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Archive for the ‘Summer’ Category

All That is Good

July 31, 2012

Sunshine skies and babies’ eyes, these are the things that sustain me…rain is good, too.

Anne Shirley. She has always spoken to me. I love Anne so much. This quote has been my mantra this summer…

“I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” -Anne Shirley, Anne of Avonlea

My simple pleasures grow every day, but here are just a handful or two.

Have I shown you the Thumb Sumo wrestlers?

Entertainment for the whole family!

A fish caught by my boy…the little one on the left, that is.

Good eats.

Minneapolis~ pretty city. Twins’ game…

We lost, but it didn’t matter.

These flowers are still beautiful~ some new ones have even been added since this…

I love them.

Finding a heart-shaped noodle while you’re eating Pho…what could be better?

And the spoons!

These flowers might be my favorite…

My mama gave me this chair and I think of her every time I look at it. I think she’d approve of the flowers, do you, M?

Perry the Platypus Sailor by Greyley Sabin

He’s cute…but look at this one.

Perry the Cowboy is pretty stinkin’ cute too.

You never know where you’ll find Jesus…

He’s waiting with arms open wide. Even when he’s just playing…

Thing 1 and Thing 2. Merciful heavens, I do love these Things.

Go out and be happy. That’s your job for today.

Posted in Family, Grateful Heart, July 2012, Mama Musings, Summer | 6 Comments »

Summer Wish List

June 5, 2012

It happens around this time every year~ I get in that summer vacation frame of mind before it’s actually summer vacation. We still have a few days to go~ Friday is the kids’ last day of school. But for the last week and a half, you would have thought we were already on vacation. The kids have caught the vibe and want to stay up later, play harder, drink Coke (!)…we’ve missed the bus more than usual and we all have extra circles under our eyes.

But it’s worth it.

Here’s my Summer Wish List:

*READ

*WRITE

*TRAVEL

*LAUGH

*PLAY

*CUDDLE

That pretty much sums it up for me, folks. If I can do all of the above things in excess, I will be one happy woman.

What are your plans for the summer?

Posted in June 2012, Lists of This and That, Summer | 8 Comments »

Flower-Pickin’ Days

August 18, 2011

My boy picked flowers for me the other day. I went on about them~ Oh, these are so pretty! Thank you! (Kiss) He did a semi-shrug, lifted his hands and said, “That’s the glory of scissors!”

He slays me. He would slay you too, if you could see hear him talk for just one minute.

Or see him dance. We got the best video of him going to town. Unfortunately, he’s in his underwear. I think he just might never forgive me if I posted a video of him in his skivvies. But land sakes, the boy has some moves.

Hello, Fancy Steps meets Brake-Dancing meets Robot…I always wondered what you looked like. Now, I know.

I cannot even believe we are wrapping Summer Vacation up…some of you have already started school~ eek~ I am so sorry! We start the day after Labor Day, so I am grateful for a couple more weeks! We are trying to fill up the days with fun.

Dancing has been high on the list.

A little Phineas & Ferb has been thrown in…

Play dates

Trips to Barnes & Noble

Outside expeditions

Flower-picking jaunts

We walked past the neighbor’s unbelievably perfect garden the other day and Indigo’s flower-picking fingers were REALLY struggling to not pick some flowers. He had his pocket knife handy and everything. I had to hold his hand tight as we walked by and gazed longingly at all the colorful blossoms.

I’m trying to memorize the beauty that is here in the Summer so I can recall it when I’m dying for Winter to be over in just a few months…I won’t even go there today…

We also got a trip in to the Drive-In…remember that other fantastic time? This trip was really great too~ I seem to sleep like never before at the Drive-In. It’s AWESOME!!!

Still on the list of things to do:

Go to Arkansas to see Papa & Honey

Get school clothes

Fit in all the swimming possible

Have creative moments here and there~ I’m doing the Kelly Rae Roberts e-course right now and it rocks.

One more trip to Nelson’s Ice Cream Shop in Stillwater~ it’s the best!

And all the time with family & friends that we can cram in~ think of an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet type of thing, only with loved ones instead of food…well, food will be involved too, but…I better stop there, this is getting confusing…

“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.” ~ James Dent

Posted in August 2011, Grateful Heart, Kids, Life, Summer | 3 Comments »

St. Croix Fun

August 5, 2011

You asked for water-skiing pictures…OK, only Savita asked…but I would do anything for Savita. XO

On the St. Croix, beginning of last week…Steve, Bob, Kara, Nora, Nate, Greyley and Indigo all met up in the morning and went for an all day boating trip. By the time Jill & I joined them, they’d had a full day and were happy and tired. But we still managed to have a few hours of fun.

