Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Summer Catch Up

As I continue to adjust to not having kid free time in the afternoon anymore I find myself with post ideas slipping away from me and soon whatever happened was a week or two or more ago.  Sure, I could write the posts at night but with the long hours of daylight sometimes we don't get the kids inside until 8:30 or 9:00 and there is still crap laying around the kitchen from supper to clean up after that and by the time I could be on the computer I am too tired to form a sentence.  So this is a collection of pictures and the stories behind the that might have deserved their own post in the past. 
 
A few weekends ago, when we were gone, we received 1.5 inches of rain (again) and the sump pump flooded (again).  Allan tracked dirty paw prints all around the house (again) and we had to wash the large piece of carpet that covered the pump hole (again).  It was such a mess to deal with twice in one month.  Justin dealt with the pump, however one does that.  I wouldn't know but it shouldn't happen again.  Since I was already cleaning and mopping I washed several other rugs and when they were dry I hung the front entrance run over the railing until I was going to walk down there again.  Because god forbid I walk down eight steps just to place a rug, right?  I was bustling around, doing whatever I do and getting nothing done, when I came upon this sight.  It took me a moment to process that my beloved Allan was perched on a very narrow rail at risk of falling all the way down to the basement.  EEEK! 
 

 
I was worried, but not worried enough to move him before I took a few pictures!  He has never sat on the railings before.  I think he climbed up the rug.  Fortunately, the rug has rubber on the back so it was not slippery.  But still...be careful Allan!  Cats land on their feet but I don't think that rule applies to two flights of stairs!
 
Ben loves to play on those digging toys at the park.  We researched them and discovered that the kind that you get from playground supply companies cost several hundred dollars.  Justin was at the outlet mall in Albertville, MN, (yes he went their on his own without me!) and found one in a toy store for much less.  It is not of the same quality but it is good because it can be moved around because it has a stand and does not have to be held down with concrete.  We don't have any good digging spots at our house so we told him he could use it at the farm and the lake.  We were going to the farm that weekend so he had to look at the box for a few days.  One day I saw this:

 
He put his own little digger by it!  I found this sight to be so cute.  He couldn't wait to get to the farm.  If he was being naughty that week all we had to say was, "I guess we will have to bring your digger back to the store!" and the answer was always, "I be a good boy!"


 
She doesn't quite get it yet...but she thinks she does!
 
June 30th was our 8th anniversary!


The traditional anniversary gift for the 8th year is bronze or pottery.  Justin gave me a new sewing machine which has yet to be chosen.  A sewing machine is metal and they all have computers inside of them now so there is probably some elemental particles of bronze in there somewhere so I guess it fits with tradition in a way!

Earlier this week I harvested the first vegetables from our garden.  The first harvest is usually tomatoes or zucchini so I was surprised to find a cucumber and some banana peppers were the first to be ready.  

 
They were delicious. We've never planted banana peppers before and they are delicious fresh.  They are the perfect mild pepper for a Scandinavian like myself!
 
A few days ago I was trying to get Ben to entertain himself for more that 30 seconds in the afternoon so I told him he should draw a picture for Tessa and we could hang it by her crib.  He lost interest but the next morning they both colored for quite awhile and he wanted to hang the pictures by her crib.

 
The real showpiece is a compilation of both of their scribbles, a construction machine sticker, and some of my encouraging doodles.

 
Who knows how long it will take before she rips these down!
 
Well, that was exciting. 

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