Summer: no time to stop, too much fun to be had!

Well summer break is officially halfway through and we finally have a week of calmness through the storm of friends/family and fun of this summer. I feel like every summer is the same, we say "we are going to get so much done!" And then we just get so busy we only get to half of our to do lists!

This summer we didn't have tons of plans (because of baby coming!) But we wanted to upgrade our dishwasher, buy a car, get new tires, get new phones, get the carpets cleaned, and get the baby's room ready! So far we are about halfway through our list. We still have yet to get the car or phones, but the baby's room is almost ready! All his clothes have been washed and organized, all our gear is cleaned and out, and Dean is getting excited for "baby out! Baby play!".

The main reason not everything on our list has been accomplished when we have "loads" of time is because of me being pregnant and a little more tired than normal, having a 2 year old, and lots of visitors!

New Basket Liners I sewed

We started out the summer going to the cabin, just our little family of 3.5 .Dean LOVES the beach this year, though he does wish the water at Superior was a bit warmer. Having our own place at the Hideaway has been really nice, and it's starting to feel a lot more comfortable and like ours. 

Shortly after getting back from the cabin we had a SUITIE REUNION and it was HERE, in Minneapolis, MN. We had such a good time, and I was so thankful to get to share where I live with my girls! It was a little warmer than it had been, but we spent all our time outside and exploring: Minnehaha Falls, Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet and Lebanon Hills. We got to go swimming, ate good food and got lots of icecream :) Found a new favorite dining location in South Minneapolis, Hola Arepa that was absolutely delicious!

Minnehaha Falls

Onesie Decorating for Baby A

Lebanon Hills Regional Park

The next week my parents arrived in MN and got to spend a week babysitting Dean! We were so thankful for their willingness to do it and I think they actually had fun! Mark and I worked a speciality camp in our district called "Nature's Engineers" and Mark spent the week teaching 4th graders about bees, and I taught 5th graders about wolves. It was a fun week and a nice way to make a little extra money for my maternity leave! We did have a small scare during the week that sent us to the hospital, but it turned out to just be an Ocular migraine, which I had never had before!

After a week away from Dean we were so excited to see him, and shortly thereafter Paul and Susan and babies showed up! What a wonderful visit with them we had! We went to the zoo, spent several days at the lakes and went swimming, ate at their favorite taco restaurant Pineda Tacos, and once again went on a hike at Minnehaha falls. No fireworks because the kids go to bed so early, but we enjoyed spending the holiday weekend with them.

The Zoo!

Henry Loves Kisses

Watching Mickey!

Ring around the Rosey

Throwing Rocks in Water

At Mom and Dad's in Northfield

In front of the "choo choos"

Henry wasn't scared to sit on the train

Lake Harriet

"Making Rain" with Paul

To continue our summer of adventure we left the day after they did for a little quiet time back at the cabin. We spent the first night there with the Staums, and then the rest of the time was just for us. We got to discover a new hiking trail that led us to a Hidden falls Trail, and Mark and I hiked it each carrying a baby (Dean didnt' want to walk much of the 3.5 mile trail). We also got to enjoy Steve and Nancy's boat and lots of swimming.

Riding Papas boat

Exhausting Hike carrying baby

Now I said we were busy right? The day we got back from the cabin our friend Ashley and her boy Jim from KC came to visit. Julie and Greg hosted (thanks guys!) We had a great time with them too, and Dean loved playing with his "JOOO" The babies were troopers and we took them swimming more at the beaches, out to eat for my first real Juicy Lucy Experience at The Blue Door in Mpls (only took living in MN 4 years!), and again ice-cream. (Can you tell I've been craving ice-cream this pregnancy?)

The Blue Door

Now when Ashley and Jim left we finally had a little bit of time before family events and fun so we decided to move Dean down to his big boy bed! We know he needs to get rid of the pacifier, and get potty trained, but we decided we'll try ONE thing before baby comes. Lucky for us it went SOOO smoothly! Since we put him down that first night he gets so excited for his "big boy bed", and sleep with Mickey! He has slept every night from about 8-8, and we have only found him on the floor one time. (Keeping our fingers crossed!)

Big Boy room

We had 4 days at home to get some of our summer things done, continue preparing for baby, and then we had another family reunion at the Aronson household with Mark's mom's side of the family, the Brosious side. We spent Friday night letting all the cousins get reacquainted because Sarah and the kids are in town. Dean LOVES watching his big boy cousins play, and got a hoot out of playing "baseball" with them for long periods of time. Saturday we went out on a boat for a Stillwater lunch and I met cousins and uncles of Mark's I've never met before. Saturday evening we had a party at his Uncle Joe's house in Stillwater and then we stayed in the Eastern suburbs and Mark's parents house that night because Sunday the party was at the Aronson household. I have to say at 34 weeks pregnant the whole weekend was overwhelming and exhausting but really fun to see Dean interacting and great to spend time with family.

Riding on the St. Croix River

Watching Golf with Papa

Throwing rocks in overflowing river

34 weeks pregnant

This week is another "week off" for us. We've spent some time off and on with the Staums and Johnstons, but for the most part just gotten more things crossed off our to do lists. We've had our first heat warnings this week, so with temperatures "feeling like" 105 we aren't spending much time outside, but Dean is being a trooper with his "choo choos", reading books and going to the store.

 Tomorrow we have an Aronson adult night, all the kids will be with baby sitters, and the Aronson siblings are getting dinner and drinks. We are excited for some adult time. And then Monday the craziness continues with the annual Aronson Cabin extravaganza, so I'm going to make sure to rest up before we go there. I'm 35 weeks tomorrow, but feeling pretty good as long as I take it easy. I'm still doing yoga almost daily, and yesterday even went to an OULA dance class, making lots of modifications. I'm hoping that by continuing to stay active like I did with last baby, that I will be strong and ready for birth!

35 weeks pregnant 25 weeks pregnant

Awesome Class!

So, I believe that is MORE Than long enough. I'm sure we'll have plenty to share in the coming month, with the due date of baby A (August 26th) looming closer and closer, we know our lives are about to change again!