Almost Annual Rosendahl Family Golf Tournament

This post is super late, but I do have to say that I had it all typed up and was waiting for one last pic to add in. And then over a week ago, I hit some button that deleted the whole post. Can that really happen? Doesn't Blogger auto save frequently? I don't know what I did, but that was a sad five minutes for me. So, here is probably a very abbreviated version since I have more posts to write that are much more fresh in my brain...

This golf tournament/family reunion is very near and dear to many people's hearts. When I was very little (a baby? before?) they held this tournament in Harmony, MN and it included a big meal and an awards ceremony (usually at a relatives house) that was always lots of fun. I remember running around with my cousins and cheering loudly when my folks would win:) After my Grandpa Mert passed, the tournament no longer took place. A few years ago, there was renewed interest and my Mom along with her brothers have worked to start it up again! It has generally been the last weekend of July or something similar. It has been nice that the relatives that live further away have started to make the trip and come! 

Those that made it to the golf course on Saturday

So thank you to those who helped make it happen, I know that we all enjoyed it very much and can't wait to do it again next year! We had great weather and some great competitive golf at this little course that has been a part of our family for so long. 

The substantial gallery for Grandma's tee shot!

She nailed it! Highlight of the day:)

The "after party" :) was at my aunt and uncle's house and it was a perfect night to chat, play games and visit. The kids did really well for the day (thank you to Randi for watching the kids while Dave and I golfed!) 

Most of the crew that made it to Marc & Kathy's Saturday night

Collin practicing for next year:)

On Sunday, there was more golfing for the individual competition (Saturday was best ball) and though Dave and I didn't compete, we showed up to the course to cheer them on at the end and play at the playground. A really nice Sunday. Kate played on the playground that I remember running around on with my cousins - that was fun for me:) Only one structure remains from "way back then" and it was not her favorite, but I enjoyed the nostalgia of the situation! 

You don't see see-saws too often anymore:)

This is what I played on at her age!

She was taking care of and feeding her turtle

Golfing on Sunday

Collin out watching the last group

Collin's view from the stroller

Kate practicing at the course

Our busy July is finally over, so if you want to see the photos, click here!

Wa Du Shuda Days

Aha! I held a wet and squirmy Collin to grab some photos of Kate during her lesson last week:) Collin is doing well too, we are not pushing too much, just trying to do the beginner stuff and if he doesn't want to, we just splash and bounce in the water. The hardest part is him once he is out of the pool. I wish he was happy to just sit in one of the floaty things like last year! So easy:)

Practicing front float with Stephanie

Getting ready to jump

Having fun!

Here is just a little clip of her in the water. 

We have a very busy month coming up and our weekends are taking us away for the most part. This past weekend we were going to be home and Dave' wasn't on call! Hooray! We were hoping to make the most of it. Of course, I made my long to-do list and Dave had a yard that needed mowing staring at him, but we ended up doing mostly fun things..oh well!  (at press time: the lawn did get mowed:) 

Saturday morning we were invited over to Ryan and Angie's house for breakfast and then some berry picking in their woods! Sounds like a perfect way to start any day:) We had a nice time inside where Ryan made baked french toast with berries:) and bacon. Yum.

Clara, Kate & Harper. The girls!

It was very overcast and very humid in the morning and since we were trekking into the woods, we were wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts:) On top of the length of the hike, I think we lost a few pounds! Angie and Ryan pick berries very frequently and they had some cool harnesses for the buckets to free up your hands. Dave was brave and had Collin in the backpack the whole two hours, very impressive! Clara and Kate were free to roam and pick and Harper was in the stroller. They have mostly black raspberries and we would all get excited when we spotted a patch of red raspberries. I found the picking kind of addictive, you wanted to just keep going and get more or reach those just beyond. The lovely thorns kept us on our toes. Clara ate all of her find:) and Kate ate quite a bit but had some left in her bucket at the end of the hike. Those two also had lots of fun doing "trail maintenance" and throwing sticks as far as they could. Collin was such a trooper, he missed his morning nap, but was completely content in the backpack. 

This was Dave's workout for the day:)

The girls pickin'

This is what she came out of the woods with....not bad, considering:)

We hiked for a long time, such a beautiful place (south of Mauston, in the hills) and when we returned, we just hung out on their wraparound deck and let the kids run around. I think we could have stayed there all day but it was getting to be lunch time and I was dying to go see Wa Du Shuda Days in New Lisbon. 

