Is Owen too young for a girlfriend? Not if it is his best friend! And believe me, they are monitored very closely! :-)
These two little munchkins spend all day together at daycare. They play pretend and chase and giggle and talk and fight and run so hard. On Friday Owen burst into tears when I picked him up from daycare...wait a sec! Is that how you show your love, Owen? Actually, he was so sad to leave his little friend that the only way I could get him to leave was to say i would call her mom when we got in the car to see if she could come to our house over the weekend. I didn't know this would start so young. Over the weekend then, these two got together, barely ate lunch, made cookies, played with every toy in the yard, the play room off the kitchen and then destroyed his room...as we see in this picture:

I took them for a ride around the block and they yelled and cheered me on as I took them over as many bumps as I could find.

I can't say this was their first "date" because Carrie has "chaperoned" them on a "date" to the movies with daycare. They even sat in the same chair (it takes two to hold down the fold-down seats anyway) and held hands (perhaps because they were sharing snacks...). It's just too sad if they never know each other in school...one of us just may have to move...or open enroll! :-)

What makes Owen so entertaining?

We know why, but perhaps Gabby will tell us her version someday.

Monkey see Monkey do...Grampa was fixing his lawnmower last time they were up...guess that is one way to learn!

Another way to learn is by doing...copying daddy's handiwork...

Okay...not the way daddy did it exactly but pretty darn close!

A few weeks ago we attended a beautiful outdoor wedding at an apple orchard. There were animals, a swing set, and a buffet...perfect first wedding for the kids to attend!

hmmm...do all weddings have a swing set?

Hmmm, cool shades, huh?

Family!

The LuLu girls smiled for the camera as well! #4 was elsewhere for the photo but was also wearing an adorable dress to match her 3 older sisters!

Back to "Camp Grampa" but this time "mom" didn't leave me!

The weekend before Labor Day we took a car ride to Wisconsin to see Julie, Elodie, Lori, and Gramma & Grampa! Owen wanted to drive this car back to MN, but we had to convince him that it would take a really long time! Owen loved having his own "little-man cave"...if you can call it that. The third garage space was all his with shelves of toys, sandbox, easel, and all the balls you can imagine.

Elodie, being 6 weeks older, takes it upon herself to teach Gabby how it's done...or at least push her off and show her! :-) Just kidding, they played very nice together...

My pretty little girl wearing my pretty little dress that I wore when I was a little one. What memories are preserved in a dress! (well, not my memories, but I'm sure my own mother had a thought or two!)

This seems like ages ago when Gabby was still trying to pull herself up without tipping over. She is now pulling, climbing, and even walking along the couch. What will be next?

Even though it was 1.5 miles and Owen couldn't walk the entire way (thank you Auntie Lori for carrying Owen down a few hills...) it was one of my favorite parts of our time there. What a beautiful place! No wonder it is called a "wonderland"!

Yes, Elodie showing Gabby how it's done...again!

Julie and I enjoyed some girl time. Our little girls had fun just crawling around as we talked and laughed and just enjoyed the moment.

I've got a little lover on my hands!

And then there's my little boy...he loves animals so much! He was so excited that I found a little rhino for him to play with after our trip to the zoo, but now he is asking for a hippo and a tiger because, " I don't have one and I need one." So simply put by a three year old: he needs a hippo and a tiger. Both but he would be happy with just one ifI could find one at a garage sale or at the store or whatever. Okay owen...

THANK YOU JULIE AND ELODIE FOR MAKING THE TRIP!
THANK YOU LORI JO FOR SUGGESTING THE TRIP AND MAKING THE TRIP AS WELL!
THANK YOU, MOM AND DAD, FOR HAVING US SUCH A GREAT HOME FOR US TO COME BACK TO!

This year's pictures were taken by Amber Rishavy...we had a good time at the park and got a few good shots too! :-) Have fun taking a look at a few chosen ones! Know this, Owen did have a different shirt on, but he spilled the bubbles on it! Boys!

Can you fake innocence?

Lots of change...
I cannot help thinking of how things have changed in the past year...

A year ago Vikings fans were once again boasting hope of a new season and hoping for more wins than losses. A year ago we moved to a new home and left our townhome on the other side of the river. A year ago we found out we were going to have a little girl. A year ago we found out our good friends were going to have a baby too.

