Gearing Up For Fall

Browsing the ads in the Sunday paper today put me in the mood for "back to school"! I love this time of year.  It's a great time to restock my kids art supply, buy supplies for Christmas crafts, or Operation Christmas Child gifts. 
I swore after the long winter, that I wouldn't wish away the Summer, so I'm trying not to get TOO excited about Fall.  So, Millie and I worked on our Summer '11 Bucket List.  Here's what we will do before school starts:

• See the animals at Como Park
• Go on rides at Como Town
• Go to the MN Zoo twice
• Go to the island at St. Kates and feed the ducks
• Swim at Snail Lake
• Have a night-time party at the farm
• Go to the History Museum
• Go to Music in Mears
• Get ice cream at Izzys
• Farm camp
• Craguns
• Play at the Harriet Island playground
• Go on a nature scavenger hunt

In addition to all the fun things we WILL do before the end of summer, I also need to:

• Finish all my back to school  shopping
• Figure out the reporting requirements for homeschooling in MN
• Introduce Elise to daily quiet time
• Create and implement a chore chart for Millie
• Create a cleaning routine for myself
• Organize my pantry, and somehow free up an entire shelf for homeschool supplies
• Paint my living room, dining room, and hallway
• Sign up for a couch 2 5K app, and get in the habit of exercising after the kids are in bed.

I only have 7 weeks to do it all!!  I'll keep you posted.

Aaaaaaand before I go for the evening, here's a picture of Millie from earlier today.  She's really really into kangaroos right now :)

4th of July, 2011

4th of July down at the farm!  My favorite holiday gathering of the year :)  This about sums it up:

Lovin' Grandma

Playing in the creek

Mmmm, cotton candy!

4th of July parade in Wannamingo, MN

Soldier Millie

What color's my tongue?

Look at all my candy!

Look at all my suckers!

Zzzzzz!

Nellie the cow (she's in love with Bud)

We can't keep the girls away from the creek

Woodfire kabobs. Mmm!

Watching fireworks

S'mores

We came home in time to watch fireworks from our balcony with the Kleppes

4-H 2011: Fashion Revue

Millie got to participate in the 4-H fashion review!  It's the first of many, I'm sure.  I made her shirt (shhh, don't tell, but it was supposed to be a dress.  Somehow I screwed up the measurements and ended up with a shirt.  It's still cute though, right?).  Millie made the purse herself.  It's pretty rough around the top, but she sewed around the edges by hand, using nice small stitches.  She added the ribbon strap and button herself, too!  I love that she's taking an interest in sewing!

Once she completes 3rd grade, she'll be able to compete for prizes with the big kids.  There are some seriously talented ladies in Washington County 4-H!  The big girls were judged on a purchased outfit, and an outfit they sewed themselves.  I can't wait to teach Millie to sew this fall/winter!

What We Did On July 1st, 2011

The temperature was close to 95 degrees, with a heat index of 109.  I didn't find that out until I got home.  :)
The girls and I decided to go for an outing, including a walk to Upper Landing and a picnic on the Science Museum grounds. 
By the time we got to the fountain, we were sooooo hot and sweaty.  The water felt so good!  Here are the girls playing.  They look hot even when they're wet!

Afterwards, we walked up to the Science Museum grounds, but after realizing that there was no shade, we kept on truckin' and ended up in Irvine Park, one of my favorite parks in St. Paul.  The fountain is gorgeous!  Elise decided to ham it up for me in front of the camera :)  He he he, I love her!!

There were plenty of shady spots to have our picnic!  For lunch we had sandwiches (3 different kinds for 3 different ladies), strawberries, cheese-its (yes, we incorporated spelling into our hot summer picnic), and cookies.  Notice that we're still wet from the fountain?  It was so humid, we didn't dry off. 

After our picnic, we made the long journey home.  When we got there, we were hot, sweaty, and itchy.  The girls took a nice cool oatmeal bath (which Elise calls a "banana bath") complete with ice cubes, then topped off our super hot adventure with Popsicles on the balcony. 

We took it easy for the rest of the day until Bud got home.  The evening consisted of dinner, super strong winds that blew over construction signs, a trip out to buy fireworks, getting stuck at Perkins while we waited out the storm, and listening to Elise chat non-stop for 45 minutes until we got back home at 10:30.  Yes, TEN THIRTY! 