Wa Du Shuda Days (Wah Duh Shooda apparently means "rest your canoe here" in some Native American language)! We have never been able to attend our local town fest but this year we were here! I was excited to go, Dave and I like to go "festing" though I know Dave was very conflicted and wanted to be on the boat:) Well, by the time we arrived in New Lisbon, it was raining, so that helped him shift a bit. We braved the rain with some umbrellas (and just plain let it rain on us, felt good!) and walked around Riverside Park. The rain foiled some plans (flea market, rides) but we got some cheese curds (how can you not?) watched the canoe race (I am doing that some year!), Dave chipped some golf balls into the lake, Kate got some balloon art and ran around with her friends. 

My cheese curds in a canoe:) 

At first, she was trying to stay dry...

Later, she did not care:)

Side note: Kate is our social director. She has gone to Leap of Faith preschool/daycare for awhile and then summer school at NL Elementary and knows all the kids and recognizes the parents that pick them up. Dave and I are getting there, knowing more people and actually running into people we know more often, but Kate is always shouting out and naming people everywhere we go!

After we were good and soaked, we headed home and decided to have an easy evening. It had started to really pour and so we thought pizza and movie sounded perfect. I am so lazy. We watched The Lego Movie and picked up some Pizza Hut and listened to the rain. Early bedtimes for tired kiddos and that is an amazing Saturday. 

On Sunday, my plan was to see the parade but we woke up to sunshine and Dave said before he even opened his eyes, "Breakfast on the boat?"  :) Okay, so we got dressed quick and headed out on the water. It clouded up quick and I was only slightly nervous about rain but the sun came out and we enjoyed a nice buffet breakfast outside watching boats on the lake. We then looked at the clock and had to race back to catch the parade! 

I was nervous about finding parking spot and knowing were to go but as Dave often tells me, there is no need to worry! We found a nice spot to park by the bridge and an easy spot to sit and watch the parade. By then, the sun was really out and we were enjoying just laying on the blanket and watching the cars/trucks/motorcycles go by. After a late start (and we were near the end of the route) we finally saw and heard the fire truck leading the way. Kate inherited my gene of not liking loud things (see 4th of July fireworks) so the sirens are always a bit much for us, but Collin loved it:) 

Waiting and waiting for the parade to start...

Here they come!

Collin liked almost everything:)

It was a good parade! We were near the end, so there were plenty of floats/cars that didn't have any candy left. And then there were the ones that had a lot left and we got tons! We didn't bring a bag for the candy, but of course some political person gave us one (brown sandwich sack) and it was completely full at the end. One memorable moment - Kate looks down the road and sees a big truck with some soldiers in uniform on it and walking around it. She shouted, "Look Mom, Americans!" The people near us started laughing and thought she said, "American" in reference to the cool, old restored Ford truck that was in front of it. Oh well. She struggles with what to call some of the military, it might make more sense if I just said they are all Marines, maybe. We have a big air field near us and we see a lot of soldiers and airmen around, but I don't think she grasped the different branches of the military yet:) And honestly, she knows Tony is a Marine but hasn't seen him in uniform besides the wedding and I'm working on explaining what they do without scaring her (was trying to explain the tank that sits outside the Legion Hall) She often says "they save us" or "they protect us" but it's not like we've gone into what they are protecting us from. Oh, and when she sees  4th of July decorations or flags, she always refers to them as "July" things. Like she wants to wear her "July shirt" or look at that "July candy" (tootsie rolls in a flag wrapper). So, we are also working on the American flag and understanding it is not just a decoration at this time of year! (we have one on our house!)

But I digress....after the parade, we just walked down to the park to watch the UW Marching Band (a portion of it) perform. We were able to get seats right in front and first they had Miss Wisconsin come out and say a few words and then the band came out. They were in shorts and t-shirts and played probably a half dozen songs, but they were SO fun. They were dancing around and being silly, playing to the crowd. Kate clapped along and enjoyed it. Collin clapped too, but he was getting blocked by a huge guy taking pictures, grrr. It basically made me want to be young again and play in a band like that. They said that the band played in 6 or 7 places last weekend for the 4th and I'm guessing they do so all summer. In the heat, all over the state....what troopers, they had the best attitude. Of course, they played On Wisconsin and Varsity, which all the UW alum (everyone?) knew and there were moments that I was really wishing it was the UI marching band:) but oh well. I want to keep exposing Kate and Collin to all of this. I hope they play an instrument and would be overjoyed if they were talented and dedicated enough to do what these kids are doing. 

 Check out the bass drum player! Played the whole song that way.

