count-down

And thus begins the count-down to 1) Daddy coming home and 2) starting school.

I'm excited about #1 but not so much about #2.

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a pair of pears

This is our FIRST year actually getting to eat pears from our pear tree!

I can't even begin to tell you how divine it was to eat them right off the tree.  They were beyond fabulous.

Now, don't ask me what variety they are as we lost their name tags (we've got three pear trees) a few years ago.  We planted these trees just after we'd purchased this piece of property almost eight years ago.

This is why it would be better to plant semi-dwarf trees:  The fruit in these standard sized trees are quite a bit more challenging to reach!!

We didn't get as many pears as we'd thought (most likely animals munching on them too)....but these are better than none!  Just to be able to sink your teeth into one juicy, sweet pear was beyond words for me.

Definitely worth the wait!

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Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium: a small expedition

It's the last week of summer break.  And Daddy is gone a week-long business trip to Russia (he's 13 hours ahead of us!).

So, what does that translate for me?

It means I have to come up with activities (and lots of 'em) to keep the girls busy and engaged so that they'll go to sleep for me AND keep me sane.  The sane part most of all, though!

So when my friend, Anuschka, called and invited us on an outing to the National Mississippi River Museum how could I refuse?!

I've gotta tell you- it's been YEARS since we last visited this particular museum.  I remember it being kind of boring and not very engaging for the kids but yet with a hefty admission price tag.  

I'm happy to say that most of that (except the hefty price tag) has changed!  They've been adding on a lot to the museum and opening up lots of exhibits that are very kid (and therefore exhausted parent)-friendly.  

For example: here's the waterworks station: 

Brilliant!  Activities to keep those kids moving and busy!

After wandering one of the museum's buildings (it used to be a casino) we ate lunch on the cafe's patio and watched a paddle boat makes its way out of the small harbor.  The boat is called The Spirit of Dubuque and you can take a boat tour of the area on it (it's a very short and not exactly inspiring ride).

After lunch Rafiqu really wanted to show us the William M. Black- an old WWII boat used to dredge up the Mississippi River.  It's now an exhibit at the museum and you can tour the entire boat- from engine room to the mess hall...to the cockpit.  Watch out for Captain Ava!->

We got to pretend that we were hungry shipmates...anxious to grab our meal.  

Check out this beast of a mixer!  Remind you of anything?  

The kids spent a long, long time playing with this "heater" or "engine" or whatever it was supposed to be.  There were logs that you put in the front side, which in turn lit up the "engine" and then those same logs came out in a compartment in the back.  This kept the kids running back and forth trying to keep the engine or heater to stay lit up.

The kids also got to pretend they were loggers- running logs down the river.  Lots of dancing and wiggling happened on those logs!

We had a great visit at the museum!  Even better was that we got to enjoy it with friends! 

:-)

Life is good!

So....for the rest of my week...

Tuesday- full day at the zoo with a picnic lunch followed by more play time (and then a dull trip to Costco)

Wednesday- fun play date with friends at our house after story time at our little library

Thursday- play date with our great friends from Something So Big, making egg noodles, collecting caterpillars to observe in jars (I'm really afraid that these are the dreaded Gypsy Moths but I'm not sure) and finally Music at the Park in Platteville

Friday- REST! day (I bought lots of watermelon and cantaloupe at a roadside stand which I'm planning to turn into watermelon jelly and cantaloupe ice cream).  Maybe, just maybe, I'll take the girls to a local swimming pool.  

Saturday- we've got a fun play date scheduled at Governor Dodge State Park

Sunday- not sure about...any ideas?

Monday- also not sure about...more ideas?

AND Monday night DADDY comes HOME!!!!

Tuesday- rest day for us all.  We're gonna need it!!!!

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Got Paper? Make Airplanes!

I honestly can't remember how this little Paper Airplane Bonanza came about....I just remember the girls kept asking for more and more and more sheets of paper to craft their paper airplanes.  (I'm pretty sure Daddy taught them how to fold them)

Hey, I'm okay with using paper if it keeps the "Mommy, I'm Bored" talk away!

ye ol' basket-o-planes

On some of the planes the girls got crafty and colored or drew pictures on them:

Annika's little birds.  I really love these little birds!

Now we're coming to the end of our summer vacation.  As this will be our last week before school starts I'm trying to come up with ideas on what to do with the girls (especially since Daddy happens to be away on a week+ business trip).  


Got any ideas on fun activities to do?  

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Garden Updates for July and August

I meant to post photos of our gardens last month.  I really did!  Well, I guess it's better late than never!  Perhaps you can see the changes in our veggie garden from one month to the next.

July 2010- Purple coneflowers and the Black-eye susans are in full swing (as is my limelight hydrangea in the back)

July 2010- My one giant sunflower by our front entry way (in the past I've had a forest of sunflowers in this location.  This year there's only one).  Now the flower is super heavy with seeds and chickadees like to visit it.

