Summer Fun!

It may seem that we've had all of the summer fun that we can handle here with our big trip and all, but we're just getting started!!  We have tons of plans this summer for when we're actually in this country.

To recap a bit: our Spain trip was amazing!!  We saw a lot of the country that I hadn't seen before, and lived with a great host family (I will not be posting their pics, as I did not ask permission).  We started in Barcelona, where we spent 3 days.

Chasing pigeons in a plaza in Barcelona

Then we moved on to Valladolid to stay with our host family.  While we were there, we took a few day trips.  We went to a city called Ávila which is a walled in city that is about 1500 years old.  We went to a city called Segovia with a 2000 year old Roman aqueduct, and we also were able to visit Santander, a beach town on the northern coast.

Skyping with M from our homestay

Our remaining summer plans are quite as exotic, but at least we'll be able to do (most) of them as a family.  Well, after I get back from Panama on the 15th that is.  I am taking a group of students to Panama for 9 days where we'll stay with Panamanian families to learn more about the language and culture there.  We will also be doing some work in a Panamanian orphanage as a service learning project.  We leave on Saturday, and as much as I'm looking forward to the trip, I'm also looking forward to coming home to stay for a while.  ;)

M is on vacation for a week and Evie's birthday is coming up!!  We plan to take her to Bay Beach amusement park in Green Bay during that week.  I went there a ton when I was a kid, and I can't wait to take Evie too!  I have such great memories of it, and it's so exciting to pass that on to her.

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It's going to be a busy summer, but I'm looking forward to spending some time just the three of us before the new baby is born.  Next summer will be a whole new adventure!!

This post was written for Toddle Along Tuesday, sponsored by Growing Up Geeky.  This week's topic is Summer Fun.  

Link up and join the fun!!

Saturday in the Sun

It's was a beautiful day here, and Evie and I spent most of it outside.  I want to enjoy these last nice days.  Once it's cold in Wisconsin, it doesn't warm up until April...or March if we're lucky.  :)

We went to a play group lunch.  After her nap, we went to the park, and then played in the yard for a while.   It was a relaxing day. It was exactly the type of day I've needed since going back to school. 

She figured out how to push her car by herself.
I was tempted to sit in it and let her push me for once!

...and she figured out how to get into the car by herself.

Days like today make me wish that I could be home with her all the time.  I am fortunate to have the opportunity to be home with her during the summer, but since the school year has started, I've been wishing that I could stay home full time.  I love my job and I know that our finances could not support me staying home, but it's fun to dream.

Oh, Mom, stop taking pictures and play with me!!

The grass is always greener on the other side.  M and I get along better when I'm working.  I think I need that outside contact.  Sometime I just feel like I'm missing out.  I guess that's the way all working moms feel at some point. 

I hope the weather holds out for a couple more weekends and we have a few more days like today.  

Y3W: Let's go Brewers!!

M scored some free tickets to the Brewer game on Wednesday night, so we packed up and headed to Milwaukee!  The Brewers are currently leading the NL Central by 6 1/2 games.  Woot!  Woot!!

Picture quality = Not so good.  A really nice usher offered to take the pic for us, we can't complain.  (He also gave Evie a baseball card!)

This was Evie's third game.  She does really well at them.  Miller Park is GREAT about accommodating families with kids.  They allow nursing moms to breastfeed in any of the first aid stations in your own quiet, curtained-off area.  The will also let you hang out there for a little break from the noise of the game.  Kids under 2 get in for free, and they let you bring in your own snacks as long as the bags are sealed.  So, it's a pretty affordable family outing too!

Tailgating before the game

 Hopefully we'll be able to make it to a few more games this year.  I don't want to jinx it....but maybe even a playoff game...!?!?!?!?

Busy, Busy Weekend

It's been a crazy week at our house!!  First there was Evie's surgery.  She has pretty much completely recovered, and her eye looks great!  I think that the blockage has been cleared up, and hopefully there won't be any more eye goop problems. 

Thursday morning, Evie and I made the couple hour trip to my parent's house.  Both of my sisters were there too, which was really nice.  My parent's house is fairly big, but when my sisters are both there with their husbands, and M and I are there with Evie, it seems like you can't find an empty corner.  To make matters worse, one of my sisters has two LARGE black labs, plus Keeka thrown into the mix, and the house seems more like a zoo.  M, Evie, and I have been sleeping at my grandparent's house across the street when we visit to alleviate some of the commotion.  It's nice to spend a little more time with my grandparents too.  They are only in their early 70s, and I hope that Evie will be able to really get to know them.

