Applewood Orchard

Friday we had the pleasure of meeting Karen and Emily at Applewood Orchard in Lakeville.  We have made this trip an annual tradition.  Last year when we visited the orchard Allie got stung by a bee.  I am so happy that we did not see any bees this year! 

We had lots of fun picking apples (which were super hard to find).  We gave up trying to find Honey Crisp and settled for Haralson but it seemed that 90% of the Haralson apples that were on the trees were rotten with brown spots.  The girls still had fun and were super excited to eat an apple after we were all done picking.  After we picked apples we had fun playing in the straw and running in the maze. We made apple crisp (which Allie calls honey crisp) when we got home. 

Pink Corvette

As we were finishing up supper tonight, the girls noticed a flock of about 10 turkeys crossing the street.  Allie and Katie quickly put their shoes on and tried to follow them down the street but the turkey's were too fast and got away.  One of our neighbors, Craig, saw us and invited us to come over and drive his daughter's battery operated pink Corvette.  Allie and Katie had so much fun spinning around and "driving" their own little car.  Bless Craig's heart because then he decided to take out a mini four wheeler and let the girls drive that for a while. I have always thought that Allie would be the maniac on wheels but tonight Katie was driving much wilder than Allie.  I am so happy that the 4 wheeler could only go about 5 miles per hour (Craig had it in a test mode). 

Puddles

Thursday afternoon we cleaned out the rest of my garden.  Katie and Allie so graciously helped me with the final cleanup.  As they were enjoying eating their last tomatoes of the year, Katie thought it would be a good idea to squeeze the juice out of some of the leftover tomatoes. They both got buckets and made quite a mess squeezing and juicing red, ripe tomatoes. Katie even got some juice in her eyes and started to cry and when I told her maybe she should stop, she replied, "No Mommy the birds need this juice to drink."  Bless her heart for taking care of all of the animals. 

As we were finishing with the garden we noticed there was a lot of water running down the street from the city flushing the fire hydrants.  The girls got so excited they ran and put their rain boots on and danced in the puddles.  It has been such a long time since it has rained it was so nice to see puddles again!

Blake's Play Date

So today when we were driving over to Blake's house for a play date, Allie told me that when she is a mom she is going to have twins, one girl baby and one boy baby. Katie agreed and said she was going to have twins too, one boy baby and one girl baby.  And then after much discussion they decided that they were going to babysit each other's children while the other one was at work. One thing that I always hope and pray for is that my girls will always be friends and always take care of each other.  It looks like we are on the right track!

I would have to say that our play date at Blake's house was fun because it was the first time the girls really played with boys their age.  Blake and his brother Sam, introduced Allie, Katie and Emily, to the alien game, and the super spy game, where all of the kids put on super big sunglasses and played with walkie talkies while hiding in Blake's house.  I think that it may be one of the cutest things that I have ever witnessed!  Thank you Blake for adding so much fun to our day!

"Pesty" Box Elder Bugs

This afternoon Katie and Allie decided they wanted to enjoy the beautiful afternoon at a park and it was decided that the "Soccer" Park, a park where they played their spring soccer games at, was the park they wanted to go to.  We packed our soccer balls and headed off to enjoy the wonderful fall weather.  What we didn't expect was the swarms of box elder bugs that were waiting for us at the playground!  I do not mind bugs and the girls are not that squeamish about insects but the amount of bugs at this park was even more than I could handle!  Katie told me to please keep the "pesty" bugs away and Allie finally told me that enough was enough, please can we go home!  Before we left we headed over to the soccer fields and kicked some balls for a while.  Katie and Allie looked so small on the big, regulation field.  It was a fun afternoon despite the bug invasion!

Allie trying to shoo the bugs away!

Haircuts

Today the girls had their haircut at Cole's Salon in Eagan.  This is only their 3rd haircut!  While we have been waiting patiently for their hair to grow and for Allie to stop playing with her hair, I decided that a little trim was needed.  Katie and Allie were excited but Allie hesitantly offered and asked Katie if she would go first.  Jennifer, the stylist, did a great job and even offered to braid their hair for me.  With their hair braided I must say they look older and more identical then ever!  For being such good sports they each got a lollipop as a reward.  On the way home we stopped by Daddy's work to show off their new look.



