perhaps a unique way to start out my post, but we try to share an honest look at real life, right? this is what we do with our weekends :-). even though we're renting, we try to take care of the things we can do on our own. i thought a simple faucet change would be just that, simple. oh my. i think it took 5 hrs for this project, start to finish. (there were 3 trips to the store in there, too). but now, we have a non-leaking faucet. thanks, babe!


so hardly the most flattering picture of my angelic daughter, but it was a serious face for a serious moment. not really, but patrick and i think so. this was her first bday card this year; she's turning two. TWO! i know. we aren't sure how we let this happen. patrick's put his foot down: no more birthdays! this is scandalous. somebody stole our precious baby and replaced them with this full grown child. (thank you, Grandma Loretta and Grandpa Alvin for the card. she loves carrying it around :-)



Pop Pop and Nana (David and Des) sent a picture with their card, which I thought was really neat. Hannah enjoyed looking at it. And this card had stickers in it. always a hit! she was exerting all her energy trying to get them off!



for some reason i think hannah looks french in this picture. brooke is trying to teach hannah how to play dress up.



and on the other hand, Gavin is teaching Hannah boy toys. Since we dont' have any cars, he brough this own this week, and she loved it. maybe i should get her some.



it's not often a man gets to bring flowers to his wife and his girlfriend together, and everyone be happy :-). just for the record, i didn't notice she wasn't wearing any pants when this was taken, i'm sorry. she just likes to take them off :-)




so, joining the multiple kid club brings alot of changes. I agonized over this double stroller decision for a few weeks. driving patrick and meghan crazy, i know! in the end, we settled on the ever popular graco duo glide. gavin helped us break it in at the mall, and i thought it handled really well, even with a 2 and 3 yr old in it. it is hard to get charlie's carseat in and out without hanging him almost upside down. but they say second babies sleep through that kind of thing, right? anyways, i have to say i felt a little proud of myself at the mall. until everyone starts screaming and climbing out and stealing things off the shelves and all kinds of things. then we just leave. quickly :-).



we can handle up to 100, but recently it's been over that. sometimes we go to the playplace in the mall instead of the park. aren't you impressed by my calm peaceful children?


yeah, i didn't fall for it either! don't worry. the floors are padded in this place.



she was just so still, laying on the floor, i thought i'd get a picture where she's really looking at the camera for once!



Hannah getting up close and personal with the charlie belly. it really is difficult for her to sit on my lap. she has to arch her back, or go sideways. it's wierd to think that she'll be sharing it from now on. sometimes makes me sad. is that a bad thing?

we participated in the library's summer reading program, which i hope is the first time of many. it's so easy at this stage, then the books are 10 or so pages long! we got all kinds of neat coupons, like free tickets to soccer games, the circus, bowling, a month of karate lessons, free book from barnes and nobles, and of course lots of food coupons. we love those! i'm not quite sure why i liked to read so much when i was younger, but i hope my kids enjoy reading as well.

so the other day i made cookies with the older kids (almost 8, almost 5)

while the younger kids cooked up their own special recipe. i keep the same bag of dried beans for just such occasions. i poured it into two bowls and gave them each wooden spoons and measuring cups. it took all of 3 minutes for this to happen. hannah would have been looking, but she was busy digging beans out of her feet.

this is it, ladies and gentlemen! we're ready to go. possibility of inclement weather notwithstanding, we are heading to canada! this is the last opportunity to travel with one child, and for that one child to not have to pay for a ticket! we get back 3 days before her birthday. we'll be all together on the way up, and patrick will stay for a little bit then he's working a show in Oshkosh (not the overalls) Wisconsin. It's a really big deal in the aviation community, so he's excited. He'll be there with his old boss/friend from Alabama.

anyways, we are really excited about Canada, especially to see the changes Mom and Bob have made to the cottage. My grandpa built this cottage ages ago, and I have been there almost every year. I dont' have alot of roots, which I don't mind, but even I get a little nostalgic about the cottage on Gibi Lake. many many many memories. and it's the only place, be it building or geographical location, that i still go back to. something that's actually been a part of my life from the very beginning and still is. it is a stinkin long ways away, which i guess is part of the appeal. always been a little rustic, but i guess that's also part of the appeal. hannah is so excited, she wakes up every morning and says, "I want to go to Canada, mommy!" too bad she doesn't know that means a 3 hr. plane ride, then an 8 hr. drive. anyways, the cousins will be there, so we're excited! we get back next tuesday, then i'm working wed/thur/fri, and patrick will still be gone, so i may not update immediately.