the worst day of the summer

There's no denying it now . . . it's here (and now almost over) . . . the worst day.  The last day of summer.  I know it's not really the last day of summer, but to a teacher, the last day of summer vacation is pretty much the last day of summer.  And it's a day to be dreaded. Don't get me wrong . . . I do like my job a lot (most days) . . . but I like my summer schedule and being home with the kiddos more (although I think all of us are craving a bit more of a routine).  

I always grieve (yes, grieve!) the end of summer (I am not good with change) . . . but this year it's really rough.  Elise was born on March 2, and I have pretty much been at home since then (I've taken a few classes, and went back to school for the last day last spring, so I have had to leave her before).  But this will be the first time leaving her and knowing it's for a good long while (like until next summer vacation).  :( 

I've been spending some time at school in my classroom, but today I made sure we had the best "worst" day that we could have and didn't go to school.  The kids and I slept in (well sort of . . . Miss E was up several times last night.  What's with that?! She has been such a good sleeper until recently - we're blaming it on teeth), and then spent them morning snuggling in our jammies.  Next up was lunch out with friends, then (of course) we headed to our favorite sunny day spot - the pool - for one last lazy afternoon in the sunshine.

Braden was so excited to get to take his new pool toy that he (finally!!!) earned (now that our pool time is pretty much over!) for pooping on the potty (potty training has been a loooooong process in the Hartsock House this summer) . . .

Elise was just happy to be out and about . . .

 . . . and was content to just hang out (although the little stinker didn't nap!)

After pool time we came home for some quiet time (and E finally agreed to nap), and then enjoyed a yummy summer supper of grilled steaks, corn on the cob,  and cheesy potatoes.  We finished off the night with a run to Yotty's for some ice cream to end the day with another summer favorite.   (And then of course I had to pack up B's daycare bag, E's daycare bag, my work bag . . .)  But it was a pretty great (terrible) day.

I found a few more pics on the camera, so I'm going to post 'em while I have the chance. . . . Randoms from the past week . . .

My snugglers 

One thing I have loved about being home/summer schedule is our relaxed mornings.  It's not unusual for us to hang out in our PJ's till late morning.  I love PJ's! (I am NOT looking forward to getting myself and 2 kids dressed and on our way by 7:30 each morning - Billy leaves shortly after 6, so it's all me - ick.)

Elise - 5 1/2 months
I realized earlier this week that I hadn't really taken any pics of E lately, so we had a little "photo shoot" ;)  She's growing wayyyyy too fast.

I have no words for this one . . .(????!!!)

Happy girl!

Crazy for cookies!
We've gotten into a routine of baking cookies about once a week this summer - B loves to get out his step stool and "help."  Of course his idea of helping mainly involves being the taste tester . . .


"Think Mom will notice if I eat a dough ball?"

Mmmmm - love to lick the spatula!

Pizza Picnic

Since summer is winding down (see I admit it's not really over), we're frantically trying to cross a few more things off our summer bucket list. One thing that we've wanted to do is go to Geyer's for brick oven pizza.  We finally made it there last week, and Holly joined us for the fun.  We enjoyed the beautiful cool weather and scenery on their farm and dined on yummy pizza cooked in their outdoor brick oven.

Braden not only loved the pizza, but was pretty impressed with the tree swing too!

On the move 

"Seriously, Mom.  Do you really think I'm staying on the blanket?!"

And a fun one to end on . . .:)

Shettler family reunion

Why is it that there are some weeks with nothing going on, and then there are other weeks when there is almost too much going on?  

We rolled into town and arrived home from our MN vacation at about 5:30 on Friday. . . and the Shettler reunion began at 6:30.  The boys opted to stay home that night to rest up (and get a start on laundry), but Elise and I joined in the first evening of reunion festivities which included a picnic supper and the famous Shettler banana split (yum!):

Saturday we headed to Crooked Creek for more reunion fun!  Here's the whole group (we dressed in colors to represent which sibling/branch of the family we belong to) . . .

My family - the red group - representing my Grandma Elsie's branch (my cousins and I were the reunion planning committee).

We participated in traditional Shettler reunion activities - bocce ball tournament, Shettler olympics, watermelon seed spitting contest, and enjoyed visiting with folks we don't often get to see.

Two of the youngest Shettlers :)

And what's a trip to Crooked Creek without a round or two of carpet ball?  Braden liked learning how to play (though he had a somewhat wicked throw).

PS - A shout out to SY for the great pics from the reunion -- most of these were taken by her

Min-nen-so-da

A week ago we were enjoying our last day of vacation in "Min-nen-so-da" (as Braden calls it).  Billy's family has vacationed at Big Rock Resort on Leech Lake near Walker, MN since he was a kid. We've joined the fun once before, when Braden was a baby in 2009.  

We were a little apprehensive about driving 8.5 + hours with 2 kiddos, so we decided to break up the trip on the way by stopping overnight near Minneapolis. This meant that were able to sneak in a visit with the McNabb's, who were gracious enough to allow us to crash with them for an evening.  Billy has known John and Vicki since his days at Central College, and I got to know them when we did -pre-marriage counseling with John before he married us in 2007.  Braden had a blast burning off energy and playing with their grandson, Landon.  

