Visiting Great-Grandma!

This afternoon we drove out to Ashland to visit Great-Grandma Carolyn. Emily and Christian were very excited and we had such a nice afternoon and evening! I just love it that we live so close and that the kids have really gotten to know someone who has always been such a major part of my life. As long as I can remember, my grandma has been there--coming to games, dance recitals, birthday parties, holidays, vacations, everything. She really is an amazing woman and is such a positive influence to all who know and meet her. We love you, (Great) Grandma!

Oh, What Do We Do In the Summertime...

Well, when it's raining, not only do we have swimming lessons (yes, it was crazy cold!), but we also like to have bed parties...which basically entails jumping on the bed and messing it up and then getting under the covers and pretending to sleep :-). Aren't these two guys cuties??

However, when the sun comes out (hurray for Wednesday!), we still have swim lessons (which are much more fun) but then we also...

make mud pies

play in sprinklers (shoes and all!)

and harvest some of our carrots! (Lovin' the boots!)

Rain or shine, we try and have 'lots of fun...although we do prefer the sun to be shining when we have swim lessons.

They're Growing Up So (Too) Quickly!

Tonight I got out a couple of the kids' photo albums. It's always fun to look back and see where the time has gone! I just can't believe how big Emily and Christian have gotten. Here's what I mean:

Sweet Baby Emily

New Baby Christian, Big Sister!


Best Friends

Chubby Baby Christian

Christian, 1 yr

Emily, 3 yrs

Christian, 2 yrs

Emily, 4 yrs

Seriously, where has the time gone??!

FOUND!

Okay, so I just posted about needing a dresser....I think it was good luck because today I found one on Craigslist! (Yes, it's Sunday, but we're not picking it up/paying for it until Monday.) It's terrific and I even got $20 dropped from it b/c we didn't need the mirror that comes with it. I am planning on repainting it and putting new pulls on the drawers. I'm really looking forward to the project and starting to put the kids' room together! Hurray!

Dressers--Argh!

Lately I've been searching for a dresser that will work for the kids when they share a room. It's not that easy! Here are my requirements: at least 6 drawers, preferably side by side (a longer dresser) so that the kids can reach their clothes easily w/any danger of them pulling the dresser on top of them, and lastly, affordable. Not too much to ask? Hmmm...


This is my ideal dresser. It is from Pottery Barn Kids. Even on "sale" it is just waaaaayyy too much. However, I mainly just like the idea of the dresser, with the colored drawers. So, if I could find an old one and refinish it in a similar fashion, that would be fine too. Again, not too much to ask, right?


The other two I like are from Ikea. (Sorry for the small images.) The first has 8 drawers and is much more affordable than the PB Kids one. The second is cheaper than the first, w/6 drawers. However, the shipping alone on getting it here outweighs its affordability. We've checked The Mart, but I didn't see any that would work and that we could afford.

I've also been scouring the craigslist postings. Dressers seem to be in high demand! I've emailed a couple people on either decent ones, or ones that I can refinish. But, I never seem to catch them quickly enough! I've also checked out the local Thrift America and Goodwill, but, yikes, the ones there are hideous.

So, what I'm asking is this: if you, or anyone you know of, has or knows of a dresser that would "fit the bill" for me, please let me know! Also, if you have any other suggestions on where to look, I'd love them!

Detroit Rock City--4th of July 2009

Happy 4th from the Lindseths!

So this year, Cubby and I decided to live on the edge. We did something we've never done before. We took the kids on a roadtrip! We drove the 12 hrs up to Cubby's parents who live near Ann Arbor and Detroit. It was an adventure! (Prior to this, the longest they'd been in the car was 2 1/2 hrs when we went to Kansas City...and that was a tough drive!) Much to our surprise, the drive up went extremely well. The kids were happy and well-rested. We made stops and, even though the last two hours were tough, they really were good. (We can compare it b/c the ride home was a bit more challenging!! Oh well, not everything can be easy, right?!)

Well, we had such a fun time w/Grandma and Grandpa Lindseth and Auntie Tessa! The kids just thought everything was great and played until sheer exhaustion overtook them! Here are some highlights from our trip!

Whee!!!

We just love playing w/Auntie Tessa!

Enjoying the Detroit Zoo

Sparklers on the 4th!

Flying kites w/Grandpa

Bubbles at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum

Loving a Super-Man ride from Grandpa

Thank you so much for the fantastic time! We're so glad we were brave and daring (hey, it was for us!) and made the trip! We love you and miss you already. Please come and visit soon!

The end :-)

The Wonder of Weeds

So, this past week (and the week before) have been extremely hot and humid. It's been like a sauna out there. For example, I took the kids to the zoo on Thursday morning and as we entered the Lied Jungle (rain forest) it was actually LESS humid in there than it was outside. And Thursday wasn't the worse day, by far!! Well, as you can imagine, our backyard and gardens decided to invite every weed in town over to our house for a growing party. OOOOHHHH, it was bad.

THANKFULLY, (I'm really into capital letters today, huh?) the heat and humidity magically lifted today. On a Saturday, no less! It was wonderful. I forced myself to take full advantage of it and rid our gardens (vegetable and "flower"--well, one day flowers will grow and not just get overrun and die back there) of the weeds. Talk about work! Whew!

I must say, however, that there is something just sooooo fulfilling about hard maual labor in the garden. It all looks so nice back there now, with my few little veggies growing (this is my first attempt at gardening and let's just say I'm learning as we go!) and even my sad little Hasta, Mums, and Columbine are looking better. Well, they're looking more than better b/c Cubby went out and bought some mulch and that just makes everything look pretty.

I wonder if people everywhere would be happier and feel more satisfied with life in general if they all found some sort of physical work, like gardening or farming, to make them get out there and really work. I wonder if that is part of the pull for farmers out there even now-a-days. Working, growing and creating is so fulfilling. I'm grateful that I had the opportunity today to get out there and sweat (even if I didn't really like it while I was doing it!). It made the day very satisfying!