Feeding the Geese at Silver Lake

Amaya came up with a lot of great ideas of things to do... and one of them was to feed the geese and Silver Lake. We'd been saving some bread for a couple of weeks for them, and after Steve got off work, we headed down to the lake.

The geese were very hungry!

Once we got the bread out, we had a huge group of geese surrounding us!

Some of them were a little aggressive, so we tried to feed the ones who weren't quite as greedy.

Amaya really enjoyed being up close to the geese and they sure loved her!

No more bread left...

Once all our bread was gone, they all took off...

Niagara Cave

For my birthday - on the actual day - we thought it would be a great day for a road trip to Harmony, MN and go to Niagara Cave. Both Steve and I have been there, but this would be Amaya's first cave experience!

 

Here's our tour guide to lead us down the steep stairs into the cave. Amaya thought it was a great adventure. And our tour guide was wonderful to Amaya and gave her one of his extra flashlights to point out fossils, stalagmites, etc. She LOVED exploring with her very own flashlight!

One of the most impressive things in the cave, was the 60 foot waterfall! I got a little nervous walking across the platform, but Steve and Amaya had no fear.

 

Amaya enjoyed every part of the cave - even when the tour guide turned off all the lights for us to experience "total darkness." And we all enjoyed being inside 48 degree weather!

The grounds surrounding Niagara Cave are so pretty, and I couldn't resist taking a bunch of pictures of the flowers.

 

Afterwards, we ate at the Village Square restaurant in downtown Harmony. Steve and I both got burgers and Amaya got a grilled cheese sandwich. I was craving a big, juicy burger with bacon, and I was not disappointed! It was the best burger ever!!! 

It was a wonderful birthday!

Cooling Down

It's been unbearably hot all summer... too hot! So... next up on our staycation... run through the sprinkler and set up the pool.

We bought a new swimming pool for Amaya that's big enough for all of us. Her other own was much, much too small for her anymore. Although, it took quite awhile to get it filled up.

The water was very cool... too cold for me... and a little too cold for Steve and Amaya, but they both went in.

Maybe if we bring the slide in the water... it will help Amaya adjust to the temperature.

Nope! Still too cold!

Cold water or not... it was still a refreshing way to cool off from the heat!

Strawberry Picking

In the Allergy Department, we choose our vacation time early in January, and honestly, it's a little difficult to think about summer vacation when the temperature hovers around 10 degrees and there's snow on the ground. With Steve's job, we were unsure how much vacation time he would have and because we had just completed Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University we were unsure how much money we should really be spending on vacation. So, we picked two weeks off in June and because I'm only part-time, I got a few extra days off just because of the way the schedule worked out. 

And... for the first time since we've been married... we took a STAYCATION! There's nothing more relaxing than sleeping in... no set schedule... no deadlines to make... no timeline...doing whatever suits our fancy...no stress about the weather ruining our plans...etc. And even better yet - there's a lot of peace of mind knowing that we didn't spend thousands of dollars! And while our vacation wasn't quite what I was expecting - it was the rest and quality time that our family needed.

Amaya and I sat down and wrote down a bunch of things we wanted to do on vacation that were inexpensive and free. So, first on our agenda - Strawberry Picking at Sekapp's. I don't recall ever going strawberry picking, so it was quite the adventure for Amaya and me. We went early in the morning, and the temperature was already rising past 80 degrees. And as you can see by the picture below... not many people were there to brave the heat.

Amaya dove right in after a little instruction.. only pick the really red ones...

And while the strawberries were small, they were the best strawberries we had ever tasted!

Amaya paused briefly for a quick picture.

 Somehow, Amaya thought we had to pick ALL the strawberries in the field and fill up our bucket. She was a very hard little worker!

 All the bending over and heat was beginning to get to me and I hadn't put sunscreen on either of us, so after about an hour and a half of picking, we called it quits. We picked a little over 3 1/2 pounds - plus we confessed to the sales clerk that we had eaten a half a pound while picking. The clerk was very sweet and said, "That's all part of the experience!" and didn't charge us any extra.

 I originally thought that I might make a pie, but we ate all of the strawberries before I even got out the ingredients! Maybe next year....

