The Perfect Way to End the First Week of School....

....is with a four day weekend at MoMo's cabin.

The silver lining of an early school year start was a four day Labor Day weekend at the end of our first week of school.  I picked up the kids from school on Thursday, and we headed up with Papa early the next morning, leaving T to come up after the work day.  When we stopped at McDonalds for a speedy lunch, you would have thought I was granting the kids their greatest wish.

The weather was beautiful, and the fresh, northern lake country was just what we needed at the end of a long week.  

This was the Littlest Bear's second trip to the cabin (first trip was just two weeks before).  

He didn't mind the boat rides (the wind-swept look suited him well),

He enjoyed being out of the car and held all the time.

The kids played for hours on the beach,

collecting clams, shells, green lake blubs, and sticks.

Auntie Sharon and Uncle Carl treated us to steaks at their place on Saturday night so that T could watch the Alabama opener on their TV.  Yum.

On Sunday, we met friends for church, and then had them over for a morning of coffee and doughnuts, pontoon rides over the beach and swimming in the lake.  

What a treat!  

All the kids jumped off the pontoon to swim into shore together.  T and I were so excited to watch our tenderfooted Bears turn into hardened lake swimmer explorers over the course of the weekend.

On Monday, Papa took the Bears fishing off the end of the dock.  

When we only dug up 3 worms, leftover breakfast bacon proved to be ideal bait for sunnies.  Each of the kids caught a fish with each cast!  Everybody got to meet their fish before we released them back in the water.  Thank goodness Papa was there to take charge of getting the fish off the hook.  

That is something I just can not stomach.

 It was so hard to leave the cabin this time!  Thanks to MoMo, Papa, Auntie Sharon and Uncle Carl for making our time there so special and relaxing.

Happily Ever,
Queen B

August Moments

August has been a sweet month for us.  Far from dull 'Dog Days' of summer, the weather has been glorious and we have enjoyed every moment of being back home and soaking up time together.  With the Littlest Bear joining us and our long trip in July, this summer has gone by especially fast.  The kids are enjoying time together so much and so am I, which is the pay back of so much hard parenting work for me and both discipline and loving relationships on the part of the kids.  I don't feel remotely ready to say goodbye to our family summer days, but the calendar says change must come all the same.

Here is a glimpse into our days this month.  

Learning Time mornings  

(cursive for G-Bear, reading for E-Bear, letters for Buddy Bear, 

math review for everyone, and a little piano sprinkled in)

Painting on the deck,

(the pictures are, clockwise from the left:

Field of Poppies, by G-Bear; Go Bama, by E-Bear; Stained Glass Window, by E-Bear;

Orange Flower, by G-Bear; Yellow Rain, by Buddy Bear; Jungle, by Buddy Bear;

Nighttime, by J-Bear; Sunshine, by J-Bear; and Blue Flower by G-Bear)

Nelsons with Daddy,

(the kiddie scoops are so big, our whole family splits only three!)

Playing Spud at the park with the boys,

Daily Walks to the quad to climb trees or ride bikes,

Picnic lunches on the quad with books to read,

Watching the Littlest snooze in his bouncer in the kitchen during breakfast each day,

Trips to the library to get Magic Tree House CDs and books,

Watering the garden of tomatoes and cantaloupes,

Coloring at the art table in pjs,

making forts in the basement with leftover boxes,

being builders, playing dress-up,

(a space rocket and its launch pad)

a visit to the cabin and rainy day face paint,

reading More Paddington Bear and Uncle Wiggly

and nightly walks around the block when T gets home.

Could it be possible that each summer really does get sweeter?  

Happily Ever,

Queen B

August in the Garden

Forgive me if you couldn't get a hold of us the other day.

We were out at our front yard garden for most of the morning.

You see, a cicada had crawled out of its underground den,

and we couldn't wait to watch it hatch out of its shell.  

And wouldn't you know, 

it takes a long time for a cicada to find a good place hatch out of its shell,

and it takes even longer for it to hatch out.

So, here we have been for most of the day, watching the cicada hatch.

Life is so magical with these kids.

Tonight, the buzzing in the darkness will have a whole new meaning.

Happily Ever,
Queen B

Raise your hand....

Raise your hand.....

