Summer Is Finally Here!

It feels so weird to be saying that only at the beginning of July! But summer IS FINALLY here! This blog post has a bunch of pictures from 2 of our favorite activites that we love to do in the summer...boating and taking a dip in the pool....


Soph and Gav posing together in the pontoon.




Gav helping Mama drive.




The kiddos.


Daddy texting and fishing at the same time:)


Sophie showing Gavin the worms that we dug up from our yard to fish with....


Gavin having a look at the worms a little later on his own.


And Daddy caught the first fish of the summer!


Mama fishing with Sophie's little pink Barbie fishing rod...nice huh!


Soph and Gav taking a little relaxing break.....this fishing stuff is hard work!

Daddy and daughter fishing together.

On one of the very few hot days that we have this summer the kids and I decided to set up the baby pool...they had such a blast kicking and splashing around for hours and hours!

It might be time to invest in a little bigger pool soon as my 2 non-babies sure fill up this baby pool!

Gavin enjoying the pool and playing with his ball.

Sophie trying to balance the ball on Gav's head!

I just love that profile of a little baby body with the tummy sticking out! Too cute!

Cute Sophia!

Little Gav in his swim diaper.

Bring on the hot days of summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Little Gymnast

Sophia has been taking a gymnastics class once a week for some time now and she absolutely loves it! She has become so coordinated and is quite athletic at her young age. She really has improved on following directions from when she first started. The coach has even talked to me about putting her into a "special" class for talented girls her age....maybe some day:) I am quite the proud mommy though! Here are some photos that I took of Sophia at her gymnastics class...



Soph waiting her turn.

About to walk on the beam.

Good headstand!

Forward roll down the cheese mat.

Hopping on her knees all the way down the trampoline.

Sophia sitting with the other girls in her class and waiting patiently for their stamps from their coach.

Father's Day 2011

Patrick with Sophia and Gavin on Father's Day on the beach of Lake Waconia.

We went to Waconia for the whole weekend and stayed with Patrick's parents. We all had so much fun on the pontoon, seeing friends and family, fishing and just having some quality family time. It was a great weekend!




Happy Father's Day to my wonderful huband and the best Daddy our kids could have!


Patrick, Gavin and Papa Jim.


Sophia, myself and Nana Sandy.


How sweet...

I also want to say Happy Father's Day to my father, whom I did not get to see. I hope you had a wonderful day...I was thinking about you and love you very much!

This & That

On a recent past weekend, Patrick and I took the kids to Lebanon Hills which is a huge nature preserve and park. We all had such a blast hiking, canoeing and fishing. Here are Patrick and Sophia...and she has just caught her first fish!


Happy girl!

Mama and Sophia find some pretty flowers on the hike.

Holding hands...

Mr. G loves the outdoors!!!

My outdoorsman.

Daddy & Daughter.

Mother & Son.

Most of our summer evenings so far have been consumed with landscaping (although we are now done!). On this particular night we were shoveling mulch and distributing it around our yard. The kids had so much fun just being outside and "helping" us!

A bit sweaty and dirty don't ya think?

All the helpers.

Sophia on the mountain of mulch.

As I was doing laundry one day, Sophia came out of my bedroom with every single necklace that I have on/around her body somewhere...what a goofball!

Here is Gav helping out on a different night of our family landscaping project.

I love this picture because I feel like it truly shows our everyday life with smiley Gav holding his mommy's hand as we walk around the yard. He is such a sweet boy!

Spending the rest of that same night relaxing together by cozy fire.