Camping- Wyalusing SP

This weekend we went to Wylusing State Park for the first time and it was fantastic! A quick impromptu vote in the car on the way out of the park put Wyalusing in the lead passing Rock Island and Madeleine Island for Annika. Emma has them all tied. No matter the specific votes, it is a very cool, very special spot.
We did some canoeing on the Mississippi River slough today before leaving. Annika was the most vocal about canoeing. Apparently she wasn't concerned about the need to wear a life vest, something that was a huge deal breaker for the last "fun day" of swim lessons this summer. The rivers are flooded because of the huge amounts of rain over the last few weeks. So there were trees and grasses and other land plants that were poking up in strange places. The water was flowing but not too fast to push us out of sight of the dock area (a mandatory requirement since the canoe trail was closed). The first time out on the water Annika was at the helm, I sat behind her on the canoe bottom with Bandit, next came Emma and Steve was steering. Bandit did really well but I also had her on a very short leash. It was quiet and peaceful except for the fast-moving trains that went barreling down the tracks every so often.
We took a break for lunch and then the girls and I went back out. This time Emma was up front and really knows how to paddle. I was steering in the back. We enjoyed the shade of some close-to-shore spaces. The canoeing was a highlight for sure!
On Saturday we woke up and headed to some points of interest such as some burial mounds and the Passenger Pigeon monument. Annika was grumbling in the van about hiking but once we got to the scenic overlooks and took in the awesome views of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers she was leading us down the trails. We hiked for a good 2.5-3 hours down and up and around the ridges. We had to go "off-roading" a couple times when the trail was found covered with water for many feet. It was an adventure. While sitting around the campfire later Annika had this to say (out of the blue): I am glad I didn't complain today. Wow- so cool! (Hiking at Rock Island was one for the books and involved many tears, screaming and complaining for most of the hiking.)
After some rest that afternoon we went on a driving tour of some of the spots we had not seen. Lots to save for next time. And speaking of next time, we are definitely going to reserve a spot in the Wisconsin Ridge campground instead of Homestead. The views for many of them are breathtaking! Plus there are more hammock options. On the way home Emma made a list of the places we would like to visit next summer and beyond. Wyalusing is top!

Annika's 6th Birthday was Grrrr-reat!

Annika wanted her party to be tiger themed. So I donated some money to National Geographic when they emailed me about saving the tigers. Then we threw her a kids' party at the local park. We cut ribbon into lengths of tails and secured them to mini, orange clothespins. These were used to dress-up and to play catch the tails. Only a few kids wanted to chase each other around but they had fun. One of A's friends won the game with 3 tails. They used the tails to play pin the tail on the tiger. Emma had drawn the tail-less tiger on a reused piece of poster board. They all loved that. Annika and one other friend got their tails the closest to the actual spot. They also ran around the castle play structure, swung on the swings and generally played around in the warm sunshine.

Lots of food in orange and black colors. Cheeto paws and puffs. Carrots (with ranch dip that I forgot to put out until later), blackberry + cantaloupe skewers, a bowl of alternating rows of cubed orange cheese and black olives. Pizza for the main course followed by cupcakes in tiger striped wrappers, made by grandma and topped with tiger faces on sticks.

Annika also wanted whiskers and a black nose. It was so cute to see her and her friends running around like tigers. It was a great time at the park!

What she said she wanted to do all year long (since her 5th birthday) was to go back to Rock Island State Park. So the day after her birthday we headed up there for a 3-night camping adventure. So much fun was had! Swimming, hiking (though Annika was not a fan of this part and let the entire island know by her very loud, very long-lasting vocal complaints), roasting marshmallows, playing a stopping game on the hammock, sleeping in the tents and enjoying nature.

Annika and Emma shared the 2-person tent. Huge first time adventure for all of us! They have never slept in a tent without either Mommy or Daddy. And despite a few squabbles, it was a great experience.

