first summer popsicle

i think aunt tessa has made my kids popsicle lovers, so every summer, i am constantly making some fruit blend popsicles to satisfy their hankering for the delicious cold treat. i mean, they do look pretty tasty on a hot summer day! today i made half watermelon/half lemonade, so yummy!! i just may be turning into a popsicle lover myself (i do love the macchiatto popsicles that i make for jesse and myself!).

school's....out....for.....summer!!!

the kids had their last day of school on june 13th, and it was pajama day...how fun!! they were both so excited to be finished with school and have a much deserved break:) another year over....i truly can't believe it. these kids are growing so quickly and amazing me every day. they have both grown so much  this past year, and i am just so proud of them! quinn finished her last year at preschool, so we said good bye to a very wonderful nursery school (wipe tear now), and ryder finished his last year at our k-2 elementary school, he will be heading over to lincoln next year for 3-5. lots of sadness in this transitional point, but we all know there is lots of excitement to come in this change and growth! but, for now, we can take a break, and just enjoy our summer vacation!!

kitchen skills at work

the kids picked piles of sour grass (an edible wild grass that they found in san francisco, and is also here in wisconsin), and wanted to make their own salads for dinner. they both put oil, lemon juice, zest (they got that from their dad), salt and pepper, and some parmesan cheese. happy kids and happy mom!

cave point county park

our favorite place that we discovered was, cave point county state park. we first hiked around the beach, the kids had fun running up and down the shoreline, away from the cold waves (totally reminded me of all the beach days we had in san francisco), and then we turned around and started walking toward the rocky point, which then led us to some amazing views and discoveries!

just hopping on the rocks, trying not to get wet was super fun, but then we started to get into all these cave formations, that were created over the waters edge (and at these points the water was like a greenish blue color....it was so gorgeous). the kids would have to traverse across some pretty sketchy rock, but they both did an amazing job. it was so great to discover something new and amazing together as a family. what else does wisconsin have that we don't know about? 

camping trip to door county

we finally made the trip to door county.... man, i can't believe it took us this long to finally do it. we weren't going for the cherries, the quant shops, the charming little towns, or the salt water taffy (well, okay that one was in the back of my mind), our goal was to see what this place had to offer, in terms of geography. and, i'm telling you right now, we were NOT disappointed!

we camped up in pennisula state park, in early june, so it was quiet and a little chilly (both are positives in my book). we kicked it on the beach, searching for shells, rocks, playing with sand, we hiked around the acres of land in the state park (jesse was determined to find morels, but we couldn't truly identify a dying elm....so that was pretty challenging), and jesse got got out did some painting......a pretty successful trip.

love our friends

when quinn and i returned home from our errands, we noticed a beautiful package on our doorstep! this lovely vase of iris's, and a cute picture for quinn....from our sweet friends! these flowers have been making our home smell so delicious, wow!! love having awesome friends.

helping pays off

the perk of helping mom in the kitchen, is getting to clean up! homemade marshmallows...this is like the best marshmallow fluff around!!

her sweet world

the nice thing about a wonderful imagination....it can go anywhere!