Special Time with Kelsey

Kelsey and I spent some special time yesterday afternoon. We both got pedicures, and then we went out for lunch. Kelsey's face lit up with a huge smile when she sat in the massage chair. She has been playing in a soccer tournament this weekend, so the massage felt especially good to her!

Baby Elie is Here!

My cousin had a beautiful baby girl yesterday morning. She was two weeks early and is doing great. It was fun visiting everyone in the hospital and getting to hold such a sweet baby! We had her baby shower about 12 hours before she was born - how is that for timing? Jack is now a big brother!

Surgery

Conner had surgery today, and he was quite brave about the whole experience. The only thing he was nervous about was getting the IV. We left our house around 5:15 so that we could check in to the hospital by 6:00. We went up to the 8th floor, and the beautiful sunrise was our view from the waiting room windows. He went into surgery at 7:30, and the whole surgery lasted only 50 minutes. He was in recovery for awhile but did great. They shaved away the growth plates on the tibia and fibula below the knee on his left leg. He has to stay on the couch for 1-2 days and then gets to move around as he feels a little better.

Trying to find a new hobby...

McKenzie is trying to find a new hobby that she enjoys. She tried a little photography yesterday, and here is what caught her eye... She even made a dandelion look beautiful!

A Very Fun Father' s Day

We had such a great day celebrating Father's Day. We started off the day with a delicious breakfast at the Ladybug Cafe and enjoyed playing Crazy 8's while waiting for our food. Peter then went on a little drive by himself - he loves to drive around and have some peace and quiet while admiring the scenery :) Mom and Dad came over for a glass of wine and ice cream sundaes. We had a sing-a-long, inspired by Conner who played his guitar for us. We sang "Chasing Blue Cars" by Snow Patrol (a song that Peter and McKenzie have been singing together) - it was SO fun and funny!! Peter and I ended the evening with a nice walk around the neighborhood. We had to make sure that we got in our steps after all we ate today!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

"You can work miracles by having faith in others. To inspire the best in people, choose to think and believe the best about them." (B. Moawad)

This quote reminds me of who my dad is...I had the great fortune of being raised by an amazing dad. When I was growing up I never knew what an incredible blessing it was to go to bed every night knowing that my parents loved each other, that my dad was a hard worker, knowing that my dad would be there every day for me, and knowing that my dad would only say things that showed his belief in me. I never knew how amazingly fortunate I was to have a dad who taught me how to drive, who bought me my first car, who attended every extracurricular event that I was involved in, who drove me downtown to school every day, who paid a lot of money to put me through college, who believed in me and supported me in everything that I have ever attempted. Now that I am much older, I can appreciate that I was raised by a dad who worked hard at being a dad. As I have met many other people in my life, I know now that everyone has not been raised by a dad like mine. So thanks, Dad, for working hard at being the kind of dad that you never got to have. This is what truly makes your parenting even more amazing. I love you.

YUM!

Today I made a Strawberry Crumb Coffee Cake with the strawberries that we picked yesterday. It is SO delicious (Conner said I need to say "if I don't say so myself" :)

Berry Picking

Today was the first day of summer vacation together, so we celebrated by going berry picking with our friends. We picked 39 pounds of strawberries in about 30 minutes. I made lots of jam, and we still have tons of berries left for strawberry milkshakes and ice cream sundaes!

We Did It!

We all survived the 1/2 Marathon today. It was perfect weather for a walk - cool and didn't rain at all! We enjoyed beautiful scenery, a few animals, and each other :) Mom did GREAT - she even jogged about 20 feet right before the 12th mile! We had a yummy burger waiting for us at the finish line.

Last Game!

Last night was McKenzie's last game of the season. The last inning was very exciting as her team scored 9 runs to lead by three at the bottom of the inning. The other team ended up winning, but the girls sure made it exciting. We had lots of fun spending time with our friends at the games. Kelsey's first game is tomorrow night, so now it's her turn!

New Hobby

Peter and I have both found a new hobby - gardening. Peter built wonderful garden boxes, and we have planted lots of fruit and vegetables that have been growing quickly. We are growing green and yellow peppers, pepperocinis, tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, mini cabbage, strawberries, onions, parsley, basil, cilantro, peas, red potatoes, mini cabbages, kolrabi, and blueberries - whew! Today I planted some hostas and lavender along the new path that we put in a few weeks ago. Slowly but surely, our yard is getting transformed....!

Farmers' Market

One of my very favorite things about summer is going to farmers' markets. Yesterday McKenzie and I went to the Cedar Mill Farmers Market, and we were amazed by this beautiful arrangement of radishes and incredible colors of flowers. These pictures just make me feel happy :)

Kelsey the Cook

Kelsey made her first dinner the other night, Ham and Gruyere cheese frittata. Conner definitely gave it a thumbs-up! He made sure to tell her that this was the first time he ever had "thirds" at dinner. We hope that this will be the first of many meals that the kids will make, since I will be working full time starting in September.