A Thomas the Train day

We always joke that Evan doesn't have any little boys up at the cabin to play with.  We have befriended another couple on the lake with two little girls that are around Emma's age, so whenever we come up Emma is anxious to see them.  Evan looks forlornly at the ground, shakes his head and says, "No little boys for me, Mama."  But,  not last weekend!  Last weekend my friend Megan, her husband Brian, and their son Bennett came up to the cabin.  Bennett turned 4 in April and he and Evan play pretty well together.

The first item on the agenda?  Up to Duluth last Friday to see Thomas the Train!  Megan got the kids train conductor hats and train whistles.

Brian rented a pretty sweet (gulp!) minivan for the trip.  That way we could make the trip up to Duluth in one car.

A family picture on the train. We settled in for a fairly short ride on the train with snacks for the kids and some bloody mary's for the adults.

This was mine and the kids first time on a train. It was pretty cool.  We maybe went 5 miles one way and then turned around and came back.

The two boys yucking it up.

After the train ride, there were snacks, crafts, and a favorite for my kids - face painting!

And the life size Thomas the Train!

Another attempt at a family pic- this time with a crabby boy.

The kids liked it, but weren't overly excited to see Thomas.  Evan likes Thomas, but trains were never something he got into as much as Lightning McQueen.

After the Thomas the Train event, we headed towards the lake.  First - lunch at Grandma's and then down to the lake walk to see the lift bridge, the lighthouse and the lake.

It was really a great day.  The kids all got along great and enjoyed our mini roadtrip up north.  They crashed on the way home and were excited to get in the water and play when we made it back to the cabin.

How we love the fair!

The Washington County Fair!!


How we love ourselves a good fair!  The kids look forward to this one every year. They periodically check with us to see when it is coming up and once they see the fall Ferris Wheel in the skyline they are giddy with excitement.

So - last Wednesday - we made our way to the fair.  We always get a little snack in first at home and then head to the rides.  The kids run from one to another to another.  The first one -  the maze.

Then - the little kiddie cars -

The Tilt-A-Whirl -  (a quick group shot before we started tilting and whirling)

The Ferris Wheel-

Some ride that Emma had to ride where you lay down and hang on... not so sure about this one.

and Evan riding again on the cars.

And for me - the best part is the food!!   Our family had a foot long hot dog, ice cream, chinese food, Bacon wrapped tots dipped in cheddar cheese, tacos, malts, cheese curds, and that may be it.  We always have to visit the animals, skip through the 4-H buildings and usually get in a few of the pig races.

It is a lot of fun and since we don't always make it to the big Minnesota State Fair, this is the next best thing.

Where does the time go?

Ugh... Where does the time go.  Wait a minute - I know!  It goes:

to work

to making dinner

to helping a little boy learn how to feel more comfortable on his two wheel bike

to helping a little girl learn how to do the cup game (pitch perfect anyone?)

to going for walks

to weeding the garden

to keeping the kids up on their homework

to wishing I had more time

to catching up on my shows I never got around to watching (I LOVE DVR)

to running

to spending time at the cabin

to helping Tim build our porch

to pushing my kiddos on the swing and playing referee

to having a beer to relax

to doing my Jillian Michael's workout DVD

to wishing i had more time.

The past few weeks have been good, but busy!  I still have many things I want to do before I start school again.  We have been really good and just enjoying life.  I asked  Emma tonight if she could describe her life in one word, what would it be?  "Good! No - wait, how about awesome Mom?!"  So, that is really neat.  When I asked Evan, he said his one word would be Sage.  Hmmm... he must not have understood the question. :-)

We had some great weekends up at the cabin, although the weather has been a bit unusual for this time of year.  We had our annual family weekend up here with my aunts and their family and it was rainy and cold the whole weekend.  So - we watched movies....

The week days have been good as well.   We are outside pretty much the whole time and working on the porch.  

I hope to do better with my blogging in the upcoming weeks.  We will see!

When minds get going....

Tonight was a night that reminded me that allowing your kids to think freely, no technology is a wonderful thing... more on that in a few --

The kids had eye doctors appointments tonight, which went really well. Both kids were champs and have 20/20 vision - thankfully.  We came back to a fun little box that came in the mail for me - some jewelry from Woot!  It was packed in bubble wrap and a bunch of fun stuff.    This prompted Evan to decide to wrap up a rock in bubble wrap, put it in the woot box, wrap the box in newspaper and see if, when dropped from the deck, if the rock would break.   Hmmmm...

