We use gentle hands.

I can't tell you how many times this comes out of my mouth these days. Walter likes to test out what hitting means, especially on his brother. Generally its just out of exploration, but sometimes when I tell him no, its out of pure anger! This guy has me on my toes these days. (what happened to SWEET Walter?!) Owen loves to use this line with Walter, too, but his favorite is when Walter actually gets a time out. His smile says it all...oh, brothers!

We enjoyed a full day outside today with absolutely no plans. We ended up biking around the neighborhood, playing with a neighbor, hitting up DQ, playing in our sandbox and enjoying sometime at the park. We ended the day with a bath, a nightly summer ritual!

Yesterday we had a packed, planned day, full of friends. We started the day with playgroup, had a friend over in the afternoon, and then ended the day with friends over for dinner!

Dada great.

Walter is our little book worm. Whenever he sees an open lap he grabs a book and says 'read, please.' (He's also our polite little man!) We have a book called My Mom is Great and Jer read it this weekend for him, however, he changed the title to My Dad is Great. Ever since, he walks around asking me to read 'Dada great.'

We had  an eventful Sunday filled with lots of family visits. We started the morning with a delicious brunch at a local restaurant with Jer's family. Owen was excited to show off his biking skills afterwards. After that was done, my grandma, aunt and uncle surprised us with a quick visit. It was really nice to see them, as it had been over a year since I'd seen my grandma. Walter warmed up to her quickly and was anxious to cuddle her before his nap.

We ended the weekend by letting our butterflies free. We raised them from caterpillars. Owen loved watching them change and enjoyed feeding them and caring for them. It was bittersweet seeing them go. 

I am loving the relaxing mornings that summer vacation has brought us. It is so nice to lounge in our pj's, play for a while in the morning and eat when we are actually hungry! Today we biked down to the small beach and the boys swam. Owen brought his snorkeling mask to look for fish and Walter found rocks to splash in the water. We love Lake Nokomis!

Can you take a picture for my locker next year?

Owen's first day of summer vacation was an exciting one. He learned how to ride his bike without training wheels! Jer took him to an empty parking lot to try it out a bit and within ten minutes he was off speeding around! They celebrated with a trip to DQ after. When they got home he was so proud to show me his skills. We went outside with camera in tow and he asked me to take a picture so it could go on his locker at Sunny Hollow next year. After Walter got up from his nap, we all went to watch him cruise the parking lot some more. He looked like he had been biking for years! I'm so proud of my little guy...as is his daddy!

We celebrated the end of the school year with a school picnic at a park in St. Paul. It was fun to see Owen running around with all his friends. We also got to meet Gina's dog, Milo, which was a big highlight for Owen. Walter did his best to keep up with the big kids and chased them all over. Jer and I subsequently chased him around, trying to keep him safe and get a little food in his belly. 

We ended the night with Joanne babysitting while Jer went to softball and I went out with some former co-workers. It was really a nice day.

Why do ladies like to keep them long?

I did something I haven't done in my 4.5 years of being a mom yesterday...I went to Toys R Us. I had made a deal with Owen that if he didn't bite his fingernails for 2 weeks and let me cut his nails, he could go get a new Planet Hero. So he made it and we went to cash in last night. Before we left, I clipped his nails and he asked me this as I was cutting them.

We spent some time at a friends house this afternoon and the boys quickly found a neighbor's sprinkler. At first they were letting it just barely touch them, however, by the end of it, they were standing on the sprinkler, putting their faces in it and completely drenched. Walter does his best to keep up with the big kids these days and was the wettest of the bunch!

We are looking forward to Jer's return this evening and a nice weekend at home. Tomorrow is Owen's last day of school which we will celebrate with an all-school picnic in the afternoon. It should be fun! 

These photos are from a few weekends past...

Where was I before I was born?

Owen has been asking me all sorts of difficult questions lately. This was today's question. He is a deep little boy and keeps me thinking.

We had a nice weekend at my parents' house. We spent a few afternoons on the boat - I read while the boys fished. (Owen caught two northern pikes.) We had a couple of bonfire's, I had my 15 year high school reunion, and the cherry on the top was taking a sauna followed by Owen, Jer and my dad jumping in the river. Walter surprised us with some sleepless nights while we were there, thankfully my dad was ready and waiting for the boys in the morning.

