A different kind of holiday...

Happy 4th of July everyone! While many around the country light fireworks, have a barbeque, head out to parades, and any other manner of celebrating our country, we...well, we kind of had a normal day. ;) I know, go figure, go figure.

The Bug is just a smidge young yet for staying up late enough for fireworks. We tried it last year, and he melted into a heap of infant-becoming-toddler moodiness as we waited for the fireworks to start. Last night, we noted that at 7:45p, he had a eerily similar fit. We decided at that moment that staying up til 10p to watch fireworks was not in the cards this year either.

Fine by us, though. I can already hear some displays happening in our neighborhood, so we don't feel completely left out of the fun. ;)

I'm sitting on the patio, as J gets ready to start a fire, so I thought I'd post a few photos of our day. You know, to keep me from mauling the bag of marshmallows prematurely. ;)

More dirty Bugga.

Each day, he expands my horizons regarding all the ways dirt can be used, the ways it is funny, the heartbreak it can cause if you separate a boy from his dirt...the possibilities are endless (as is my laundry pile).

My funny-face Bran, always so happy just to be outside.

One of the many reasons I love dogs so much is their immeasurable pleasure in the simple things in life. =)

You can't forget resident girlie, Miss Paisley. Nope. Never. Because she would never let anyone forget her.

Just go ahead and try, she dares you. ;)

Sweet Sula loves her time in the sun too. Her small break from those 8 rapidly-growing, ever-hungry, increasingly-mobile pups of hers.

We took a 9.5 mile bike ride this morning. Whew...I was pushing it at the end. Jeremy, however, could have kept going for probably double that. I mistakenly tried to race J down one of the last hills--after a killer uphill. For me, that is. Not him. Drat! Anyway, the downhill proved just as futile. I call gravity on that one though, I mean really...he's bigger than me, plus he was pulling Bugga in the trailer. Now that doesn't speak well for the fact that he beat me up pretty much every hill too, but I'm choosing not to focus on that. ;)

No pictures of the bike ride, but on the other end of the spectrum of the day's activities, here are J and Paisley enjoying some hammock time.

"Up...pease...up"

Once up, he pretty much just disturbed the peace of the hammock for everyone else. What would we expect though?!

Pai and J, in slightly different light. And with some crazy eyes from Paisley, just to keep you all on your toes. =)

For some reason, I love this pic J took from inside the hammock.

Bugga cleaning up before going inside. ;)

Well...really, that water was for the dogs, but Grady makes little distinction between himself and the dogs, often drinking out of it just like they do, and just as often dumping dirt into it and taking his wet hands and making mud. Oh the joy!!! Dirt...water...together. Ahhhhh. The boy's heart swells at the thought I swear. =)

We ended our day with some cheap-rubber-ball soccer--inside, just to jazz things up--and now a little marshmallow roasting and doggie snuggling. Oooh, better go, J handed me my roasting stick, I can nearly taste them. =) Now if I can just keep the dogs from thinking they need to share....

Ghosts of Guests Past ~ Ode to Stewarts

As I went about finally cleaning the guest room after Dad's recent visit, I was reminded of all the guests we've had over the past year. Our friends, the Stewarts, came to visit back in March of this year. Also way back then, I promised to blog the visit. Clearly, this post is really stretching the whole better-late-then-never philosophy. Eeek!

Annnnyway...

Here's to you Stee-warts. Did you know that's how J had you entered into our phonebook on our phone? ;)

Get ready for some severe picture overload. I don't think I've posted this many photos to one post since last Fall when Chris and Nichole got married and took us all on their honeymoon (I love saying it like that, hehe; posts here, here, here, and here. Whew.)

With 3 munchkins in the house, you can bet there was tons of this:

Welcome to mid-March in MN little man. =)

Yes, we were blessed with new snow right before their visit. Thankfully, the sun-washed dessert-dwellers were actually excited for the change in climate. As I dreamt of Spring, I thought they were a bit bananas, but it worked out well. ;)

I think these poofy pants might have taken up their own suitcase. HA!

Princess, indeed. =) She is such a perfect mix of sassy of sweet...the kind that raises your eyebrow as it forces a smile across your face. Love miss Gabby!

Oops! I do not remember how Mason ended up in this position, but what a photo op, right?!

The dogs got in on the mix too. That's Ham-bone, formerly Moanie (more on him and his visit in another post), trying to keep up with Paisley. My girl got air, baby! ;)

This looks like a really dangerous proposition for Justin doesn't it? If memory serves, no one was injured, so it's all good.

Snow monster. ;) Check out Justin in the background, already stripped down to shorts.

Then the kiddos would come inside, warm up, and enjoy some time on the lounger.

We also journeyed to the twin cities, enjoying--errr, tolerating?--a super-crowded children's museum, and then on to the Mall of America, that iconic stop that everyone wants to make. =)

Here, Mason snacks as he watches for his Mom and sissie on one of the rides.