He tried this several times, with several different rocks, the same box, different newspaper and lots of tape.  I cannot decide if he liked the wrapping of the box the best or the unwrapping to see if the rock broke.  He tried several different sizes of rocks, different heights, and other methods to break the rocks.  His last attempt was to wrap up a small rock in bubble wrap, put it in the Woot box, Wrap the box in newspaper and tons of tape.  Then he instructed me to grab the biggest rock I could find (although he showed me which one he wanted) and I was to drop the big rock on the box to see if the small rock in the box would break.

Unfortunately through all of his experiences, the small rock did not break.  The big bubble wrap broke, the box was all busted up, but the small rock stayed the same. (and when I say small rock, It was probably 3 inches in diameter.)  He seemed happy with all of his experiments and had a great time.

While Evan was doing this, Emma was playing cafe.  She set up all the chairs on the deck, made open and closed signs, took my order and made me an actual strawberry whip cream sandwich.  She gave me a flower to decorate with and was having fun playing Katie's restaurant.  ( because now she wishes her name was Katie)

We came in and Evan decided to play duck, duck goose with all of his stuffed animals because no one else wanted to play.  I am not sure how that one worked out for him, but I could hear him up in his room running around and when I walked up to check on him, he had all of his prized stuffed animals on the ground in a circle.

Emma was writing stories and making a "Do Not Come In" sign for her bedroom door.  Lovely....

All hands on deck... literally

So, it is  no secret now to my few faithful readers (and our forgiving neighbors) that we are building on a small addition to our house - our 4 season porch.  Tim has been out there basically every night working on the posts and the floor joist (who am I kidding, I have  no idea how to spell that word) and to Tim's chagrin, Evan wants to help.  Which is great, it really is when there is work for Evan to do.  There really wasn't until yesterday.

Tim had dug these huge holes for the posts for the deck, everything was true and plumb, so we had to fill them back in.  aka... perfect work for an eager almost 5 year old.

So, last night, after supper, Tim announces that he was going out to work on those holes.  Which, Evan excitedly said "ME TOO!  I am going to help too Daddy!"  Then Emma chimed in all eager to help, which was nice because then it freed me up as well to help!  So, we all got on our work gear, good work shoes, and went outside.


Here, again, is our view from our the backyard.  The porch measures: 14 x 18.  YEA!  Cannot wait to have it ready to go!

My big helper!  (even wearing work gloves!)

 He is usually pretty happy and always a good worker.  He really amazed me as he was going nonstop.  He would take rakes and his little shovel to fill in the holes.  The big rocks got tossed aside to go in his gator later to put in a pile for our neighbor.  He was happy to hear that he would be earning an allowance for his help.  Hey, a little motivation never hurts.

The other helper.  She wasn't quite as eager as Evan.  She would often be found on break or getting chapstick or decorating the filled holes with flowers.  However, once she heard that Evan was going to be getting an allowance, she seemed to want to help a bit more.  Funny how that works!

The big helper!  I am so thankful that this man is so handy with fun projects like this!

It was so neat last night to be out there working on this as a family.  I was looking around and saw Evan filling holes, Tim working on strengthening some, Emma decorating and I was just so happy that we were doing this together.  I know that this porch will be something that we will use for a long, long time.  I told the kids that the first meal we will have on the porch when it is done will be something to celebrate!  So, whatever people want, we will serve to celebrate!  Emma wanted crab legs, Evan wanted pizza and I told Tim that he could have as many martini's as he wants - hahah!  TBD on what my first meal will be!

I ended up going for a run with Kristen around 8pm, which I thought the kids would be in bed for. But, as I was about to herd them in, Evan was adamant that he was staying outside.  "No!  I need to stay out here to help finish these holes with my Dad!  They were just heading in when we came back from the run, about 45 minutes later.  Not before though Evan could stomp his little feet and say, "When are we having supper?  I want my pizza and Emma wants her crab legs!" So, that took a bit of explaining.  He didn't realize that the big celebratory meal was for when the WHOLE porch was done!  I reminded him again about his allowance and he seemed to feel a bit better.

