1 Family x 12 (June)

 

Guess where we went!!!  Florida!  And what better place to take our June family photo than at the beach with the ocean behind us?  Back when we were all forced into quarantine for COVID I (probably irrationally) worried that maybe I'd never see the ocean again.  I mean, I wouldn't call myself an "ocean person" - but, you never appreciate something more than when you think you might not be able to see it (or do it, or have it) again.  So, when Ryan was working in FL and staying in a two bedroom condo, we knew it was an opportunity we couldn't pass up.  The girls and I flew down for a short trip, just Friday to Monday but it was perfect and exactly what we all needed. 

Sugar Cookies - Summer Edition

Did you know that I add tags (or labels) to each of my blog posts so that I can search things more easily?  So, for example I can search for any post that has Abby in it, or Holidays.  Who could have guessed back a year ago that I should have created a tag called Cookies?  Well, I think I'm going to have to go back through and tag quite a few posts now because I think pandemic sugar cookies are here to stay!

And, not only are they here to stay, but I've had to start doing cookie round up posts instead of a dedicated post for each batch.  LOL!  If nothing else, we're becoming pros and thoroughly enjoying the fruits of our labor!

So - this post includes our latest two batches - "summer" and "patriotic".  We made the summer batch at Hazel's request because her Kindergarten teacher loved the cookies so much she wanted to give her one last set before summer vacation.  We sent LOTS of cookies to school this year because, well, if they stay here at home, I'll eat them all single handedly.  We aren't quite sure what we did differently with this batch but the icing bled after it dried...they still tasted great though!

And, how can you go wrong with bomb pops??  Aren't these Memorial Day cookies fabulous?  Our favorite was the fancy star in the bottom of the next photo (Erin made that one).  We made the cookies and frosting ahead of time, but decorated these at the lake the Friday of Memorial Day.  We made a batch and a half, because the group is so big at the lake...and it was just the perfect amount!  I think people were a little afraid to eat them, because I sure did take some home with me after the weekend.  

These patriotic cookies might make another round for Labor Day but Erin and I have one more theme for summer we'll be trying out. You know, somewhere in between a 2 week trip to Yellowstone and Erin moving into a new condo - we'll fit it in somewhere!

 

Memorial Day

This might become my favorite photo of the entire year - not just because it's filled to brim with people we love, but because of all the people, 34 in total, all nestled up close together (without masks)....enjoying a weekend at the lake.  Just like the "before times"...and now, here we are, after one hell of a wild year - and its my favorite thing.

This photo was a real labor of love though!  Getting 34 people to all stand in one spot, with every tiny baby awake was a true feat!  I'm so thankful we were able to snag a neighbor to snap these pictures for us.  Big group photos like this are so hard and such a pain in the moment, but not one single person in this photo is sad that they took 10 minutes to stop life and take it.  This one will be in the memory books for sure.

This big holiday weekend at the lake was not much different than any other - we had too much food, too many drinks, plenty of laughs, late nights and lots of stories, but for me, it was a weekend filled with snuggling all the tiny new humans that have joined the family since last year.  We had four, count 'em, FOUR new babies added to the mix and hopefully this is the first of many Third Tier get togethers to come (that's what we're calling the generation of littles we're all raising).  

**Baby Ellie - just under three weeks old!  It's so hard to remember these days with your own kids - you're too tired, but I'll remember these snuggles with these tiny babies forever.

*Baby Aiden - just 6 weeks old, if I remember right.  He's my birthday buddy - we share April 2nd!

Baby Mason - nearly 6 months old and while this isn't the first time we were able to snuggle and play with him, I'm grateful for each and every opportunity.   They don't stay little for long!

I forgot about the Super Mable!  Last summer we borrowed a tube like this from the neighbor to see if the girls were ready for it and it was a huge success.  Abby and Hazel both have summer birthdays and only about a month and a half apart.  So, this year we tried out doing a big joint gift instead of smaller birthday gifts for the girls.  We don't end up at the lake many weekends for the summer so instead of missing out on Memorial Day, we gifted this to them early so that we could get the most out of it for the year.  It was a huge hit!  While Abby/Hazel and Tanner are the only ones big enough to really enjoy it, before we know it we'll have lots of little kids enjoying this toy each summer.  I can't wait for all the memories on the Mable!

 

1 Family x 12 (May)

 

After a few weeks of phone issues, I think I've finally retrieved the photos off my phone and am back to posting!  Here's our May family photo.

Mothers Day (a camping weekend)

 

The inaugural camping trip for 2021 is officially in the books.  If you know us, you know we typically try to schedule an early season camping trip to "get the bugs out" before the real camping season begins.  It's not about actual bugs, though, there is always a good deep clean that happens before we take the camper out each year.  Its about figuring out what's broken, what needs to be updated and what small changes we want to make for the coming season.  This years list included a nice new mattress for our bed (why did we wait so long to upgrade this?) and fixing the fridge which was inexplicably broken when we fired it up this year (eye roll).  But, that's the whole point of this trip!

So - this year's first trip was scheduled for Mother's Day weekend at Devils Lake.  Devils Lake is one of the most popular campgrounds in Wisconsin and scoring a weekend there in the summer is nearly impossible, but we've found that if you go just slightly off season and plan ahead you can usually get a handful of sites.  

Our group was perfect for this trip - essentially the core Yellowstone group that will be heading West this summer - July is less than two months away!  We had the opportunity to start planning meals, stops, activities and chatting about all the things we're each brining to support this big 2600 mile, 17 day trip.  Actually, my parents will be gone for over a month since they are adding Glacier onto their trip and leaving a few weeks ahead of us.  Long story short, we'll have lots of summer vacation posts ahead!

All in all, it was a great Mother's Day weekend - spent with family and enjoying every minute of it (including the ice cream!).  

A First - Lost Tooth!

 

A few weeks ago Hazel joined the tooth fairy club.  Is there a club?  If there isn't, there should be.  She is so very different than her sister.  Abby could have a loose tooth for 6 or 8 months, gingerly eating fewer and fewer foods and in a more creative way to avoid every moving her tooth an millimeter (trust me....we've been through it) and Hazel went from no wiggle to out in less than 36 hours.  

One afternoon she asked me if her tooth was wiggly and I SWEAR it wasn't.  One string cheese later and her tooth was bleeding and wiggly.  That tooth fairy was visiting her pillow 2 nights later.  In fact, she "lost her tooth" at around 5 am the next morning.  I have a feeling she was laying in bed wiggling it until it came out, which sparked much excitement at 5am.  

She's so adorable now, talking with a tiny lisp because of the missing tooth and diligently wiggling any tooth that just might have a little give in it.  I have a feeling she'll be yanking them out and catching up with her sister before we know it.

1 Family x 12 (April)

 

Typically my monthly family photos only include the 4 of us, but I couldn't pass up the first opportunity to post all 10 of us, back together again, for the first time in nearly a year.  This group hadn't been together since we camped in Iowa last summer, but with the majority of us fully vaccinated there are better days ahead.

This past weekend also included my first trip back to Wishful in well over a year.  When the pandemic first hit and our new reality finally started to show itself I said that one of the first things I wanted to do when things got "back to normal" was to go to Wishful with all the regulars that I missed so much.  This past weekend it was just Mom, Dad and I (well, the kids too) and it was exactly what we all needed.  Next time I hope our group is bigger and includes Ryan and many of the Mom and Dad's Freeport friends.  I miss the Mulligans, the Pinters, Deb and so many others so much!  I can't wait to see you all soon.