family friends and fun

This Memorial weekend, Matt flew to South Carolina to officiate at a bike race. I stole this picture from someone's facebook page because I think it's a cool shot that shows Matt hard at work -- and this side of him deserves to be captured in the blog for posterity. He worked at the US Pro Time Trial and Road Race Championships. This picture was taken at the start of the road race, and as Comm 2, he got to manage the front end of the race.

Victoria and I, left to our own devices, had fun of our own ... even if we had to live with temps only half of what Matt had in SC.

On Saturday, we went to Boreal Natives -- I was sooo excited to find a native plant greenhouse only about five minutes from my house! We then picked up my friend Erika at her parents' house (and got to visit with her parents for awhile too), then went to brunch at Chester Creek Cafe. It was so great to have girl time -- something I get so rarely. After we came home, V had a nap, and when she woke up, it was time to go work in the garden. She played in her sandbox while I planted tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cucumbers. When it came time to plant the columbine we had purchased at Boreal Natives, Victoria decided she had to help.

Apparently, it was her job to take compost out of the bag handful by handful ...

... put it in the plastic container ... 

  

... then dump it into the hole!

She was being so helpful that it didn't even matter how black her hands and clothes were getting.

That is, until I walked away for just a split second. When I came back, she handed me that plastic container -- with the columbine perfectly nestled inside. I actually had to stop and think for a second -- I DID just plant that columbine, didn't I? My smarty pants daughter had yanked the columbine up by the leaves, through all the compost and dirt we had just packed around it, and since the roots still held potting soil in the shape of the container, it fit back inside the container like a puzzle piece. I'm sure to her little mind I had simply left that plant in the wrong place, and she was putting it back where it belonged. She looked so proud of herself handing me the potted plant. Thankfully, she was ok when I convinced her we really could plant it and leave it in the ground this time.

We were invited to an impromptu brunch at my cousin Brooke's house on Sunday. Cousin Rachel was up north for a visit -- her first since returning from a year abroad in Costa Rica.

We played in Brooke's new family room ...

Bob, Grandma Marge, Cruz, Jett, me, and Victoria

Grandma gave V rides in the plastic tub ...

And we all sat down for a delicious breakfast.

Dad, me, Mom, Victoria, Uncle Ron, Jett, Teresa, Brooke, Cruz, Grandma Marge, and Bob

Same as above except this time Rachel is actually in the photo!

After brunch, it was time for more greenhouses. My mom came with V and I while we went and bought annuals for my planters. Since I owed my Dad a Bridgeman's Triple Treat Sundae for helping to take care of the dogs while Matt was gone, we then all went to Bridgeman's together.

Taking Grandma and Grandpa out for ice cream

By Monday morning, the rain and grey and cold were getting so old. I was vacuuming standing water out of our basement bathroom and cursing the limited amount of time to work in the garden.

There were two who didn't mind the rain, though!

We had a doggie play date on Monday morning with our friends Joan and Jack. My dogs treated every pool of standing water in our yard as a doggie spa. That's only understandable, though, after all the hard work they did earlier killing a whole slew of chipmunks and mice. I was baffled about why they were all of a sudden able to catch all these critters until I decided on my theory -- the animals must have been getting flooded out of their underground dens, poor little ones! I felt bad for Jack, because my girls were so focused on chipmunks they didn't even want to play. Joan assured me, though, that running in our yard was the best time Jack had all weekend.

I put two wet, dirty puppies in their kennels and jetted to town, where V and I joined a caravan of family members on our way to pay respects to my grandpa and great-grandpa.

Victoria was the first one to lay a flower on my grandpa's grave. I have no idea how she knew to do this -- but she was given a flower and she walked right over and laid it down. Very touching.

Cruz and Jett joined in. 

At a nearby cemetery, we left flowers for my great grandpa too.

Victoria and I ended the three-day weekend with pizza and a movie with Uncle Adam and my friend Steven (and a brief visit from our friend Kerri!).

Despite all the rain, we had so much fun and feel so blessed to have seen so many wonderful family and friends.

Playing Outside

We've been outside a lot lately, and have some photos and videos of V playing to share.

One day we played on the back patio, where she tried to bring me every rock she could pick up:

The other night we were on the deck just before bedtime, and she turned Daddy's ladder into an obstacle.

And finally, a couple videos of more play time on the deck. The first one is her playing peekaboo behind the grill, and the second is her attempt to put shoes on Mommy's feet ;).

The dogs love all this play time outside too! Every time we go out to play, all the girls come with us for lots of fresh air and sun.

Guilty

Last night V and I arrived home after kindermusik class to a frustrated husband -- water was leaking into our basement again. I put V down and she wandered off while Daddy and Mommy discussed house issues. After a couple minutes I realized the house was strangely quiet, and I asked Matt, "where did Victoria go?"

I checked the dining room and living room ... no Victoria.

Matt checked the bedrooms and bathrooms ... no Victoria.

I broke out my peekaboo voice ... "where's Victoria? where's Victoria?"

This time, when I came into the living room, I could hear grunting coming from the other side of the couch. "uh ... uh ... uh ..."

What was she doing?


And then I came around the couch and laughed. She was sitting with a box of kleenex, and obviously had taken about half the box out quietly by herself, one.tissue.at.a.time.

