Out of Oliver

• While 'helping' Andrew put something enormous into the van: this thing's heavier than a piece of pie.

• While listening to a Christopher Columbus biography: they all put their hands on a Bible? [swearing allegiance to the queen and their mission]  Must have been a big one, that's a lot of men.

• Describing a dream he had about Busytown (his Tonka town in nana and papa's dirt), being underground: it was like a mind, all little tunnels and stuff.  Kinda like an amaze.



Getting air at Snowbasin, Utah.



yay family vacay

Okay.  I forgot my camera on the family vacation.  And bad mom/blogger of the year goes to-- wait for it-- yours truly!  I'd like to thank my children, I couldn't have done it without you!  Thankfully my phone was usually within reach.  But these lovely moments were captured by my sister's camera, and tell of our time spent with her family.  I'll try to bring some of my own iPhone photographic art to the blog soon, too.

Little recap of our family's schedule on this 12 day break from reality (not really, reality came along buckled in car seats).  We drove the 21+ hours to Utah to my sister and brother-in-law's near Salt Lake City.  The ride out involved one puke episode, multiple potty breaks, so much snacking, a watching of Madagascar II, sleeping a few hours at a time in the van, chewing and spitting and chewing and spitting sunflower seeds, a speeding ticket and some serious gasoline consumption by Goldie (the Honda Odyssey).

We were warmly welcomed with hot wings when we reached our destination.  So.  Good.  The next morning we prepped for a two day camping trip in the Uintas (which went better than I expected it to go).  Most of these photos tell those tales.  After the camping trip we went back to Gaalswyks' for 5 more days of fun!  We went swimming at a mountain reservoir, hit up the splash pad, went mt. biking, hiking, caught an outdoor concert and BBQ at Snowbasin resort, the moms had a night out of shopping and amazing food.  Speaking of uh-mazing food, Andrew cooked up a mean meal of salmon the night before we left.  My cousin Megan flew in 2 days before, so she used her sue chef skills and sauced and season and saladed it up too.  It could have been my last supper it was so perfect.  We hit the road Thursday with the goal of finding a place to camp (in a TENT), before dark.  I had some apprehension about being pregnant (read: extra edgy...not in the cute, high fashion way), and sleeping in a tent with 3 children in the wilderness.  Oh don't worry, this particular campground had nightly bear activity so we were seriously instructed in all proper food storage.  Whaa??  Then as Anj was setting up - what was that?  sure enough, rain drops.  Camping with my precious family in bear country in the rain while pregnant.  My favorite.  Okay, it went SURPRISINGLY well.  I recently read a quote that could have been my anthem for this trip--

Attitude is

the difference between

an ordeal

and

an adventure.

That cuts.  Deep.  Anyway, the next day was spent adventuring in the Grand Tetons (where we had staked our claim...I mean tent), and Yellowstone parks.  Holy cow.  Andrew pointed out on the way home- sometimes you just need to see some of the amazing majesty of God's creation to better understand the smallness of me and the HUGENESS of Him.  Our central Minnesota landscape is beautiful, don't get me wrong.  But the glory of the mountains is awe-inspiring.  We saw so much over sized wildlife- as in buffalo and elk.  There's a gorge in Yellowstone that they call the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  My fear of heights tainted the vastness just a touch, but aside from almost dying of a heart attack on the hike down and back up, it was still a highlight for me.  The thermal something something going on in the ground near Old Faithful is interesting...like kids, don't step a toe off the path or your foot might burn off.  Yikes.  They had really fantastic ice cream at the visitors center there.  Also a highlight.  After such exhausting exploring it was time to start the trek home.  I swear it took twice as long to get back as it took to go there.  It had to have.  My kids are lucky they survived my wrath that came from sleep deprivation and the knowledge of all the dirty laundry that was stinking up the mobile home (again referring to the van).  The children each ate their weight in Captain Crunch Oops All Berries on the way home, and the next day everyone's bathroom products were such extraordinary colors, it set me back in my seat thinking of all the dye my wee-uns had consumed.  They're still alive though...so that's good.  

