Category Archives: summer

Impromptu Nature Walk

When you get thrown gorgeous weather in September, you take advantage of it, so even though we were going to spend last Saturday cleaning and organizing, I talked everyone into going on some walks at a nearby Reserve!  It was one of my best ideas and despite some bug bites, I think everyone had a really good time.

We went to the nature center first to check in and get an idea of what was in the area, which led us to their outdoor play area.  We told the kids they could play for a while, but then we’d have lunch and do some exploring!

We were even joined by a little slug at one point!  It was fun just watching him creep along and then Enzo gave him some of his apple.

Have I mentioned that the day was beautiful?  Because the weather was amazing!  It was so nice to just leisurely stroll and see what kinds of fun things we could spot.  Enzo even saw a fish pop up to eat a bug when we stopped at one of the lake docks!

With so many different potential trails to go on, we chose one that had a boardwalk through a wetland area.  Considering we forgot bug spray, it probably wasn’t our greatest decision, but thankfully the mosquitoes haven’t been as bad this year as they usually are. We survived to tell the tale!

I was the one lagging behind for most of the day.  I am at my happiest in the woods, though, and I was soaking it in.  Plus, there were a lot of things to see!  Spider webs stretching across the trail over our heads, fungi and so many pretty flowers.

Now, this flower I thought for sure was a fungi, but it turns out it isn’t!  It seems to be most commonly known as Ghost Plant or Indian Pipe and is part of the blueberry family!  It looks so white because it has no chlorophyll and is a non-photosynthetic plant. Because it doesn’t photosynthesize, it’s basically a parasite that lives off of other plants like trees.  Anyway, it was the first time I had ever seen them and they really are kind of eerie growing in the darker shaded parts of wooded areas.

Just as we were headed on our way back to the nature center, we (or rather Josh) spotted a fantastic prairie area that we naturally just had to go explore. There was a breeze, and better yet, no mosquitoes, but it was nice to just see the prairie grasses wave in the wind and watch bees flit from blossom to blossom.

I’m pretty sure we’ll back.

Summer’s End

While Summer may not technically be over yet, it certainly feels that way.  School buses are in full force now and the leaves are changing on some of my favorite trees and temperatures are beginning to cool as well.  Enzo hopped on a bus to Kindergarten today, taking a piece of my heart with him as his smile practically exploded out of his face.

It was kind of perfect then that this last weekend before school commenced was so nice.  On Monday (after a couple of long, busy days) all the kids wanted to do was hang out and after I returned from shopping we went outside to enjoy that beautiful weather.

I was a little disappointed that we didn’t seem to have any monarchs this year on our Milkweed, but we still saw plenty this weekend, nonetheless, and some happy little bumblebees.

It says Mom ♥ Enzo ♥ Phoebe.  Sure, kiddo, just melt my heart a little more.  My eyes are watering because of allergies.  Allergies, okay??

This little lady also moved into the Preschool room this week. She still seems to think she’ll be going back to the Pre-Preschool room, however, and it’s taking some time to convince her that her old teachers are not her teachers anymore.

Thanks for a fabulous day, Universe.

Water Balloon Fight

Well, considering we’re almost to fall, I should probably enjoy these summer moments while they last.  The high is the in 50s today. The 50’s.  I’m not ready for fall and quite frankly, it gives me a bit of the sads when I even start to go there, so I won’t.

I had a lot of great intentions for summer this year, and then I’m not really sure what happened… I suppose we have been a bit busy and considering the kids had swimming lessons every Sunday for the majority of the summer that kind of explains why we didn’t do much else with water.  How can summertime be so short, though?  I feel like we really need to get in a few outside swimming days before the pools close, but that will depend entirely upon the weather. We did, however, have at least ONE decent water balloon fight.  I didn’t get any pictures during the fight since they both gained up on me multiple times, but it was a lot of fun.

Who knows, maybe we’ll have time to sneak in one last fight before the end of summer, and maybe we’ll even convince Josh to join us.

An Afternoon at the Arboretum

You know what’s awesome?  Nice weather. The kids and I decided to enjoy some nice weather recently and go the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  We got a membership through Groupon and I have a feeling we’ll be going there a few times a month.  There are fantastic paths and trails to walk and it seems like there is always something going on.  When we went it happened to be a very popular weekend for weddings and I think there may have been two happening at the same time.  The kids wanted to hang around and watch one, but I convinced them that walking around might be more interesting.

We may be heading back tomorrow, but the kids and I haven’t decided yet.  So many choices!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Bearded Dragons and BBQ!

I never did a week in review post like I usually do on Monday – mainly because we all had the day off and ended up being fairly busy!  Over the weekend we had a bunch of friends over for BBQ and to hang out and it was a blast.  The weather was really nice and perfect for the kids to run around and later on to make s’mores. We FINALLY pulled out the fire pit.

It was nice having a three day weekend, even if the kids were a tad cranky come Sunday due to being up WAY past their bedtime. Whoops.  Isn’t that what summer is for, though?  It’s always so hard to end all of the fun.

We’ve been pulling out the board games a lot these past couple of weeks as well.  Phoebe doesn’t always have the patience for them, but Enzo loves playing – his new favorite being Sorry.  (Yes, that is fake poop on his head).

We also had his preschool graduation on the 26th.  I can’t believe it.  He’s very upset that he has to wait until September to go to Kindergarten, however.  I had to explain to him about summer vacation and he was not having it.

He’s growing up in so many ways and even Uzi is appreciating that he is a bit more calm lately (at least at times).  Haha!

Our biggest news, though, has to be our new Bearded Dragon, Bowser.  We have talked for a while about getting one and ages ago Josh picked up a tank setup for super cheap, but we finally decided to pull the trigger on Monday.  He has absolutely stolen our hearts and I had no idea just how social they are!  He loves to be taken out of his terrarium and I’m thinking we might go sit in the sun this weekend. If Josh lets me, that is. He’s really more Josh’s pet than mine, but I can’t help but love pretty much all animals. 😉