Summer's End

If you know me very well, you know fall makes me giddy. It's my favorite season for thousands of reasons! So lucky for us, when last weekend FELT like fall, we had a bonfire scheduled with my good friend Katy from my college days. Her son, Tate, is just a few months older than Andra, so they'll have an arranged marriage in about 25 years. ;)

We headed to her family's house waaaaaaay out in the country, and I think Andra thought she'd died and gone to heaven! She got feed some nearby farm animals...

...and ride a school bus! Which I think made her entire year. Katy's mom drives a school bus for the local school system, and she offered to take the kids for a spin. Andra LOVES school busses, but has never ridden one... and you should've seen her eyes light up when I told her she could RIDE the school bus. Needless to say, she enjoyed the short trip around the countryside. Hopefully her legs will be a little longer when she starts school and she won't have to crawl up the stairs. Hehe. :)

"Yay!! On the school bus!"

On another unseasonably cool day, I decided to take Andra on a pony ride at a nearby state park. She was grinning ear to ear as soon as she was in the saddle! I love discovering little things around town that make her smile!

Busy Busy Busy!

For the most part, we're homebodies, but the last 10 days or so, we've had a LOT to do! We hardly ever have plans on weeknights especially, but we spent almost every night last week out and about! So I've hardly had time to sit down and blog about it. This (Sunday) was the first day we finally had a chance to just "veg," and it was glorious! So this is a whirlwind get-you-up-to-date edition...

In the last couple weeks, Andra...

...went to the zoo with me and her cousin Molly, who happily rode the kiddie train with her without complaint (did I mention Molly is only in 8th grade and already 6 feet tall??)

...went to her cousin Garrett's 2nd birthday party (my sister's son) and happily made a mess of his birthday cake (while saying "mess! mess!")

...also tested out some of his new birthday toys, and took a special liking to his tool belt!

...swam in her Grandma's baby pool for the first time this summer (finally got some HOT weather!) and developed a baby pool addiction in just a matter of minutes...

...went to the State Fair and "shared" a chocolate shake with Dad (although she was actually trying to shove the ice cream off HIS spoon when there were just a few precious bites left)...

...rode the carousel at the State Fair. Twice!

...and just so you don't think we've forgotten all about Pudge amidst all the summer excitement, you'll be happy to know he made a splash at an annual dog swim we always take him to at a nearby park. Before they close the pool for the season, they let the dogs have free reign of the pool for the night, and Pudge LOVES IT. He swam. And swam. And swam. And stole multiple dog toys, tennis balls, and frisbees from other dogs who don't have the same swimming proess that he does. He always proves he's a water dog when we take him swimming. Here he is successfully beating two other labs to the prized tennis ball.

Andra getting a kick out of all the action at the dog swim.

...and finally, some quality cuddle time with her big bro Pudge.

Shew! So like I said, it's been a busy couple weeks. We've got a pretty boring week on schedule now, and I think we're all happy to have some lazy time. Summer can be hard work! :)

Celebrating 40 Years!

This is how it all started 40 years ago when my mom and dad said "I do"...

In late June, my parents celebrated their 40th anniversary, and we wanted to do something really special for them. My sister, brother and I planned a surprise 40th anniversary party the weekend of their anniversary, and it was a hit! (I'm finally posting about it because we hired a professional photographer to take pictures that day, and we just got the pictures back!) Plus, I was so busy playing hostess that day, that I only managed to snap one picture, and it wasn't even a good one!

Here are Mom and Dad arriving and realizing what was going on. They were stunned, to say the least. We'd told them to meet us at this park to have family pictures taken (which is why my whole family matches in khaki and white...it was all part of the ploy!)

The pastor of our church also led Mom and Dad in a ceremony to renew their vows. Mom walked down the "aisle" with a bouquet my sister had designed to look just like her original bridal bouquet. The maid of honor (my mom's sister) and the best man (my dad's friend) were there too!

Me and my big sis...partners in crime to pull the whole day off without a hitch! :)

We borrowed this awesome car (a '59 Chevy, I think?) from a friend. Dad loves it, so we knew it'd make the day even more special if they got to drive some cool wheels around town that day. They took it downtown for dinner that night, and the grandkids all went for a spin too!