July 2010- veggie garden (see those bean teepees?  Scroll down to see how they look in August!)

July 2010- ah, the joys of having a small pool in the garden (entertainment for the girls while I work!)

July 2010

AUGUST 2010.  Notice a difference in the bean teepees??????

August 2010- Yowzers!  Those are some BEANS! (along with some giant kale)

August 2010- Girls are holding up what are called Red Noodle Beans- they're supposed to be yard-long beans.  I grew them just because I was curious!  They're fun to munch on while I'm working in the garden.

August 2010- Annika next to the pepper and GROUND CHERRY bed.  Oh my.  Those ground cherry plants REALLY looooooove it there!  Have you ever tried a ground cherry?  A few years ago I read about them in a gardening magazine (they're touted as one of the few annual fruits available) and I HAD to try growing them.  They really are sweet and yummy!

August 2010- a few spoils from the garden!

Harvest Season:
So far, I've canned two kinds of pickles (hamburger dill and curry), made ground cherry jam, canned salsa (Annie's Salsa Recipe found here but you'll have to scroll down the page to find it), pulled the onions and most of the shallots and picked most of the dried shell beans. Carrots also have been pulled. 


We've been eating fresh veggies from our garden every day.  Most meals turn into a game, "How Many Kinds of Veggies Can I Cram Into One Meal?"  I'm grateful my family are good sports about the whole thing!  


I really should do a fall planting...if I actually manage to get time to do one!  It'd be nice to have more carrots and spinach.


I'm already thinking about next year's veggie garden.  
How about you?  Are you planning what your garden will be like next year?

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As Good As It Gets...Sleep-over with Friends!

Annika and Ava have been begging all spring and summer to have a sleep-over with their best friends- Paige, Shae & Wynne.  

  

Finally the stars all lined up one evening in late July...and the girls got their wish! (It's been a busy summer for both families).

Oh. My. Goodness!

So. Much. Fun!

Naturally it was super hot that day...but our trusty caterpillar sprinkler worked its charm on all the girls.

Paige & Shae or perhaps Shae & Paige (sometimes I have trouble telling these cutie pie twins apart!)

Paige, Shae & Annika

Mark sprayed the older girls.  They kept teasing him and coming back for more!

Oh!  The sprinkler by the slide is a fun idea!

Now it's Wynne's turn!

Even Ava got wet (she tried so hard not to...can't understand why!?)

Thanks so much for coming over and spending the evening with us!  We had a blast and I know Annika and Ava would like to do it again!

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Deck railing to go with pretty flowers, some pickles & painted blocks

Here's another round of Random Photos from earlier this month:

New deck railing.  

Our deck is less than six years old.  And the railing is already falling apart.  Oops.  We thought we were being all clever and wise with our original design but it turns out we really goofed!  

So we're working on a simple design using STEEL.  This baby had better not break!  So far Mark has finished one panel....

Let me also explain that there will be wood board (or wood-like material) going across the top of the metal frame (it'll sit on top of the wooden vertical posts).

We can create our new deck railing fairly economically because we own a welder (and it helps that Mark knows how to wield it).  However we're waiting to do the rest of the railing when our budget can come up for a breath of fresh air.  

Like my umbrella drying rack?  I love drying towels outside...but not so much our clothes (hate how stiff clothes feel after drying outside)

Lovely spiderweb hanging out on a tomato plant on our deck.

My lovely & very red glads...

After much jealousy and coveting of my sister-in-law's cutting garden I finally decided to bite the bullet and create my own.  This year I planted glads and some dahlias (deer apparently like dahlias but I'm hoping I'll still get to enjoy them).  

What should I add to my cutting garden next year....perhaps some zinnias?  Any suggestions?

some PICKLES!

My veggie garden is in the Going Nuts Stage of Production.  Trying to figure out what to do with all those cucumbers is quite the challenge. 

I made one batch of Hamburger Dill Pickles (with dill from our garden) and one batch of Curry Pickles (not shown).  I still have more cucumbers to use!

  How many pickles can one family eat????  

Painted Blocks:

One afternoon before our most recent trip to Michigan the girls were bored, borED, boRED, BORED!

What to do??????

We found some random blocks of wood (plain old pine, not treated lumber) near our chop saw, got out pots of paint, brushes, and the ever-so-important art smocks.

And the girls went to town painting them.

Check out a new use for egg cartons:

I'll admit I'm never super excited to get out the paints- I don't love the clean-up that's involved afterwards (and finding paint all over the house later on) but it did keep the girls occupied and happy for quite some time so it was definitely worth it!

We intended to turn these blocks into place tag holders (by cutting a slit in each one to hold a card) but that didn't happen before our trip to Michigan....and the girls gave these blocks out as gifts to family.  So, I guess they're paperweights?!?

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