Catchin' You Up

So it has almost been a week since I posted something. Surprise, surprise, but we've been a little busy. I know, you're shocked. So as to keep you up with the happenings in our lives, here's what's been going on. My parents passed through B/N last week on their way from Wyoming to Chicago, so we were able to see them for three days in a row and then again on their way back from Chicago. My moms college reunion was up in Greys Lake and it sounds like they had a grand time (a tour to the Jelly Belly factory, mini-golf, a night to the theater and lots of chatting). It makes me smile just thinking about it, because we used to go with them when we were kids and let me tell you, those ladies (and the guys too) are always laughing and telling great stories. We've already started our ISU reunions with my clan this past spring. I only hope ours last as long and that we have that many laughs in the years to come. Anyway, they brought back a little keepsake for Caleb.

We also had a Hearts at Home picnic on Saturday out at Jill's farm. It was nice to finally put faces with names, since most of us work from home. Caleb also had a good time - he found a friend, Shawn, who was born just a few days after him. So they played together - smiling, grabbing each other's toes and laughing together.


Today, my mom and Amy brought Sophie and Ryan up to visit us for the day. The kids were great and the day seemed to pass too quickly. We had lunch at Avantis (yum!) and spent the rest of the afternoon juggling baby nap and eating schedules. Amy was also gracious enough to highlight my hair. Caleb wanted in on the action too!

Wow, what a day!

Wednesday at the Park

On Wednesdays in the summer, the city provides free lunchtime concerts. When I was working downtown at "the Farm", Gabe would come and visit me over lunch and we would enjoy the free concerts together so I could get away for 30 minutes. Now that we're both home, we've tried to make it out as much as we can to listen to the music, enjoy a sack lunch and watch all the kids run around. Caleb especially loves that part. Caleb even made a friend while we there - his name was Moe. He immediately saw Franklin the Frog and wanted to show Caleb that he could play with him too! And by chance, April happened to be there with Grace, so they had some cousin time, too!Some of the concerts are good and some are, well, laughable, but we enjoy them. Today was a jazz quintet, which was well worth it. I think we're going to have another jazzer in the family before he can even say the word. The last concert we went to was "The Dynamics" and well, they might want to rethink their name (smile). All in all a wonderful summer day!

Enjoying a few PBJ sandwiches in the shade

My little red-head! You can't tell in this picture very well, but it's there.

Vitamins & Visitors

We just got our new furniture yesterday! We love it! It is a tad bit bigger than we expected - it always looks so much smaller in the show room, doesn't it? I'm not sure you can tell by the pictures, but it's kind of a hunter green (I thought it was a lighter shade of green in the showroom too). We're in the process of moving things around to make everything look nice and to fit properly. For those of you who don't know the story, the new furniture is courtesy of Caleb's liquid vitamins. Prior to a trip down to see my parents, I had packed his vitamins in a cooler to take down. That morning, I got them out, gave him his vitamins and promptly placed them back in the cooler (which was sitting on our couch). Well apparently I didn't close the cap well enough, because as Gabe was packing up the car, he picked up the cooler and said, "Uh...Laura." I was mortified to see that they had soaked through the cooler, onto the slipcover and through to the sofa cushion. I had washed the slipcover several times but to no avail. So, after much conversation and debate on whether we were going to get new slipcovers or new furniture, the new furniture won out. So now you need to come and visit so we can put it to good use!

Pay no attention to the shirt - daddy dressed him today!

It's a Pardee!

After much pressure from my fellow bloggers, I have finally set up a blog! And what a better way to start off than to tell you about all my adventures from my latest vacation! Earlier in the summer, Gabe's parents had asked us if we would like to go to the Wisconsin Dells with them for a week. Since neither of us had anything going on (for the first time ever, I might add) we said yes! I admit that I was a bit nervous about traveling with Caleb for such a long period of time away from home, but I'm happy to report he was really just the best little boy. I think he liked vacation too!

We set off last Monday and headed to the house rental that Marilyn had set up for us - in Pardeeville! That's right, we knew it was going to be a good time simply by name alone! It was a bit further off the beaten path than any of us expected, but it was nice not being in the commercialized section of the Dells for a week. It was right on Swan Lake, so we had a beautiful view from the living room. However, where there is water, there are mosquitos. Gabe and Tom found this out the first night as they unloaded the van in the dark. Gabe came back with about 5 bites per leg. As it turns out, it became quite the adventure in and of itself just getting in and out of the van each day. The house was great! Caleb had the whole basement to himself, which was great for napping while the adults were playing cards upstairs.

We went into the Dells everyday but Sunday and did a lot of fun stuff (go-karts, Ducks, jet boat tour, golf, mini-golf, magic show, etc). And oh the cheese! I'm glad that I do not live in the great state of WI, or the needle on the scale would look very different.

Caleb had a lot of firsts on vacation too. It was his first time playing in the sand and lake water (he loved it). And he touched a fish for the first time - a little baby bass that Grandma caught. He gave it the one finger test and then proceeded to touch it all over. And then of course, before we could stop him, promptly placed his fingers in his mouth. Oh well, the fish has got to be clean right? That's what I'm telling myself!

Here are a few pics from the va-ca:

We're on vacation, right?

That sand feels sooo good!

Just listening to some tunes

The photographer in me - I had to!

It's amazing how much fun a box can be!