Go, Go, Goers!

I was trying to recall what we did this week, and it's just a big blur...swimming lessons, potty training, working...yep, all the same stuff that we usually do. Nothing interesting? How is that possible? But then I remembered that we've had a pretty fun weekend! Rosemount has a week long celebration every summer called "Leprechaun Days" (the city has a strong Irish history.) One of these days, we might participate in some of the events earlier in the week, but in recent history, we usually stick to doing stuff the last weekend of the celebration. We met up with three other families from our neighborhood, as well as my parents, on Friday night. The women happily camped out in the beer garden, while the men tended to the young. Before you feel too bad for the dads, let me just point out that this was my first time in the beer garden...and our third (fourth?) time attending this event. It was great! Had some drinks, chatted with the ladies, and then my mom kindly rel...

You know it's going to be a busy week when it starts off with dentist appointments at 8am on Monday for both kids. From that moment on, it seemed like the entire week was rushed and a bit crazy. Good news, though, both kids have good choppers! G continues to work on the potty training, but this past Friday, he was a bit more, um, runny, than usual, so he was sent home in the morning. We need to see how it goes today, as yesterday was still a bit challenging.  He did have fun on his field trip to the zoo this week with his class. He was pretty excited to see the monkeys. And to ride a bus. I love that he's getting to do new, fun things in his new room at daycare! Ava had her end-of-summer baton show on Friday night. Scott was in attendance, as I had previous plans, and G was hanging out with Grandma Deb and Grandpa Whitey. It sounds like the show went well...it'll be interesting to see if Ava decides to continue with it, or if she'd like to try something else...

What a good summer week, full of plenty of outdoor time, treats, and activities. Both kids have had busy weeks reaching some pretty impressive goals. Just like the last several summers, Ava is taking swim lessons through the Y. Last year she tested to move up from a red to a yellow, which means she could go into the deeper waters. This past week I asked her if she was thinking about testing to be a green, and she immediately said no. Imagine my surprise when I got a call from her THAT night (I was at work late) and she excitedly told me that she passed the green test! Ava explained everything that she needed to do to pass into the green group (treading water, front float, etc.,) and I asked her what changed her mind to test for the green. She sheepishly smiled and said that she had forgotten she told me she wasn't going to test for it, and did it anyway. We're so proud of her! Her baton twirling class is also going well...it's been fun watching her learn new tricks, and...

To top off the craziness of June, we also celebrated Ava's 9th birthday with her friends less than a week after we got back from NYC. She had so much fun at Rockin' Jump that we decided to try out their party planning skills. I give them an A+! I was so stressed out last year having all of those little girls at our house for Ava's 8th party...the chaos, the noise, the mess, etc... What a different experience to take the party elsewhere and know that everything is taken care of! And, everyone had fun...even G! He was a little scared to try the trampolines, but once he did, he loved it! The kids jumped for an hour, enjoyed a pizza lunch and some cake, and then opened gifts. They spent the last 15 minutes of the party in the arcade, having a blast winning points and redeeming for tiny little toys. It was so, so easy...all we had to so was send the invites, bring the cake and candle, and make sure the birthday kid showed up. Check, check, and check! Checking out the Unde...

Where did June go?! These last three weeks are a perfect example of busy times! There has been trips to NY, visits with friends, multiple birthdays, and even a few fun adult nights! I love the color, fun, and excitement of summer, but I think there's a reason that people are happy to see autumn come...things slow down, get a bit more cool, and routines are established again. BUT...that's still a few months away! For now...it's summer! Our flowers have bloomed so beautifully this year. We lost two daisy plants, but we gained a gajillion lilies, and now have a good idea for how things will look, year to year. I'm so pleased with all of our plants this year (annual and perennial) that I'm going to take pics so I can reference how things should look next year! We've had several very good strawberries from our plants this year! Just one of our many lilies...we also have them in deep red, dusky pink, and we planted a bright gold one today! Enough of t...