One of the highlights was when Bandit swam out to all of us out in the water. She didn't want to be left alone on the shore so she joined us. It was so cute. After that we had to let her have some swimming time by going out to fetch sticks. (She doesn't really get the entire fetching process but she got to swim and chew on some sticks!)

My thoughts to "Little A" on your 6th birthday:  You are quite the energetic and out-spoken girl. You know what you want and are not afraid to do your best to make that happen. You can be fiery and fierce but you also know that the best feelings are those of kindness. You have a big heart and a loving soul. Your hugs and kisses are the best! I have gotten teary eyed several times so far this school year as I watched your little face peering up over the edge of the bus window as it drove away. You wave and blow kisses and try to make the "I love you" sign with your fingers- all the way until the bus passes out of sight. It is so hard to watch you moving away from me like that- going off to world where I cannot go. As you start 1st grade this year it is especially hard because this is how it will be. You are growing up and I am learning how to let you do that on your own, in your own special, unique way. I will be here always to support and love you, no matter what path you take. I know that with your intelligence, curiosity and zest for life, you will do amazing things. Happy birthday!

5 and 10

Not the local dime store- I don't think they exist anymore. Annika is 5 and Emma is 10. As I type this, those ages (numbers) seem more significant now than they have since October when Emma celebrated her 10th birthday. And birthdays seem like a good place to start.
Annika's 5th birthday- swimming! At Goodman, at the beach. It was great.
Emma- celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa and Tom and Karen with dessert. She brought a friend with to a waterpark in the Dells. That was fun!

In no particular order- here are some highlights that pop up as I type:
Last night Annika splashed in the rain while Emma practiced the piano. I love to watch the outside joys and listening to my girl make music is just pure magical bliss.
Chloe had to be put down a couple years ago- February 29th actually. That was awful and Emma really took it hard. She loved that dog so much! They were great pals and I know Emma whispered things to Chloe and thought of her as a close, dear friend.
Last year at the end of May we adopted Bandit, though that name took awhile in the making. She was just over 1 year old and full of spirit. My grandma Helwig would have called it "full of piss and vinegar." No joke. Those first few months were rough! Emma missed Chloe even more because this new pet was not a cuddle up with and whisper to kind of friend. Bandit is getting there, though, and everyone loves her. Even Steve. She is a perfect blend of hijinx and sweetness and as she continues to be trained up and pass out of puppy years, she is going to be great.
Annika loves Kindergarten at Toad Hill. It is so incredibly sad that we are aging out of that school. In the fall, both girls will attend Isthmus Montessori Academy Public. That has been a long time coming and is very exciting. The girls are looking forward to being at the same school and we are looking forward to being tuition-free!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Annika Marie!

This year we kept things simple. On Sunday before her birthday we went to Goodman Pool for the first time ever. And it was great! Both girls loved the experience. Annika hardly ever let go of our hands so that she could jump up and down.  The pool is a zero entry with some fun water spouts, fountains, hoses and other over-sized sprinkler towers. Fun for all ages!
The pool slowly gets deeper until it turns and reaches a deep end where they have a diving board. The girls had fun watching some boys do flips. Emma was not interested in swimming in the deep end or in going down the water slides. Maybe next year.
All was fun and games until for no reason Annika bit Daddy's finger. We took a time out on the chairs and a couple minutes later a break was called for the whole pool. Good timing so we headed home.
Annika requested salami, cheese, yogurt and Cheetos for dinner. We feasted on various combos of those main ingredients when we got home. Emma carried the cake (raspberry with raspberry frosting) while we all sang, including Annika. She blew out the candles in two or three puffs. Then she requested we eat cake and vanilla ice cream outside so we headed to the patio. It was such pleasant evening!
Annika also opened some presents with Emma's help. We gave her Knufflebunny (a book), homemade finger paints, an Elsa shirt, and a refill roll of paper for her easel. Emma was so sweet and made Hop Hop a tiny shirt (the stitches came off so we need to redo it but she was so eager to make if all herself and was quite proud, in Emma's quiet way) and gave Annika an Anna and Elsa shirt. Plus Emma wrote a very sweet card.
On Annika's birthday morning we made chocolate pancakes with whipped cream. Yummy! Later the girls went with Steve to the grocery and hung out at home while I taught Wonder Bugs. We all met at Noodles for lunch, where the girls had Mac and cheese dishes. Annika had meatballs on hers! Such a carnivore!  Atfter not napping we ran some errands and had a nice recap of her birthday meal. Grandma Karen (across the street) stopped by and gave Annika a present from her and Tom- a Bunnies Tale book and a cute bunny purse. Godfather Andrew called to give their wishes as well as Auntie Em. Fun night!
Annika must have had a fun, tiring day because she fell asleep without any shenanigans!  A wonderful birthday season for a wonderful little girl!

Annika- you are still that smiley charmer so quick to laugh. You will talk to anyone about anything that comes to your mind. You definitely know what you want and can stubbornly hold your ground. Your three year old outbursts are loud and intense but you can be calmed down quickly with some distractions. You adore your big sis! Whatever Emma is doing, you want to do as well. Although you have found your own person inside. You still like Barbies while Emma has given them up. You love to run around naked! Just yesterday you wore only your undies outside and then just took those off as well. You rode your bike naked, gardened naked and of course, went potty outside. You have taken on a big girl bed with pizazz! It was your decision to also give up Pull-ups at the same time. Big girl bed, big girl undies for all sleeps. And you are doing amazing! We wish for you a lifetime of following your dreams, doing whatever it is that makes you happy. Keep smiling and laughing! It is contagious.

Annika's 2nd birthday (because now she is 3!)

Trying to catch up a little and delete texts saved in Notability....

Thanks 2 You

Happy 2nd birthday, little A!  You are such a delightful and happy girl. so curious and eager to learn and help. You obviously desire to be just like your big sister in every way and attempt to keep up with her in almost all situations. You have peed on the potty and toilet a few times now although you aren't super interested in actually training. That's just fine for now. I have no doubt that when you want to, you will train yourself. :)  I wish for you to always be able to find the joy in life- that will serve you well from 2 to old age. Keep that good sense of humor and easy laugh.

For your birthday we went to visit Aunt Susan in Cincinnati for the weekend. We left on friday morning, arriving in time to eat dinner at Aunt susan's apartment. the drive was over 7 hours and you were not a happy camper; I spent a lot of time askign you to be quiet. ssh! Aunt susan had made a delicious meal of heuvos rancheros with black beans and these veggie pancakes and latkes. Oh so good. There is no table or chairs at Aunt susie's so we tried to get you to sit still on the couch to minimize cleanups on the rug. You kind of banged around like a pinball but ate well. We sang Happy Brithday to you and you tried to blow out hte candles on top of the Mint Truffle ice cream cake. You slept well in the pack and play in the roommates room.
 The next morning we all went to check out Eden park that has views of the river and kentucky. Then we went to the observatory and enjoyed walking through the greenhouses. the park across the street had the President'os Grove of trees planted in honor of all the US Presidents. then we drove to the museum spot and had lunch in the cafe before exploring the children's museuem.  You cooked a baby in the house that was part of the kid-sized village. Before then you climbed on everything you c

