Midwest Summer Trip

Every summer my family gets together for a week. It is one of my favorite weeks of the year, hands down. It is wonderful to simply be together, and the location is almost irrelevant to me, although we have enjoyed each other's company in some fun places…Illinois, Georgia, San Diego, Disneyland.

This year we returned to Door County, Wisconsin. My parents owned a cabin there for 10 years, but the cabin has been sold and we haven't been back since 2008, so this was a return to a very special place. We have a lot of memories in the darling little towns that make up the peninsula of Door County: Jenny and John got engaged in Peninsula State Park, Katie and I were waitresses in Fish Creek one college summer, I came up to the cabin in Egg Harbor with my high school prom group, and there were countless family visits and reunions of all kinds. Door county is wooded, rural, surrounded by water, and sprinkled with small towns that have a Cape Cod-meets-Scandinavia-in-the-Midwest feel. It is pretty magical.

It was a full and fun 11 day vacation adventure back in my homeland, not restful, but joyful.

Here is my Top Ten from our time in the lovely Midwest…

#1 The first two days at my parents house were a big highlight for my family of five. Those days included: the mini car, zipline, tree house, visits to neighbors horses, breakfast over the campfire, big trees, lots of grass, time on the back porch, and San Diego temperatures. It is a kids' paradise there.

 

#2 An afternoon with my Grandma. We got to spend an afternoon and evening with my sweet Grandma, and my Illinois aunt, uncle, and cousin. It is such a treat to have time with the extended family I grew up with. It is still so very strange to see my Grandma without my Grandpa, but she is doing well. We all feel my Grandpa's absence, which makes it even more special to have four generations of family together when we get the opportunity. I love that my kids will have memories and pictures with my grandparents.

#3 One of the biggest events of this trip was Lydia's baptism. What a joy to be able to all be there for this significant occasion in her life. In general, spending a week with Lydia was a highlight. Now that she has survived her first family vacation it feels like she is officially family! Little Lydia is happy, loud, rough, tough, warm, loving, REALLY smart, a super clear communicator (even without many words), a phenomenal hugger, and in general, a joy to be around. Sweet Lydee - we love you!

#4 Once in Door County we enjoyed a lot of biking. We brought a few bikes, and rented the rest. Our rental house backed right up to a huge state park full of bike trails. We could bike to the beach, bike into town, or bike for an early morning coffee. It was so fun to not need cars for local outings.

#5 Two days at the beach. Thanks to the brutal Midwest winter this past year, there was still ice in Green Bay in May (very unusual), so the July water temperatures were much colder than normal, but still doable. We rented paddle boards, my parents brought their canoe, and we enjoyed our time on the water.
#6 Grandparent time. I love just watching my parents with their grandkids!

#7 Cousin time. These 8 kiddos love love love each other. This year we had ages: 8, 7, 6, 4, 4, 2, 2, 22 months. Whoa nelly!

#8 Cherry-picking. Door County is known for cherries, but I don't think we have ever hit the time right to be able to pick cherries as a family until this year. The kids loved it, and when we were back at my parent's house my mom and sis turned those cherries into a lovely cherry pie (a cherry pie full of cherry pits…because that is what happens when you have 2 year olds pit the cherries - yikes!).

#9 Watching the 3 "babies" together.  My sisters and I always secretly hoped that all three of us would have kiddos the same age. Well, here they are, our 2012 babies (April, August, and October). These three were a riot together and kept us on our toes. We will never forget the year we had three 2 year olds, that's for sure.

#10 Simply, FAMILY. We never see each other enough, so we cherish our time together deeply.

 

My best friends for life.

My favorite picture of the trip…

So thankful for so much.

All is a gift.

Hannah is TWO

My baby isn't a baby anymore. She's TWO today. I'm totally in denial.

As we celebrate her life today I want to document a few things about the baby of our family so we can remember her sweet a kooky ways at this stage of her life.

Hannah is queen of facial expressions. The picture above perfectly captures her signature face…her coy look…she does this face all the time. She plays shy and will then break into a smile and embrace whoever she is trying to fake out. She's a lover. She gives the best hugs. She likes to make us laugh with her facial expressions, especially her surprised face. This girl is a character.

I had this strange expectation that because the third girl in my family of origin was mellow and easy going, Hannah would be too. NOT SO MUCH. Apparently we don't make mellow and compliant children (I can hear our parents laughing now). Just like her sisters, this girl is on-the-go, energetic, very curious/up to no good, spirited, and spunky. She is also squirmy (I honestly don't think she has ever cooperated for a diaper change), she's a very good climber, and she is getting FAST (and loves to run away from us). Hannah is quite good on scooters and skateboards and is always wanting to try a bike. One of her favorite antics is to sneak into the garage and hide under the car - yes fully under the car (yikes!). This little chickadee keeps us on our toes.

Hannah loves her sisters. "Abby" is usually the first thing she says when she wakes up and whenever her sisters are at school she will constantly say "Abby? Abby? Abby?". We are pretty sure she uses the name "Abby" for both sisters and we can't get her to say "Sam". She wants to do whatever her sisters are doing and is thrilled when she is included (which is definitely not all the time).

I am very happy to report that I finally have a Mama's girl. After being rejected by Abby for the better part of her life (when given the choice between Mommy or Daddy), I actually smile happily when Hannah only wants Mama at bed time. Thanks Hannah-banana…I will always be happy to put you to bed!  That's not to say she doesn't LOVE her Daddy. Her enthusiasm when he walks in the door at dinner time is amazing…big eyes, huge smile, full speed ahead running into his arms…or leg.