Today we had the Cagle's over for lunch. It was great to spend some time with them, as we used to see one another nearly daily this time of year. The kids really enjoy playing with one another and sure did a good amount of laughing together this afternoon.

Friday is Owen's last day of school. Where has this year gone? 

That was nice of him.

Tonight the boys and I went to Target to get some grow capsules from the dollar bins. I gave Owen a five dollar bill to pay for them and he was so excited to get the change back from the cashier. He was recounting the story of him paying for it and said this of the cashier for giving him cash back.

I made my first DVD from our Hawaii trip and am just trying to burn it now...my mac is getting a workout as it is quite warm and still says it has 44 minutes of burning to go! Yikes.

Still no camera here. I will have to swing by my aunt's to get our little one. I did grab one photo of Owen and Lydia yesterday. I'm loving having Lindsay on maternity leave and getting to hold her sweet Lydia whenever we are together...although Owen loves to hold her just as much! Walter just smothers her with kisses. They are both very gentle with her. Yesterday I even got to babysit for a bit. It was a total treat, and an affirmation that two kids is great for us! :)

Watch how fast I can eat this.

We brought John home with us from school today. While the boys were eating lunch, this is what I kept hearing. I told you boys are competitive. Owen told me they were experimenting with how fast they could eat stuff. They had such a fun afternoon together - wrestling, playing baseball, drawing in their nature journals, pretending to be wood workers, lumberjacks, planet heroes and dirt bikers. It was the first time I wasn't asked to play the entire time. Although I thought when this day came I'd be in heaven, I was honestly a bit sad. I did get to hear a lot of great conversations and imaginary play. 

I now forgot our little camera at my aunt's house. So no photo, just a quick Owen story. I miss my camera, the little one just isn't as fun to use.

One quick Walter story, too... On the way to get Owen & John, Walter kept saying "John, van" "John, play" "John, butter" (John, eating peanut butter & jelly at our house) "John, hug". He loves Owen and all of Owen's friends! He is my little chatterbox. He will repeat whatever you say.

Oh, that's so easy.

So I've been a bit concerned over Owen's willingness to share his confidence in himself and his shear determination to win, win, win against everyone and in everything. That is, until I started to hear him play with his friend John and started talking with his mom. We went to the park after school last week with them and the entire way there Owen was asking if we were in front of John, if we were going to beat John to the park, if we were going to get there first, etc. When I shared this with Sara, she laughed and said John was asking the same questions the entire way as well. I'm guessing its just a boy thing! His latest quote is "Oh that's so easy" whenever I ask him to do something. See if you can catch it in this video, along with some sweet dance moves by Sir Walter.

Yikes - what happened to the Hipps family?

I know our stolen camera was nice, but geez, this is ridiculous!

Swim, swim.

Owen decided a swim was in order this weekend so yesterday we went to the Y to make that wish come true. We all had so much fun playing in the pool. Owen snorkeled  much of the time and I'm certain I even saw him swimming a bit on his own. Walter was in heaven and was completely confident in the water. He got very angry any time I'd try and touch him - even when he was lower-lip deep in water.  (and by angry I mean he'd SCREAM - his latest trick!) He loved walking around the pool saying "swim, swim."

So now the question of why no adorable picture of the boys from the weekend??? Well, my camera was stolen. Yes, stolen. And of all places it was stolen from, would you believe Chaska? We were out there on Saturday helping a friend move and having a visit with Jer's dad. At some point I must not have locked our van doors and went into the apartment building and someone with no morals decided they needed my lovely camera. Life could be much worse.

I can feel the Earth smiling.

Owen was so excited for Earth Day yesterday. He has his own calendar which came with special holiday stickers, one of which was Earth Day. He has been counting down the days to Earth Day for a while and when I explained what it meant, I told him one thing people could do to celebrate was to pick up garbage. So yesterday, we picked up litter around our neighborhood. He was so excited to collect all the litter. A few highlights included a McDonald's cup and gum wrappers. As he was picking things up, he said "I think I can feel the Earth smiling." So cute.

Today was a beautiful day, filled with beautiful events. After getting Owen from school, the boys and I went out for lunch and took a nice scenic drive to Stillwater. I was hoping Walter would fall asleep on the way, so I took the long route. However, he stayed wide awake to enjoy the views. We went to the uber cool Teddy Bear Park to play and then went to our uber cool friend's house for playgroup. Ruby & Rex live on a farm with sheep and chickens, which the kids got to feed and chase. The boys had so much fun exploring and playing with their friends. I enjoyed the time with my friends and even scored some fresh eggs! Thanks, Annie.