Here are the kiddos, tired, and right before bed.  Emma had to be fancy and put clips in her hair.

So, that prompted Evan to put some detangler in his (he loves spraying it) and combing it all forward.  Because, in Evan speak "I had to press you and Emma, Mama!"  (or impress :-)  )

This morning after I had left for work, Tim told me that Evan had to be made whole - or be paid for his services last night.  Tim didn't have any dollars and Evan was sure he should be paid in gold coins. So Tim got out some change, Evan rifled through it and was happy to pull out a shiny nickel and a shiny dime.  "I gotta save up, Daddy, to buy a new helicopter!"  Then, he left the table talking about the rest of the work he was going to do to earn money.

The weekend recap

5 days straight of t-ball and baseball this week, the weekend ball jamboree and we are done!  I think the kids are happy to be all done, as am I.  But, let's go back to Saturday.

Saturday was a day of errands for the Heuer clan.  Tim had to take his weekly trip to Menards with the kids, while I did a few small errands of my own.  After that, it was back to the house where I proceeded with laundry, a bit of garden weeding, and cleaning the house.  Emma helped me bake some pound cake while Evan napped and while they watched the new Disney summer movie, Teen Beach Movie, I did a workout and got ready for t-ball.

Saturday night was the t-ball jamboree for Evan. Their games are two innings, although for the jamboree they played three.  (Evan is the little guy in red shorts)

 The team did pretty well and it has been fun to watch them progress over the past 8-10 weeks.  This game though was the same with roughly 5 kids chasing after the ball when it is hit and the kids getting most excited about the snack afterwards.  This night though, they were all excited as Tim handed out medals to everyone!  Evan had a great season and I think he really enjoyed it.  I suspect that he will want to sign up next year.


Today was another busy day.  I headed out early to the grocery store to beat the Sunday rush while Tim was home cleaning up rooms, making sure the kids cleaned theirs, and putting away laundry.  After that, Tim headed out to work on the deck and I made lunch.  Then, Sage and I headed out for a run while the kids watched the rest of the Disney movie for rest time.

Sage was pretty tired after our run and went to jump in her little pool to cool off.

 Emma played a double header tonight.  (their games are 3 innings each)  She is ready for the season to be over.  While she really enjoyed getting to know some other girls, I am not sure that she will be a big sports gal. Here is a picture of the team - Emma is in the first row with the black visor and sunglasses on. She had a few nice hits but said she gets bored standing in the field waiting for the ball to come.

Evan got a bit bored during Emma's double header.  While I came stocked with little learning sheets, crayons, and kid magazines we still had to go for many walks, play catch, walk to get umbrella's (for the sum), and get snacks.

After the games, we headed to Afton to one of our little favorite ice cream parlors - which was good because apparently today is National Ice Cream Day!  We ate our yummy ice cream, then went for a walk to see the St. Croix  River and gawk at the huge boats in the slips along side it.

Then, home for a snacky supper and then bed.

And -for any one that is keeping track - here is the progress on our deck:

The kids (and Sage) are excited that they can walk on our deck now and I have to admit, it is pretty neat to see how it is coming along.  Tim has put a lot of time into it lately.  It is coming to a point soon where I am able to help more and I plan on taking a day off of work soon to help Tim build some frames for the walls.

Now - on to another busy week!  Work has been crazy busy/stressful for me lately, but I am taking Friday off to have a nice relaxing day with the kids.  Hopefully a trip to the Park Reserve or something will be in order.

Emma's new little pet

This little girl surprises me.  For as princess and fancy and particular she can be, she loves weird animals.  Tim found a little salamander over the fourth and Emma instantly scooped the little critter up and made a friend.  Speedy was the first name of this little guy and Speedy instantly had a home out of a bucket, lake water, rock, and grass.

She very quickly had made a friend and we had to get on the jet-ski to show her new friends up there, Hilary and Whitney.   Unfortunately, as fast as Speedy was found, Speedy was gone as Speedy must have climbed up the sides of the bucket and escaped.  Thankfully, Emma wasn't too distraught and just got more excited to find a new one.

