August 2018

Noah's first time at the lake! This was a great day.

Back to school meetings have started so I guess that means summer is officially coming to an end. August was a bit more laid back and relaxing which was really nice. At the beginning of the month I took Noah to St. Cloud to visit family for a week. Our visits to MN are usually shorter so getting to spend more time having adventures was a great way to end the summer. I loved being able to take Noah to places that I used to visit when I was young, and he got to have bunch of new experiences too. And of course, getting to spend so much time with family was important. Buckle up... here are a bunch of pics from that trip!

Did you know that Target has CABOODLES?! I impulse bought myself one before we left. Clearly I needed it to bring all my lip smackers to MN with me. But seriously, I love this thing and am actually using it pretty regularly.

While traveling with a preschooler is definitely easier than with a baby, you still need a lot of gear.

And... we're off! 

And... we're promptly asleep.

A nice stop visiting friends in Minneapolis.

Noah was so excited about airplanes above!

We got to my parent's house and Noah was very excited about this big surprise... a huge pool just for him! We spent many, many afternoons splashing in this thing. And Noah got in wearing clothes at least 80% of the time.

First baseball game with grandmas!

Mostly into concessions... that's my guy.

What a great way to spend an afternoon!

More fun with family on the deck.

Practicing his high-fives with grandpas.

I love this picture.

Noah and Blue Woofster. Love forever.

Time together on the Mississippi.

Learning how to skip rocks... kind of.

Perfect day at the park.

And... we're back into the pool

He loved this pool so much!

Piano lessons... or just banging around...

Grandma MJ and Kelly!

Awww, I love this pic.

Snapchat bedtime fun.

At Avon beach, one of my faves from childhood.

Post-swimming snack time.

Deep thoughts while drying in the sun.

At the farmers market, choosing beads to make...

....an awesome necklace! He was so proud.

Sharing a smoothie with Grandma MJ!

Honestly, could these two be any more adorable?

Near the end of our trip, Jordan drove up from Madison to meet us. And we got to have our first day at the lake as a family! One of my childhood friends, Lisa, has a relative with a cabin and they were kind enough to welcome us to their family cabin for the afternoon. It was wonderful to reconnect!

Noah wasn't so sure about being on the boat at first, but eventually he warmed up and really enjoyed swimming at the sand bar and riding in the boat.

We also got to try riding in a paddleboat for the first time! Noah really wanted to help pedal but he a hard time reaching the pedals so he was the expert at steering. Maybe next summer, kiddo.

My favorite day of the summer. 

I loved all the water lilies!

Steering the boat with Grandpa Randy

Ahhh, this is the life!

Lisa's daughter was just adorable and Noah was so excited to hold her!

Hey there, little baby. I'm pretty into you!

Some of my favorite memories growing up are at the lake. We used to take the boat out almost every weekend in the summer, swimming and tubing with friends. I'm so glad that I got to show Noah the excitement of the wind in your hair, finding sunnies off the dock, and spotting loons on the water. It was a great summer day!

One morning we walked to my old school!

Noah loved the playground- it's way fancier now!

And there is a splashpad now! 

We found a fuzzy caterpillar on the way home.

Riding the lawnmower with grandpa

How did this little guy get so big?!

On our way home we stopped to visit Jordan's grandparents. It's always so nice to see them and Noah doesn't mind the treats and extra love either. :)

The day after we got home was a very big day: the kindergarten send-off picnic for his daycare! They had been practicing their songs all summer and Noah was so excited to perform. In fact, I think I had heard his performance at least a dozen times while we were in MN. It was an awesome afternoon of playing with his classmates, a potluck dinner, and their big show. The funny thing is that Noah knew all the words and actions to their songs (we'd heard them many times!) but once it was showtime, he was more interested in his shoes, looking around, and listening to everyone else rather than singing! I guess he's more of a solo act. :) Here are some pics from the event and the video I took. It was adorable.

The BFFs get in some playground time before their big act.

It's showtime!

Recharging with ice cream!

And more playing with friends!

A great afternoon!

Noah has become more interested in the camera on my phone this month and has started asking to take photos. It's fun to see the what he wants to photograph- surprisingly, he has little interest in selfies! But shoes and sidewalks are high on his list of subjects. Here is some of his recent work...

I took this one...

Then he decided to try...

Portrait of mommy...

...and our shoes. This one is pretty good!

Mommy, running in the rain...

And our sidewalk the next day.

Cars in the neighborhood...

More sidewalk action...

And another shoe shot. Again, pretty good! Future career?

There has been a crazy amount of rain in Wisconsin this month, you might have even read about it. We were very lucky and haven't had any damage to property but there are many around us that are still dealing with the aftermath, even weeks later. Other than bizarre weather, we've had a pretty quiet end to the month. A couple more birthday parties (which Noah always loves!) and playdates, lots of walks and trips to the park, I'm still doing lots of yoga, Jordan is running, and we're slowly getting back into the swing of the school year. This week we had our back to school in-service days and, like every year, I'm just blown away with the quality of staff I get to work with. I have some of the kindest, most supportive, hard-working, and fun colleagues ever. I say this a lot, but there is really no other school district that I'd rather be teaching in. 

And as always... the random dump of photos at the end.

I love how he sits on this drinking fountain. It just makes me laugh every time.

Fun at the park! Why does my hair look gray?!

A special present from Grandma Lynn.

Hey! I organized the pantry! Total homemaker.

Creepy or awesome?

He wanted green toenails. You got it, kid.

Check out that concentration!

Awesome teamwork from these two.

Time to recharge with some snacks. Serious snacks.

Noah's teacher sent me this pic while he was at school. Oh, my heart.

These two are still alive and kickin', and holding paws.

Jordan found this comic. I think we can both relate.

When visiting Jordan's office, Noah took the opportunity to leave his mark. Writing isn't his favorite thing to do, but I just think those shaky little letters and misspellings are too cute.

WHY. Just. Why. 

Reading time in bed. My favorite moments.

Can you tell this little human is just our whole heart?