Pete and Repeat.

This is what I call my sweet boys. Owen is really quite patient with his little brother who LOVES to follow him around, doing whatever he does and saying whatever he says. Thankfully, Walter has a wonderful role model.

We had a very busy day today, beginning with playgroup at our house. It was great fun playing with our friends and enjoying a beautiful summer day. 

We ended the day with a barbecue at Donna and Bruce's with the Hipps family. We had anticipated being able to see Aunt Rachel and cousin Isabelle, however poor Isabelle came down with quite a temperature. Luckily they are here for a couple weeks so we will have other chances to see them once Isabelle is 100% again.

Mom, watch this. Are you watching, Mommy?

We met my parents in Wausau and got the boys yesterday! It was so fun to see them again. We then went to Steven's Point to have a family night together. Jer took us to Sentry World where we hit a huge bucket of golf balls at the range. The entire time we were hitting, Owen said this over and over and over again.

It sounds like the boys had a nice time with my mom and dad and vice versa. There were lots of stories of mini-golfing, bon-fires, board games and other adventures. I'm so thankful that it worked out, that all went well and there may just be a repeat of this next summer...

Jer and I had an enjoyable weekend together, hitting up a movie and dinners. On Saturday Jer played 27 holes of golf and I spent 2 hours on my head, taking an inversion clinic at yoga. (I am so proud to say I did a hand-stand, head-stand, shoulder-stand, and some totally funky arm balances, too!!! Much of which was done with help, but it was still SO fun!) We ended the day together at a friend's house for a pool party and barbeque. Being free of responsibilities was fun, but its great to have it back again. I love my babies!

Ready, Set, Goooooo!

Its safe to say I officially miss these boys like crazy! We are going to pick them up tomorrow and spend a night together in Steven's Point. I'm anxious to give them lots and lots of hugs and kisses!

Who's yard is this?

Al's helped us out in a HUGE way this year. He drew up a beautiful design for our yard which his company did an amazing job executing. Thanks to him we have an awesome green backyard and two new beautiful patios, one in front and another in back. In addition to fundraising, yoga, cleaning and caring for Grif this week, I am also happily babysitting our new grass!

I couldn't bare to take a photo of the before, but am more than happy to show a picture of the after.

What are you doing up?

Jer brought the boys to Wausau this week, where my mom met him and took them to their house. I took on the biggest fundraiser for Sunny Hollow this year and needed some solid time to dedicate to getting the planning and fundraising rolling. (I think I'll also get some good yoga practice in and a clean home, too.) This morning when I called Jer at the usual 7:30 time, this was the first thing he asked me! I've never been known as a morning person and will be sure to sleep in tomorrow and Thursday, however this morning I had a meeting at Sunny Hollow to get up for!

On Sunday we went mini-golfing as a family. Owen was beyond excited. He is so cute when he's pumped - he just talks and talks, fairly loudly, too. Walter then repeats what Owen says. I'm going to miss those boys!

I went away this weekend with my Augsburg girlfriends. We went up north to my girlfriend's cabin on Fish Lake. Luckily we took advantage of a semi-clear Saturday morning and went on the pontoon boat, swimming and tubing behind the jet-ski, as the afternoon brought rain that didn't really stop. It was great fun, as always, telling old stories, catching up on what's new and just being friends. I'm lucky to have such fabulous women in my life.

Walter, you missed the wave!

Joanne called me this morning with an offer we couldn't pass up: four sweet tickets to this afternoon's Twins game. So we headed out the door to do our last day of summer gymnastics, as planned, then came home for lunch and hopped on the train to go to the game. We managed to get Mandy and Miles to join us and enjoyed a very hot humid day inside the a/c of the metrodome. On a whim, I decided to bring Walter's blanket and pacifier thinking it'd help him get through a potential no-nap meltdown and to my surprise, he actually fell asleep in my arms in the very, very loud dome. When he woke up, this was the first thing Owen told him. 

After the game we took our time to get outside and listened to a few street musicians along the way. When we finally got aboard a very packed train, Miles invited us over for pizza. We never say no to a pizza party, so we ended the day playing ball in Miles's backyard over pizza and watermelon. Such a fun, spontaneous day!

