North By Northwest, and How I Love a Parade!

Grayson the turtle...

Our family has been a very busy one lately, with many new experiences! We spent last week with the Schmidt clan in Longville, MN and had a FANTASTIC time! Grayson was an absolute delight, and he loved hanging out with his extended family (as we did also). He tried so many new things, and was excited about them all. He LOOOOVES the lake, and even went on his first "hot dog" ride - he cried when we got of, as he wanted more of the fun. He also touched his first fish (and now loves to say "fishies in the water"), went on a couple great boat rides in the water, played around in a beautiful lake, saw his first turtle races, and ate LOTS of ice cream ("ummy" as he says). Mommy and Daddy also enjoyed some water sports and fishing as there were many hands to take care of Grayson for the week.

Reel 'Em In!

Water fun!

Grayson and I packed up once again Sunday morning to head to the Water Ski Days parade and festivities in Lake City. The day was AMAZING in all ways - we were able to take in the parade with my whole family, including my mom and many others we hadn't seen in a long while. My mom amazed us yet again, and Grayson was so much fun! He had a blast on the carnival rides, and cried when it was time to get off. We had a relaxing dinner with Grandpa JR and Auntie Jenny, and saw many old friends. I couldn't have asked for more!

Grandma kisses the sleepy one...

Fun with Auntie Jenny...

Time with the Grandparents

To celebrate the start of summer, Grayson and I headed to LC to see Grandpa JR and Grandma Chari for a few days, and it was a fun and relaxing time - not to mention the beautiful weather as well! We were able to go for a few walks with them, play outside, see our Great Gramie, and just enjoy ourselves. Grayson found many ways to enjoy his time, not to mention the puddle just outside the Care Center. I wanted to add a few pics, but I'm working on another laptop other than my own, so there are some issues (it's a long story). I'll add them in soon.



This week I "celebrated" moving into my actual 30's (on Tuesday) by scrapbooking and going to dinner with Russ at a new restaurant in Hugo. It was a beautiful and enjoyable day, and it felt so odd to choose a dinner from a menu without thinking about whether I'd have time to eat it or if Grayson would like it. It was very nice!

I find it hard to think about my age progressing, as I still see myself as a kid in many ways, but when I look around, I see all the things I am fortunate to have, and I know I've truly been blessed. I have no regrets up to now, except that I need to continue to find ways to enjoy life instead of being stressed out or working too much, which I tend to do quite often. Time flies, and with all I've learned from life in the last year, I know I need to enjoy what's in front of me at all times.

I can't get over how fast Grayson is growing up these days. He is talking like a maniac, and we love knowing exactly what he wants. He is always very curious, and he is such a loving child! We've had fun lately with our little mockingbird regarding counting - he can actually "count" to 20 (with help), and he loves to look at a colorful list of numbers in the front and back of our Chicka-Chicka 1-2-3 book. He is so adorable, and really loves to please us as much as he can.

This weekend I am marching with my media crew in the Manitou Days parade, and we are preparing to go up to Longville with the Schmidt clan for some relaxation and water fun. I'm sure I'll have many pics to follow!

School's out for summer!

Summer has finally arrived - although it doesn't seem like it as I look out the window. I am "officially" finished for the next few months, but I've already put in 5 hours the last two days of "special" media center work. It feels good to be able to make a mess in my media center with books, and to move things around without worrying about my students! I do get a little misty-eyed as I think of the kids that are moving on to the middle school or to other places, but I'll get over it soon.

As it is summer, I have some FREE TIME!! I have kept busy the last few days with errands and the like, but I found a little time to scrapbook and go to the gym, and let me say it felt wonderful! I do miss the little guy, though he does need to stay in the routine, and loves his daycare pals. I like the fact that I didn't have to choose - I am paying for half-weeks to keep our spot in our center, so it only makes sense for him to continue to attend daycare a little bit each week. I'll be a happier mommy for it, I know.

One MAJOR bummer we've had happen this past week is the problem with our laptop! It won't take a charge, so it is at the "doctor" for up to a month! YIKES! I am writing this blog at the beautiful Maplewood library, but I miss our computer sooooooooo much! I didn't realize how much work Russ and I do at night on the thing, but I hope it comes back healthy (and not in an expensive fashion) soon!

Weekend of weather and water!

We had a busy and exciting weekend here in good-old Hugo! I still am having a mystery allergy issue, as I became a blotchy tomato after a family bike ride - it was a scary road yet again, and I need to make some calls Monday morning, but I avoided the ER! I also got to catch up with a truly dear friend on Saturday, and I really enjoyed hanging out with her. Grayson was just a ham for the company as well.
Once again, the weather was an interesting thing (especially on Saturday), and Russ and I got some amazing pictures of the clouds as the tornado sirens rang and rang. I also found out how well a weather radio works, and how useful they are (as well as how loud the alarms ring when weather comes your way), as I purchased one on Thursday. I got my money's worth out of it Saturday evening, but we were fortunate enough to avoid anything but heavy rain and wind.

Sunday was a beautiful outdoor day for us, and we saw again how much our son loves water! We also had the opportunity to hang out with some neighbors and use their cool new sprinkler, and their swingset and sand box - needless to say, Grayson had a blast! He is such a happy little guy, and he's growing up WAY too fast!