Catching Up...

I have enjoyed the fact that our summer seemed to slow down a bit, mostly in that we weren't traveling for a change! And we also had some cooler weather, which I am fine with but Dave always mourns much harder. He never wants to give up summer (and the boat) and I am always ready for fall and football way before him:) 

Our first weekend back at home, we hosted the Peterson's! My best friend and her family came up to us as it had been WAY too long since we had been together. We are all feeling the distance and schedules more this year and I would say we are not taking it that well. The sad thing is it will just get harder as the kids grow, but I know we will just continue to make it work! 

The big kids

The little boys

Waylon and Kate are 8 months apart (Kate older) and Collin and Lawson are 2 months apart (Collin older) so we parents get to talk a lot about our kiddos and it is fun to have them so close in age/stages/development. We also had a nice campfire outside after kiddo bedtime which was super fun. So much to catch up on, it is honestly overwhelming when Cass and I have phone dates. In person is so much better:) 

We were able to enjoy the nice weather on the back beach, at a park in town and in the front driveway riding bikes, etc. We have plans to all be together for our 10 year Luther reunion (what?!) in the beginning of October, so we will see them again then, if not sooner!

Just a little dirty from the beach:)

At the park after some ice cream

Our sweeties!

I guess we had a pretty full week after the Peterson's left. On that beautiful Sunday, we got the urge to take apart and re-organize the garage. This (as I expected) turned into a huge undertaking and it took most of Monday as well. It was messy but worth it, and I have to say that Dave did it all. I was manning children, though they were able to play out there and "help" more than ever before. We still have a ways to go with installing some storage structure, but it is better now! Wish we would have done that before we had our guests and spent so much time in the garage/driveway with toys:) 

On Thursday night, we unexpectedly hit the Juneau County Fair. I'm not sure Kate had really been to a fair before and it was fun to see her reaction. I am not stretching the truth in any way to say that the rides looked like the exact. same. rides. that Dave or I would have ridden on 25 years ago. It didn't look like they had even been repaired or washed. Awesome. We successfully avoided them all until very late at night when we were leaving and then all of a sudden Kate wanted to ride one. What?! No. 

Ready for the fair!

We had supper at the 4-H stand (ahh, memories!!) and then walked through the various animal barns. Fun and impressive. Then we walked through the 4-H building (ahhh, memories!) I loved it and again just felt like I walked back in time. We also saw all the entries for various food, plant, homemade stuff, etc. Since I am making more and more of that stuff, I told Dave I was going to give some of the ladies a run for their money some year:) We'll see. 

Our cukes look just as good!

Check out the corn the 4-Hers grew!

I think we then had some FFA shakes (Dave was all for us enjoying every aspect of the fair:) well, I think I had one sip of mine, Kate managed to steal almost all of my treats. There's a talent. There was also a new dairy barn dedicated at the fairgrounds and it was very nice. We went through and ran into some of Kate's dance friends. They had cattle there and we got to talk to them and see their calves, Elsa and Abacus:) 

Meeting Elsa (not in the picture) and Abacus

We then wandered over to the grandstands to check out the rodeo. It was 7:30 p.m and I wasn't too keen on paying the money to go in, assuming our children would start to show their need for sleep. And after a beautiful sunset, it was actually quite cool! We weren't exactly prepared for an evening outside. But, as usual, Dave convinced me it would be fine:) We saw some friends right inside the entrance and we ended up just staying right there, sitting on/standing by this tall divider thing. Kate could see and weren't stuck up in the grandstands. We also got to see the cattle and horses and cowboys on the side. She definitely warmed up as time went on and eventually was climbing up the fence and talking to the referee guy on his horse (with another girl her age)! Fun to see. She didn't want to leave, but Mr. Collin sounded the alarm. After more fair food on the way out of the fair(!), we finally got home and had a late bedtime. (sad sidenote: not sure if I had a regular 24 flu bug or ate something questionable at the fair, but I was definitely ill that night and the next day:) Thank the Lord I was better on Saturday and so far no one else has suffered. 

Time for the rodeo

A new fave spot for Collin

We didn't have plans Saturday. We were home. With no plans.  What?) And it was nice, well it was hot and humid, but it is August! I got up before the others and did some yoga and went for a walk (isn't it amazing how you feel after you've been sick? I felt so good and just wanted to do everything!) Collin took a long nap and Dave decided to powerwash the house and all kinds of things outside. It took awhile, but it was well worth it! The house looks great, it is amazing how dirty things get out here in the woods. Blah. 

After we did some work, we wanted to have some fun! I threw some chicken in the crockpot, made some cucumber dill hummus (cucumber and dill from our garden) and we hit the boat to go swim somewhere. After taking awhile to find the right place (and a new one, a beach over at the Buckhorn State Park) we enjoyed some time in the evening sun. Kate was having a blast and the weather was perfect, but again, our little timer Collin let us know it was time to go. He is really struggling with his naps lately, sometimes we get two a day, sometimes one, sometimes they are long, sometimes short. I have no idea what each day will bring and our busy plans don't help much:) That day, he didn't get his afternoon nap and at suppertime, he was not happy! So, we made a quick journey back and had supper. The little man ate like he had never been fed in his life! He is my picky eater and he had nearly a whole chicken breast and some wild rice. I was so happy:) 

Hanging at a beach at Buckhorn State Park (across the water from our neighborhood)

It was a beautiful evening...

And to cap off the day, Kate and Daddy had a campout in the backyard. I have been dying to go somewhere and camp, to explore a bit of Wisconsin, but it just hasn't worked out yet (and may not this summer, I guess!) So, I begged for at least a backyard campout. We decided Collin would stay inside and I would stay with him in case he woke up and Dave would go out with Kate (Dave's choice). We made a fire and Kate was very much enjoying the alone time with Mom and Dad and staying up late. Unfortunately, we had a very brief but steady rain that forced us prematurely into the tent. It did stop, but by then, it was probably time to just go to bed. So, I left them out there and went inside. 

She couldn't keep her eyes open for my flash

Goodnight, my campers!

I brought Dave some coffee in the morning and woke them up for church and I could tell instantly that Dave had not slept well:) It was just a little hard to tell him that Collin didn't make a peep the whole night! As I unzipped the tent to come in, I heard Kate say, "Mama!" She was on her cot and was beaming at me - I guess her night went well! (she has a nice cot, Dave and I....not so much)

And in very exciting family news, on Friday morning, I was informed of my brother's engagement to his long-time girlfriend, Kylie Kruse! Woo hoo! We have thought of her as family (and her family:) for awhile, but it is just so exciting to have it all official and to celebrate this couple. The fam is coming up this weekend for our annual summer vacation and what a wonderful time to be together. Love you guys! That's the next post! 

The happy couple! (at Collin's 1st birthday)