We stayed up late visiting and watching the Olympic opening ceremonies, and then got to sleep in and relax on Friday morning before heading on up to Walker (since we couldn't check in to our cabins until 4:00 and we only had about 4 hours of driving left).  The kids did pretty well with the driving - Elise mostly slept, and Braden mainly played with his books and cars.  I had looked up tips for traveling with young children, and found an idea of having a "surprise bag."  Basically the idea is that at various intervals while traveling, the child gets a "surprise" from the bag if he/she is behaving.  Braden loved it, but we got a little tired of him saying, "Is it time for a surprise yet?" (I guess that is better than, "Are we there yet?" - ha!).

Anyway, we arrived at Big Rock around 4 on Friday, and were greeted with perfect weather (mid 80's and sunny - a great reprieve from our 100+ temps at home). We stayed in the same cabin that we were in the last time we went (which was kind of fun - I remember B taking his first steps in that living room!), and Grandpa & Grandma H. and Aunt Amy's family stayed in the cabin next door (our cabin is in front, theirs has the big deck in back).


It is so pretty on the lake; we ate most of our meals on the deck and I got to spend some time reading there too.

Once everyone arrived, the kids were excited to get into the water.  The water trampoline was a big hit, and it didn't take them long to get our there.

Braden LOVED it (of course) . . . the first words out of his mouth on Saturday morning were, "Can I go on the trampoline?"  We spent our days boating, swimming, did a little (not very successful) fishing, and a lot of relaxing and just enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery.  I was even able to read 2 books! :)  We typically slept in and had breakfast around 9, and were up late making s'mores and (since the resort has recently added TVs to the cabins) we also got to watch the olympics.

Braden played hard, and wasn't about to miss out on any of the fun by taking naps (although we did get him to fall asleep one day on the boat) . . . he loved every minute of it, and has asked to go back to MN every day since we've been home. ;)  (He did finally get a chance to catch up on sleep -- on Tuesday after swimming at the pool he went down for a nap at 4:30 . . . and sleep till 7:30 on Wed morning!)

Although Elise was too little to participate in a lot of the activities, she enjoyed lots of cuddle time with her Grandparents and cousins . . .

 . . . and was such a sweetie pie!

After almost a week of fun at the lake, we packed up and headed home on Friday.  We had to drive straight through to get home for a family reunion that evening . . . let's just say that the trip TO Minnesota was a lot better than the trip BACK.  We were all tired and were in no mood to be in the car all day.  Elise did ok and slept a lot, and Braden finally crashed and slept too.  Unfortunately I was also super tired which meant that I wasn't a whole lot of help driving and Billy ended up driving most of the way home.  But we made it! And sleeping in our own beds that night felt soooooooo good.

Elise: 5 months

Miss E hit the 5 month mark on August 2nd while we were vacationing in MN with the Hartsocks. (I know, I have lots of blogging to catch up on -- and I am currently freaking out that I only have 8 days of summer vacation left in which to get a lot of things done!).

Anyway, back to Elise.  I know I say this every month, but I really cannot believe she is 5 months old already!

Elise is our charmer; she's quiet, but quick to flash her sweet smile when she knows you're looking. :)

At 5 months, Elise:
• is very aware of her surroundings. If she sees something she wants, girlie will go for it! She's not quite crawling yet, but is a rolling/scooting pro.  She started rolling tummy to back several weeks ago, and can generally get to where she wants to go
• is still in size 1 diapers, but has moved up to size 3-6 month clothing (mostly 6 mth), and has outgrown her newborn shoes and is in size 1s
• continues to be a good sleeper overall, but about 2 weeks ago has started waking in the night - the time varies, but when she wakes up she is mad.  We think she's experiencing teething pain . . . She does go back to sleep fairly quickly after a bottle
• drools, drools, drools -- I am sure those teeth are going to make an appearance soon
• eats 6 oz every 3-4 hours, and has started rice cereal.  We were on vacation this past week, so poor lil thing didn't get much practice eating, but she had been doing very well. We'll start in with some fruits and veggies this week
• loves her jumparoo and can rock that thing!  Still likes the bumbo too, but I think she'll soon be able to crawl out of it!  And she can sit by herself for short periods of time
• is very happy and content.  She was a pleasure on vacation, and just rolled with whatever we decided to do.  Elise is happy to be held/played with by anyone, and makes friends wherever she goes by flashing her sweet smile
• still has blue eyes . . . B's changed from blue to brown at about 9 mths, I think
• doesn't have much hair, but what she has is dark -  and curly-ish when wet :)
• is looking a little more like a Miller than a Hartsock . . . we get lots of comments that she looks like Grandpa Ed (poor thing!) ;)   I think she still looks a lot like her brother, and she also looks a lot like her Hartsock cousins' baby pictures

Here's baby girl's 5 month photo in "the outfit" (we were at the cabin in MN), and for comparison her 1 month photo: