First Day Fun

It's official. We are back to school. Rosie jumped feet first into her "Ladybug" class with Mrs. Langley and Mrs. Riley. We are also doing something fun this year and having her stay all day on Thursdays at preschool to attend the Owls class and do art, science and music with Mrs. Apin, her teacher from last year. I picked her up from the Owls class and as we were walking home she told me that they read a book about making chocolate and ketchup. 

Rosie: Mom, did you know that chocolate comes from Cocoa beans and that ketchup comes from tomatoes and that they are both grown in gardens? 

Me: I didn't know that. Tell me about it!

Rosie: Well, you mash up the cocoa beans and that makes chocolate and then you mix the tomatoes with milk and sugar and that makes ketchup.

Hmmmm... she may have the processes mixed up, but that's a lot for the first day, huh?

Rosie showed that she is a true Welch by requesting French Toast for her 1st day of school breakfast.

Rosie also started a little dance class at the community center. She LOVES it and asks me everyday if it's Wednesday and time for ballet and tap class!

Sadie and I are having fun hanging out just the two of us. I forget that she and I haven't spent much alone time together, so it's fun to have her all to myself. She's getting so big and her vocabulary is expanding by the minute!

Her first event for our day together involved one of her favorite pastimes.... dumping all of the crayons out of the crayon tub and then putting then back. Then, repeat.

We also did a little art project and then cleaned up in the sink. It's so fun to be fully present with this little one! She cracks me up!

Minnie- sooooo-ta

Sorry. I just haaaad to do it. I've spent the better part of 7 years trying to perfect my Midwest accent. My best material involves calling my husband by his official Minnesotan name, "Rhaaaaaaaan." 

Have I mentioned that I adore the Eckerts? I think I have. I was adopted into this amazing family, by marriage. Each has their own unique family and the truth is, I love them all. I wish we were close enough to see each other on a regular basis, but we do what we can with phone calls, texts and Skype. We soak up the times that we can be together face to face. Rumor has it that it might be a 5 brothers Eckerts Thanksgiving.... in California.... I'm already counting the days.... and also starting to collect blow up mattresses :)
Anyway, we got to spend 4 days with Steve and Lori and the kids and also had a fun visit with Dan and Barb and kids!



All of the cousins are so great when it comes to playing with Rosie and Sadie. They are so patient and willing to play! I think Rosie may have been putting chapstick in Kari's hair in the picture below.

Word on the street is that all Bethel gals think Marcus Eckert is an absolute catch. We Eckert women would have to agree.

Rosie persuaded Logan to try a piece of asparagus. Well, she tried anyway.

I got to meet my blog friend, Jenny, in real life.  If you haven't checked her blog out... you should. You can find it in my blog list. She's equal parts expert wife/mom, friend, baker, artist, decorator and barnbasher. Yes, that's a real word. Barnbasher. In her latest post she salvaged wood from a barn... that was still standing. She's awesome, and it was fun to meet her in person!

Allison is a family favorite. We all love her. Enough said.

Uncle Dan makes the best smores....I don't think they realize that the marshmallow is on fire.

My husband puts up with a lot when it comes to pink girl "stuff." Here is is with Barbie's lace petticoat over his eyes.

Visiting one of Ron's favorite childhood places, the Como Park Zoo. It was awesome.

 Bye, Uncle Steve. I love you. See you in November.

We smooshed 4 pairs of buns into 3 seats on the way home for optimal Elmo viewing on the DVD player.

Second Star to the Right and Straight On 'Till Morning

We spent the last week up in the north woods. Eagle River, Wisconsin. My Neverland, where I don't have to grow up and taking a trip into the little town in the pouring rain for a licorice rope is just as magic at 31 as it was at 4. I first started coming up here when I was 6 weeks old... they say I slept in a drawer that vacation, at the "Doctor's Cabin" at Honey Rock Camp.  I've missed a few years, here and there, but this place feels like home. Things don't change too much.

One of the greatest joys is experiencing this place through the eyes of my children. God has gifted me with a family that loves the outdoors just as much as I do. I'm blessed.

Are you curious about our Neverland? It's steeped in wonderful grandparents and great grandparents and includes early morning "coffee talks," walks and runs, bike rides, smore campfires, picnics, kayaking, boating, skiing, cruising the lake, hunting (as in admiring... not killing) wildlife, eating, creating, reading, snuggling, poking around the little shops, and lots more chit chatting and eating :)
(I apologize for the massive amounts of pictures... I'm a little nostalgic and this is my first time editing photos with Picnik)

Little Rosie is fearless. We had been talking a lot about going out on the inner tube behind the boat before we got to the cabin. We decided that either Ron or I would accompany her. While we were standing out on the dock Rosie said, "I think I will try this by myself."

Well, ok then! We cheered big time from the boat.

Me? Well, I had not yet skied since having babies. I remember having some post-skiing soreness as a spring chicken. Holy cow... since becoming a mother hen, the muscles are just not the same. I think I went through an entire bottle of Advil and still struggled to pick Sadie up for about 48 hours. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, though. S.O .F.U.N!

Check out my hubby in the lower left. He's a great skiier, went 3 times as long as I did... and he didn't complain about the soreness nearly as much as I did :)

It's always fun to have a little project when up at the cabin. Ron and my dad decided to make a Corn Hole set for the back lawn.

The girls and I kept track of the wildlife that we spotted. The kayaks provided a quiet sneak attack. We saw: a loon family with baby, Bald Eagles, deer, chipmunks, raccoons, squirrels and frogs!

This was Ron's first fish fry. I'm not sure how he escaped a fish fry, growing up in Minnesota, but he did. And, yes, he thoroughly enjoyed his fried Haddock.

Thanks, Nana and Papa Bordeaux. We had such a wonderful time with you- time at the cabin feeds our souls. We love you.