Meeting Miss Wisconsin!

They announced that you could get your picture taken with Miss Wisconsin and I asked Kate if she wanted to. She said no. That is what I figured. Miss W (I don't know her name) was super nice and very put together. I was impressed. Well, after Kate received a flag from one of her 4K teachers we ran into, all of a sudden she wanted to go over where Miss W was. I asked if she wanted to talk to her and told her to say, "Nice to meet you." She was very intent on, "I want to show her my flag!" There was a tv crew and photographer there to speak with her and they moved her right as we came up. Then Gracie (a future classmate of Kate's) snuck in and met Miss W first. Kate was patient and though it looked like Miss W was about done with her day, she was so sweet with Kate (and Gracie). She knelt down and had very long conversations with them. She seemed very genuine and kind. I am definitely rooting for her in the Miss America pageant! 

And lastly, we have quite the raspberry patch growing along our property line and we picked more today, so there is currently another berry cobbler in the oven...we love the fruit but are probably not going to love the change in our waistlines! Oh, there are also a TON of wild grapes growing in among them. I've never done anything with grapes...is there anything we can do? The garden is doing pretty well, we are losing a couple plants, but we will be producing quite a bit of tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, carrots, jalapenos; a little bit of lettuce and parsley, and lots of cilantro! On top of gathering lots of berries, that sounds like enough/plenty to me! At least for our first year attempting it in Wisconsin. 

******you may note, as I did last night, I took lots of pictures of our super fun weekend; however, I appear in exactly zero of the pictures. Argh. ******* 

An Eventful Beginning to July!

Well, as I start to write this 4th of July post, I need to write how exciting the very first days of July were! :) My niece was expected to arrive sometime in mid-to late-June but oh no, Miss Quinn Rosen Brown was much more patriotic than that. She chose to arrive on July 1 after a very long and anticipated journey:) They are coming back soon and along with everyone else in the Midwest:), I am so stinkin' excited to see them all! Here's some pics of my beautiful niece...

One of my favorite pics of Miss Quinn, what a cutie!

And, I am kind of partial to any pic with her Daddy. So sweet.

Besides being obsessed with my phone and catching pics and info on our newly-expanded family in Okinawa, we had a lot of fun for the 4th of July! Dave was unfortunately on call for the holiday weekend, but Mom and Dad came up to relax and play. The weather was generally good, the bugs weren't too bad and we had a nice balance of activity and relaxation. Since we couldn't go out on the boat over the weekend, we took the kids over to a supper club on the Adams County side of the lake on Thursday night. By the way, Collin loves the boat and does really well. His only issue is that he is happiest when he is on Daddy's lap/driving the boat. He will fuss and go over to the captain's chair and is totally content there:) So as long as Dave is cool with it, Kate and I get to relax! It was a gorgeous night and while we were still sitting out on the deck finishing up we got the text that Mom and Dad were three minutes from the house. It was a scenic but quick ride back across the lake:) and we arrived to Mom and Dad on a Face Time call with Tony, Tara & Quinn! 

Friday was spent on the back beach, playing in the sand, paddle boarding, picnic, and napping (oops, guilty!).  On Saturday, Mom and I played tennis and then Dad, Dave and I played a round of golf! There is a lovely course between our house and Mauston, but I'm sad to report that Dave and I rarely get to go. I was excited to play, though it was my first round in two years. How is that possible?! I had a blast, though I have to admit that is quite an active day for me. There was no soreness until the next day:) 

We did pretty good! Wish it was easier to get a sitter and play more.
Or had a husband who could play (ankle!)

Driving on #15
This is one of two open holes, otherwise it is very wooded!

We also cleaned up and had supper in town and then parked in the hospital parking lot to watch fireworks. We didn't time it perfectly and had a lot of time to kill, but the kids did great. The fireworks show was nothing to really write home about, but our kids loved it and so it was perfect:) I have no idea how Collin was still up at 9:45 p.m. He was pretty stoked to be walking around the back of the van and once the fireworks started, he just sat calmly in Gma's lap and would say "boom" after each one. Kate ran around and made a friend with another girl in the next car. She liked the fireworks but not the "big boomers," I have to admit that I feel the same way!

Gpa and Collin waiting for fireworks to start

Our family pic for this 4th of July:)

On Sunday, Mom and Dad escaped grandparent duty and played some tennis in the morning and we played close to the house as the sun hid most of the day. We ate on the deck and blocked the stairs so Collin could walk/run around and climb on the chairs on the deck. Dave and Dad found some projects to work on, of course! and Mom and I did some thinking on the golf tournament coming up.

