A perfect Saturday!

We had the best day today!  We woke up at 7, had breakfast, and then hit the road to go apple picking! 

 We drove an hour out to the cutest farm in Grafton, IL -- Eckert's.  They were having an annual apple fest, and had tons of activities beyond the standard apple picking.

 But first thing's first....gotta get the apples.  Logan took to it really quickly.  Fortunately there were plenty just his height.

 And a few he could reach with the help of Dada.

 They even had some cows and goats in a little petting zoo area.  Logan is a little intimidated by the animals.  SB grew up on a farm, and has a special way with them to make them all come to him.  Pretty funny.

 Afterwards, we drove back and tried a new BBQ restaurant in our city.  It was awesome - and just over a mile from our house!  Yay!  Logan slept for 2.5 hours that afternoon, and then we played with our neighbors out in the front cul-de-sac till dinner.  It honestly was just the perfect day!

Trip to Northern CA

Oh my goodness, it has been awhile.  I'm not really sure what happened, but I'm back.  Or at least I think I am :) 

Our summer has been HOT, HOT, HOT.  Like unbearably 100+ degree hot.  I grew up in Wisconsin....I just don't do summers like this.  Fortunately we're back in the 80's for the most part, which is much more my speed.  We can actually go outside with these kinds of temperatures.

Around July 4 we escaped the heat, and traveled to Northern California for the wedding of two of our good friends.  We shared an amazing house in Santa Rosa with about 6 other couple friends of ours (one of whom also had a toddler....thank goodness for that!).  We were on top of a very, very steep hill, overlooking wine country.  The views were stunning:

 We were here for the fireworks -- it was so neat to have a bird's eye view! 

 The man who owned the vineyard below this rental house came to do a wine tasting one evening.  We ordered a case.  We're looking forward to giving some tasty bottles of vino as Christmas presents this year!

 SB living the good life!

 The garden was filled with lots of herbs.  A couple of our friends are really terrific chefs (SB and I really try...but we don't quite qualify for the "chef" status).  They literally picked things right out of the garden to add to our dinners.  We enjoyed grilled steaks, grilled crab legs, grilled chicken, grilled pizzas (yes, lots done on the grill).  It was so fun to dine with everyone al fresco.

 My boys before the wedding

 A couple of shots from the wedding site.  It was a charming ceremony - perfect for J&F.  It was held at a vineyard, and it was beyond beautiful.  I mean every single angle featured just amazing views.

And here's proof that I was on the vacation too :)  This one was taken just a couple of days before our 3rd wedding anniversary.

Father's Day 5k

We kicked off our Father's Day with a whole family 5k adventure! Logan was in the baby jogger with SB, and we managed to stay together for pretty much the whole race (with me totally sucking wind trying to keep up with my boys).  We crossed the finish line in 25:45! Not too shabby!

 Post-race pictures!

 The whole fam -- we did it!!

The actual theme of the race was "All American 5k" - hence the patriotic paraphernalia

We spent the rest of the day relaxing, napping, watching golf, making (and eating!) banana pudding (recipe to come - I have finally mastered my husband's favorite dessert), and spending time together.  Loved every second!

Happy Father's Day!

We have had a wonderful weekend.  I love any occasion to celebrate SB, and Father's Day is especially meaningful in our young family.  SB is an amazing father -- one who is 100% actively involved in every facet of parenting.  He handles bath time, he changes diapers, he loves to run around and throw balls to Logan.  He helps train our dogs, and is an ever-constant rock to me. 

LOVE! xoxo

Beach Vacation, Part II

The second leg of our 10-day beach vacation was spent on St. Simon's Island, GA with some great friends.  We were also able to hang out with some of SB's family - which was a lot of fun! 

We did a lot of exploring the island by bike....

 The beach was wide (after Beryl departed) -- and the sand was nice and firm, which made for some great rides on the beach.  SB has a bike here, and I just got sized to order one too so we can continue our family bike rides on a trail that's less than a mile from our house! 

 (Side note:  where is my baby!!  This little kid is practically riding his own bike!  Eek!)

 Boys making their own rafts using pool chairs and noodles! 

 SB and Logan on the fishing pier. 

 Logan wouldn't take his thumb out of his mouth, so SB joined him!

Best friends with their boys!

