Summer's (mostly) Here

This has been one of the coldest, rainiest Junes on record. Um, boo. But the start and the end have been really lovely and we have taken advantage of every second. Lots has been going on around the pad, starting with a surprise visitor a few weeks ago. Matt's auntie Mar and uncle Peter happened to swing into town, and they were able to stop by for a few minutes. Mar came armed with a princess box set for GG, complete with crown, bracelets, earrings, necklace, wand and - of course - shoes. Geeg was in heaven and immediately demanded to put on her princess dress so she could sport the complete ensemble. If you think she looks right at home it's because this girly girl loves her some bling.

Time for tea?

Thanks auntie Mar!

On the other hand, she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. Actually that's not entirely true: she HATES to have her hands dirty at meal time, but as long as we're playing outside she'll happily get filthy. Matt has been working to mulch the mess of a garden that came with this joint. If the plants and shrubs aren't going to make any sense, they can at least be plumped with wood chips. Little helper is happy to lend a hand.

She pitched a fit at Lowe's when we didn't buy her the mini wheelbarrow, so we call this the 'family wheelbarrow'. Daddy has hauled a lot of mulch and a lot of toddler in this family wheelbarrow.


Also sporting her bandana, which for about 2 days was known as her 'bobamma'.


Ralph supervises

Last weekend we finally made it up to the cottage for the first time this year. K&K are doing an awesome new addition and until last weekend there was no electricity which - when you depend on a pump - also means no water. Fortunately the septic (aka Karl's new favorite obsession) is completely installed and ready to, well, do its thing. Saturday was a nice day and the little fish decided to hop right in to the chilly water in her clothes. The good thing about being a two year old though is that you can strip down where ever and people generally find it adorable. So in the water we went.

Naked butt!


Taking a dip


Back in with the appropriate gear: a tutu swimsuit.


The worst picture of me e.v.e.r. (note to self: wear make up) but so cute of hubby & kiddo, could not resist posting.


Chillin' post-bath


The future master bedroom, full bathroom (with a tub, yahoo!!), entry way, and storage room


And the crap that goes with building it all


You know a good way to use this big, empty space?


Run around like a nutjob, of course


Between the woods, the water, and the sand, Ralphie was in his own little pig pen heaven

Later that afternoon we set sail for our first cruise around the Upper Mill Pond. Alas, our adventure was short lived as the boat pooped out on us about 90 seconds into our ride. Knowing that our chances of the boat dying were about 50/50 the guys had the foresight to bring oars. Oops, scratch that. For some reason they chose to bring AN oar. One. So if we wanted to go around in a circle, we were set. Fortunately a friendly neighbor saw that we were stranded and zipped out to tow us back to shore. Hopefully our nautical adventures will be a little more grand next weekend for 4th of July.

Fail.

This weekend we were in town and had no plans and the weather was great so it was lovely and relaxing. Saturday morning we let daddy sleep really late and the sous chef and I got to work making coffee cake blueberry muffins. Oh doctor are they good. G loves to help bake which may double the mess but is truly adorable.

"Daddy, we're baking!"


Blueberries overboard. Notice the sous chef's concentration.

Today we went to Matt's baseball game to watch dad kick butt and take names. The Orioles are on fire this year which is really fun to watch. Genevieve is quite the little fan, especially since the park that today's game was at had both a big playground and a giant splash pool. Score!

In case you were wondering, GG and daddy have 'matching owies' on their knees. Daddy does not, however, have a Sleeping Beauty band aid on his.

And tonight after dinner we took a family stroll to enjoy the perfect evening. One thing we really did not want to give up when we were house hunting was being within walking distance of daily necessities, and with our house being about 3/4 of a mile from the Elm Grove village, we've got all the necessities close at hand. Including the most important of all: an ice cream shop.

Family stroll

On the daddy horsie (horsy?) who does indeed make horsie noises


Delicious ice cream in sight


G insists on sitting on this little bench whenever we pass it. This girl loves her kid-sized chairs.