Collin's words continue to expand! He is kind of like a parrot, repeating a lot of what we say, and added, "ruff" for a doggie sound as well. He is also doing this blinking thing that is beyond adorable. He is such a cheeser;  flirty and affectionate, mischievous...trouble:)  His car/airplane/tractor sounds are getting much more complex as well. In the last few days, he is loving Dave's old Matchbox cars and will vroom them around all over, crash them and say "uh oh." He has spent hours on the JD tractor (I may have let the kids watch a tractor pull on tv while supper was finishing up the other day. I think it had an effect.)

Started climbing in the sun room, had to move furniture around again

Driving his tractor!

Oh, he was just in to the doctor (July 8) for his 15 month well check (oops! a little late) and he is 23 lbs. 32 in tall and is running tall and skinny with a big head, as he always has. He did great at the doc (our friend, Ryan) and mostly just tried to climb up on the chairs, play with the curtain and give Ryan a hug. He had three shots which made him clingy and seemingly sleepy though he perked up at home. 

Shots:(

We are currently in the midst of some private swim lessons for the kiddos. Kate was expressing some interest in swimming without her life jacket but was in no way interested in going to swimming lessons. She freaks out any time we ask her to put her face in the water and then we recently had an unfortunate event at the pool that made her even more skittish. She came out of the bathroom onto the pool deck and forgot her life jacket was off. She went right down the steps and jumped in and started going down. She was panicking and I got to her pretty quickly but she was very scared. She was really not interested after that:(  The good news is she doesn't mind having her life jacket on! Which is something we have pushed a lot because of the boat, but we definitely need to get her trained to swim without it. Especially living where we do, so much water. 

So...I was trying to find information on swimming lessons in the area and was discouraged with the times/schedule and the sign up (already missed some). Dave asked around at the hospital and one of the daughters of someone he works with is a lifeguard and swim instructor at the Mauston pool. And she has babysat for us before! Twice a week in the afternoon, Stephanie comes to our pool and Dave or I take both kids over for about a half an hour. She was hesitant at first. Wanted to wear her life jacket (we didn't let her)! Every time Stephanie asked if she wanted to do something new, she would say no. But she ended up doing what she asked and loved it. She has been super excited ever since and has requested a kick board with Ariel on it like Stephanie brought:) 

We are bringing Collin as well, since I feel like it is good to start early (and just didn't with my first born, I guess!), he will be the one I am most concerned about, much more of a dare devil and his entire life is surrounded by water. He likes to splash and play, Dave got him to kick a little better last time, and then his last lesson ended with with a bloody nose. I was home getting supper ready and Dave took the kids over. They came back and he yelled for me to grab Collin (not panicked...) and then said that he took a bad tumble on the concrete around the pool. Apparently, he was standing by the steps or had just come out and Dave expected him to come right back in, but instead Collin flashed him a smile and took off running the other way. He got about three steps before he fell and landed on his face. He had a bloody nose and scraped mouth, luckily no damage to teeth. He stopped crying when Dave picked him up and he is still red around his mouth but it doesn't look too bad. Glad I wasn't there to see the blood! I am really fine with blood, but I'm guessing that seeing it coming out of my small child will set off a different reaction in me:)

You can't really tell he fell! And graham crackers fix almost anything:)

All's well that ends well. I imagine this tumble will be a mere scratch compared to what's coming in Collin's future. Good thing we know people in the ER:) We have lessons tonight, so maybe I'll try and grab a little video sometime. If someone can hold Collin!

Feels Like Summer:)

Hello! I feel like I have posted lately about the activities that we are doing but not on how our kiddos have been changing and their development! So, that needs to be rectified. 

Collin is starting to blossom, I think:) He has had a few words (uh, oh, da-da, various car/truck/tractor sounds, etc.) but now we are getting a "hi" and lot of "crac-ker" (his word for food. Everything is a cracker), "all-done" and many others that we've heard maybe just once, but I think will be popping up more soon. He can make three animal sounds, his first was a monkey, second was a duck and now after staying at Mom and Dad's last weekend, he tries to moo like a cow. Though it comes out as a "mmmm. Boo" :) 

He just started smiling for the camera and actually will walk over to a camera and start smiling at it - going to be a ham?!! He will also say, "cheese!" So cute. And I think with the praise that we are giving Collin when he smiles, Kate is getting a normal smile back in her repertoire:) Yay, bonus! 

