SNIPPETS.

I didn't take nearly as many pictures this week. Why you ask? I was busy doing this:

I didn't have to do any of the real hard work. I just had to gather, price and haul my stuff over to my friend Roz's house. And help with the sale when the kids' and hubby's schedules allowed. I love purging things that we no longer need, it's kind of addicting, and its always a treat to get some extra cash. I only came home with about a quarter of what I brought over....a success, I would say. Thanks so much Roz for letting me in on your sale. It was fun to catch up with you over the last few days!

Brother has been fascinated with these this week:

I love baby feet. They are just so soft and adorable!

And sister has been working hard at this:

While Brother was napping, Nugget and I enjoyed some matching mani/pedis:

She likes me to set the timer so she knows how long she has to wait before her nails are dry.

When it 'peeps' she is free to run.

Mama and Nugget tootsies

Brother is as cute as ever:

And we checked some things off our summer fun list (although we there will be plenty more repeats):

We finally had a nice night to enjoy a bonfire and s'mores!

 Loved every bite.

And we enjoyed our first bike ride of the summer (and Brother's first ride ever):

 Nugget was less than thrilled at the start to share her trailer with Brother, but quickly got over it, thankfully.

My beach cruiser, with the addition of my birthday basket. Love it. Now if only I had a beach to go cruising on....

And some random cuteness:

Brother fresh from a bath and ready to go snuggle with Daddy.

Hmmm...maybe I took more pictures than I thought! Hope you had a happy week too!

MILKAPALOOZA.

There are many perks to living in a small town, one of them being we are close to an amazing organic dairy farm. I found out last year after the fact that they held a Milkapalooza. I was so bummed that I hadn't heard about it in time, so this year I was on the look out and knew we had to go. And even though it was raining, I had told Nugget all about it and she was excited. We couldn't not go. So we slid into our rain boots, packed our umbrellas and ventured down the road to Cedar Summit Farm.

I'm so glad we went. It was a ton of fun, rain and all. And it was a great learning opportunity for my girl. We got to take a tractor wagon ride out to the pasture to see the cows, and learn some cool facts about them. Did you know one cow eats 70 to 80 pounds of grass per day? That's crazy! We also learned that they like for the female cows to birth once a year. They are pregnant for 9 months, so the poor things only get a 3 month rest then have to do it all over again! That would be like me finding out I was a month pregnant right now. Um, no thanks. Not quite ready for another just yet!

 My skeptical girl refused to milk this cow, but settled for squeezing my wrist to help me milk it....?

Silly girl.

Sister putting on her grumpy face. Humph.

We toured the farm, which included seeing where the cows are milked, the hen house and the pig pen. A few roosters escaped while we were in there and it was hilarious watching the little kids chase them around. My shy girl didn't of course, but hopefully someday when we have our dream farm she and Brother can chase chickens all day long.

Doesn't it look like this pig is puckering up for a kiss? So sweet.

(But not really. Who would want to kiss a pig?!)

We also got to sample lots of goodies, like cheese and yogurt, have a caricature drawn of our littles, dance to some blue grass music, and eat a yummy organic lunch. What fun.

So glad we live in a small town. We love it here.





SPLISH SPLASH.

It's the little, everyday moments that I love the most about being a Mama. Their sweet smiles and little laughs, picking out which adorable outfit they will wear for the day, holding her little hand as we cross a busy parking lot, nursing him, reading together, snuggles and prayers before bed, Eskimo kisses, scratching her back, I could go on forever.

What was the little moment that made me happy today? Giving them a bath. There is just something so tender and sweet about washing away the day's dirt, splashing in the water, slathering lotion on their little bodies and dressing them in fresh jammies. It's so calming and refreshing, not only for them, but for me. It forces me to slow down. To put everything else aside. And just soak them in.

I love, love, love our claw foot tub. One of the many features that sold me on our home.

Such a good little man during his baths. Just hangs out and watches me while I do my thing.

These are my favorite towels, ever! My dear friend's aunt made them for my babies. Thanks Rachel!

Love her little face and those long eyelashes.

My little green monster.

And my recipe for delicious smelling littles? This:

I'm curious, what's your favorite little everyday moment?

MARK. SET. GO.

My Dad, aka Grandpa Jeff, was in town this weekend for a high school reunion. So that meant lots of family time for us. My girl was on cloud 9, because that meant cousin time for her. She adores them. Looks so forward to playing with them. There is always a little 'warming up' period for her, but once she does, she is off and running and doesn't stop until it's time to go home. After such quality cousin time, she will talk about them for days, and reenact all the things they played together, like restaurant, doctor, dentist...you know, the usual. I love seeing her so happy. And I love that they all play so nicely together. My only wish? That she could do it more often.

On Friday we had everyone over for lunch. And ice cream.

 Big C.

A.

L.

Little C.

Nugget.

And Brother, saying 'What?! No ice cream for me?' Sorry Buddy. You get Mama milkshakes about 8 times a day :) And I love his little toothless gums.

The fun didn't end there. The next day we had a graduation party for my cousin Nick, and the kids got to go swimming. Unfortunately, it rained most of the day, but that didn't stop them. The pool was warm and they were like little fish in there.



My little fishy was not afraid and repeatedly counted '1,2,3' and would jump right in. A few times I was sure she was gonna jump even when Daddy wasn't there to catch her and it made my heart drop to my stomach. Brother was sleeping on me in the wrap, so it wasn't like I could jump in and save her. Luckily, no mishaps occurred. I think swimming lessons will be in our future.

And now...my favorite pictures of the weekend. Are you ready? ok. On your mark...

Oops. Someone jumped the gun. Let's try that again.



On your mark.

Get set.

GO!

Adorable or what? Man, I love summer.

FATHER'S DAY.

I could not survive this journey of parenthood without him. He balances me out and picks up where I lack. My kids adore him, and I just love watching his bonds grow with both of them. They are too young to know how hard he works for them, the sacrifices he makes to provide for our family. But in time, they will know. They feel his love, and that is all they need.

So to honor him, we tagged along as he chose to go to the 'Back to the 50's Car Show' at the state fair grounds. It was fun. Really. And I'm sure he enjoyed it more than when I drug him to Manic Ceramic on mother's day.

Seeing this car seriously made me want to buy a station wagon, pack a picnic and head to the lake with my little family. I would have loved to grow up in the fifties era, or heck, been a fifties house wife. Such simpler times and it just looks like fun!

Daddy and his little man.

Nugget enjoyed the car show and just chilled in her stroller the entire time. She quietly played with her pink matchbox car Daddy bought her and enjoyed some ice cream. Her only complaint?

'The cars were too noisy.'

It may be Father's Day, but it's my blog. I thought this car was cute.

Thank you Nick, for all you do. Without you, I may very well lose my mind some days. You are an amazing father and husband and we love and appreciate you!



SNIPPETS.

 Breakfast, served with love.

Nugget loves to hold Brother. But does Brother love it? Not so much.

Reading her baby book. She loves to look at the 'doctor page'...her first pictures, moments after birth.

 Helping Mommy at Brother's check up.

Eerie sky. My first picture taken while driving. I don't recommend it.

Nugget and I went to a 'Big and Little Yoga' class together this week. She was excited to do 'moga' with me. This makes me chuckle as Moga is my doctor. Anyhow, she LOVED it! Her favorite poses were cat and cow, downward facing dog and the turtle.

Brother came along with us to yoga because, well, my kids go everywhere with me! He was a great sport about it. His favorite pose? The happy baby. He's pretty good at it too.

It was another great week in our happy home. Tell me, what did you do this week?