Celebrating Ruth Ann's Birthday

Earlier in June, we invited Steve's parents to come over for dinner to celebrate Ruth Ann's 70th birthday! (Although just between me and Ruth Ann - she'll always be 46 in my book!) It's not about the age... it's all about a person's attitude and mindset. And one thing I know about Ruth Ann... she's always willing to be surprised and "make anything fun."

When we were expecting Amaya, once again, we told people pretty early. We were celebrating a bunch of birthdays at Fisherman's Inn - several of Steve's extended family were visiting from Arkansas - and as Steve and I were making our way through the salad bar, I turned to Steve and said, "Wouldn't it be fun to surprise your mom with our news as a birthday gift?" And so we did... After Ruth Ann opened her gifts back at the house, we told her we had one more gift to give her, but it wouldn't be here until early February. Steve's Aunt Janet immediately knew our news after that clue alone. It took Ruth Ann a little longer, but she eventually guessed right.

So... five years later...lacking some originality... wouldn't it be fun to do it again and see if  Ruth Ann could guess it quicker?

Steve captured the entire scene perfectly with our camera.... Here Ruth Ann is reading the notecard that has our due date written on it: January 23rd, 2013....

And here... Ruth Ann is explaining... "It's not our anniversary, because that's the 21st. It's not Debbie's birthday because that's the 19th. It's not Amaya's birthday, because that's the 20th."

While Ruth Ann was thinking... Lowell got it! I love Amaya's expression and I love the thumbs up even more!

And.... it clicked!

Amaya was so excited to share our news and we weren't sure if she'd be able to keep a secret through dinner, so after presents, we ate supper and had cake and ice cream.

After cake and ice cream, we played Charades for Kids. It's absolutely hilarious especially playing with Steve because he really gets into it! There are two different types of cards - one with words on that adults can use and another set that has a picture of what to act out for Amaya. This is by far, one of her favorite games to play.

 Amaya desperately wants to read.... we started a little bit in the spring, but really need to work on it some more this summer. Here she's reading Hop on Pop to Grandma and Grandpa (with a little help.) before they had to leave for the evening.

Happy Birthday Ruth Ann!

Queen Extravaganza

For our birthdays this year, Steve and I bought tickets to see the tribute band, "Queen Extravaganza" in the citites. Now, I'm not a big fan of the rock sensation, Queen as it was a wee bit before my time, but I am a huge fan of the tribute band's lead singer - Marc Martel - from the Christian rock group Downhere.

The original drummer from Queen, Roger Taylor, set out to form a tribute band designed to celebrate the late Freddie Mercury and the legendary music of Queen. There was a formal contest, and Marc Martel (who has an uncanny resemblance to Freddie Mercury and sounds just like him) was chosen as the winner to lead the tribute band.

I've followed Marc Martel and Downhere since the band's early beginnings in 2000 and was even a part of their street team doing some PR work for them. I received a big box of demo CDs, posters, stickers, etc and distributed them around our church and few Christian books stores in Rochester. Their music has touched my heart in unspeakable ways... their music was a great comfort when my grandma died and when Ben was diagnosed with leukemia. Unfortunately, just this week, Downhere released a statement that the musicians are pursuing other avenues. All of the band members with the exception of Marc Martel, have very young families, and I can imagine that the travel is difficult for all involved. It's a sad week for Downhere fans, but their legacy continues.

Anyway, we saw Downhere perform in 2007 (while I was pregnant with Amaya) and I was excited to hear Marc Martel perform in a different setting. The Queen Extravaganza was performing in Minneapolis at a place called, "The Brick." It didn't sound familiar, but when we walked in... it was the exact venue where Downhere had performed 5 years ago. It was a little surreal... we just don't go to concerts... and here we are again... seeing Marc... at the Brick... and I'm pregnant... :-) Wonder what the baby thought of  the music?!?

The concert was phenomenal and while I wasn't a fan of Queen's music... I was surprised at how many songs I recognized. Marc Martel was flat out amazing. He has one of the most incredible voices... if you've got a chance check out his performance of Nessum Dorma on You Tube. A-MAZING! Did I mention that he is amazing?!? The concert was a little over 2 1/2 hours with a brief intermission - so we definitely got our money's worth. And better yet, we got to meet Marc after the show! We told him that we were huge Downhere fans (which I'm sure surprised him - most people were there to hear Queen music, not to listen to some Christian rock singer) and we mentioned that we were at the Brick five years ago. We were both surprised that he remembered how packed the venue was back then. He was very down to earth and it was an absolute honor to meet him and definitely a highlight of the night!!!