I was able to see this…

Woohoo! She got up! Look at her go.

I wish I could remember the exact number~ it seems like Bob said he’s taught 701 to water ski. Wow!

The loving audience~ Indigo & Nora…these two are incredible together. I’ll have to do a future post about them. They’re too fun.

They’re like little bookends. Oh and look, there’s Miles, Jr., the pug, lovingly named after Jill & Steve’s pug. After Indie’s day with Steve & Miles, he went and bought Miles, Jr.

Not sure what Bob and Nate were working on there, but they look Very Serious.

And the grand finale…well, one of them~ Steve skied after this and rocked it too~ all the way to the shore!

Hello! Every time he waved, the kids squealed with delight.

Love this one…

It was the perfect way to spend the day. Thanks for the fun, Ericksons! We love you all, every single one of you. XO

Posted in August 2011, Friends, Summer | 2 Comments »

Down by the Rivah

July 29, 2011

One of the things I love about Minnesota is all the water. There are gorgeous lakes everywhere~ we boast of 10,000 lakes, but there are actually many more. We also have gorgeous rivers. I love the St. Croix River~ it’s right on the edge of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It’s one of my favorite places to go.

I’ve been able to go TWICE in this past week and a half. Lucky Duck!

Yesterday we spent 13 hours on the river. That had to be a record for me and my kiddos. We went with our Pastor Mick, who we have dubbed “The Fish Whisperer.” He truly is.

It was the perfect day to be on the river. We got some sun, went swimming and FISHED.

It’s hard work being a Cowboy Fisherman.

It takes deep concentration.

It’s also hard being a Rockstar Fisherman, but someone’s gotta do it…

We were all excited about this Northern Pike, but threw him back in…and he didn’t just take off, as we expected him to…

So Mick worked on him for a while…

I might have said a prayer or two…which flashed me back to being a little girl with my grandfather, Paka. We caught a fish and I was all excited and then in despair. We brought the fish home~ I remember seeing it swimming in the bathtub. And I cried and carried on so much about that poor fish that we had to take him back.

With enough coaxing, Mr. Northern Pike finally took off~ it took about 5 minutes!~ and seemed good as new.

We had a run-in with some ducks…little pretty beggars is what they are…

Greyley tried to shoo them away a bit~ the little man and I don’t like them QUITE so close…

They were having none of it. Turns out, they have a keen taste for Ruffles. Boy, they knew the sound of that bag opening and came swarming in…

Once they realized I wasn’t giving them any (more), they settled in and I rather liked them. Look at that gorgeous purpley-blue feather they all have…just one little section on each wing. So pretty.

I’ve always wanted to do that with my head.

Love this picture…

We had such a great time. The best part was around 10:30 PM~ Indigo was asleep on my lap (he fought the good fight until 10!), Nate was naming the constellations, and Mick & Greyley were still fishing. Mick told Greyley to sing and sing LOUD and she did. My girl is a Stevie Wonder aficionado and she started singing, “Higher Ground” out there under that deep blue sky with all the stars shining and I got goosebumps...it was such a moment.

Ahh, thanks for reliving a little of our day with me…I’ll save last week’s water skiing pictures for another day…

Posted in Family, July 2011, Summer | 4 Comments »

Summer Wish List

July 18, 2011

I started a new job this past Saturday~ working at the Markwest showroom in the Minnesota Gift Mart. It’s nice because it feels like a smaller version of the showroom in Dallas that I work in, so it’s familiar. Right now, we’re in the set-up stages, getting ready for the show in August. If you live in Minnesota and are coming out to the Mart, come in and see me!

I’m grateful for the work, truly I am, but I’ll be honest~ it’s difficult for me to be joyful, leaving while it’s summer and the kids are out of school. Fortunately, they are absolutely fine…they’re going out on the lake today, lucky ducks. Having already been gone from them for 2 weeks this summer and then Greyley being at camp the next week, I feel like my time with them is flying by. Summer is going to be gone in a flash.

Wish List for the Rest of Summer:

Fresh corn

Grill out lots, lots more

Watermelon

Go out on a lake, any lake

Go swimming

See fireworks (I missed July 4th)

Sleep in super late…numerous times

Long road trip

Mini road trip

A night or two in a hotel would be fun

Loads of laughing

Long walks outside

Fresh flowers

Peaches

Ice cream

Read 20 books

Did I mention sleep already?

Maybe we can cross all these off the list this summer. So far, we’re off to a good start. I’m happy that my children have been able to do so many fun things already~ they’re sleeping well at night!

What should we add to this list?

Posted in Family, July 2011, Market, Summer | 5 Comments »