Heaven

Now that Micah is gone all day I have a three foot high shadow.

This is what my shadow decided to wear today.

This is what my shadow said as we walked to the mailbox this afternoon.

"Where is God?"

In Heaven

"Why is God in Heaven?"

Because that's where He lives

"Why does God live in Heaven?"

Ummmm.....I don't know

"I know why, Heaven is special"

I think I'm really going to enjoy this alone time with my shadow.

School Bus

Today was the second day of school, but the first day on the bus.

For now we have to walk to the end of the neighbors drive-way to catch the bus.

He looks so small in comparison to the bus. He could barely lift his feet high enough to get on.

Finally on the bus & happy about it.

Kindergarten Begins

This morning was perfectly planned, but you know what the say about best laid schemes. The whole household was excited & nervous. The nervousness became apparent around 7 am. Several things happened then. Micah dropped his egg on the floor & proceeded to flip out. We got it cleaned up & then I promptly spilled his orange juice. I didn't flip out, but I felt like it. We got that cleaned up & then out to the end of the driveway with time to spare. We were calmly waiting for the bus & finally it began it's ascent up the neighbor's long driveway. Right at that moment I realized I forgot Micah's name tag. The name tag is very important for a kindergartner. In addition to his name, it has his parents names, our phone number, the name of his teacher & the bus he's supposed to be on. Just as I began my sprint back to the house the bus was coming down the neighbor's driveway. I sprinted back to the end of the driveway with the name tag & two things became apparent. 1) My Aunt had videotaped the entire thing. How embarrassing. 2) My Aunt was laughing uproariously, because after all that hard work the bus turned back toward town instead of picking up our Micah! I then began the frantic search for the bus garage phone number. Why would they not put that number in the student handbook?! Anyway, I managed to contact them to find out that they did indeed forget Micah. I ended up driving him on his first day & maybe that was good. I was able to walk him into the school & give him one last kiss before letting him go. Now the next chapter of our lives begin!

Notice the absence of his name tag!

Poor Ayla doesn't know what to think.

He made it at last & is trying hard to be brave.

Cabin Retreat!

We spent the weekend with Todd & Ina at their family's cabin. It was a truly relaxing weekend & lots of fun for the kids (big ones included!)

Ina can't stand it when Todd flosses his teeth. I can't imagine why.

Fun on the lake.

Auntie Ina with baby Ty.

The 3 buddies, Micah, Connor & Ayla.

Brian & Craig took the kids on a long fishing trip in the boat.

Ayla showing us what she calls "the internet"

A Doozy of a Storm

Last night started like any other night. We put the kids to bed & played a game of cards. After the game was over I was brushing my teeth when Craig came running in & told me to look at how hard the wind was blowing. It looked like a hurricane. We heard a crash & ran to the dining room window to find that the trellis on our porch had fallen down. Next we watched our grill get picked up & thrown onto the porch. We stood there staring at the grill until the windows started to rattle & shake so hard we were afraid they were about to blow in. Without one word we both ran upstairs to get the kids. We spent the next half an hour sitting in our teeny-tiny downstairs bathroom with candles & flashlights since we had lost power. After that it pretty much blew over although the light show lasted for quite a while & our power didn't come on until 5 am. There is damage to both of our sheds & we sprung a leak in the kitchen, so now we're just waiting to hear from the insurance company. In the words of Micah, "It was a very naughty storm!"

I had just taken this photo of my favorite spot to read & drink my morning coffee.

Here's my favorite spot now!

Things were thrown onto & off of the porch.

Maybe we can get a new grill now!

At least our house doesn't look like this. This is only one mile from our place!

Got My Wish

Micah's new obsession is climbing trees.

"I'm not Ayla, I'm a princess" Excuuuse me!


We had some rain over the weekend & today is absolutely perfect. It's sunny, warm & breezy. The kids have had a blast playing outside today. I just made homemade bread (it smells wonderful) & now the kids are napping. I think I'll lay down on the couch & enjoy the breeze coursing through the open windows.

Too Hot Again

I don't want summer to end & yet I'm so sick of these hot days. We are running out of ideas on how to keep cool. Monday we stayed inside most of the day, Tuesday we went to the Mall of America, Wednesday we went to the YMCA & the library, yesterday we went swimming at a friend's house & today we are inside again. What I wouldn't give to be able to sit in the hammock & watch the kids play on the swingset....maybe next week.

They are SO loud & rambunctious, but at least they're getting along.

The only time we venture outside is to pick veggies at about 7am every day.

Nap Interrupted

I have a question. Why are the kids wide awake on the rare days that I try to nap? Why do they wander down to my room when I have just drifted off & feel deliciously comfortable? Why will they both fall asleep in the van tonight mere seconds before reaching our destination? OK, I guess that was three questions.

Bayfield, WI

We spent the weekend in Bayfield with Ted & Sherilyn Beasly & family. Here are a few photos from our mini-vacation

Enjoying an ice-cream cone

Lake Superior

Fruits of our labor

Our best berry-picking helpers

The Beasley & Connelly kids

See rocks, must climb

Walking in Duluth

Wipe-Out

Craig taught Micah to ride his bike last night. He caught on really fast & became quite confident...too confident. After supper Micah couldn't wait to get back on his bike. All was going well until it was time for his last ride of the night. Micah had been riding on the grass, but was confident enough to try his last ride down our gravel driveway. He was almost to the end of the drive-way when he started fishtailing & wiped out big time. It was so awful. I remember being at the emergency room with Grandpa Pat when Micah was just a little baby. We sat there forever & I was watching all these parents bring in their hurt kids. I told Craig that I never wanted Micah to get hurt. I told him I didn't want Micah to even get a mosquito bite! This is life. We learn, we get hurt, we fall, we get up again. I know this is a small injury. Hopefully we can handle the future ones.