Gabby's face says it all after they were done. =)

Mason and Grady found this little stage; this was before one or the other of them took a break for it to try their entertainment skills. Hehe.

Mason and his Dad, Justin. Doesn't the little guy look so sweet here? That's how they get ya...

It was off to the lego tables next. Note Gabby's look of concentration here.

You knew those pesky boys weren't going to let that go.

Oh no! There it is. They did it now.

She's a trooper, she recovered. =)

Let's see, what could I have possibly not covered? Ahhh, well, this is how Gabby spent a good portion of that weekend:

She and Paisley had a bond that evoked truly dangerous thoughts, I tell you. Like the thought that Paisley needs a little girl in her life. ;)

Right up to the very end, Gabby lavished affection on Paisley and Pai soaked it up in a way that caught me by surprise.

Not that she doesn't soak up Bugga's love and attention too, just that she is often as likely to avoid it. ;) The girl likes her space, usually. With Gab though, she was quite content right where she was, it was so precious!

So THANK YOU Justin, Tara, Gabby, and Mason for trading your AZ sunshine for MN sunshine-with-snow!

We can't wait to repay the visit, preferably when it's below zero here. =) Love to you guys!

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone! More catching up on the way, stay tuned. ;)

Momma Sula

As the Bug is busying himself covering and uncovering Paisley in her chair (darn, she's a good girl; her patience with the boy often rivals and/or exceeds my own), I thought I'd take a moment to introduce our 8 newest {temporary} family members.

I shared briefly how Sula came into our lives Saturday, June 13th and by 8a the next morning, she brought another 8 little beings into the world.

Here they are, a couple of days later.

I'll spare you all the gory details and equally gory late-night video. ;) Well, "gory" to some might well be "beautiful" to others. I myself was somewhat in awe, if not completely freaked out at the same time. Having brought forth my own little being into this world, I felt a strange connection to Sula throughout the process. She labored largely with her head hanging out the baby pool, in my lap, letting me massage and pet her and whisper encouragements that I'm sure meant little to her...being a dog and all. =)

As you can see, she did great, and delivered 8 beautiful, healthy puppies.

Each and every one of them knew what their duty was, and this is it. Most of the early pictures are of this, because this is all they do. Much like human babies. Who'd 'ave thunk?! HA! {Sarcasm alert, in case anyone wants to lecture me about mammalian laws of nature or something.}

Sula is holding up like a champ to the demands of motherhood.

Albeit a rather tired champ, at times. ;)

Again, much like a human Momma. =)

Blogger-ade anyone?

*Title courtesy of J, as he inquired yesterday if I had been drinking blogger-ade, you know, to account for the sudden presence of new posts. ;)

Anyway, I am hopping in my time machine and going back to last month, and really, I have farther back than that to go to update all the visits/happenings/good times I would like to, but for now...well, baby steps people. =)

Last month J's brother Chris, his lovely wife Nichole, and daughter/Bugga-cousin-extraordinaire Kaylee came to visit. We had an amazing time, though it was too short, as with any visit from people we adore. ;)

Chris and Nichole were big with child at this point. Evidence A.

And Kaylee was soon to be a big sister, and quite excited about it. Evidence B.

;)

Okay, enough with the evidence. Goodness, you'd think I've been watching CSI or something with...um, evidence in it. ;) Well, I have been watching Arrested Development over and over and over as if no other show ever existed, and there is a lot of talk of evidence there. Hmm, all pieces to the puzzle.

Gosh, this catch-up business really sends me on a lot of tangents huh?! Back to the point...

Kaylee is so sweet, and so so easy to photograph because she does endless amounts of adorable things.

See?! Even when she's making this face, isn't she cute?! ;)

And Bugga thinks she is just the greatest. They have a total blast together. I love this picture of them looking out a big window at the MN Children's Museum.

Everyone swinging. =)

Well, as I said, this was just over a month ago, and what do you know?! Last Thursday Chris and Nichole welcomed little Dominic into the world and we couldn't be more thrilled! Kaylee is a big sister, and taking to it wonderfully I hear. So there is a new little love to behold, some sunshine into this often sad and dreary world. ;) Got a little dramatic there, oops. But I think you catch my drift. YAY Baby Dominic!

Speaking of loves, here are my two. This little duo is my everything. Even if sometimes I wish this little duo would hop in the car and leave for a few hours, allowing me to refresh/clean/nap/read/zone out/relax/reorganize the entire house/inspire world peace...returning later with supper in hand. And dessert. And matching "I {heart} Momma" tattoos.

Kidding about the tattoos of course. But never about the dessert. ;)

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Chris, Nichole, and Kaylee and welcome to the family little Dominic! We can't wait to meet you! =)

Dirty...

...just doesn't really cover it these days.

;)

Happy Monday.