Collin has started blowing kisses, something we usually do at night or nap to anyone who is around. He is waving bye-bye almost every time, it was very spotty before. He is pretty cuddly, and definitely needs cuddle time after nap...okay! His appetite seems to be better lately, he is certainly eating more and I think he is eating more of a variety of things. He is still weird about many commonly-loved toddler foods! But I'll take what I can get. He has a few different smiles - a kind of cheesy one, one that wrinkles his nose and and big one when he is laughing. He loves to do something he is not supposed to, he'll climb up on the couch and walk around, when I say "sit down," he will and then the second I start walking away/back up, he smiles and stands back up, waiting for me to come back and then he drops down and giggles. It's cute but I can see where this is leading...

The interactions between these two is certainly evolving as well. Collin is growing and asserting himself much more. Unfortunately for Kate, the way he often displays his displeasure or need for attention is through biting or pinching. Ugh. But they have even more time when they are playing nicely, enjoying something together, Kate sometimes develops some patience and tries to teach him something. Collin will look up at her all the time with this look in his eyes like he is observing her and soaking it all in:) Still my all time favorite (and I'm guessing all parents) is watching them make each other laugh. They really crack each other up sometimes, best sound/moment in the world. There are times when Kate is mad that Collin is wanting to join her or play with her, but very often lately, she gets upset when he doesn't want to play with her. Or when he wants to cuddle with Mommy and not her.

Building some duplos together

The big news for Kate recently is that she attended three weeks of summer school (4K Prep) at New Lisbon Elementary. Did I write about this already? She will start 4K (preschool) in the fall and they do a little summer session to help everyone acclimate. I'm not sure if Kate needed it, but I enjoyed it! I love the teachers she'll have, I am now familiar with the school and feel like my trauma will be decreased because of the summer session:) 

They didn't do much, it was just a couple hours in the morning, mostly playing, always an art project, songs, play outside and a free lunch. She had a locker and always went in smiling and left me begging for a goodbye. It was a big class, there were 36 kids signed up for the summer school, so she will probably have a good-sized class. One of my soccer kids was in her class, Evan came up to me every time I came to pick up Kate and said hi, so sweet:) 

Eating in the cafeteria! She always ate most of her lunch

Her locker:)

I did successfully make some strawberry freezer jam the other day! I was just determined to accomplish it this year and so we tried a very large batch:) I picked one flat of very ripe strawberries and I struggled with the exact recipe and method and finally just followed what was on the pectin that I purchased (a low/no sugar pectin). 

It all went pretty well! It passed the taste day the next day and I have quite a bit, so no buying jam for awhile -yeah! 

We had a very special weekend last weekend! Our friends, Angie and Ryan had wanted to see Decorah (we talk about it quite a bit:) and we also wanted to do a little escape without our children (four between the two families). So we arranged for grandparents to watch the kiddos and we had a wonderful trip to Decorah!! We had meals without interruption or screaming, we showered and got ready from start to finish with no interruption, we ate ice cream without needing 40 napkins, we spent the afternoon outside at Toppling Goliath without any sunscreen...we were BORN FREE......!!!! :) 

It wasn't long, but it was just a really wonderful little break. And we hit up most of Decorah's highlights. Beer at Toppling Goliath, dessert at Whippy Dip, shopping at the Hatchery, coffee from Java Johns, overnight at the Hotel Winn, dinner at Rubiayat, walked a bit of the trail, drove through Phelps and Luther...and we had tour guide Dave to give us the skinny on it all:) The conversation never stopped and we had positive updates from the grandparents scattered throughout the day - a success! 

When we returned to Mom and Dad's, we got the skinny on the kids' fun weekend! This just happened to be the same weekend as Laura Days in Burr Oak, so Mom took them to the parade and then to the museum, where Kate scored some loot:) It was a hot day, so when they returned they played in the sprinkler outside. Dad and Andy were working on a project (of course!) they were hauling rock and prepping for some concrete that will be poured this week for a patio off the south side of the house. The kids listened to the cows going crazy and practiced their "mooing" :) Kate made some delicious brownies with Mom...all the wonderful things you must do at Gma and Gpa's, right?

Parade!

Love her new bonnet! 

Well, today is the last day of June, it has been a very summery month, I think! Here is the link to the photo album, click here!