Blackmail Picture Of Elise #1

This morning we had to get up and moving pretty early to get Millie to tennis by 8:15.  Elise likes to sleep later than that, so I had to wake her up.  I started out by going in the room and rummaging around their dresser, and brought clothes out to the living room for Millie to change into.  A minute later, Bud said "Did you look at Elise while you were in there?"  I hadn't.  I went in and found this:

I wonder if she'll join a nudest colony when she's older.  She did this yesterday during her nap, too, except she had lathered herself up with lotion.  :)  

One Thousand Gifts, Leslie Style - # 101-200

Inspired by Ann Voskamps book One Thousand Gifts, I've started working on my personal list of one thousand things I'm grateful for (there are so many things!).  Numbers 1-100 were published on an earlier post.  Here are numbers 101-200:

101) Steamy showers on cool days
102) Scented lotion
103) Great friends that ask for and offer advice
104) A husband that makes me laugh daily
105) Getting to enjoy the company of my spunky Grandma-in-law
106) Soaking up the first sun rays of the season
107) Easter egg hunts
108) Beautiful illustrations
109) Having had the opportunity to see inside so many different lifestyles
110) Raindrops on the windows
111) Great memories from my teenage years
112) Paper calendars
113) Planning...anything!
114) Sitting in bed, snuggled up, reading or planning
115) My annual trip to the horse expo with Millie and Elise
116) Observing Millie's natural way with animals
117) Dressing the girls up in matching outfits
118) Cowboys and cowgirls
119) Having my parents nearby and in good health
120) Clipping coupons
121) Enjoying a quiet house when the children are gone
122) Lazy days
123) Finding a good recipe
124) Church bells
125) My firm mattress and fluffy pillow
126) Finding perfect paint swatches
127) Warm towels fresh out of the laundry
128) Random "I love you mom"s from Elise
129) Falling asleep next to an unfinished cup of coffee, so I can smell coffee while I'm sleeping
130) Lilacs!
131) Horse drawn carriage rides
132) Live music at the farmers market
133) Getting outside with the entire family
134) One on one time with Elise while Millie is at school
135) Anticipating the arrival of sweet little babies!
136) The way a lamb tail wags when it's drinking milk
137) The fabulous smells of Spring
138) The sounds that waft through my windows from The Fitzgerald
139) Holding sleeping babies
140) Great fitting bras
141) Storms
142) Riding my bike
143) Feeling the wind blow through my hair
144) Cool wind against my skin on warm days
145) Lily of the Valleys
146) The anticipation of the end of the school year
147) The smell of (mild) chlorine in a pool
148) Knowing that Elise is independent enough to entertain herself at playgrounds now
149) Being a mom!
150) Old brick streets
151) Sun kissed skin
152) Driving with the windows down
153) Nelly the cow
154) The smell of old churches
155) Eating mountains of fresh veggies from the farmers market
156) Watching the kids enjoy mountains of fresh veggies from the farmers market!
157) Swimming
158) Jogging
159) Rollerblading
160) My jogging stroller with its trusty brakes
161) The smell of freshly cut grass
162) Elises curly-Q hair
163) My husband that works super hard so I can stay home with my girls
164) Curriculum planning
165) Random back rubs
166) Browsing around Target
167) Mothers day, a day to celebrate meeeeeeee (and my lovely mom)!
168) Donuts on Sunday mornings
169) The color periwinkle
170) Giving gifts wrapped with Creative Kidstuff wrapping
171) Cooking
172) Taking a trip to Wisconsin to buy fireworks
173) The 4th of July parade in Wannamingo
174) Summer BBQ's at the farm
175) The Google Sky app
176) Watching the fireworks from our balcony
177) How excited my mom gets when we play with fireworks
178) 3-ring binders
179) Marching bands
180) Weeks off from work
181) Millies involvement in 4-H
182) Chit chat time with Kim
183) Babysitting Ben and Patrick
184) Decorating tips from Southern Living
185) Ferns
186) Playing with puzzles with Millie
187) Sugar snap peas
188) Fresh veggies right off the vine
189) The way my girls smell when they're covered with sunscreen
190) The way my face looks when it's shiny with sunscreen
191) Sitting on the patio at Swede Hollow with a cup of coffee and a pastry
192) Eating Kit Kats in layers
192) Shopping for kids clothes
194) Piano music
195) Playing in the fountain at Upper Landing with the girls
196) Saying "Yes" more, and "No" less
197) Sarah, my oldest friend that I talk to on a regular basis, and who knows EVERYTHING about me
198) Sakura, my friend that I can almost completely relate to
199) Mel, who I have more in common with than I think
200) Shawn, a friend who I have known for a shockingly long time

Super Saturday

There are so many free things to do on Saturdays around the cities!  While I should be relaxing my Saturdays away during the summer (they're going to be super busy during the school year when circus and skating classes start up!), I can't resist all the fun. 

Saturdays at Central Library are bustling with activity!  We went to see Alan Johnson, Comedy Juggler Extraordinaire today.  He was hilarious and engaging.  Millie got to go up to volunteer.  In return she got a pink poodle balloon animal, which she's been busy playing with ever since.  Elise was interested for most of the time, but what she really enjoyed was dancing to his fun music. 

Two Saturdays later, Millie took a woodworking class at Lowes.  She made a waving flag, and had a blast doing it!  Here she is with her handiwork:

It was my intention to take Saturday classes at Lakeshore Learning and Home Depot, but it looks like all of our Saturdays are booked for the rest of the summer *gasp*.