A few other fun facts about Hannah: she loves the pool, but isn't so sure about the ocean...she hates loud noises, especially trucks...she was a terrible teether, but is a great sleeper/napper...she wishes she could walk around with her pacifier and two blankies all day long...she has just recently taken a liking to dolls...she is currently obsessed with cows and inquires about them daily ("A cow?"...this started a few weeks ago after seeing a dancing Chick Fil A cow on the street)...she has beautiful brunette curls in the back and has never had a haircut...she doesn't like to be held for more than 30 seconds (except by certain friends)...she loves dressing up, is NEVER ready to get out of a bath, is very independent and strong-willed (3 for 3 there), can wriggle out of most shopping cart seat belts, and she has the best belly laugh when she is being tickled.

Hannah completes our family beautifully. As the oldest of three girls I never imagined having a family of three girls myself. It is such a wonderful treat to raise and watch these three grow as individuals, and in their relationship with each other. Aside from a love for God, one of my deepest desires is that my girls are best friends. The other day when I picked them up from childcare at the YMCA the staff member said she'd never seen sisters who love each other so much. Made my day! Hannah is so lucky to have such wonderful big sisters to look out for and love her. We are so lucky to have this little lady in our life.

We love you sweet Hannah. 

Happy birthday! 

Here is Hannah's birth story which I will always enjoy re-reading every August 6th.
And some reflections from Hannah's first birthday and her birth announcement.

Favorite Five: July

Summer is flyyyyyying by.

And we are having a great time.

And mommy is also very worn out.

A glimpse of July…

We had a great 2 day stay-cation in downtown San Diego, just the 5 of us.

We were pleasantly surprised with the unbelievable view from our room.

Lots of time in the backyard this summer.

We managed to fit all 5 of us on the hammock one day when daddy got home from work. 

 We have rediscovered our local library.

Cutie pies in my mom and dad's backyard.

We had an AMAZING trip to Illinois and Wisconsin.

More on that aventure later, but here is one of my favorite shots…Sam and Lydia on the paddleboard.

Favorite Five: June

Summer is finally here...officially. 

It has felt like summer for months, 

but now school is out and the calendar tells us it is officially the season for 

fun, sun, sleeping in (ha ha), camps, lazy backyard days, and summer trips.

June has been lovely. 

Here are some highlights...

Silly sisters.

Happy Father's Day to our amazing Daddy.

 A baby shower for a very special summer baby.

This non-crafty person got crafty…and I'm not even on Pinterest.

 Cousins enjoying the Secret Garden.

 The beach.

Sister visit. Nashville cousins do San Diego.

Jenny and I had babies around the same time in 2012, so we didn't get to do our normal "new baby" visits to each other's homes because we were up to our eyeballs in feedings and diapers and toddlers. We have seen each other many times over the past couple years, but not here in San Diego, so it was SUPER fun and special to have them visit us on our home turf.

We had a blast just being together, and all 9 of us slept at our house. Even with 5 kids ages 7 and under, we got out a lot and had some great adventures.

Highlights included…

2 beach days

"bring your brother-in-law to work day" (bet you didn't know that was a thing)

splash park

birthday party for a little friend at a great park

more parks :)

cousin movie and sleepover in the tent

double date with Jenny and John

simply living life with them for 6 days

and the grand finale, California Adventure

We loved having you Leiningers! Hope you will be back soon! 

Favorite Five: May

How I miss writing. That was the point of this blog, afterall.

I still can't seem to find the time or mental bandwidth. 3 kids has officially humbled me.

Hopefully I will write again soon. Maybe when Hannah goes to Kindergarten.

In the meantime, I do enjoy the discipline of finding my favorite 5 pictures to post each month.  

It is a great practice of gratitude to highlight a few moments that capture the loveliness of life. 

There are plenty of not-so-lovely moments around here, but I choose to focus on times like these...

First time away as a couple since Hannah was born. So needed. Such an amazing trip.

 The two Grandmas watched the girls while we were away, and they had a blast.

Then, once we were back home, my Dad also flew in for some CA fun with his grand-daughters.

Here are Papa and Sam doing surgery in the Secret Garden.

 Homemade water park in the backyard during our heatwave.

 She's getting so big and so independent. I love the concentration here.

 Teepee time for my silly "big" and "little".

Happy Mother's Day!

Motherhood.

What a gift, what a challenge.

I'm SO thankful for my mom today.
I'm SO thankful to be a mom.
I'm thankful for ALL moms today.

In honor of Mother's Day here are a few of my favorite pictures of me with my girls from this year.

Thank you Stacy for capturing authentic moments of motherhood for me to cherish forever.

 

And here are a couple great things about motherhood that really struck a chord in me this past year...

CLICK HERE for the full post from Momastery, but below is my favorite excerpt. This sums up most of my days beautifully…

How was my day? Today has been a lifetime. It was the best of times and the worst of times. There were moments when my heart was so full I thought I might explode, and there were other moments when my senses were under such intense assault that I was CERTAIN I’d explode. I was both lonely and absolutely desperate to be alone. I was saturated- just BOMBARDED with touch and then the second I put down this baby I yearned to smell her sweet skin again. I was simultaneously bored out of my skull and completely overwhelmed with so much to do. Today was too much and not enough. It was loud and silent. It was brutal and beautiful. I was at my very best today and then, just a moment later, at my very worst. At 3:30 today I decided that we should adopt four more children, and then at 3:35 I decided that we should give up the kids we already have for adoption. Husband – when your day is completely and totally dependent upon the moods and needs and schedules of tiny, messy, beautiful rug rats your day is ALL OF THE THINGS and NONE OF THE THINGS, sometimes within the same three minute period. But I’m not complaining. This is not a complaint, so don’t try to FIX IT. I wouldn’t have my day Any.Other.Way. I’m just saying- it’s a hell of a hard thing to explain- an entire day with lots of babies.

And if you haven't seen this genius video, here you go...