Katie



Allie

Fall weekend

Fall is here!  This weekend we tried to enjoy the beautiful but cooler fall weather.  As the leaves were falling off of the trees on Saturday, Katie said, "Look Mommy now it is fall outside."  The girls helped me clean up the garden and their task was to pick as many tomatoes as they could find.  I think they each picked about 20, eating many little red ones along the way. On Saturday afternoon we went to Long Lake Park and had fun log rolling down the hills and playing hide and seek.  Sunday we rode our bikes to the green park and we enjoyed finding lots of cool fall nature objects along the way like acorns, leaves, rocks and sticks.  Our highlight of the weekend was baking cinnamon bread from scratch and of course I had 4 little extra hands helping me the entire time! 

Sehr Gut

So lately Katie and Allie have been saying "Magoot" alot.  I have always been a bit confused about that word so today I finally asked them what they were saying.  They both giggled and said, "Magoot."  I then asked where they heard that word and they said that Grandpa says that word all of the time.  So I then asked them to tell me a time that Grandpa said it and Katie said, "Well Mom he says it after he eats a donut."  My German roots finally figured out what the word was, "Sehr Gut", which means very good in German.  Katie and Allie now say, "Sehr Gut" not "Magoot".  You gotta love Grandpa!

Watermelon

I cannot believe that I grew a watermelon in my garden.  We have been patiently watching a particular watermelon grow and today we decided to harvest it.  As I cut into it, I thought there is no way that this watermelon will be red, but it was both red and juicy.  We enjoyed every bit of it, eating it in the backyard and getting very sticky.  I am so glad that the girls were able to watch it grow into something that was so tasty!

Happy Birthday Jia

Today we celebrated Jia's 3rd Birthday. What a little blessing she is, my little niece. For some reason today she looked more grown up.  I think 3 agrees with her.  Here is a picture of 3 adorable girls enjoying Jia's Dora Birthday cake.

Oh Mommy

For the last 4 nights Allie has woken in the middle of the night, opened her door, stood in the hallway and softly cries "Oh Mommy."  I get up and carry her to her room and I ask her what is wrong and she replies, "Mommy, will you sleep with me?"  How could you resist this nominal request and this sweet face?

I am just hoping it is a short lived phase and she falls back into her normal sleep routine.

Cuddle Time

There are times when I like to reflect on my life and appreciate all of the things that God has given me. Often in the morning when the girls wake up, they like to cuddle with me. We gather the afghan that my mom knit me many years ago and we all snuggle. As the girls have grown, it has gotten harder to hold them both so now one lays beside me and the other one sits in my lap. During these times I like to pray and thank God for my angels. I always knew I wanted to be a mom but I am so lucky to be Kaitlyn and Allison's mom. Being a mom has far exceeded any expectation that I ever had. In my eyes my 2 little girls are the most wonderful creations ever.

So Grown Up

For some reason I think my little Katie as of yet is looking so grown up.  Wouldn't you agree?  This afternoon we had so much fun discovering some new clothes that were given to us by Auntie Mary.  What a great way to spend a windy, warm afternoon by playing dress up.

And here is silly Allie with bloomers on her head!

Please keep my dear friend Karen and her daughter Emily in your prayers....grant them the peace and serenity to get through these really hard times.

Grandparent's Day

On Sunday Katie and Allie we were able to celebrate Grandparent's Day with Grandma and Grandpa Lemke.  Our church had a special celebration in the afternoon honoring Grandparents.  Katie and Allie went to church with Grandma and Grandpa and everyone enjoyed a puppet show, an organ recital , some coloring and dinner.  I was so excited when my mom called and accepted the invitation to come!  Katie and Allie anticipated their arrival all afternoon and were so delighted to spend some alone time with Grandma and Grandpa.  We cannot thank Grandma and Grandpa enough for coming.

Garage Sale

For the last 3 days my neighborhood has hosted a neighborhood garage sale.  My good neighbor and friend Lora Lee volunteered to have a garage sale at her house and she was so kind to invite me to participate in it.  I have never had a garage sale before and I am not much of a salesperson but I thought I would gather some clothes, books and toys together and try to sell them.  I brought over about $100 worth of stuff and sold every piece, making $97.50 in change!  What was even more beneficial was the girls had so much fun playing with Lora Lee's girls, Emma and Avery.  Here is a picture of some future beauty queens pretending to drive their very stylish red convertible.

Tomatoes

Today we had fun picking tomatoes in the garden.  It has taken a while but I am finally harvesting some goods! 

The girls had fun helping me and eating many delicious tomatoes from my garden.  You can't tell but in these pictures the girls are eating some big tomatoes like they were apples!

Swimming Lessons

Thursday was our first swimming lesson at Wise Swim School and both Katie and Allie are enrolled in Mini Dolphins 2.  It is interesting to note that Allie did not cry at swimming lessons today but Katie cried 2 times.  Whenever the teacher makes Katie float on her back by herself, I think she gets scared and cries.  Their teacher's name is Allison and she recognized Katie's hesitation and backed off a bit which brightened Katie's mood!

Today was another day of extreme naughtiness.  I hope it is just a phase but boy has it been tough on me!  It all started with them getting into the cabinet and eating about 10 of Todd's cookies. When I found the girls hiding in the corner with the empty package of cookies, they totally lied and said they did not eat them.  When I told them it was not right to lie, they preceded to tell me that they did not like me and I would not be invited to their Birthday Party.  Then later in the day when I was upstairs putting away some laundry, I heard them mention that they were going for a walk over to our neighbor's garage sale.  I watched them as they both put on their shoes, opened up the front door and took off.  I ran after them and caught them before they left the yard.  When I told them that was not appropriate behavior, Allie told me that yes it was and I should not get mad at them.  I cannot believe how hard this parenting gig is at times.  Please say a prayer for me!

Welch Village

Today we decided to take the girls biking again on the Cannon Valley Trail.  This time we drove down to Welch Village and started our trip there. Here is a picture of Katie and Allie before getting on their bikes.

Here is Katie.

Here is Allie.

Of course we had to stop for a snack stop.

We biked about 3 miles in the hot and humid sun.  A lot of other bikers along the trail were very impressed with our 2 little bikers offering a lot of compliments to them along the way.  When we finished our bike ride a lady stopped me and told me about a little ice cream shop in Welch Village called "Chocolate."  We had to stop there on the way home and the girls enjoyed every bit of their Cotton Candy Ice Cream Cone. (I had a little lick of their ice cream and it tasted just like cotton candy.)  A gentleman in the ice cream shop stopped me and said, "You get the award for having the cutest kids ever."  I couldn't agree more with him!

As we were leaving, we took a walk down to the Cannon River and a dog took a liking to Katie and Allie.

Emily

Friday was our last morning of swimming at Cascade Bay.  We have had so much fun swimming this summer, in fact Allie, Katie and Emily all learned how to swim over the course of this summer!  At the beginning of the summer, there were no dolphin dives, no jumping in all by ourselves and no swimming on our own.  As the summer progressed all of the girls got braver and braver and wanted to try more things.  We all are so proud of our little swimmers!

This weekend we are taking care of Emily.  Emily's mom Miss Karen had some dental work done and is out of commission so when she asked me if I could help her out, I was more than happy to say yes. Friday we took Emily to the pool with us, then went to Lebanon Hills Park for a picnic and hike and then back to our house for a snack and play time.  We made apple smiles out of apple slices, marshmallows and peanut butter and then we brought Emily home around 4 PM.

Today I picked up Emily after I finished work and we went to the park, "Chutes and Ladders" in Bloomington.  We will have her tomorrow for a bit too.  Emily is such a dear to have around and all of the girls play so well together.  It was a great way to end our summer of fun together!

Lydia's Pool

This last Thursday we had the pleasure of swimming in Lydia's pool. A group of us lady friends were going to meet at a park in the morning but being the weather turned out to be so tropical, Laura (Lydia's mom) called us up and invited us over to swim in her pool instaed. We had a blast the short time we were there. We had to leave early to pick up my friend Karen at the dentist. 

In afternoon we had a swim lesson at Weis Swim School to determine what swim class to enroll the girls in this fall. . Allie swam about 10 feet on her own, floated on her back, and jumped in by herself. Katie did not swim so well and was being quite fussy.  I enrolled both girls in Mini Dolphins 2.  The teacher told me that for Katie to be in that class she would have to show me how she could swim 10 feet on her own.  Friday at the pool she did just that for me and she even remembered all of the skills the teacher taught her, like scooping ice cream with her hands and making fish cheeks so she wouldn't breath in any water.  We will start swimming lessons on Thursday!  Here are a few pictures of Allie from her swim lesson.