Now, one year later, the Vikings have Brett Favre and a new-found hope of a Superbowl, of all things, and our little girl has a BFF. I don't know about the odds of the Superbowl (as Lori has been quoted saying, "you can have the old fart!"), but it sure is fun that this is how Roger and Mike will be watching Vikings games this year! :-) Hey, Julie, want to go get some coffee???

I will say this for the record: I am a Brett Favre fan...he is so entertaining to watch and you can tell he loves the game. He is an amazing athlete...even at 39 or 40 (whatever his age!). I hope I can be doing half as much in another ten years...ok maybe not getting tackled by a half ton defensive line but something along the lines of being able to run and jump with my kids! :-)

A few photos to compare...

Here is Gabby helping me do the laundry last week...

Here is OJ helping me do the laundry...a couple years ago...
Here is Gabby smiling about bath time...
Here is OJ being serious about bath time...

What fun to compare and look back on just a few moments ago!

JUST A FEW SPECIAL MOMENTS CAUGHT ON FILM...experiences, special times together, etc...

BIRTH CONTROL...

Someone...I won't say who...saw this picture and checked it off as one more year's worth of birth control. The story goes: This summer I started trying to keep everything ( or get everything) in order. I slowly started to go insane and get really crabby and my house started to slowly become more and more neglected. You see...you have to neglect something when you are given a choice because if you are saying yes to one thing...you are most likely saying no to another thing (thanks to Zach for the wise words and Julie S for reminding me!). I decided to say no to my house and yes to my kids for a bit...

Mind you, please do not think that this is a permanent state of my living room. I have since consolidated the toys, moved things around, stored other things, made Owen take his naps in his room, and been able to clean up a bit and play with my kids without going insane.

I've been asked about my summer quite a bit and I can now answer this way: my summer has been awesome! I did spend a lot of time as property manager, but I also planned lots of trips and playdates with my kids. I cooked good meals and realized how much I like to cook and wish I were better. I realized how much I want a garden next year and how naps are a gift from God. It took more than half of my summer to realize that Owen is happiest when I just get down and PLAY with him. I learned to shoot robots out of the closet, read really long books really fast because Owen can't tell when I am skipping parts (yet!), and how much fun a sprinkler really is. I learned that my TWO kids are great and God gave them just to me. He did not equip me to live anyone else's life and He did not equip anyone else to live my life. Contentment is also a gift from God...Owen has been having a hard time learning that, "I WANT something" is selfish because God has already given us so much. He is learning though. I go back to work on Monday to do some training of 8th grade mentors...then inservice next week...then we start school after labor day...my summer is officially over. Am I sad? I can't be. This is my life. I can't wish it to be any other way. So how was my summer being a stay at home mom? I wasn't a stay at home mom. I am a teacher who gets her summers off. The transition ( and the reality of it) is too much to place expectations that I can be something I am not. I have truly loved being home and have truly grown in my love for my children (whom I will dearly miss when I go back to work). One benefit of being a teacher: I have the hope of another year...HITTING THE REFRESH BUTTON EACH YEAR! What other profession or life situation do you get to do that? :-) And then the built in vacations, off at 3:30 each day, every weekend off, and then summer! Here we go!

In four days we took only a few pictures...here are two from our trip to Florida! What can I say...both are self inflicted as well! :-) We had a good time relaxing and reading and sleeping and eating...what more is there to say?

I took these before I left on vacation...they are now livin' it up at Camp Grampa in WI! We are having a great time relaxing, sunning, and doing all those things we've done without for quite some time: sleeping, eating cheese & ice cream, drinking coffee and other fun stuff, staying up late and sleeping in, taking naps, reading (almost done with Harry Potter #6!), etc...

Tonight we go to Kenny Chesney! Whoo hoo!

Gramma Mama and Grampa Phil are just as busy...actually, more busy!

They've already played by the pool, dug in the sandbox, had camp fires, rented movies, had popcorn night, invited friends over to play, gone to the zoo, had picnics, and much more! I'm sure you can read all about it when Gramma momma has rested enough to post pictures on her blog! :-) Thanks mom and dad!

Gabby and Owen doing their own thing at the park! both barefoot...gabby's first time eating sand! :-)