Over all it was such a sweet and exciting time for all 5 of us.  Best family vacation yet! 

    

The 4 stooges on Independence Day.  Oliver, Margot, Theo, Geo

We stayed in a cabin July 4th and 5th, located far from civilization.  Don't be fooled by those sweet half-logs and that safe looking fire extinguisher- this baby had just been visited by a 'brown bear' of sorts the night before we arrived.  We learned this from the campground's groundskeeper- a 50 something gal who's been living up there alone for years.  We nick named her Rousseau for anyone who has seen LOST.  As in, the bear would lose.

A patriotic hike in bear country.  Marg, Anna, Luke, Theo, Anj, Gigi, Oliver.  Don't mess with team USA.

G making sure T is adequately hydrated.

The twins.

Auntie and Margs at Mirror Lake.

Patriot, lakeside.

Brother-in-law Luke assisting young Theo with the ole rod n reel.

Gang's all here.

Hello, Gorgeous Gaalswyks...and Luke.

MacGyver after an INTENSE hike that the ladies thought would be a half mile, but ended up being a solid 5, at least a third of which was spent 'scrambling' (aka crawling to avoid plummeting to your death).  The view was almost worth it. 

Sweet air.

By the looks of it, Theo's catching something with his 'mountain special,' designed and manufactured by his dad.

Wish You Were Here!

Greetings from the High Uintas!

The fam is enjoying a lovely, adventure-ridden vacation with my sister's family in Utah.  Full post to come when we're back in Minn (if we survive the 24 hour car ride again...it was touch-and-go on the way out...).

*and yes, I'm baking another bun. :)

An affair to remember

As promised, I forgot my camera!  Lucky for me, my dear mother doesn't leave home without hers.  She's also a league above me in the actual picture taking department.  Like I'm on the farm team, and she's the 2004 Minnesota Twins.  

Enough nonsense.

The weather was fare, the guests were beautiful, the wedding party was stunning, the bride and groom were radiant.  Feast your eyes on the blessed event.

My cousins (Megan and Josie), and I designed all flower arrangements (including bouquets).  We created and curated all center pieces (absolute dream come true for all 3 of us!), Andrew and I made the chalkboard sign, and the rest of the beauty was homespun by the bride and groom's family.

This picture doesn't even capture the magnitude of this tent.  And the glory of all that bunting!

'Peter + Claire's Toasting Wine'

Garden roses.

Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorites, however- I've never watched a chef make me a custom omelette.  Dreamy.

The reception was at the groom's grandmother's *glorious* farm, necessitating a portable toilet.  Have you ever seen one quite so cute?! 

This is the lovely Claire, awaiting her grand entrance with her father.



Peter and his dear, dear family.

The drinks were outrageous.  Rhubarb punch, anyone?

Josie (left), is a powerhouse- both in brains and creativity.  It looks like I'm going to eat the camera, but that's only because I was truly that excited.  Everything went so swimmingly.



Wow.

What up

Our spring months have been spent playing in the snow, puddles, snow, and puddles.  Among a few other things.

Margot has said goodbye to her baby days of bottle drinking.  The funny thing I'm realizing, is that Oliver (first born) was nursed until he was precisely one year old, and then weened entirely.  You know, like you're supposed to?  Spoiler alert- third baby gets some slack-parenting perks.

Comedy category: the year G was born we had skunks and cats living in cohabitation...in our garage/unwelcomed-animal guest house.  The other day Oliver asked, "Remember when our garage smelled like, peanut butter and toots?"  Um, no bud, but that's one of the funniest combinations/descriptions of smell EVER.

In more recent news- as in this morning- Marg tried to bite Oliver's head, which ended up being a double whammy when her bubble gum got stuck in his freshly barbered hair.  I thought surely I was going to have to shave the poor kid bald, but hurrah for peanut butter (minus the toots)!  After a good shampoo to remove the peanut grease, he's ship shape. 