And clearly, when she realized Mommy was looking for her, she figured out she better get those kleenex back in the box FAST. She had handfuls of them, trying to shove them by the fistful back into the box. The grunting was her pushing REALLY hard because they just wouldn't all fit back into the box!

They wouldn't all fit back in!

When I rounded the couch she froze and looked at me with big "uh oh" eyes. Wish I could have captured that moment on film. At least she made Mommy and Daddy laugh, and then helped me pick up the rest of them.

Texas Trip

A little over a week ago, the human members of the Moses family boarded a plane to Texas to visit Matt's parents. This was our first time visiting their new Texas house, and V's first time to meet her Grandpa Earl. We spent five days seeing some of their favorite haunts (restaurants, air force bases, national shooting center) and places from Matt's childhood (he spent about three years there in junior and senior high). A few nuggets from our trip:

• We learned that Matt was apparently really neat as a baby. That means V definitely gets her messiness from Mommy.
• Texas hill country is really beautiful. This is the type of place that makes me understand the current obsession with outdoor living rooms -- you really can spend so much time outside.
• If you were to spend lots of time outside, you'd have to learn to live with huge grasshoppers (see above) and other bugs, lizards (Earl and Gail had a resident under their patio table), and tarantulas. Thankfully I didn't see any scorpions or snakes. Poisonous things really scare me!
• Victoria showed us how much she really likes beans ... in soup, refried, pinto beans, in chili. She loves beans!
• The best Mexican food I've ever had is at el Chapparel. I think I would fly to Texas just to eat there.
• I love Texas farmhouses and Spanish tiled roofs.
• I added a few new birds to my life list: white winged dove, roadrunner, caracara, mockingbird, scissor tailed flycatcher, and black vulture.

Flying with an 18 month old was more challenging than with a 13 month old. She is more mobile, more opinionated ... she did not nap on our drive to Minneapolis as we'd planned, so when we got on our flight we were worried about how she would do. We landed in San Antonio at 5:30 with a little girl who hadn't napped ALL DAY and who was screaming and fussy -- she didn't want snacks, or water, or toys, or for us to even look at her. Thankfully the flight back was much better, as it was a midday flight. After we landed, she napped for about three hours in the car on the way north.

Here are my favorite pictures from the trip:

These photos were taken in a swing that belonged to Earl's grandfather, and was hanging in his mother's porch for years. It now hangs from a beautiful oak tree in their backyard, with a stunning view of the Texas hills.

Last Day of Vacation

I'm starting with the last day first. Just to show how unique and different I am.

Either that, or it's because all the Texas photos are on Matt's camera and haven't been downloaded yet.

We arrived home from Texas last night. Since day care was still closed today, our last day of vacation was spent at home. And it was absolutely perfect.

Let me start by explaining that when we arrived home, it was still over 80 degrees around 6:00 pm. It was sunny and gorgeous -- the same weather we'd had in Texas. All the trees had leafed out, the apple trees are in magnificent, bee-buzzing bloom, and our resident grouse were drumming around the house. My perennials and fruit were looking good (only one plant looked stressed after not being watered), the fish looked happy enough, and the pups ... well, let's just say they were excited to be home, even if it wasn't because WE were home. Hannah went straight for the laundry room to check for treats, and Piper made a mad dash for the woods. (Hannah at least stopped to say hi to me on her way to the house.) The dogs' blatant priorities made us all laugh!

My family was all here, due to a very gracious suggestion from my brother. To save us work after our long day of travel and long drive home from Minneapolis, they arranged to deliver all "the goods" -- dogs, kennels, seedlings, Matt's truck -- home when we got here. Thanks Adam (and the rents!) for being so awesome!

The most precious moment of the evening: seeing V walking towards me, holding out a bouquet of dandelions. I had JUST commented to Matt on the drive home about how I couldn't wait for the day Victoria would pick me dandelions. And not even half an hour later, she's walking towards me with "flowers," the bright yellow eclipsed only by the look of pride on her face. I'm guessing she had a little help from Grandma and Grandpa, but it was perfect nonetheless!

This morning, Victoria and I spent over an hour outside, pulling weeds, playing in the rocks, and lounging in the hammock. Then we had a play date  -- our new friend Amy and her daughter Tenley came over, and we played in the living room, had a snack, then played out in the yard and took a walk down to the river (Victoria squealed when the pups jumped in the river). Matt spent the morning doing house projects ... installing a gutter for my rain barrel being the most exciting, IMO. After lunch, V went down for a nap, and I took both dogs to the vet. Maybe they didn't think a vet visit was vacation-worthy, but a day with them at the vet is better than a day at the office. On our way home, my parents called ... they had a pick-up truck full of composted manure, ready to go into my vegetable beds! I whipped on some work clothes and grabbed a shovel, and eight wheelbarrow loads later, the vegetable beds are looking awesome and ready for vegetables! While I was shoveling, Matt worked on other yard projects and V was a little angel, keeping herself happy with her slide and sand box.

(Hyper Piper, likely feeling deprived after five days away from the woods, kept getting in trouble for wandering too far and not coming back when called. She eventually earned herself confinement in the dog yard.)

We ended the day with the most delicious venison hamburgers I've ever tasted, cooked to perfection on the grill, followed by a quick trip to town for an evening dish of ice cream, where we even got to spend a few minutes with Uncle Adam, who was on duty but able to stop by for a quick hello. Hannah and Piper even went along for the ride.

I could totally get used to days like this.