A pre-dinner walk yesterday:

This past Sunday: family vacation day.

We got back from the lake home on Saturday night with enough time to unpack, feed the kids a somewhat healthy dinner (after their diet of mostly freezies on vacation...ha!),and get them to bed EARLY.  

Sunday morning Jonas went to help our church set up for the annual Praise in the Park.  The only problem was that it was scheduled to be about 100+ degrees that day.  Um, no.  Count me out.  Sorry, church!  LOVE you guys to death, but I also don't want to die myself... ;)  So, Jonas was our token helper from the Schaefer family, then he as home by 11:00 or so and we planned a last "family vacation day" before he had to go back to work on Monday.  We tried to go to the Como Pool after lunch, but it was INSANELY busy.  I don't know why we even wanted to do that, frankly.  The kids have so much more fun in a gradual incline lake than they do in a crowded pool.  (Uncle Dan's pool was the big exception to that rule...)  SO, we left that line and went to a lake--crazy idea, right?  Free, beautiful, fun?  Yes please.  :)  

Actually, I'm getting this all out of order.  After lunch we went to the Children's Museum because it has AC, obviously.  We stayed for about 2 hours, and the kids had a great time--it wasn't crowded at all!  So odd for a very hot Sunday afternoon.  The four videos below are from the CM.

I didn't take any video or pictures at the lake because I thought we were going to the public pool, and I don't trust that rabble with my personal belongings... ;) ...so I didn't bring them along, and then when we switch to the lake I was a bit bummed out.  Layla, of course, was in her personal form of heaven:  water.  :)  

There they are!

Okay, I'll admit it, a nice long rest time was just the thing to bring back my kids "cuteness" for afternoon play time.  ;)

Here they are cooking together:

What. A. DAY.

Today, the Schaefer Family Day-O-Fun was a smashing success.  

I am exhausted.  :)

The day started out by heading down to Northfield, MN, around 9:45 a.m.  We walked up and down main street, went to the little farmer's market/art fair, read some books at the library, watched some funny street dances, pet a bunny on the sidewalk, ate at Hoagan Brother's, walked along the river and fed ducks, and watched the waterfall.  

Here are our video diaries of Northfield:

Then we headed back north to swim at Lake Elmo.  We hadn't been there all summer yet, so we thought...nothing like the present, right?  :)  I took the pictures below while Jonas took Layla to the restroom to change.  I only have one picture of her, from after we were swimming, because these kids are crazy fearless in the water, and they seriously require two adults fully present...or things could happen!  Layla is, again, still, amazingly skilled in the water...if I can say so, as her mother.  ;)  She now goes fully under water (not holding her nose or anything), kicks her feet, uses her arms to swim, and goes distance...real distance under the water!  I'm not sure why I'm so amazed by this in a 3-year-old, but I am.  Maybe most kids are like this and I just live in a little bubble of motherly pride.  ;)

JUST as we got there everyone had to come out of the water for a safety break.  

TORTURE.

Off on an adventure!

You know....just chillaxin'.  

His favorite game was to run far away from me, then run back and tell me he missed me.  

Leaving Mama.  

Waiting 2 seconds.  

RETURNING!!

Mama!

I missed you!  

Grab the hat, off again.  

Finally in the water.  

Exhausted, cold Layla sitting on my lap after a full hour of swimming.  

After our Lake Elmo swim we played on the playground / pirate ship for a while, drove through Burger King for the kids, and then headed off to Irish Fest 2013 on Harriet Island (right across the river from downtown St. Paul).  It was PACKED this year!  Absolutely packed!  Each and every year it grows and grows, for sure.  Here is our video diary of this time:

The Irish Dancing is my favorite part, by FAR, of the entire festival...but we heard some girls called "The Wailing Orphans" on the big stage singing "500 Miles"...and that was pretty cool too.  ;)  Nothing says mixed tape from Renee in Kosovo like Mr. Big and The Proclaimers!

You guys, I swear I am not pregnant, nor having a PMS moment or anything, but I cried so much during the Irish Dancing.  I felt like a DORK, because no one else is crying.  Obviously.  I have no idea what was wrong with me this year!!!  I think it's just something about people doing things really well, in unison.  Love that stuff.  Plus, these were just cute kids, and you could sometimes spot their parents...so proud.  Tear.  ;)  

We headed home and the kids CRASHED in bed by 7:15 p.m.  I'm about to follow them.  Great, great summer day over here!  Goodnight, all.  :)

Tea Party time:

As I was doing dishes in the kitchen the other day I heard lots of chatter in the toy room.  Going in to check on the kids I found this:  a tea party.  :)  

Layla had set it up all by herself, INCLUDING filling the tea pot very full with water, AND getting a rag for all of the water spills.  

Cuteness.  :)

Trying to get Finn's cup from him.

Finn wiping up while Layla looks at me.

Layla, continuing the spill damage control. 

Pouring herself a helping cup of water.  

Pouring Finn one.

And Finn putting a lid on the cup, which is all he wanted to do.  No drinking for him.  ;)

Play dates are the best.

We love the people in our Life Group (small group) at church, so I was delighted when 90% of them could show up for a rather spontaneous play date at our house today.  :)

Our group is 6 couples, and the 6 couples have 17 kids.  It's fantastic.  :)  Here  is a small clip of a play date in our backyard with 14 of those kids running in and out...

Uncle Eric is majorly in the lead. Anyone want to bump him down?? ;)

Uncle Eric was home with the family from June 30th-July 8th.  As he was nearing his departure time he decided that he needed to solidify his role as Most Favorite Uncle of All Time, so we went and purchased the Horsman kids and the Schaefer kids an electronic vehicle.  

Can you REMEMBER as a kid...how bad did you want one of those?  I would have probably killed something for one.  :)  

So, here it is...the grand unveiling of the kids cars, and the moment Uncle Eric solidified the reputation of Greatest Uncle Ever.  

The cars do both go faster than shown here, but they hadn't been charged long enough by the time the kids wanted to ride them...

Sadly, Finn thought that the black car was HIS.  :)  

Silence

Sorry for my absence here on the blog!  It hasn't been intentional, but I haven't been great about getting any good photos or videos lately either, and then writing just words always seems...meh...to me.  ;)

I've been watching Zoey Rydbeck (our good friends who used to live 1 block from us, then moved to Seattle?  They come to town often, and I watch their daughter while they work) since last Thursday, and then I also had Henry here on Friday morning and Monday morning, so my days have been FULL with lots of little ones 3 and under.  It's going very well, but they all want the same things at the same times, being the same ages, so I am constantly "on duty."

I just want to say this:  the day came.  Today, as it happened yesterday, I am writing this post while Zoey is sleeping in the toy room, Layla is taking rest time in her room, and Finn is watching a DVD in his crib.  ALL 3 children are in separate rooms, "resting" at the same time, and I'm free.  FREE.  I could do ANYTHING right now!! (Well, okay, almost, but you get the idea...)

This is GREAT.  This is so great for me.  I can read during this time.  I can exercise during this time.  I can cook during this time!  Wheeeeeeeee!

Life with kids who change, mature, and grow up?  Awesome.  Just awesome.  :)  Not that I wish away the younger times, but man I'm not hating the older times either!

Lisa