Oh no.

Walter's version of Owen has evolved. He started out calling him "O" and then called him "Own". Now, he calls him what sounds like "Oh, no!" Or maybe its ono - the Hawaiian word for good! Either way, I still think "what happened?" when I hear Walter call for Owen.

We headed to the park, again, today and loved it. This sun and warmth is so overdue! There was a Naturalist at the park that was making kites with kids. Owen and our neighbor, Arianna, had lots of fun making and then flying their kites. They ran and ran and ran.

Tonight Kindi came over for dinner and then watched the boys while I went to a parent education night at Sunny Hollow. The boys loved their time with their auntie Ni-knee (Walter's version of Kindi).

Dip, dip.

We have added a new step into Walter's bedtime routine. Now, after pj's, brushing teeth, a couple of books, a story from Daddy (over the phone 4 nights a week, in person the other 3), and kissing all of the animals on their dresser, Walter needs to 'dip, dip' his pacifier in a cup of water. Don't ask me how that became a step, but it is now a crucial one.

This afternoon Owen got to show me some of his favorite work at Sunny Hollow. It was really fun to see some of the work I've been hearing about in action. He's such a smart cookie.

This morning Walter and I met some friends at a park for some fun and an early picnic. He rode his buddy, William's, bike pretty much the entire time...sometimes with William on it, most of the time with a snack in his hand.

Yesterday, Walter & I finally paid another visit to Lindsay & baby Lydia. Between a cold that kept hanging on to Walter, Lindsay's family being in town and Jer traveling, its been difficult to find a time to visit. Lindsay warned me she was getting big and had already gained 1.5 pounds, but when I got there, I was reminded just how tiny newborns are. What a beautiful girl and such a treat!

Maybe he could eat at the dining table.

When I asked Owen where we should put the Easter Bunny's carrots, this was his response. We had a nice Easter full of family fun. After an early egg hunt start to the day, we went to Donna & Bruce's for a lovely Easter breakfast. Afterwards, we went to my cousin's house for a huge spread of yummy food and lots of fun for the boys with all of my cousins' kids. In total, the boys had three egg hunts and way too much candy! In addition to the candy, we had three birthday cakes, as I shared my day with the bunny this year. Needless to say, today was a bit of a whiny, off day...thankfully it was warm and sunny and we got to get outside for some of the day.

We were happy to have a nice weekend full of sunshine. We spent an afternoon on the neighborhood school's playground on Saturday.

Summer the season, not Summer your friend.

We've been talking about Summer often these days. We are longing for the warm sunny days when we can bike daily and splash in the lakes and pools. We are also talking about our neighbor, Summer, a lot these days. She and her family are leaving us, moving to Chaska at the end of the month. The block will definitely have a different feel without them on it. Luckily, we've enjoyed them immensely while we have been neighbors! Every time we discuss either topic, Owen is sure to clarify which Summer he is talking about.

Molly took the boys to fly a kite yesterday while I was at yoga. The boys had so much fun that we did it again this afternoon. Owen pretty much ran the entire hour we were outside. Walter chased him for a good portion of the time, too. What a fabulous way to wear out two energetic little guys! 

That was Walter.

I was making dinner tonight and, to be perfectly frank, the kids were driving me nuts! I had asked them to go play downstairs and got them set up with a train track to play with so I could cook in peace. Walter stayed downstairs while Owen came back upstairs and started playing with a ball which inevitably ended up on the counter. I asked him not to throw anything else upstairs, as I was making dinner. Two seconds later, he threw something else up. When I looked at him, this is what he said. I couldn't help but laugh.

We had a busy weekend full of celebrations. On Saturday Jer's dad turned 60! Donna and Joanne threw a lovely dinner party in his honor. The boys loved the balloons and enjoyed helping Grandpa blow out all 60 candles.

On Sunday, a fellow Babe turned 30. We surprised Melissa and took her out for a nice lunch full of quite a few laughs. It is never quiet when we get together without our kids. You'd think we'd be able to have full conversations without interruptions, however, we are so excited to be out and alone, that we all tend to interrupt one another anyway!