father's day weekend

This Father's Day weekend Steve and I headed north to Lake Superior for Grandma's Marathon. A weekend long anticipated, we were both excited about sharing some time together in beautiful Duluth, and Steve was looking forward to running the half marathon.

We arrived early on Friday afternoon and enjoyed walking around the Marathon Expo, meeting up with friends, a yummy dinner and a good night's rest. Saturday morning the alarm went off at 3:45am, summoning Steve out of bed to get ready to board the bus for the beginning of the race. We were both excited. If you have never watched a marathon, it is surprisingly a very fun thing to watch. It's inspiring to see people of all ages, races, sizes and more accomplishing such an awesome goal.

While Steve was working his way down the 13.1 mile course I relaxed in the room and enjoyed some peace and quiet - a luxury these days! - and then headed outside around 7am to the finish line. It was a gorgeous morning. I sipped my coffee and took in the sights...was wowed by the leaders who ran under 5 min miles (even for the full marathon!), and took lots of pictures.

The finish line

#1 and #2 finishers for the 1/2 marathon, who finished in just over an hour!

Steve's goal was to run the 1/2 around 2 hours and was determined to win a bet that he and several co-workers had placed on his time. It was really down to the wire at the end and we weren't sure if he had beat the time for a few hours after his race. But, he beat it! I think that made what was a fun day anyway, even that more fun for him!

(Can you spot Steve?)

Steve's friend and his 16 yr. old daughter - running the full marathon

The rest of the day we walked around downtown watching friends in the full marathon, grabbed lunch, took a nice long nap, enjoyed a delicious dinner, and then met up with friends and stayed out way past our bedtimes. It was a wonderful weekend!

Our weekend was made even sweeter coming home to 2 precious children who were very excited to celebrate Father's Day with their special daddy. Anna exclaimed "you're the best daddy ever!" ... how much better does it get? On this day and every day...we love and appreciate all you do as a daddy (and a husband) Steve. And a very happy Father's day to you Dad and Jim...we love you too! We hope you all are enjoying this gorgeous weekend.

goofy smiles

Smile pretty!

Let me see those tongues!

Clap your hands!

SHOW ME YOUR MUSCLES!!!!

out of the mouths of babes

or our babe at least...

Anna: Mommy, will you be my friend?

Me: I'll be your mommy Anna...you'll have lots of friends, but only ONE mommy!

Anna: OK, I'll always like you mommy

Me: Oh good! But you may not like me ALL the time, because sometimes I may have to say "no". But even when I say no, I always love you.

Anna: Yeah, well, sometimes in my nap I say I don't like you, but I really do love you mommy. Ok? I say that, but I do love you.

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Me: Anna, please stop splashing water onto the floor

Anna: (Dumps an entire cup of water on me and the floor from the bath)

Me: Anna, please do not splash water onto the floor

Anna: (continues to splash)

Me: Bathtime is over Anna. When you are dressed I want you to take this towel and wipe up this huge mess that you made.

Anna: That's not my JOB mommy.

Me: Well, if you make the mess, then you have to clean it up Anna.

Anna: I feel like Cinderella cleaning up this big mess. And you are like the evil stepmother.

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Anna: You are hilarious mommy

Me: Ha! What do you think hilarious means Anna?

Anna: That you're really, really nice

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Anna listening to a song on the radio: Mommy, that guy just said "our God is stronger". His God isn't stronger, OUR God is stronger.

Me: Well, Anna there is only one God. His God is the same as our God.

Anna: But his God can't be stronger because MINE is the strongest. And I talk to him. I wish on a star at night and talk to God. And I know he can hear me.

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summer begins...

For the past two weeks we have been activity free...preschool has been over, dance wrapped up last week with Anna's recitals and we have spent many hours outside enjoying the nice weather. One afternoon we were fortunate enough to spend a day at a friend's pool with Tanya and Tyson. Anna and Emmett were little fish, swimming around with me while Tyson enjoyed a nice snooze in the warm fresh air. It was a great time for all of us!

This week Anna began farm camp - today being her very first day. On this much anticipated day, we were greeted with pouring rain...but rain or shine camp must go on. Dressed in her rain coat and new pink boots, Anna was ready for whatever came her way. After picking her up I learned that she got to pet the pony - "even though it's hair was soaking wet" and she got to make scrambled eggs for snack. They collected the eggs, broke them themselves and made it. She informed me that while she did take one bite, she didn't eat any more because she didn't like them. Oh, and by the way she was STARVING. HA! They painted, and made pictures with the egg shells. I can only imagine what adventures she will have to come.

Meanwhile, Emmett is teething and walks around all day saying "maaaaaaaaymeee" (mommy) begging to be held. Unless of course he is outside, and then he will climb, run, stomp, and do everything he can think of. A toddler now, Emmett is on the go non-stop. He piles things on top of one another to climb higher. He falls off many things - face first. We've had a few cut lips, several bumps and bruises, but...hey, he's a boy and he certainly acts the part! He is BUSY!

Emmett is talking quite a bit now too. The words he can say off hand....mama, dada, maymee (mommy), open, shut, on, off, more, milk, cwacker (cracker), deck (because he loves to go out there), uh oh, oh no, nigh nigh (night night), nuk, gramma, grampa, nana, papa, anna, emme (emmett) and even emmett (with the "t"), mine, go, no, yes, pop (as in freezy pop - which are his favorite), waffle, pancake, hot, touch, book, apple....

Due to teething Emmett's diet has taken a turn for the worse. He still likes green beans, dislikes all fruit except for apples & blueberries, and doesn't like most meat unless it's a hamburger. He loves all things carbohydrates.

We did also recently discover that Emmett is allergic to peanuts. He tried a piece of toast on Memorial Day with about 1 tsp of peanut butter on it and within 45 mins his eye and lips were swollen and he had broken out in hives on his abdomen, arms, back and legs. We had him tested last week and while fortunately he is NOT allergic to anything else....he IS allergic to peanuts.

This means we will need to make sure that he does not eat anything with peanuts in it...so we, and anyone who cares for him, will need to read labels, and carry an epi pen. While not the end of the world...this is definitely a new thing for us and a little scary! It will get easier as he gets older and understands that he needs to pay attention to what he puts in or near his mouth. So no more PB & J's around here I guess!

But, while he can't eat peanuts...we did discover that he can (and will!) eat an entire lemon. During a recent birthday celebration for Uncle Patrick, Emmett kept himself busy by sucking all of the juice out of Grandma's lemon slices. WHAT?! Who knew?!

Speaking of...birthday season begins for our family. This month we celebrate Great Grandma Mary's 85th bday (May 31st), Grandma Great's bday (85th), Papa's bday, Tanya's bday, Great Grandpa Ramler's bday, Steve's bday, and Grandma Mary's birthday. Good thing cake is peanut free. :)