 The littlest boys reading a "Melmo" story with SB.....really cute!

 And when we returned home to Missouri, Logan was really happy to be reunited with his dogs! 

Happy 48th Wedding Anniversary, Mom & Dad!!

And to think, if this fateful day hadn't occurred 48 years ago, where would I be now?

Thanks to my Mom and Dad for serving as great stewards of the institution of marriage.  They have always preached to us that it is necessary to devote time, energy, and effort into making one's marriage last.  We are lucky to learn from you.  Perhaps you have a few additional secrets?  (separate sinks?  cleaning lady?  spousal vacations?  double-dates?  husband filling gas tanks and washing cars?  wife cooking, husband cleaning kitchen?)

Regardless, I hope you have a wonderful day and year as you mark your day in history!!

Puppy dog tails...

Our sweet little Lilly has had a really rough go of it for the past two weeks.  On the fourth day of our vacation we got a call from our vet saying that the kennel brought in Lilly because she was involved in an accident.  They said her tail was cut down to the bone, and they would need to amputate.

Cue the tears.

Lilly is the sweetest, friendliest and most loveable dog on the planet.  She literally loves every single creature she comes in contact with, and wags her tail like no other dog I've ever seen.  She's just that happy 24/7.  The vet said they didn't see teeth marks, and it appeared it was slammed in a door.  Of course this happened on the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend.  We didn't get the message till after the vet closed (for the long weekend, of course), so the people at the kennel took Lilly to the emergency vet.  We advised that it would be ok to amputate if that's what they felt was best for her health (apparently the skin on a tail will not grow back, so an open wound like that, down to the bone would introduce a great likelihood that it would become infected).  They amputated about 1 inch of the tail - and then sent her home.  The owner of the kennel cared for her during the remainder of our vacation (though of course I wanted to come home immediately).

When we got home, she had a cone around her head, and her tail was stitched and wrapped.  All appeared ok.  This Saturday she got her stitches out, and then from there to today - it seemed like it got worse and bloodier.  I took her back in this morning, and they said it is infected.  They sedated her and kept her for the day with the bandage off to help the wound breathe.  I picked her up at 6pm tonight, and she's here in her crate, recovering in the living room.  We'll keep her sedated, and keep taking her to the vet so she can keep an eye on things.  I am really praying that they won't have to amputate her whole tail.  It is truly Lilly's essence -- that sweet, tail-wagging little personality that I love so much.  It is how she shows her emotions.  I have been a mess today -- it just makes me so sad that someone's negligence in closing a door could hurt my poor puppy so badly.  I know that people who don't own dogs won't understand how sad this can make someone -- but she truly is a part of our family.  I love her so much, and I am just praying, praying, praying that her tail will heal, that she will be pain-free, and that a year from now we will have only distant memories of this incident (though of course we'll never leave her there again).

Every day's a holiday on vacation!

Our family traveled to the beach for 10 days -- which incorporated a wedding in St. Augustine, time with my parents in Ponte Vedra Beach, and time with some great friends and more family on St. Simon's Island.  The beach was wonderful, time with family and friends was great -- but whoa -- perhaps whoever said "every day's a holiday on vacation" didn't vacation with a 14-month old who wouldn't sleep!!

Despite a few bumps in the road (ie: Lilly tail amputation, Tropical Storm Beryl, Logan with his first fever, Logan waking up before the sun every single day, etc.) we had a good time.  I played tennis with my dad and SB for the first time in 9 months and it was awesome.  SB and I were able to get away for an entire night while Logan stayed with Nana and Papa.  We ate Southern Soul BBQ every single day while on St. Simon's (I think I may have finally hit my max!).  We were able to sneak away for a seriously delicious dinner while K & K stayed home with Logan while he slept.  Logan absolutely loved the all the kids, and playing with his cousins.  We biked to the beach, around the island, to the pool, and to the pier.  We had many gator sightings in PVB, but no snake sightings (hallelujah!).  We ate lots of fresh seafood, and laughed a lot.  I unplugged, and relaxed (just not between the hours of 5am and 8am ;)

Here's the first installment of pictures from our vacation. 
Round 1:  Ponte Vedra Beach

 Gettin' comfy in the beach chair

Logan with Papa

 Hugs!

 Tropical Storm Beryl's a-brewin'!!

SO big!!

Family time!!