The happy couple...

We also had a wedding cake made for them to resemble their original cake. It turned out VERY retro (definitely looked like a '60s cake!), and was delicious too!

The whole family...my parents, their kids, son-in-laws and three grandkids. To quote one of my favorite country songs..."All because two people fell in love."

The day was absolutely perfect, and I wouldn't change a single thing about it. The best part was seeing how happy my parents were. They've done so many special things for their kids, it was nice to do something really special for them. They gave my sister and I beautiful and unforgettable wedding days, so hopefully this is an unforgettable anniversary for them too. They still haven't stopped talking about what a great day it was! I'm so lucky to have parents who love me so much, but more importantly, love each other!

A Trip to the County Fair

Terrible-for-you deep fried food? $12

Rickety carni rides that make mom nervous? $6

Farm animals and all the poop to go with them? (That's free in Indiana!)

Introducing Andra to another Indiana summer ritual? Priceless. :)

Parade Girl

After seeing how much Andra enjoyed the 4th of July parade we took her to, we're now on the prowl for any parade within about a 30 mile radius. :) This weekend we had a county parade really close to home...and in the same county where her Grandma and Grandpa live. Andra seemed to love this one too, and she has the funniest reaction when it gets too loud...as you'll see below. She LOVES fire trucks, but I think their siren is a little startling for her. Well, apparently our gal has her eyes and ears a little confused! :) (and by the way, if you're at work and watching this, you'll wanna turn the volume down a little!)

Aside from all the sights and sounds, I think Andra also loves parades because she has candy thrown to her (which we never eat at home)... and that's the epitome of excitement for an almost 2 year old! So, when faced with the dilemma of whether to eat your FlavorIce or your lollipop...why not both??

Lake Day

Nothing says summer like a day on the lake!

Crystal (you might recall her from the horse post) is one of my very best friends in the world. She also happens to be a golf pro, which requires her to live in California, but she always comes home for at least a few weeks during the summer. Since we don't get to see her most of the year, we try to soak up as much time with her as possible when she IS home. And top of the agenda is making a visit to her family's lakehouse. I've been going there since I was a high schooler, and thanks to the infinite patience of her family, it's where I learned to ski, kneeboard, and laugh so hard that lakewater comes out my nose. :)

This was Andra's second summer to make a trip to the lakehouse, and she was VERY excited to ride on the boat! She loves all things transportation right now: busses, traines, planes, boats...

Hands up!...we're going "fast!" (about as fast as a pontoon can go)

A great one of Crystal and Andra...oops! I blinked...

Floating the day away... (ok, I did NOT intentionally match our hats...but it's kinda cute!)

Her First Parade & Horsin' Around

What a big day for our little gal! Andra celebrated the 4th of July by going to her very first parade, and she really liked it! We headed up north to the Carmelfest parade, dodged a few raindrops...and luckily, it didn't rain on our parade! She loves fire trucks, marching bands and costume characters, so needless to say...the parade was a hit! There were a few loud moments that startled her and she jumped into my lap (see below)...but she always jumped right back up once the noise stopped.

Her parade experience was made perfect by her FIRST sucker...blue, of course! She held on to it for about an hour and wouldn't share a single lick with Mom or Dad.

After a nap, it was time for more celebration. My best friend Crystal had a hogroast (she's a country girl!), so we gobbled up lots of yummy food...and Crystal spent some special time introducing Andra to her family's horses. Andra LOVED it. She was content to spend hours in their horse arena, and probably would've slept in one of the stalls if I would've let her!

She even got to ride a horse bare back. She looked so proud and filled with wonder all at the same time. While we were trying to hold on to her and help steady her, she kept pushing our hands away. She wanted to prove she could do it on her own! Crystal also showed her how to feed the horses hay...so the horses all had full bellies when we left because Andra fed every single one. Multiple times. I know there will come a day when Andra will want to take riding lessons...and I love that she'll be able to do it at Crystal's house... a place I have many special memories too. Thanks for all the special time, Crystal. She grinned ear to ear the whole way home.