last day of school

2013-3014

 last high five goodbye from mrs. schaefer

 charlie, james, thomas, george, teddy

 best buds on the playground on the last day of school.

 magnolia knew she would cry.  she adored mrs. bornheimer

through tears mrs. bornheimer said magnolia is something special, a one in a million.

what a year!

next year...a kindergartner and 2nd grader!!! 

baseball camp

rainy start to summer.  baseball camp was indoors almost all week.  friday was the all star game and end of the camp.  it was my chance to see what he learned and take lots of pics.  i am so proud not only on how much he learned but the sheer fact that he went to this camp happily every morning.  first thing. without knowing a soul.  i never in a million years dreamed he would get this point so soon.  all those years of carrying him and holding him while many scoffed at me.  i did my job.  he got his wings and off he went!  my big boy is playing baseball!

father's day

2014

we all sat on the porch in the morning in our pjs drinking coffee and watching george open his gifts.  i wish i had snapped a photo of him with both kiddos but somehow the moment escaped me but i'm thrilled to at least have these.  so sweet.

going to the lake

june 2014

 we have discovered it best to head north by 5:30am on any given Saturday morning.  the kids happily watch a movie as they eat their breakfast and we happily sip our coffee and look at the beautiful scenery.  we arrived this particular weekend just in time for the 9:00am ferry.  the water was stunning and we couldn't wait to cross it.

we had just over 24 hours to clean every nook and cranny of the house so we started as soon as we arrived.  thank goodness for gorgeous weather.  the children were like free little birds outside and only came in to sleep.  i was happy to be done with the main house so i could move on to the much smaller bunkhouse.  here's a view of the deck.

 and here's a view from the deck.

 here are the five fruit trees we planted alongside the bunkhouse bordering the empty lot next to us.  the two cherries look they have died from lack of water.  funny considering we were sure it would be the deer that would get them.  we're not giving up and hope to plant more.  not only will it be nice for the privacy if someone was to ever build next to us, it sure would be fun to have the fruit.

 the inside is as rustic as you would imagine a bunkhouse to be, charming nonetheless.  a happy place to jump on beds with all of the windows open and sun streaming through.

 on our rental listing this is called a secret getaway since it doesn't exactly qualify as legitimate guest quarters.  on a rainy day it sure would be fun to hide away here with some board games.

 we did our work in the time frame we had.  windows didn't get washed and carpets didn't get steamed but it looks squeaky and ready for the summer crew.  we hand it over to renters for the rest of june and we'll have it back most of july.  counting the days...

referral day

june 6, 2014

seven years since we got that first phone call that changed our lives forever.  it was always meant to be. magnolia will always be the greatest gift in our lives.

nancy drew

first stage, milwaukee

we went with all of magnolia's girl cousins in town plus aunts, plus nana and papa.  there were 12 of us and it was so fun to have a night out with my mystery loving girl.

spring sing

2014

annual spring sing with lunch to follow on the front lawn.  the day was perfect.

Memorial Day Weekend

Wash. Isle, WI

The water is high down by the shore.

 The birch handrail we put in a couple of years ago is aging nicely.

 (kids watch old VHS tapes while we pack up)

 The loft is in!

 I cleaned out the garage (look for a ping pong table to go in there soon) and found this swing George made for Magnolia a few years ago.  Kids played on it endlessly.

Nana & Papa were with us on this trip.  We had a great time with great weather.  We're coming back in less than 5 days.  Yay for summer!