.....if you have lived more of your life on vacation than at home!

After two and a half weeks of an epic road trip summer vacation, we are home.

The Littlest Bear definitely wins the Super Duper Trooper Award for spending most of his life away from home.  Runners up for the award are Dad, for driving all of the 3,000+ miles that we traveled, Mom for doing the trip 2 weeks postpartum, and the Bears for being awesome kids on vacation.

There are many tales to tell.  

First, get us out of these car seats.

Happily Ever,

Queen B

One July Afternoon

It's another perfect July day.

The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the garden is lush because it rained last night.

T is home early.

He has set up the Slackline between our two trees in front.

The speakers are playing our favorite songs.

It is rest time, but pretty soon the kids are beckoned outside.

They can't resist T and his Slackline.

T has spoiled me.

I have a chair in the shade.

I have our baby in my arms.

I have a sweet tea in my hand, made by my sweet T himself.

From my seat in the shade, I get to enjoy 

the sight of my three oldest smiling and laughing,

bouncing T off the Slackline, trying their balance,

playing catch with our tiny black mitt and a bright tennis ball.

From my seat in the shade, looking down in my lap,

our newest addition is snoozing in peace,

where just days ago a round belly was seen,

which now feels strangely far away.

And the kids are laughing, and T is ever smiling, 

and there is a breeze in the shade and the baby's at peace,

and my tea is very sweet.

I would bottle this moment if I could.

Happily Ever,

Queen B

Joyful July

Our July is flying by, 

filled with many joyful moments.

Take, for instance, our daily Duplo time.  J-Bear loves her brothers' help in making whatever creation they have dreamed up. Whatever they make for themselves, they are careful to make one for her too.  One day it was a tower to match their aircraft carriers.  The next day, they had to make her a matching X-wing to theirs.  She then proceeded to follow them around the living room, "whooshing" right behind them.

Our garden is in full swing, full of tomato plants that we grew from last year's seeds, pepper plants that made it through the winter indoors, our fruitful blueberry bush and our Alpine strawberries.

There is a daily search for ripe strawberries that occurs each morning.  They taste so sweet and are pretty irresistible.  As you can see, the kids have all kinds of ways of trying to get up to the hanging basket to pick some:

At least when Buddy Bear is successful, he loves to hand out his bounty to his siblings,

to J-Bear's great delight.

During quiet time, while J-Bear is napping, G-Bear is often found snuggled up with a book.  She is a voracious reader these days.  Sometimes she might be found working on her cursive or (if I really incentivize) finishing her math work for the day.  The boys, on the other hand, are two peas in a pod, whether building at their workshop or building out of their Lego boxes in their room.  Today's creations?  E-Bear made a bed for his baby brother, complete with a personalized label and G-Bear's doll linens:

  

And then the boys emerged from quiet time to show me the robot warriors they had made from scratch.  The warrior part aside, I am continually amazed by their creativity.

 When T comes home, it is time for backyard fun with Dad.  This usually involves some variation of baseball or soccer, but no matter what, it is one of the highlights of the day.

After dishes, it is time for our pre-bedtime walk around the blocks.  Baby loves the fresh air, and while the older crew often fusses at first, by the time we pass our neighbor's house they are tearing down the sidewalk leaving me and T in the dust.

These days are full of so much joy.  Thank you, Lord for these precious summer days.

Happily Ever,
Queen B

Happy Fourth of July, 2015

Hooray for the Red, White and Blue!

Today we are waiting for Baby, 

sipping lemonade, 

and watching the local Fourth of July Parade.

Our flags are waving,

our cheers we're raising,

tonight fireworks will set our sky ablaze.

Today, we thank God for our family, freedom and country,

those that have given so much,

to ensure liberty for this precious bunch. 

God, bless America!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happily Ever,

Queen B

Highlights from Cousins' Week

Dinner at Aunty Cindy's house,

bagels and playtime at the splash pad one morning,

an afternoon at the park,

and a fabulous Frozen birthday for cousin H,

who could imagine a more wonderful week with cousins!

