August or bust!!!

I will post pics from August before October. I will post pics from August before October. I will...

I have enjoyed this summer so much. The girls and I spent almost every minute together and I loved it (until they fought of course which is inevitable spending every minute together). We were able to do so many things I wouldn't have tackled last year when Ruby was 2. Amazing what a year will do for you.


New sneaks. So bright and pretty :)


Unfortunate hubs turned me on to these. Makes those miles I run moot.


We have a restaurant called Cook Out. Cheap, good, and outdoor dining. Reminds me of the old Dave's Burger Shanty in Menasha :)


Princess Peace.

They pick all of my flowers outside but how can I not let them when they say things like "Thank you for making us supper mama". Just a note - I always feed them so they aren't actually thanking me for the food they are just being sweet :)


Piperoni "tattooed" her wrist. She flatters me :)


Typical night. Ruby sleeps on my lap but this night was joined by Pica. Not minding one bit!


Synchronized swimming thanks to hours of watching the Olympics.


My squeezable little babe. Love her!


Running a 1/2 marathon in October. This was my first longer run. I am not breaking any speed records but hey I am an old woman!

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On a roll

Alright here it goes...

Do you get those $10 gift cards from Kohls? I don't shop there (because well, I shop at Goodwill) and they still send me them every so often. I use them mostly to buy jewelry for me and the girls. Thank you Kohls :)

Deck plant. Violet picked it out. I am trying to figure out how to keep this beauty alive this winter so we can enjoy it again next year. Am I the only one that doesn't like to buy annuals?

Afternoon snack. Those cherry tomatoes are still going crazy! I love summer produce especially when it is from my garden and free - well basically free :)

I got a variety pack of Flying Dog and this was in it. Needless to say the other 2 bottles are still in my fridge. I think I might try and cook with it because I can't bear to drink it again. Ewww...


Pogo stick from her birthday. She's improving. Still chooses biking over anything though.


On your marks...


I won these pretties. Gorgeous crocheted shoes. Love!


Salted caramel no bakes - yum!


Someone already donated this cuteness and we were at Goodwill at the perfect time to scoop it up!

So there won't be sweetness overload I will end with that :)

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Water

I wonder when I am going to have an original thought to write a real post on this blog? Ha, not today! As I was looking to see what I hadn't posted yet (the list is long) I realized that there is a lot of water pics here. Since I have no imagination at the time I simply titled this post "Water". I can't really call these Project 366 anymore because nothing is numbered and it is all jumbled on my Flickr. I have no idea what date is what anymore. And with this post concludes July...

We spent so much time in the lake this year! Sometimes a little rinse gets you through until the next day when we do it all over again.


This was July 25th and we had hail! Big hail!


What a life right?


She's not going to have any left at this rate :)


They make me laugh. A lot!

We had the Olympics on almost everyday. Missy Franklin became a household name over here. I even let them watch Beach Volleyball at night! We love Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh!


Such an angel when she's sleeping :)


Lessons after she almost drown.


Rubarb picked her Daddy a boutonniere. Love!


Hello Girls Night Out!


Snuggles. My favorite!
Ruby just woke up so that is it for today :)

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Project 366 - Daytona

Not all of these are from Daytona but most. We have been going the past few years over the 4th and it has been pretty fun for everyone. Daddy works and Mama and the girls play. That's fair right?

We found this Bitty Baby at Goodwill in Wisconsin. Why yes I visit Goodwill when I am in different states just to see the goodies they might have. "Lucy" was under $2. Probably because one of her eyes stays shut most of the time (our other 2nd loved baby, "Lily", is missing her big toe). We love her and now have triplets. Of course with different hair color :)



We were welcomed back to NC by 100+ degree weather. Yay! << that's sarcasm


Later that evening. Piper was running a fun foot race in a friend's backyard and tripped. Probably over the two left feet she inherited from her mama.



Thank goodness for water casts because Daytona here we come!

Missing this plant. It still looks good but it is in a pot and quit producing. My favorite tomato plant yet!


Road Trip!



I think everyone in the van was happy to see this familiar sign :)

We arrived to Daytona on July 4th. We met some friends for supper then headed back to the hotel to watch fireworks. This trip we stayed at the Hilton next to the boardwalk. This shot isn't to show you how awesome I am at photographing fireworks but to show how awesome the fireworks looked from our room! We ate Twizzlers and chips and watched from our balcony. Perfect!



The girls and I spent mornings on the beach, went back to the room for lunch, and then swam in the pool all afternoon. Rough.


Matt has been coming here so long he knows good places to eat. If that place is busy we just go to another. Racing's North Turn wasn't our first choice but I am so glad we ended up there! There was an awesome band playing and we had an incredible view of the ocean all the while I enjoyed an iced cold Fat Tire and oysters. Perfection. Until the noseeums came and drove us away. It was alright though because we had a long day and Daddy had a REALLY long day coming up Friday.



Now comes some family time!




We entered a sand castle contest while we were there. Why not right? So we made Violet and Piper into mermaids but one of the judges said that they wouldn't win. Why? "While the children are cute this is about the purity of the sand" What? It's all good. We made a sun. And lost :)


Ready, set...
There were 2 pools at the hotel. The one that served drinks and the one that didn't. Guess which one was basically our private pool?

Another delicious meal out. Who am I kidding. ANY meal is delicious if I don't have to cook, serve, and clean it up!

We never leave early on our last day. Drives my husband crazy because we roll back home at like midnight but I want to enjoy every last moment we can. Especially when we are having such a great time! So we woke up Sunday and swam in the pool. Came back to the room and showered. Thank you Hilton for your generous late check outs! A trip to Daytona isn't complete without going to Bubba Gump.



Before we were out of Daytona! Think they had fun? We all had so much fun and can't wait until next year!

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Project 366 - Wisconsin

I am going to have to forgo on my dailies because I am just too far behind and don't label things correctly. I will lump the remainder of the summer by the activities we did and go from there.

Girls and I decided to make a long overdue trip back home to Wisconsin. We packed out stuff, hitched a ride, and off we went!

Girls were awesome in the plane. I packed all sorts of electronic devices but they slept and looked out the windows most of the time. Good little travelers.

We passed the first stop and go light and Violet asked why they weren't hanging from strings above the intersection. That must have been why I ran so many red lights when I first moved to NC :)


A friend of mine got married and they had this awesome pool at the hotel where the reception was. We brought suits and snuck out for some fun swimming time. There was so much chlorine in the pool it hurt my eyes and I was sitting NEXT to the pool :)



Lots of fun times with the cousins! I didn't want to plan too many activities I just wanted to hang with the family. We ended up doing a few things but most of the time we were just playing. It was good for my girls to reconnect with the cousins they rarely see.


Visited the locks by where I grew up. Took the girls on the Friendship Trail they built across the water. Played at the park and then ate at Knot's Landing. Why yes, my trip had a bucket list of restaurants to visit.




Had to make a stop at the Pig.
and the FOOD!!




Mihm's - oh my yummy greasy goodness!




and Manderfield's!
More cousins and some firsts.



First time for these littles on a roller coaster. We hit Bay Beach and had a few really sad girlies because they didn't make the height requirement.



But it was the Rhubster's first time on the Scrambler! She was hooked!



Our group taking a break on the train. You have to ride the train at Bay Beach!



^^^Those are my kids^^^.Only 2 of them rode all the way home in the Jeep but the little one got a few laps around my sister's circle. They still talk about Danielle driving them around with the top down. Memories were made this entire trip! My belly is full. It was a great visit with the family and we hope to go back sooner than 3 years next time.



A plane ride home and life was back to normal. Next time I'm driving. Just saying United!

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