Nine

It's official. My middle man is now 9.
As usual, we talked about the day he was born, and shared his birth story. It's an especially cool one, as he was born at home (unplanned), on a staircase. He LOVES hearing his birth story! He had 2 friends over on Tuesday for a slumber party, and tomorrow gets to go to another birthday party (for one of the friends that stayed over). Life is good when you are nine.

(I'm scheduling this one to post about the time he was born. We're not sure of the exact time, but this is close enough, and what we decided to put down 'officially')

Floral Friday

There are more new flowers blooming, some of which surprised me!

First, though, we finally have a monarch caterpillar! Unfortunately, the day after I took this photo, it was gone. Hopefully off to find different milkweed and not eaten.

My lavender is blooming. I just planted these in spring (5 plants), and honestly, I wasn't expecting blooms this season. Don't know if I'll get enough to dry, but it sure smells good now. The boys brush the plants every time they walk by because they smell so good.

I think this is some sort of hibiscus (? really I have no clue). It's winter hardy; I bought it last year from the little variety store down the street. It is loaded with buds, these two bloomed first, and each bloom is about 8" across (seriously, these things are big).

The coreopsis has been blooming for a while, I just forgot to take a photo of it.

Those darn asters still haven't bloomed.

10 and lots of 5s

My SIL Julie tagged me with this little meme that's been going around:

10 years ago (August 1998): I had only one child, and he was 2. I also had my 10 year highschool reunion, which was pretty fun! (my 20 year is this November).

5 years ago (August 2003): My dad had died unexpectedly 2 months prior, so I was busy petitioning the court to be appointed executor of the estate, meeting with the lawyer, and cleaning up his house.

5 months ago (March 2008): We took a vacation to visit my MIL in Arizona, and had a wonderful time. There was a big snowstorm the day before we left, so the boys got to build forts and play, then the next day they got to go swimming in the sun!

5 things on my To Do List for tomorrow:

- Calvin has gymnastics camp, need to pack a lunch
- laundry (every day. I use MyChores to schedule my housework duties)
- weed/water the plants
- bake some stuff
- walk the dog

5 bad habits:

- wasting time on the computer
- being lazy
- not putting stuff away when I'm done
- procrastinating
- pack rat tendency

5 places I've lived (in no particular order):

- Scottsdale, AZ
- Des Moines, IA
- Long Beach, CA
- Chicago, IL
- Shorewood, WI

5 things people don't know about me (well, if you just met me):

- I don't like chocolate
- my second child was accidentally born at home, on the stairway
- I am allergic to raw apples
- I don't like driving
- I love popsicles

A Birthday Surprise

Connor's birthday surprise was A Day Out With Thomas! My brother told me about it in March or April, and when I realized that one of the days was Connor's 4th birthday, well, you know I had to get tickets. All Connor knew was that we were doing something very special on his birthday.

Needless to say, when we arrived and he saw what his surprise was, he was THRILLED.

My brother and his family met us there, and Connor was so excited and wouldn't stop talking about all the different trains.

There was a LEGO Thomas to play on.

Thomas himself gave rides to everyone with a ticket.

You bet we had ours!

There were also other trains and engines to look at; we got to play in some sleeper cars, and see trains from long ago.

We even got to play on train tracks!

Tomorrow we'll have a little bit of cake, and on Monday, 3 friends are coming over for Connor's first "kid" birthday party. Wow, turning 4 is pretty cool!

Four!

Four years ago a very special someone was born. FOUR YEARS OLD?!?!

We have a very special day planned, and it's quite the surprise. I can't wait to see his reaction.

(also, how cool is it that I can plan this post to publish at the time he was born?)

Ren Faire

We went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire on Sunday. Calvin dressed up in one of the jester outfits, and we all had a lovely time.

State Fair

Today we went to the WI State Fair, to see my winning entries and eat. A lot.

A rare photo of me and all three of my boys. Connor is going through a phase of not wanting his picture taken. It was a hot, humid day.

My photo of Calvin whittling got 2nd place AND a Staff Favorite ribbon! FINALLY, after 10 years of entering, I've won a fancy ribbon! (My trillium photo didn't get anything, and I should've entered it in the general flower category. It wasn't close-up enough, compared to the winners)

Caleb's jester costume placed 3rd. I also placed 4th for my sweater, and 4th for a skirt.

We watched all the different salespeople demo their wares and ended up with this fancy peeler (from Switzerland, people!) and all the freebies that came with it. Last year we bought a Quick Chopper 2000, and we just love it.

We explored the DNR building, and Connor had a good time looking at the reptiles. I talked with some of the master gardeners, and found yet more plants I'd like to put in my gardens.

Caleb and Calvin went down the big slide. Connor was scared to go.

Cheryl, we had a cream puff! They are still delicious!

It was a long day, and one little boy fell asleep on the way home.

Floral Friday

Now that August is upon us, there isn't much new blooming in the yard. About the only plant that hasn't bloomed yet is the aster.

This is the other milkweed plant I have -- a friend called it a swamp milkweed. It's way taller than me, so I had to hold this bloom down to take a photo. I like how feathery it looks.

The limelight hydrangea we planted amongst the new landscaping started blooming! The flowers start out light green, and gradually turn whiter and whiter.

We are off to the State Fair this morning, so I will find out how my photos did and post a report later. I already know how my sewing and knitting entries did, but I'm making you wait so that I can report it all at once with pictures.