Moving Up In the World

On my summer bucket list was to take the big kids rock climbing at a local place called Boulder's. Lucia had her very first babysitter that day.

Here we are, in all our lofty glory. I made it to the top, but let's just say that I definitely know I won't be parachuting out of airplanes in this lifetime.

That's Anna Marie up there, with Yours Truly belaying.
Anna Marie definitely won the award for most accomplished climber among us.

Kathleen was a little hesitant at first, but became extremely proficient by the  end of the day. Impressive!

William conquered a mild fear of heights today. Go, Will!

Hey, that's me!

Kathleen at the top; Elizabeth belaying.

Go, Anna, go! It was no easy feat getting over that angled portion.

Cutie-Pie

Check out our two-month-old cutie, Miss Lucia Rose.

From the Files of the Weird

We parked at the dentist's office the other day, only hop out of the van and find ourselves perched on top of a parking lot sink hole of some sort.

The dark part of that hole that you see in the photo was amazingly deep. I've never seen anything quite like it.

It necessitated a quick snapshot to show Joe.

Is this bizarre, or is this just me?

Eeeeeek!

Check out this snake that we found nestled up against our house.

Look carefully at the photos. Then look at this page. Tell me what you think it is.

We were so convinced that "our snake" was a Massasauga Rattlesnake. However, the DNR says it's a fox snake.

Whatever it is, it's BIG, and it lives in a hole right up against our house. Yikes!

Run, Anna, Run!

Anna Marie is enjoying her first season of cross country. Her season began early, as the team began training together in mid-June. Her training regimen was intense, with daily trainings during June and July, followed by twice-a-day training sessions during much of August.

All that training resulted in a seriously well-conditioned team, and Anna Marie felt great and was eager for her first meet at the end of August. However, all that training took a toll on our first-year runner, and Anna Marie ended up with a pretty serious groin pull just a few days before the first meet. Sadly, she missed participating in her first four meets and had to miss almost a month of practices.

Just last Saturday, she ran in the fifth meet of the season—her first. It was the hilliest and most challenging course in these year's line-up, so it was a brutal way to start her season. Even so, Anna Marie showed grit and determination and finished strong. We were all so proud of her. As I type, she is preparing for her second meet, and the groin injury seems to be behind her.

Run, Anna, run!

Anna Marie (front, fourth from the right) with her cross-country teammates.

4th of July

Scenes from a very mellow 4th of July at home this year.

Lucia Rose

The kids enjoy mini-fireworks on the driveway.

Sweet Marguerite enjoys the 4th. 

Cutie-girl.

Summer Days in Whitewater - Part 3

Lucia

Lucia is looking a little lost here, but she sure did seem to enjoy her day hanging out with Kathleen at Whitewater.

Uncle Bill and Lucia. 

Snagging those braiding opportunities when I can get them.

Joe and his friend Kristin jam in the backyard at Whitewater.

Uncle Bill and Lucia Rose.

Summer Days in Whitewater - Part 2

Kathleen in Whitewater Lake.

Elizabeth and Marguerite on the shore.

Kathleen has a ball in the lake.

Kathleen is ready for some laser tag action.

Summer Days in Whitewater - Part 1

We spent some great days in Whitewater, at Joe's family's cottage, this summer with friends and family. The kids had a ball, and it was relaxing and restful. We sure do miss Grandma Carolyn when we're in Whitewater!

Joe, Marguerite, Kathleen, and Therese on the beach.

The kids have a ball in the lake.

Marguerite and Elizabeth.

Marguerite with a bit of sand in her hair.

Therese has a ball on the beach.

Bug Tunnels

The kids have a ball creating block tunnels for their hex bugs to traverse.

Kathleen surveys her hex bug track creation. 

And the hex bugs are off!
Kathleen's tracks are so excellent. The hex bugs bounce off the walls and just continue zipping through the tunnels.

The Joys of Summer

Homemade yogurt pops on the deck.

Now that's summer livin'.

YUM!

Marguerite, Andrew, & William

Beautiful Kathleen enjoys her treat.
With her stomach issues behind her, Kathleen is looking strong and healthy again.

Look at that face!
Looks like she enjoyed her treat.

Is this the life, or what?

Boys with treats. Summer vacation is good!

Bathtime

Bath time is not always the blissful event that it "should" be. Regardless, girls have to get clean!

Baths are not fun yet when you're a one-month old! 

Poor Luchie-Lu! At least you're clean!

Marguerite, fresh out of the tub, is having a lot more fun than Lucia.

Yay! I'm all clean! Thanks, Kathleen, for helping with my bath!

Random Summer Shots - Take 2

We had such fun introducing Lucia to Rebecca, our friend and amazing trainer.

Rebecca and Lucia, getting to know each other.
Rebecca sometimes feeds Lucia for us during our workouts.

I did an enormous amount of gardening this year. This was perennial installation number 1.

William oversees the mass of new perennials, as we prepare for a long day of digging and planting.

Kathleen finds a very cute perch for a very cute little Lucia. 

Big-time sisterly love. 

She doesn't always look so stunned. Stunned or not, I thought this was a pretty cute photo of Miss Lucia.