Saturday morning M and I had to leave early to come back home.  We had tickets to The Great Taste of the Midwest, which is a craft beer festival.  M works for a beer distributor and he received some leftover tickets through work.  I am not the beer snob that he is, but I still thought it was pretty neat.  Imbibing to intoxication is not really the point of the festival, but it's pretty much unavoidable.  We tried A LOT of good beers, and had fun hanging out just the two of us. 

Yesterday was spent recovering and playing with Evie.  I have to begin going to school this week to prepare my classroom.  I can't believe that I only have two more weeks before school starts!!  I know it's cliche, but time sure does fly when you are having fun.  I'm looking forward to a new school year.  I'm not coaching this year, and I finished my master's degree in May, and there are so many cool things I want to try out this year.  I feel like I'll have more time to focus on implementing and perfecting some of the things that I learned in my master's program. 

Before all of that, I need to clean my house.  I better get to it before Evie wakes up!!  

Back to Reality

Our Vegas vacation was a blast!!  It was definitely some well-deserved rest and relaxation for M; he works so hard.  In his industry (beer distribution), a lot of the time that other people have off, especially holidays, are his busiest times.  Summer is non-stop for him, so it was good that he was able to take a break. We tried to live it up as much as we could.  We didn't lose too much money, and we had a lot of fun catching up with old friends. 

You can take the girls away from Wisconsin, but you can't take the cheap Wisconsin beer away from the girls!

We left Monday evening, and we got back to Wisconsin late last night.  Evie stayed with my in-laws (about an hour and a half from our house), so we stayed there last night so that we could be with her.  I missed her terribly.  I wanted my MIL to call me when she went to bed each night so that I could go out believing that she was soundly asleep and there were no problems.  Other than that, I told my MIL that I wasn't going to call so that I would just enjoy myself, and not worry about Evie.  That lasted about 12 hours....4 of which were on a plane. 

Of course, she did fine.  She had a hard time napping, but she slept through the night all 3 nights that we were gone.  That makes 5 nights in a row, a personal record for her!  I was really surprised at how many kids we saw in Vegas, especially how many were out VERY late...2 in the morning, or later. 

Today was back to reality.  Vacation is great, but the aftermath is always awful.  General Sin City recovery (requiring lots of sleep, water, and ibuprofen), unpacking, laundry, cleaning, and trying to get Evie off her no-nap schedule have all made today pretty hectic.  Plus, we're preparing for a big birthday party on Sunday!!  I love traveling, but it sure does feel good to be home!

Vegas, Baby!!

Next month M and I will celebrate 10 years together.  I can't believe that it's been that long!!!  We've been married for almost 6 of those years...  And to think, when we met, I was only 19 and he was only 21....  It's crazy to me now how young we were.

To celebrate, we are heading to Las Vegas for a few days!  We are going with two other couples who are really good friends from college.  The two husbands were actually M's roommates when I met him.  Both of those couples have been together as long as we have, so we all kind of "grew up" in our 20s together.  We all also have kids under the age of 3, so it will be a nice chance for all of us to get away and let loose!

Evie is staying with my in-laws while we are gone, and I know she'll be fine.  I'm dreading leaving her, but I know that Grandma has all sorts of things planned.  They also live in the same town as M's brother, who has 3 kids.  Evie will probably get to spend quite a bit of time with her cousins, which will be good too.  (These are the things I've been telling myself so that I feel less bad/guilty about leaving for three days.)

So, if you stop by between now and Friday, I won't be here.  You can just picture me laying by the pool with a cold beverage nearby!! 

Wordless Wednesday - 4th of July Parade

Our town has a big 4th of July Celebration each year. 

Evie "caught" some candy (Daddy caught it and let her hold it), but doesn't have enough teeth to eat it.  :(

Daddy was trying to teach her that the RED tractors are the good ones!

Wordless Wednesday - New Toy

Wordless Wednesday - Afternoon at the Park

She can't go down the slide by herself, but she likes it when I help her down.

The swings are her favorite!

This was moments before she put a handful of sand in her mouth.

Cheeseheads in the Flatlands

Last weekend, Evie and I visited my youngest sister 4 hours away in central Illinois.  Her husband is going to school there to earn his Ph.D. in nutrition.  They have been living there for about a year now, but I know that she really misses Wisconsin.  My middle sister drove from central Iowa to meet us there as well.

All three of us at my youngest sister's college graduation (2009)

Evie did pretty well in the car

My youngest sis and bro-in-law with 1 week old Evie

My middle sis with Evie at Thanksgiving

We don't have the opportunity to get together very often like this, and we really try to enjoy it when we can.  They don't get to see Evie very often either, so they really enjoy their time with her too.  I am very close to both of my sisters.  My middle sister is two years younger than me, and my youngest sister is less than 18 months younger than the middle one.  Growing up so close in age, we've always had a lot in common.  Our extended family is also very female dominant.  Our mom has three sisters with whom she is very close, so we've always had a strong female influence in our lives. 

