YUMMY!

Our friends went out of town for the week and donated their CSA box to us! It's like Christmas opening that box! We got: swiss chard, fennel, sweet corn, various summer squash, kohlrabi, broccoli, string beans, several tomatoes, tomatillos, various peppers, beets and basil. We're eating well the next several days!

Avrie-isms

I took Avrie and Cole in this morning for their yearly checkups. All is well with both. The NP was asking Avrie questions to get her to spill the family secrets. The conversation went something like this:

NP: Do you have a bike, Avrie?
A: Yep.
NP: Do you have a helmet? (Fishing for signs of irresponsible parent, I imagine.)
A: I have two. A bear one and a butterfly one.
NP: Do you like to play?
A: Yep. With kid stuff.
NP: What kind of kid stuff?
A: Swords.
Mom: What?!! (To my knowledge, they have never played swords. Hmmm...LORI?!)
NP: Swords?
A: Yeah. I fight with my brother. (Ahhh, that's true.)
NP: What kinds of foods do you like to eat, Avrie?
A: Pamatoes. (A cross between a potato and a tomato, perhaps?) And peppers. And chicken.
NP: Do you like fruit?
A: Yep. Fruit AND grapes.
NP: Do you drink milk?
A: Yep. I love chocolate milk.
Mom: *gulp* She really only drinks chocolate milk once a week. If that.
NP: Believe me...I'm impressed that she said "pepper". Chocolate milk is the least of my worries.

Ahhh, kids. Hil.ar.ious.

Party Pix

Avrie had her eye on this party hat at Target for a few weeks.

Tortillas, taco meat, black beans, tomatoes, black olives, lettuce, cheese, mixed peppers, guacamole, salsa, hot sauce, sriracha, sour cream.

Corn cake, mini peppers & dip, fruit. There were chips somewhere too.

Peach cupcakes with brown sugar cream cheese frosting

German chocolate cake

I adore this picture. Just smiling at it. Best toy ever, Mom!

Gladys made sure he got every last bite! It was so nice to have her at the party. We have many wonderful memories of having her in our home.

Hmmm...what will we get? I mean, she.

Score!

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Cole "opening" his gifts. The camera operator was slacking. The weather was wonderful, as were the guests!

Happy Birthday, Cole!

Remember this tiny baby? I remember the moment like it was yesterday. I don't remember Cole being that small!

One!

Hmmm...what a fun toy, Mom! More party pictures tomorrow!

We "camped" at the farm last night with Cheri & Farron and their adorable boys. Luckily, we had sense to move our tents into the shed...it poured buckets! Cole slept in the house with Grandma and Grandpa and they never heard a peep out of him. We left the kids behind and went on a double date to Lanesboro for locally grown/raised supper. This afternoon Cheri took our family pictures...awesome job!! The photos below are all her work. Got home after 8 tonight to a hot, muggy house. The A/C quit when we were gone. Again. Evan made a run for fuses. Really hoping that's all it is. Ugh. I'm in for a busy week....I'm exhausted already!

Cheri, this picture would win prizes. Maybe you should enter it in the local fair?! They were checking out a cricket that was short a leg.

Which one gets your vote?

p.s. If you want to see more trip pictures, join Facebook. I'm too lazy to get detailed posts up. It was a blast and we loved it and can't wait to go again. There ya have it!

Avrie, what would you like for your birthday?

clothes
pretty hair stuff
princess pillowcase (but she doesn't even have a pillow...)
a big elephant
a baby elephant
a picture of water bottles
pictures of glasses
pictures of eyes (wahoo! related to me!)
pictures of harmonicas
pretty lights
eyebrows
kid books
nails. pretty nails.
hair

"What would be the absolute BEST present?"

a big kitty! *Awe. I kind of wish I was willing to put up with cat hair and litter boxes. Again. But I'm not.*

Happy 3rd Birthday, Princess Avrie!

Off to the beach! In princess attire. Of course.

Pitstop at Target for treats and smoothies.

Bathing beauties. Rock on.

You want me to pose "nice", Mom? What's that mean?

Pink cookies. Those kind that melt in your mouth. They have 'evil' in the ingredients.

Mac & Cheese in bed for lunch.

To the park.

Trip Highlights -- Part 1

I know, I know. We've been back almost a week and I'm just now getting around to sharing some pictures of our trip. We had a fun, fun, fun time! The weather was perfect, buffalo abundant, kids were good travelers, no mishaps. I'll divide these by major attractions or this will take way too long. First up: Wall Drug. I have no idea what I thought this place would be. A little old fashioned drug store with ice cream in the back? Yeah, not so much. Crazy place. The kids loved it. I think I kind of did too. It sure was better than the lousy Corn Palace.

Wall Drug is a kid's dream. Nolan has had his heart set on a cork gun for ages. Well, what do you know? W.D. has everything.

Umpteen million things for the kids to sit on/in/by.

Cutest cowboy I've ever laid eyes on. And I saw plenty being we were in the Wild West.

I think this ridiculous thing is a bit famous. It was just a smidgen fun to sit on.

Ladies man.

We had homemade ice cream, got a box of donuts and I got a 5-cent cup of coffee which I discovered later they actually charged me 12-cents for. I got a to-go cup rather than a mug. A 7-cent styrofoam? Wow. It was a fun place but not for the claustrophobic.