34 Years Young

We celebrated my birthday a week early with my family because my parents were going  on vacation to Colorado for 2 weeks. (Had I known there would be wildfires right around where they were, I wouldn't have let them leave the state!)

My mom made one of my favorite meals - roast beef, potatoes, carrots, corn, and fruit - yummy! Even though my mom has shown me many times how to make her gravy... I still can't get it as good as hers! Amaya had just shared the news that our family was growing, which made the day even more special.

Later that evening, Mike and Arwen and the kids came over for cake and ice cream. One of my favorite cakes is German Chocolate, but there are certain members in our family (who shall remain nameless!) that don't like coconut. How can anyone not like coconut? Anyway... my mom made two cakes - one with German Chocolate frosting and one plain chocolate.

Me and my favorite girl....

After cake, we played outside. Mom and Dad picked up a badminton set at a garage sale. They now have an official net (instead of the garbage cans) and plenty of rackets for a bunch of us to play. I hadn't played in forever, so it was a lot of fun and the kids caught on quickly. It was a great day and this year is looking better and better all the time!

Big Sister!

Got Mulch?

It was nearly four years ago when we had our landscaping professionally done, and we haven't needed to do much upkeep besides replacing a few plants that didn't make it. It was past due to add new mulch, but it was going to be a HUGE project for Steve and expensive. Sure, the bags at Menard's are only 2 bucks a bag for a couple cubic feet... but we needed 11 YARDS!! We went to Sargent's Nursery and put our order in... and they delievered later that night! We were massively impressed!

Not sure how much 11 yards is.....

 

 And Steve used every last inch of it! 

Here's a before picture... we never did get an after picture... but after 10-12 hours of Steve's hard work... it looks great!

We've also had several bunnies residing underneath our deck and evergreen tree and unfortunately they like my plants. They ate most of my hostas with the exception of the ones in the front yard and they devoured my tiger lillies and coneflowers. So, a couple weeks later we went back to Sargent's and bought a bunch of plants that bunnies HATE! So far, so good... they haven't come near them, although they must be desperate because they started attacking my geranium on the deck... Grrr...

It's kinda funny... whenever I see a cute little bunny grazing on the grass and don't get me wrong, they are cute... I ask Steve to go scare it away... He runs outside after it and starts clapping his hands loudly... and now Little Miss Amaya has started too... she'll yell, "Go away Bunny! Shoo!" Poor little bunnies... But we really can't afford to feed these bunnies year after year... maybe we could afford a shotgun... (kidding... well, maybe...)

2nd Trimester!

I'm 13 weeks, 3 days along and I'm feeling much, much better. On the days that I work, I'm much more tired, and besides the heartburn, occasional dizziness, and racing heart (all of which are normal pregnancy symptoms) I feel pretty good.

On Thursday, I had a check up with a different doctor since my OB doctor was on vacation. (I suppose since he's one of the best OB doctors in the nation and wrote the Mayo Clinic Healthy Pregnancy Book - he deserves a vacation) Typically, at this appointment, it's just a quick listen to the heartbeat and measure my stomach to make sure the baby is growing. But... since I had a doctor who had never laid eyes on me or the baby, he asked, "Do you mind if I bring in the portable ultrasound so I can take a quick look at the baby?" DO I MIND? Really? OF COURSE YOU CAN!!!

As soon as he got the ultrasound on my stomach, I could make out the spine and see two little legs kicking!) The doctor told me he thought I had a gymnast on my hands because the baby was doing a headstand with the legs kicking in the air! And just as soon as he said that, the baby did a little flip and went right back to doing another headstand! The baby is about the size of a lemon - measuring 3 1/2 inches long. So far, we're right on track and the baby is "as healthy as can be and quite active" (I was a little disappointed that Steve wasn't with... we thought it was going to be an uneventful appointment... oh well...)

We have our anatomy ultrasound scheduled on August 28th and hope to find out whether the baby is a boy or girl. Either way, we're going to be thrilled! It will be a long 6 weeks to wait to see this little baby again!