Oliver and his cousins, summer 2010, a month after he shaved his own head to the skin. 

Although summer's acting all shy by hiding around the corner instead of making a full appearance, I've seized every fair weather opportunity for garage saling.  I'm amping up my lamp and light fixture collection, so if there's a need out there for a well lit room- contact me.  My cousin Megan and I took George out for coffee and garage/estate shopping for her birthday.  As a result of G showing everyone her 3 fingers (and her nickle) everywhere we went, a group of strangers at a sale sang happy birthday to her.  Perfect fun!

Adorned in birthday dress and jewelry, carrying her puppy purse stocked with a nickle, Skittles, and a makeup brush.



Besides treasure hunting and keeping the little persons alive, I've also been preparing for the social event of the season- the wedding of two beautiful people, at a beautiful farm, next *beautiful* weekend.  Pictures will tell the story...if I remember my camera.

And you know Andrew's busy being the man of the year.

G-meister.

Georgianna Lynn, my almost-3-year-old little person, is (besides an indian/jungle-dweller):

• a care giver.  Anytime someone is crying, she immediately goes in search of their blankie...even if she caused the tears. 
• over the 'perpetual bedhead' phase (most days).
• in L-O-V-E with the color pink.  The other day we were doing some yard work and she looked at the house and said, "I don't like my house."  I thought she meant she'd rather be at grandma's or nana's.  "I don't like my house.  It white.  I want it be pink."   Interesting.
• FINALLY wearing her big girl panties and not wrecking them within the first few minutes, if you know what I mean.
• so helpful in the kitchen...and the laundry room...and bathroom.  Regular Cinderellie.
• one tough cookie.  Although we were cautioned at Costco about fingers being smashed while riding under the cart, a couple days later G put her little pointer right under the cart wheel at Target while the 3 stooges were shopping with Andrew (see?).  She came out with one less fingernail, but sports her daily band aid like a badge.
• a charismatic pray-er.  You can expect your food to be luke-warm by the time she's through praying at a meal, with all the thank yous and requests she has for 'her Jesus' (yes, she claims him).
• mature (?) enough to play with Oliver for .275 seconds before he yells 'MOOOOOOOMMMMMM!'
• into playing tea party with Margs.  Another short-lived activity.  But seriously a moment of peaceful play is a moment without whining or pulling on mom's legs, and I live for those precious moments.
• our squishy mini munchkin who makes us crazy (mostly good crazy). 

She's a gift.

Margot the Mini

[The content of this post was going to seem incredibly trivial in light of our country's current turmoil.  So I want to acknowledge that I am deeply saddened and praying for these families and our nation through the waves of evil that are pounding on us all.  "And when my heart is overwhelmed, please lead me to the Rock that is higher than I."  Psalm 61:2]

Margot's crib- as in room, not bed...though her bed is also a crib.

A project in the living room and a new curtain inspired this little nursery makeover.  Everything's subject to change around here, so watch it.  The curtain is just tacked up with a few sewing pins right now, due to lack of curtain rod due to lack of window trim for mounting such an apparatus.  Also, you might notice the pattern is sideways...umm, yeah.  It's one of two gigantic panels from Ikea, hung horizontally.  I need to cut it in half and make a second panel (my brother has the other biggy in his daughter's nursery, fyi).  I love the sweet, old-fashioned floral with the graphic rug!

This bad boy was formerly in the living room.  If only we could have gotten a video of Andrew and I transporting it up the stairs, around tight corners, and here to rest.  It was the opposite of awesome.  But totally worth the hernia!  I love it in her room.  I repainted it right on the spot- Benjamin Moore's Barren Plain, with the exception of the back, which is BM's Atrium White.

Oh- there's the little gnome now!

Bobsie twins, Mother Goose, Beatrix Potter, Trixie Belden, mice, cookie cutters, glitter-eared sheep, a sound machine.

I popped a few pink messy-dots (??) on Margot's once wicked-boring lamp shade.  I want to grab some ribbon to trim it out next time I'm at JoAnn's