooden blocks to the pedals to make them easier for her to reach, she still wasn't able to grasp the coordination. (She's my daughter, after all....) Well, this time, we put her on the trike and off she went! She rode for hours. Mommy was pleased. Grandpa Dick spent a lot of time with her on the trike, teaching her and keeping her from crashing over the hose/basketball hoop/etc.

One more fun story: mom and I went swimming for "just five minutes' out over the drop off...and left the two diaperless girls on the pontoon with grandpa Dick. When we returned, we learned that diaperless Mary had peed all over grandpa's arm. One of the neighbors was over talking to grandpa. Miss Diaperless Julia decided she wanted more attention....and so she shouted, "I pooped!" Sure enough, in the corner of the pontoon, there was evidence that we had indeed eaten corn for supper the night before. It gets worse: two seconds later, my sister's puppy, Sofie, came on the pontoon and gobbled up the poo. Mmmmm....corn. Our neighbor was so impressed with our kids that he left right after that....

yay!

Hello out there in blogland,

WHEEE!!! I am here to proudly announce that Miss Mary slept in until a few minutes ago, and we put her to bed at 11:30 last night. Yes...SEVEN hours of "night night-ing".....we are very excited indeed. More later....I have a few good stories for you. :)