A Berry Good Weekend

Bam! Look at me go, another blog post...:) 

Last weekend, we had some friends from Iowa come up to visit! Amber, Cory, Kellen & Raef Hines came up from their new home in Cedar Falls. Amber and Dave started working in the SICU at UIHC back in the summer of 2004:) We've been friends ever since and went through anesthesia school together, went to the river together, went through our pregnancies together, and moved away at about the same time! 

Kate and Kellen - summer of 2011 on the Mississippi

Anyway, we hadn't met Raef yet and they hadn't met Collin, so that was pretty fun and watching Kate and Kellen is pretty funny. They play pretty well but also bicker like an old married couple at times. They've had play dates since Kate was 6 weeks old, so that is kind of cute. 

The weather didn't cooperate too well for us (as we all know around here!) We played out on the back pond (fishing, paddle boarding, playing in the sand), took some naps when it got dark and moody outside.  We went out on the boat and played on a beach, the little boys ate a lot of sand, Kate and Kellen moved a giant rock, it was a good time:) We capped off Friday with fish fry at Shipwreck, of course:) As they say, the state bird of Wisconsin (and Minnesota) was out in full force. We were all pretty much attacked by mosquitoes much of the time. It was kind of torture to constantly be swatting yourself or drowning in bug spray. And then another kind of torture for me to see everyone's bites swelling up and complaining. Not fun! It is not like that all the time up here, but at times it can definitely be a downer. I kept joking that they would never come back after being attacked like this, but they said they would come:) 

Our friends are here!!

I loved these action shots...it's just a more accurate reflection of the moment

On Saturday, the kids played outside in the morning and we planned a picnic lunch on another beach. We made it to the beach near Portofino Bay and just got our lunches out when the thunder started and our radar indicated we should head right back home:(  We were rained/sprinkled on during the ride back, but we are tough:) We regrouped/napped and then planned an evening in the Dells. 

These kids have been boatin' their whole lives!

Moving the rock...

The nicest weather we had all weekend!

The weather turned around and we enjoyed the Tommy Bartlett Waterski Show and then had another meal out! After supper, we showed them downtown Dells and walked the strip a bit. It was a Saturday night in June in the Dells - it was busy. Busy. The highlight was deciding to get the kids' picture taken at one of the Old Time Picture places! After awhile, we finally decided on a theme of Western Formal Portrait:) Kate wasn't sure about it at first, but when I got the dress on her, she perked way up. She saw some other women getting dressed up and wanted a hat like them:) So they gave her a "bonnet." She was in heaven. Kellen was too cute in his little outfit. They were adorable. Collin was super tired and so he didn't fight it too much. Once Raef was dressed, he kept running around the studio and he kept running into another picture! The cutest photo bomber ever. 

We were waiting for this bar background and when the natives (our children) were getting restless (running in every direction, taking all the clothes/props and waiting to try them all on) we decided to just do a simple background that we could do immediately! It was a bit tricky, the adults acted like monkeys to get their attention, I hid so Collin wouldn't try and come toward me and they got 6 photos. Victory. Honestly, the best part was just being there watching them:) But we picked a photo and took it home. Well, Hines' did. When I collapsed the stroller and put it in the back of the car, the photo must have slipped out. We don't have ours:( We scanned theirs, but damn it! 

After a quick ice cream stop, we headed home with some tired kiddos. And tired parents. Who am I kidding, here? They left on Sunday and I attempted to get the house in order again. Dave accomplished some work outside and cleaned the boat. He then took the kids to the pool so I could have some quite and uninterrupted time to clean the house. The rain cut that excursion short too! Oh well, a very fun-filled weekend in the books!

Other fun this week...

Picking strawberries! We ran out there to see if they still had some to pick and Kate and I picked while Dave walked Collin around. Both kids had strawberries and we picked enough for some ice cream at night. The crop is pretty much done, all the rain has made it a less than ideal crop, or so they say, I thought it was fine! I came back the next morning and picked another flat to make some jam:)

Collin inspecting his strawberry

Kate and I picking/eating:)

Quick trip to Madison! We wanted to go to the zoo and ended up needing to replace the rocker in Collin's room, so we dodged some rain/storm threats and had a nice little day out. 

The giraffes are definitely one of our favorites

What a trooper, no nap...we're going to the zoo!

Waiting for Baby Brown:)! Well, as most of you know, we are all anxiously waiting for our niece/cousin to arrive! I've been able to chat with Tara and email with Tony during the last week and have enjoyed that very much. It is such a special and crazy time! They will be heading back home soon as well, so we have a lot to be thankful for. Hopefully, I will be announcing that we are soon an Aunt/Uncle/Cousins for the first time!