Boating over the 4th of July

we went up to magician lake over the weekend of the 4th to do a little "borrowed" boating.  our friend's luke & michelle let us use their boat while they were out of town...thanks guys!  the weather ended up being perfect that day at least up in michigan (at home i was told we missed some big storms). 



we had a few boating ills - an unplugged battery, a missing plug, anchor issues, and finally another dead battery that resulted in a friendly tow fom passerbys :)  but in spite of it all, we actually had a wonderful time.  we packed our lunches and brought lots of drinks and managed to relax a  little. 

my dad was able to come along too which was nice.  it reminded me of all the good times we had growing up at the lake with our bass boat.  we used to go tubing and fishing and just cruising around on the lake. i have such sweet memories of those days.   derek and i want to share the same with our kids... we dream of owning our own boat one day :) 

 

getting ready to go

rigby loved the boat, i was surprised!

rowan was a trooper too...eventually she tuckered out

a little later little rigby gave it up too

the fam

hillbilly heaven

enough said :)

Brewing Boys

This year I decided to do something *special* for my hubby for Father's day. Now, I realize a beer related gift might not sound super appropriate, but since it was his day, I figured I might as well get him something he'd love. Thanks Visa :)

A friend of mine at work gave me the idea to get him his own beer brewing kit...and after it was suggested, it HAD to be done! Derek talks about wanting to open a brewery all the time (one of his many dreams) so it was the perfect idea. And it turns out it was...I guess he and a few of his buddies have been talking about how they wish they had one! They recently went to Indy to some sort of beer fest (beer tasting I was told) and have been dreaming ever since. 

 

So anyway, brewing is underway. We currently have it brewed and bottled, and it's carbonating for 10 days. mmmmm ? Anyway, these pics capture it all...

 

every man's dream

look at the brew goo on the lid...mmm

i guess this looks about right

sterilizing is a big deal i guess...no botulism for us

derek and jason...living the dream

their "scientific" pose

sanitized and sterilized thanks to whirlpool

piggy banks

The kids and I made piggy banks last weekend.  Rowan broke hers last year so we decided to let her make a new one...which was so much more fun than buying one!  We're still not done bedazzling it, but she's definitely made her mark on it.  Rigby's is a little less decorated...he was more interested in eating the markers.

hear birdie birdie birdie...

Rowan's still trying to figure this out.  A few days later when the bird was gone, she kept asking where it went.  Hmmmmm anyone want to handle this one for us?  By the way, Rowan loves birds. She has no concept of what this means....so innocent

Summertime

We got the kids a blow up swimming pool this week. I figured it will be a fun thing over the weekends while it's hot out. We had one of the little $1 plastic ones last year but it got stolen out of our yard or blew away over the winter. So we decided to try something new this year. I'm sure it will get a hole or something, but who cares. It's still worth it to us to see the kids enjoying themselves.

We ended up filling it up last night when I got home from work. Rowan was SO excited and was doing her best to "swim" even though the water was ice cold.

Rigby's 1st haircut

Our babysitter's daughter (Chelsea) is a hairstylist and give Rig his 1st haircut.  He's 14 months old now and was beginning to look too pretty according to Daddy.  I think we're going to have Chelsea cut a little more off though.  She was being extra careful because Rig was moving around a lot and she wasn't completely comfortable snipping around his precious little ears :)  Maybe we'll have her buzz him up a little, but we'll have to wait and see.  I don't want to freak him out with the clippers.

Rowan and Cousin Sydnee

We had Rowan's Cousin Sydnee spend the night last weekend, which was big fun for Rowan.  All week Rowan has been brushing her teeth and potty training and keeps saying "I do it like Sydnee Mommy"...which is so sweet.  Rowan really looks up to her cousin, and Syd is so good with her. 

The girls watched Tangled (Rapunzel), colored, played with their pillow pets, and did sidewalk chalk and make necklaces.  Lots of fun!  Whenever Sydnee sleeps over we always take the chaise cushions from our sofa and put them on the floor in Rowan's room w/a sheet for a make-shift bed just in case.  The plan was for the girls to sleep together in Rowan's bed, but we wanted to make sure Syd had a back up plan if Rowan kicked or hogged the bed.  Well, Rowan was so excited about the idea of sleeping on the floor that she insisted on sleeping down there and having Syd in her bed!  It was really funny...only a two year old would give up their bed to sleep on the floor :)

FYI our camera has been broke for a few weeks, so we're relying on our horrible camera phones for all photography...pretty sad.


Rowan's trying so hard to be a big girl...she kept copying whatever position Syd would take.  I missed the shot with her arms above her head :)



coloring



snuggling their pillow pets and getting ready for night night



don't forget my little cowboy

Rigby got his chance with a pony too...Ha!



cowgirl up

We went to a birthday party over the weekend that had pony rides!  Rowan really surprised me by jumping in line and not batting an eye when it came time to cowgirl up.  She hopped on and took four turns :) Cupcakes and ice cream were the only way to get her to willing go inside.

Here's a video. It's silent but just pretend it's from the good old days when home videos didn't have sound...