The fourth of July holiday

The fourth of July holiday was a wonderful, wonderful time! We finally made it up to the cabin around 9:30 on Wednesday night - July 3- after packing and swimming lessons for Evan. I have to admit, I was a bit bummed that we were unable to spend the whole week up there for a nice family vacation.  However, with PTO time being what it is, we took off one day - the Friday, July 5- and we were still able to have a nice relaxing 4-day weekend.

The long weekend was pretty much spent on the water relaxing.  It was beautiful out, so we swam, went deep swimming, and ate good food.

Dad, Eric, Jordan, and Mom enjoying the fried goodness! Homemade onion rings and fries!

And because my pictures are all out of whack and not in order  -- we here go.

Sage loved the fireworks as much as Evan.

Emma writing her name with the sparkler 

And - an ode to Tim's grilling skills.  My new favorite of his? Juicy Lucy's.  YUM! with the perfect amount of cheese - add some bacon and you got a yummy cabin treat.

Evan LOVED the fireworks.  And I am unsure that LOVED even covered his affection for the fireworks.  He was hopping and jumping and excited all afternoon.   He couldn't wait until he could light off the "rocket bottles".  (or bottle rockets for us Non-Evan speakers)  We finally gave in around 5pm and he was lighting them off for a long time.  (under close supervision of course.)

 

Emma loved the food - Evan was a glum-glum for supper.




The kids made some nice 4th of July decorations to celebrate.

One of the fireworks that Tim bought was called "Flipping awesome".  So, unfortunately for the night of the 4th, all of the fireworks, per Evan, were flipping awesome.  Which was, well, not flipping awesome.  After everyone, Evan was delighted yell "DAD!  That was FLIPPING awesome!"

Emma was doing a lot of watching while Evan was lighting off the rocket bottles.  She did try lighting off a few as well. But, just like her Mom, lighting them off didn't excite her that much.

That's it!  A bunch of discombobulated pictures to try and capture our fun over the holiday.  I don't think they did it justice!

Loving the summer

We are all incredibly enjoying summer!  Whether we are at home or at the cabin, you can normally find the Heuer's outside.  Two weekends ago we were at home and filled the weekend up with a sleepover for Emma, working on our soon-to-be 4 season porch, picking strawberries, a graduation party, dinner dates, biking, church, and outside!  Whew!

Emma has been missing her school friends a bit lately (actually, ending school is quite tough on the girl as she loves it and her friends there) so we invited her friend Lauryn over for a sleepover on Friday night.  Instantly the girls were giggling, running, and having a great time. They played outside a lot and played with Emma's Lego playsets even more.  They played so well together I rarely knew the girls were over.  Emma was sad to see Lauryn go on Saturday morning, but she was happy to help out Tim and Evan in the backyard working on the porch.

Tim and I have been talking about screening in our deck for awhile.  There were pros and cons with that, so we decided to build an unattached three season porch off our deck.  Tim enjoyed designing and doing the work and because I know someone that can get a good deal on windows and doors, we decided to go or it.  Evan has been excited for the building project and being able to help Daddy and Emma has been excited to have a bit more space to get away from her brother.  :-)

As this is only a Heuer project, it will take a few weeks (or a month or two or three) before it is done but we are excited and looking forward to it nonetheless. Everyone is chipping in:

Evan was busy helping Tim mix the cement

Notice the hands??  Or mittens that is?

He HAD to wear working gloves since Tim was, but we couldn't find his at the moment.

The site of our future 4 season porch.

Emma enjoyed helping too when Lauryn left.

The next big event of the past few weekends?? Evan learned how to ride a bike without training wheels!  He has been excited for awhile for us to take the training wheels and two weekends ago we did it!  It took him a few tries, but he picked it up pretty quickly!

We had him ride Emma's old bike at first, since the training wheels were already off that one.  He wasn't a huge fan of that, but his excitement to try and ride the two wheeler won out.

Sunday though, Tim took off the training wheels on his own bike.  He was even happier!

He likes to ride on the grass as he goes a little slower and it doesn't hurt if he falls.

The last excitement of two weekends ago?? Making a strawberry pie with our own strawberries from our own garden!  YUM!

Evan has been my little helper in our strawberry patch and helps pick them every other day. So, when he made the suggestion to make a pie, I couldn't turn him down. And, who doesn't love strawberry pie?!

So - that's that.  Tales of two weekends ago. :-)