a shout out to our "big man" in nebraska

kid magic~

as always, practicing patience....

You cannot plant an acorn in the morning

and expect that afternoon to sit

in the shade of the oak.

-Antoine de-Saint-Expery

eden - you are my angel

our beautiful baby boy~

is growing up too fast...

in just weeks he'll be turning 4 and in the world of kids 4 is so grown up!

thank you for all of your hugs and kisses. thanks you for all of your spills and your messes. thank you for all of the sweet nothings you whisper in my ear before bed and for all time time you assure me that i am indeed the greatest mom of all time.

know that we all love you trey bear, up to the moon and back a million times over and over.

they say new england is for lovers...

and that is where these two California beach bums have been spending the last 10 days. OK, so they are not exactly beach bums they are actually extremely hard working bio-medical scientists aka aunt allyson and mr. mike. we don't see nearly enough of these two so when i saw this "way to cute" pic of the two of them posted on FB i stole it!

little gems~

check it out! this is the work of my good friend liz and the sweet little peach modeling her work is her darling daughter kate; Ahhhhh what a great name.

anywho... with our marathon trip to the midwest fast approaching i ask liz if she consider whipped up a few pieces for me to take back to iowa and share with some of our loved ones and she kindly obliged. so thursday morning after crossfit the kids and i stopped by her house to pick out our favorites. it was difficult but we managed and i can't tell you how excited i am to give these gifts.

thanks liz - you are amazing!

one of these kids is not like the others...

but who can tell...

so glad we were able to share such a happy day with you~

short but sweet~

taking in the sights at the seneca zoo

and the scavenger hunt begins

kate found the rhino

our monkeys checking out the zoo monkeys

bubbles before dinner with grandpa

kate & grammy playing war

pete and his mom, grammy swenson

a quick trip to the park after dinner

kate & momma being silly

making the most out of the time we spent stuck on the runway

at long last...

this past weekend we flew up to rochester, ny to see grammy and grandpa swenson and to visit their new home and surroundings since relocating following retirement. although our time spent with them was short we made the most of it and covered a lot of ground. we were even afforded the pleasure of enjoying a two-fer with grandpa swenson. we were there to celebrate both his birthday and father's day.

we'll look forward to returning when the snow is flying to share in a thanksgiving feast.

the conclusion of camp

drama team leaders

kate watching intently as some of the other groups preform

perched in the narrators chair and ready to go

the "Shetlands" preforming the

revenge of little red riding hood, scooby-doo style

the Shetlands take a bow

a proud poppa

camp wound

a little slice of heaven; HICKORY NUT GAP farm camp!

the self-serve stand that is located at the entrance to the farm

yes indeed!

the one lane bridge that leads to the farm

playing in the clay every day. pottery has been a favorite.

the morning gathering circle.

complete with shout outs and silly camp songs

see kate - just about middle, blue shirt, jeans and pigtails.

she had no idea i was spying. tee hee hee

campers artwork hung to dry everywhere

kate too busy to chat - gotta run

the tree swing - where i've found kate every afternoon

one of many magical trails cut through the dense overgrown shrubbery

the gate leading to the pool

the BOYS changing room

& this is the GIRLS changing room

so much goodness happening out here this week. pete and i could not have imagined the impact a weeks worth of farm camp could have on kate. it's been profound. i am still having a hard time putting words to it. suffice it to say that it's been as close to magic as i've witnessed in ages. we'll join kate tomorrow at 3:30 for their closing ceremony and the much anticipated DRAMA performance. kate has a big role that she is quite excited about. she is going ot be the narrator. 3:30 tomorrow - be there or be square!