Frozen

It seems as if this blog has been frozen!  Our lives, however, have not- except when frozen actually refers to Frozen, the Disney movie.
I took Emma to see Frozen at the church family movie night last year. She loved it! We listened to the soundtrack on spotify tons of times and evefry time Let It Go came on the radio the volume had ot be turned up. Of course the obvious side effect of all of this was that annika also listened and learned. It did not take too long before Annika was belting out Let It Go- everyhwere, all the time and very loudly. Emma's love of Frozen may have started to diminsh somewhat once her annoying little sister jumpoed on the bandwagon.
Enter Great Grandma, Uncle Chuck (and his sons) and Olive (Grandma's friend).  Come Christmas of 2014 with packages crowding Great Grandma's tiny house. So many Frozen things. Huge stuffed Anna and Elsa dolls, art sets, plates and utensil sets, a lamp, Elsa barbie. Emma decided she was a bit too old for most of the babyish things but was gracious in person during the unwrapping. Since then Emma has given up Barbies and has even taken to creating potions and spells (with her good friend Evelyn) to make Annika give them up too. (It has not worked yet.) Annika on the other hand is completely Frozen through and through. Her babysitter (Rebecca) commented the other day that she needs to teach Annika a new Disney song so that Let It Go can be replaced. (The sitters have encouraged the infatuation by playing songs for the girls on their phones.)
Yes, Annika will still belt out Let it Go with surprising accuracy and pitch. We happened to hear it once on the car radio last week and now she asks for it semi-regularly, the reality and intracacies of radio versus internet lost on her little mind.
The large stuffed Anna and Elsa are constant companions. There was a brief stint of time when Emma would get furious at Annika for taking her Elsa doll, but now Emma does not even glance sideways at the dolls. Annika, however, takes them in the car, sleeps with them in her crib (along with assorted other friends like Hop Hop, Hop Hops parents, Snoopy, etc), plays with them downstairs and sometimes takes them outside. I have had to stitch the bodice on Elsa once and Anna's cap has been removed; I am sure these dolls will fall apart before they are left aside.

On a non-frozen note, Hop Hop went missing two weekends ago. Annika had him at dinner and then when she went to go to sleep he could not be found anywhere. Steve searched everywhere. The next day I searched everywhere. On the next Monday or so Annika answered (in response to inquiries from Emma and I) that Hop Hop was dirty and went in the trash. I emptied all cans and shallowly searched all bags to no avail. During nap times I searched in all bags, nooks and crannies that I could think of. the sewing maching drawers in the guest room. Under all beds. Down in the play room in all baskets, bins and corners. In the thrift pile in the basement. Nothing.  We were all missing that little bunny and Annika's adorable attachment to him. So one afternoon I was down in the basement sewing and decided to look again in the thrift area. The pack and play is also incidentally stowed near here as well. I checked the various bags and under piles and then stood there scratching my head while my eyes wandered over the mess. Wait- was there a small bulge under the zipper of the pack and play bag? I hurried over with my heart thumping and unzipped the bag. Yes!! Oh, there you are Hop Hop, you sweet little bunny. I was grinning ear to ear as if this furry, dingy friend was my long lost pal. When Annika woke from her nap I took him in her room with me. As I grasped the end of the crib with Hop Hop in my hand (just his ears were peeking over the side) Annika's cries and distressing just-woke-up voice instantly stopped when she saw him. "Where was he by?" she asked. I smiled, told her and handed her Hop Hop. She glowed and snuggled him and has not let him be forgetten again. Yet. :) Too bad I couldn't freeze that warm fuzzy moment- this is as close as I can get.

Wedding '09

Paul and Lauren said "I do" this past weekend. To Emma they are Uncle Paul and Aunt Lauren. To most everyone in the family Emma is "a beautiful girl." awww.

So this is the trip where Emma decided that she just can't (won't) sleep on an airplane. She will fuss, cry, scramble from lap to lap, roll, fuss, fidget, cry, lie down, stand up, fuss, rub her eyes, roll over, lie down, scramble from lap to lap, kick and push the seats in front of her- pretty much anything goes except sleep! Okay, she did sleep for about 20 minutes in this sort of awkward position that she ended up in after fussing around for 3/4s of the flight back to Chicago. We were almost sorry that the flight wasn't longer just so she would get a better nap.


Thursday we made it into Philly a little delayed due to weather, and we made it to Bryn Mawr's athletic field just after the start of Karen Anna's lacrosse game. It was wet and coldish so we left to go to the hotel at halftime.

The highlights: more plane trips (no sleeping except once), KA's game, rehearsal dinner in the garden, Cafe Hun, wedding, times with KA.