First time in the big pool

We had a laid back weekend together.  Friday night, we went out for dinner and had a couple of drinks.  Saturday morning we went shopping, and then Saturday afternoon we took Evie into the big pool for the first time ever!  She LOVED it!!  We out for dinner and for a walk around my brother-in-law's campus on Saturday evening.  Before we knew it, it was Sunday morning and time to head back home. 

General sister goofiness

I talk to both of my sisters pretty much every day, and living as far away from each other as we have over the past couple of years has been difficult.  I hope that one day Evie can roll her eyes at her mom and aunts the way we used to at my mom and her sisters.  We get pretty goofy when we're together, so I don't think that will be a problem.  ;)
 

This weekend with the giant cupcake

First Father's Day

Yesterday was M's first Father's Day!!  We had a fairly uneventful day.  Evie and I were gone all weekend visiting my youngest sister in central Illinois (more to come on that!), and we didn't get home until early afternoon.

After Evie woke up from her nap, we gave M his gifts.  We got him three books; two for him, and one for him to read with Evie.   We got him The Final Four of Everything, because he always says, "Everything is better in a bracket!"  We also gave him Wisconsin's Best Beer Guide.  He really enjoys sports and beer, so both of these books seemed like topics that would interest him.  Evie picked Sunny Bunny Loves His Dad for both of them.  (I literally held up two books in Barnes and Noble and that was the one she touched first.  Coincidence?  Probably, but it's fun to say that she picked it out!) 

The weather was great, so we got Evie ready to hang out in her whale pool.  She is really becoming quite the waterbug.  We played outside for a while, and did a little bit of work in the garden and that was the end of our low-key Father's Day.

How big is Evie???  Sooooo big!

I'd like to start some sort of tradition for Father's Day, but I'm horrible of thinking of good ideas for that sort of stuff.  Does anyone have any traditions that they've done, either for their husband or their dad?  We can always start next year!!

P.S.  If you are here for the Toddle Along Tuesday Blog Hop, Welcome!!  Please feel free to leave your blog address in the comments.  I'd love to follow you back!

Happy Birthday to me!

Yesterday was my first official day of summer and it was also my 29th birthday!  I can't believe that I'm in the last year of my 20s.  M took the day off so that he could spend my birthday with me and Evie.  Another highlight was my sister and her husband (and their two giganto dogs) stayed at our house on Thursday night.  The live in Iowa right now, but they are hoping to move back to Wisconsin this summer sometime.  Thursday evening, my sister babysat so that M and I could go out for dinner.  I think that she and Evie really enjoyed themselves.  She got to feed Evie some kiwi, and some purees as well.  I think she was surprised by the mess!

M gave me my birthday present before we went to bed on Thursday night.  He got me two books that I'm really looking forward to reading: Bossypants by Tina Fey, and The Tudors by  G.J. Meyer.  I love Tina Fey, and I recently DVRed all of "The Tudors" reruns on BBC America and I'm really into learning more about the time period. 

Friday morning, my sister, M, Evie, and I went out for breakfast while my brother-in-law was at a job interview.  After breakfast, my sister left to drive up to my parent's (about 2 1/2 hours from here), and then I went to get my hair done.  I made the appointment a couple of weeks ago thinking that I could use a change when I turned 29.  The pictures below don't really do it justice.  My hair was actually much longer than the before picture looks, and the color is now MUCH lighter.  It's a pretty big change, but it will be a good summer 'do.

This is the best before pic that I could find.

After

Overall it was a great birthday!!  I'm looking forward to whatever "29" has in store for me!!

And it's....

summer vacation!!  As of 11:30 this morning, I was officially on summer vacation.  What a wonderful feeling!  I'm going to be teaching summer school for the next four weeks, but it's only a few hours each morning. 

I went back to work exactly 7 months ago today, and I hate to admit that I've been counting down for a while.  Overall, the school year went relatively well.  I made it through with a baby, I finished my master's degree, and I coached the winter season of cheerleading.  It wasn't even that long ago and I'm already wondering how I did it all.  I definitely owe M for helping make it happen. :)

I have a few projects planned.  I really want to speak only Spanish with Evie while we're at home.  I'm hoping that she'll pick up a bit, and eventually become bilingual.  I want to do some genealogy research on M's side of the family.  He doesn't know much about his family heritage, and I want to be able to tell Evie about it someday.  I also really want to paint a few rooms, and shampoo the carpets (which I've been putting off since spring break). 

I know we need to relax a bit too.  I'm sure that we will have a lot of fun at the park, taking walks with the dog, and playing outside.  We're already beginning to plan Evie's 1st birthday party next month, and M and I are taking a trip to Vegas with some college friends.  There is so much to look forward to!!