Are you ready for the crusher?

The boys and I went to play tennis after dinner tonight. We couldn't find any tennis balls so we used racket balls. Owen and I eventually got a sequence of three volleys, but it was tricky as those balls bounce like mad! As Owen served, he asked me this. He continually reminds me of his daddy.

Today was Owen's last day of swimming lessons for now. We will do check-in lessons every so often in the school year, but for now we are done and will focus on what he's learned so far. I'm still amazed at his progress. Its been a summer of big things for O between the biking and swimming. Here's a little video of him swimming.

That's a big word for such a little guy, huh Mommy?

Our sweet Walter is our little yapper. I tell Jer he's destined to be our artist as he appears to be very right brained. He says so many funny phrases throughout the day...ones that there is no way he understands the meaning of. Owen likes to say this to me after certain phrases or words Walter says. Someday soon I'm sure Walter will be saying this to me about Owen.

Owen had a make up session of gymnastics this morning, so the day got off on the right foot, for sure. After gymnastics we met up with O's buddy John (and his mom Sara and sister Rosemary) at Midway Stadium for Kid's Day with the Saints. The boys were in heaven getting pitched to and running around on a real baseball field. It wasn't super crowded so they all got plenty of turns at bat and at the various stations. After we had our fill there we went over and played at John's house where the boys played in their pool and sand box and then the pool some more. It was a great spontaneous summer day. Something we haven't had enough of.

Now I finally know what I want to be when I grow up.

As promised, we went to the car wash to clean out the car from our trip. When we were there, Owen told me this, followed by "I'm going to be a car washer!" He also has proclaimed this week that he will be attending the U of M to be Gopher Wrestler and a Gopher Gymnast.

Yesterday Owen had gymnastics, so of course it was a good day for him. After a nice nap and quiet time, we went to see Lydia, Lindsay and Andreas. They invited us to go out for pizza and watch the River Rats ski show on the mighty Mississippi. It was a really fun evening. Lydia treated us all by showing us how she could roll over, for the very first time! 

Holy, Moly, Walter did it!

After filling up his glass with water from our fridge's water spout, this is what Walter said today. He is just so cute! Apparently he has heard Owen & me celebrate his small steps in the past.

It was a beautiful day today. Per Owen's request, the boys and I biked to the park and met up with our playgroup for a morning of fun and a picnic. Its so fun to bike with him, he really goes. We've been gone so much lately we haven't had time to do much of the fun local summer activities.

Sweet Walter had a bit of a rough day. He fell at the park onto his cheek and arm resulting in a very rosy cheek. Then, this evening we were outside and Owen accidentally hit his other cheek with a bat as he was swinging. I have a feeling he'll wake up with a couple bruises tomorrow. Poor little guy.

I am robot.

The Hipps family periodically morphs into robots. Tonight at dinner Walter told us he was one. He then told us a story about a frog and a robot golfing.

So we are home from our vacation and had a great time. I am still floored at how well the boys traveled. We put on a grand total of 2,808 miles and our van's floor shows it! The boys and I will be hitting up the car wash this week in an attempt to vacuum up all the crumbs. We passed the time looking for cows, playing I spy, reading books, watching movies, sleeping, snacking, telling stories and turning into robots.

Along the way we found fun places to eat and let out a little steam at - including mini golf and the Action Toy & Figure Museum (one of Oklahoma's top 10 visitor attractions!). And at the end of the day, we were always sure to find a hotel with a pool. It was a great way to vacation and spend some quality time together.

Did I mention Jer drove the entire 2,808 miles? I think he's training to become a trucker.

Shamu splashed me.

After Houston, we headed over to San Antonio and took the boys to Sea World. The day was definitely a highlight on our trip. It was wonderful to see the boys get so excited about the animals and shows. We were sure to sit in the "splash zone" at each show, as it was 102 that day, and Walter loved telling us this over and over. We even got to feed and pet some dolphins, they are such happy animals.

After a full day at Sea World, we headed downtown San Antonio the following day and explored the very charming River Walk. We took a boat tour through the canals per Owen's request.