Everyone has a calling....

...I just didn't know Luke's was to be a garbage man (aka sanitary engineer).  He sure hurries to put his books and hat on and join daddy on this Sunday night adventure.  

Surprise

Maddie and I thought we should let you know we are still here. Just living life and having fun. Honestly, we have been caught up in everything else that the blog was set to the side temporarily. Don't worry, now that it's getting cold outside you may hear from us more frequently. 

Apple Orchard

I know, I know, I'm delayed on posting. It's been busy. I'm sure you have been busy to with whatever you do. So without further delay, here are a few recaps from last month. I took a vacation day to accompany Madeline's class to the Apple Orchard. It was great. We made some apple cider, picked apples, climbed on bails of hay, and went through the kiddie maze.

Loaders

Luke is all boy. That's really an understatement.  On a trip back from grandma and grandpas he fell asleep holding his new Loader and was not about to give it up. 

Maddie has her Doll and Luke has his Loader. Classy.  

Preschool

Well Maddie is back in school and loving it. It's safe to say she is exhausted by the end if the day as well.  Check out the pics. Luke was very eager to greet his sister when the bus dropped her off. 

Summer in review

Well, after much deliberation regarding what to write about, I'm opting to do a photo only update..... As you can tell, it's been a busy summer filled with camping, Itasca State park, lake life, gymnastics, sprinklers, boat rides, and lots more. Now, we are back to preschool and loving life

Transition.

People have cautiously danced around the fact we lost two dogs this summer within 24 hours of each other.  Some indirectly ask questions and others just say, so how Elvis?  

Well, we can say losing 2 dogs that close together stinks and I sure hope it doesn't happen like that again.  But, our big guy is loving life more than ever.  He loves his new pal, Bailey, and they both LOVE going everywhere with us.  Camping is a blast and this weekend the cabin up north.  Surprisingly, they both stay close by and neither requires a leash.  Each explored the lake and the dock.  Elvis thought is was the biggest water bowl ever and we finally convinced him to stop drinking.  Bailey, she just wants to swim.  

After 5 hours outside running in the yard and playing in the water, here is our result.  View pics below.   I guess they are a little tired. Ha! 

I think they relate this to heaven on earth....

Life up north....it's rough.

We headed north for the 4th of July and had a great visit with the Gacnik family.  Plenty of fishing was done, don't worry we tossed them back so we could catch them again.  The kids played in the sandbox and tried to dig to China, the Mosquitos, all 42 various species, are active as ever and attacked us all.  

Most importantly, I came close to breaking Jeremy's fishing record.  (That's probably debatable, his fish was bigger)  his fish hangs on the wall of the cabin so I am reminded of its size every trip.  Lets just say I was a close second with this one and I threw him back.  

A great trip overall.  We taste tested wine daily and found some great ones. 

Another run in the books...

Having never visited Duluth,MN I was excited for my 1/2 marathon there. A great opportunity to see the area during a 13.1 mile run....Perhaps a beer by the lake to toast a completed race.  It was a great idea until it was 43 degrees, rainy, and 1/4 mile visibility due to fog.....the ENTIRE TIME I WAS IN DULUTH!!!!

It wouldn't be a race without a story, right?  Well, I had 2 Dixie cup sized beers, bacon, bananas and a photo with bag pipers all during the run. Let's be realistic, if you are not going to win you just as well have a story.  

So, I went to Duluth and ran a race on the most amazing course. I sure wish I could have seen the sights but I guess that will happen next time when the family is with me. 

This experience was reserved for another local mom and myself and we didn't let the rain and fog ruin out entire experience.  We found some great restaurants and local beers to try.  And as tradition has it, I enjoyed the biggest piece of dessert to celebrate another finish.  

New kid on the block...

There is a new kid on the block here.  Welcome to Ms Bailey. A golden retriever/collie mix, 33 lb, 14 month old dog.  Great addition to the family.   

The conversation for this addition went much like this.  "So I looked at a dog today and she's coming to meet everyone else tomorrow."  Needless to say she won everyone over, including Elvis.   

She's a great running dog already.  Although we miss our buddies, especially Dibs, Bailey is an excellent addition. 

Baileys favorite activities includes her 2 daily walks/runs, meal time and snack time with Luke.  Those kids are now great buddies! 

Remembering the good times!

We lost two members of our family in the last two days. I'm keeping this short since the sadness is still fresh, but more will be written in time. 

We lost Sadie on Thursday. Hard to see a dog so young with so much energy go, but it was the right time. Extremely bad hips and mental problems were leading to an unhappy life. She was a ball of love and a great running partner. She is missed already. 

We lost dibs today. Cancer had developed and had eaten away at his jaw bone. He isn't suffering any more. Our version of the cat, he loved laps, grapefruit and bourbon. Always opinionated but always loved. He is truly missed. 

It's been a rough few days. In time our family will move on and adopt new dogs. For now, though, Elvis is traveling everywhere with us. He misses his friends, but Is loving all the attention. We hope he lives many more years. 

Last day of school

Here's a quick picture from Madeline's teacher of her having fun on the last day of school. She's bummed she can't go to school over the summer or ride the school bus. She's excited, though, that she will get to go to preschool three days each week starting this fall (she went 2 days this last year). Growing up fast. 

Having fun playing!

Maddie and Luke had fun this morning playing in their playhouse. I'm surprised there was room for the two of them in there with all the food and dishes. They play so well together.  It's fun to watch their imagination develop. Luke cried when we left for daycare because he wanted to keep playing.

Our little ballerina!!!

Madeline at her first dance recital this weekend. She did great and had a lot of fun!

Street sweeper in training

Valpo

In an effort to get the kids excited about Valparaiso University, Jeremy decided to name Luke's monkey Valpo. Seems sneaky to me. Don't worry, Madeline knows the Iowa state fight song, yells "Go Cyclones," and now had Luke putting his hands in the air when we say, "Touchdown, go State." But, naming a monkey Valpo, poor monkey......

Future Engineers?

Starting the day off playing trains!

Dance recital

Someone has a dance recital coming up. Can you tell she is excited?!

Sadie

Sadie just can't get a break. Well, actually she got a big one....but not the kind we hope for. She has a fractured hip. She had been favoring her hips so we took her in and X-rays confirmed the dreaded news.

She probably has had this for a long time....before we adopted her. Anyway, meds and a possible surgery are in the future. We will know more next week

On a lighter note, we now have 3 dogs....none of which can run with me. What are the odds? !

On another crazy note, apparently we are softies..dogs breaks hip and we get them a comfy bed.

VEISHEA

We went to VEISHEA and it was awesome. There was no snow so it didn't take much for it to be great. Parades, pony rides, fun food, getting a high-5 from Cy the cyclone and just good old family fun.