The Summer Wrap-up

This summer has been a whirl-wind, and I can't believe my days are numbered. Gone are the days of sleeping in and working on my tan...which is what all teachers do in the summer, right? (wink, wink) Sadly, I still have a raging farmer-tan and am as sleep deprived as ever :)

Early this summer we were busy with Jocelyn's activities. She had two weeks of basketball camp, followed by night games of softball. And let me tell you, 9 year-old girls softball is a thrilling event (liar). Most of the time, I was busy chasing Ella around, trying to contain her in one area. Jocie also just finished VBS (Vacation Bible School) where Carl volunteered as a teacher (better parent then me). Joice played a lot with the neighbor girl Tessa, where they set up many make-believe pet shops with all of their web-kins, which is her newest obsession.

Ella is as "active" as ever. I am amused and astonished by her unending energy. Though she is hard to control at times, she has a great sense of humor and a big heart, so it is really hard to get too mad at her. She LOVES being outside riding her bike, playing in her playhouse, running through the sprinkler (or the "pickle" as she pronounces it), and her favorite of all, playing with her many babies. These babies have great names, thought up completely by Ella herself. Some of her babies include: Donna, Rosie, Kaiya, Leah, and Rock-n-Roll (her newest boy-baby). If you read my previous Blog, you already know that she is now potty-trained (Woo-Hoo)!

Being a mother and a teacher, I absolutely adore my summers!! Being able to go to the beach on a warm-sunny day, go on many bike rides, watch the girls play with our dog Mario in our backyard are all wonderful things. Although, there are some days I feel like Ms. Hannigan (the caregiver at the orphanage in the movie Annie), singing about "little girls". Walking around my house in a daze of motherhood wanting to retire to my bathtub full of gin, or in my case scotch...I am a Youngern you know....right, mom ;). In those cases I make sure to have a couple of beers after bedtime with Carl!!

Carl has had the best summer since we've moved back to MN. He is now a Diver's Ed Instructor (for you East-Siders--think Mr. Stinar but younger and hotter)! He loves having a schedule that makes it easy to go places on the weekends, and spend more time with his girls. I have taken 6 credits of elective grad classes this summer in order to get ready for my master's program that I am starting this fall (yuck). Is teaching the only profession that you have to spend a ton of money to get a raise??? Oh well...can't fight city hall!

Perhaps the high-light of our summer was our road trip to Detroit to visit our dear friends the Giersdorf's!! Justin (Dorf) and Amie opened their doors for us and showed us an incredible time!! We got to watch our beloved Twins play (and BEAT) the Detroit Tigers twice. We had great tickets for both nights. One night we actually sat in the ESPN Suite!!- thanks Amie! I was a huge loser and made "Circle Us Bert" signs and got on MN TV!!

Which brings me to our summer purchase....yes.....we bought a Mini-Van!! I was always one of those mini-van snobs, who said "I'll never drive a mini-van!" But my husband proved me wrong! He finally talked me into it, mostly because of the Detroit trip. He bribed me with it's DVD player, stow-and-go seats, and lower gas mileage than an SUV. If it would've had a beer tap or alcohol dispenser of some kind, it would have been a faster sale (think 12 hours with Ella)! I had to buy myself a tee-shirt that says "mini-van, mega-fun" on it just to make me feel better! I enjoy watching Carl trying new and exciting (for him) ways of configuring which seats should stay up and which ones he should put down. It's like watching a little boy play with his new LEGOS.

I am refusing to give up on summer yet! Next week the girls and I will be heading up to NW Minnesota's Maple Lake to spend the better part of the week at my mom's awesome lake cabin! If there is one thing I love, it is hanging out at a lake!!! So much fun to be had and sun to soak up. Carl is busy putting up a tent in the back yard for some "camping" with the girls tonight, I'd better run.

Thanks for reading...Cheers!