Thanks to our Boston and Seattle cousins for staying an extra week to play after Uncle C's wedding.  The week was just what we needed:  high energy, exhausting and full of fabulous fun.  The kids are all so close in age, and they all get along so well, so it is a real treat for them to all be together.  We discovered that lunches out after outings are a worthwhile treat, and dinners on the porch are the way to go.

 We will all miss our cousins now that they are heading back home.

J-Bear has already asked for cousin T, whose name is easiest for her to say, several times.  

Life is decidedly quieter around MoMo and Papa's house.  

Many sacrifices go into these special weeks together, but the time always bears much fruit in the loving relationships that our kids build together.  We couldn't be more thankful.

Happily Ever,

Queen B

Saying Goodbye to Summer 2014

The sun is setting on our summer.

We spent our last night staying out late with friends in the yard of their new home.

I'll be up late finishing my syllabus for another year of lecturing.

Yes, the moon is rising over our summer, 

but there are sure to be many adventures ahead in a new school year.

The moon rose over our tent this weekend at GG's cabin.

Lord, these days have been precious.  Thank you for our glorious summer.

Please bless our days ahead.

Happily Ever,

Queen B

Crabby Pants

I am the crabby pants in our house right now.  

I hate the end of summer.

Did I mention that I hate the end of summer?

I really do. 

But, as I had to remind one of our children tonight, there are many things in life that we won't enjoy, things that wouldn't be our choice if it were up to us to choose, and we have to choose to be cheerful anyway.

So there you have it, Queen B.  Time to buck up and be cheerful.  

Summer is ending whether I choose to be cheerful or not.

After lying awake the other night worrying about the start of school,

I reassured myself with this post by a friend, and woke up the next day with a plan.

In the first morning hours, we tried on uniforms, ordered all school supplies on Amazon (hallelujah, free shipping!), stopped by school to drop off early registration forms (no long lines for us on registration night!), and went to the store to buy two remaining pairs of pants for the school wardrobes.  Then, I treated the kids to Chick-fil-a as a reward for all our hard work and spent the rest of the day riding bikes and playing in the backyard.

See, it doesn't help to be crabby.

I am also preparing to teach at a nearby university this fall.  I have never been good at multitasking logistics planning for me and the kids.  But, procrastination, like being crabby, won't help.  

Even so, there is still so much to do in our last week or so of summer vacation: 

a trip to the cabin,

a visit to the State Fair,

what else can we fit in?

Relaxing August Days

We are recharging after the fun adventures of July.

Sweet peas and green onions from our garden

Learning time has been put on hold.  Errands can wait.  

We are home together almost everyday of the week.

I have been able to say 'yes!' to requests for Duplos and Play Mobile, dress up and Legos.

No rushing, no hustling.  The schedules will come with demands in due time.

An afternoon of Duplo wands and dress up.

The sandbox is open for business.  Roman ruins and castles rule the day.

When our friends come over, our backyard is full.  We had nine kids, ages 10 and under, were playing Capture the Flag in our yard this morning.  What a sweet summer surprise!

We have plenty of walks across the street the the University Quad.  

Sometimes Papa and GG come to join us.  

Four generations on the Quad

Dinner on the porch is a luxury.  Our kids are getting good at shucking corn on the back steps.

And after dinner, popsicles are a perfect indulgence.  These three put our Zoku popsicle maker to good use.  We buy Bolthouse fruit smoothie at the grocery store and pour it into our Zoku.  Let it be known that the green smoothie looks weird, but it tastes oh so good.

So

much

fun.

Thank you, Lord, for these sweet August days.

July Sweets

What could be sweeter?

A precious little girl in her seersucker dress,

hugging her daddy, giving a kiss.

Points to the airplanes in the sky overhead,

 loves to read Brown Bear (and Pat the Bunny) right before bed.

What could be sweeter?

Two brothers discovering a new book in bed,

dreams of new legos filling their heads,

shooting bow & arrow in the yard is so fun,

playing soccer and tee ball 'till the day is done.

What could be sweeter?

 A sister who reads and one who enjoys;

these sisters prove company is better than toys.

One loves to tell stories, one loves to squirm,

They both remind me I have much to learn.

What could be sweeter?

Smoothies for breakfast with fresh summer berries,

these days are full but we still love to tarry.

Slow down, summer!  Don't go so fast!

These moments are fleeting. Make memories that last.