Wonderful trip to the UP

Wenesday we woke up and were off to a great start of bagels and a road trip with Oma underway. We did of course forget things and poor Jim had to come and meet us halfway back to deliver them. I couldn't forget my fruit! The driving wasn't too bad and we passed the time when the girls were not fussing with " the lion the witch and the wardrobe" on audiobook. the girls weren't too bad and the smallest mostly slept. I had to visit her a little in the backseat though. We made evry good time and were at Mackinaw city in no time. The girls were anxious to get out of the car. When we were all settled in and Jeannie's pack and play constructed she was out like a light and Liesl had her swimsuit on. The waterpark in the hotel was awesome. It had several tube slides and all the bucket dumping we coups handle. Perfect for a little kid her age. I had to go down that slide with her so I know that she went down about 50 times or more that hour. No hesitation. The HUGE bucket on top of the structure even dumped on her full on once while we were getting ready to go down the slide and it didn't phase her. She loved it. We went back to Jeannie still asleep. She was very happy to get some restful sleep in the room. Finally aunt Barb, Kaethe and Autumn showed up and we all went to dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant. Liesl pigged out pb pizza eating every bit then ice cream and visited the outdoor mall. She did a little too much touching and mommy ended up buying something she didn't want to and I hope learned a hard lesson. Then it was back to the hotel and swimming for the rest of the night on the water slides and sleeping again for the little one in the hotel room. The next morning....more water slides for an hour and we were back on the road to the UP. We were headed up to Grand Marais to hike a bit and swim and take in some scenery. Liesl enjoyed her trip over the bridge and got to see a model of it in the welcome center which was cool. We got some hummy pasties for lunch.....best in a long time. We visited Seney National Wildlife Refuge on the way up. I have been dying to for so long. I have never been with all the times I have passed it. First we took the scenic drive. Saw a sandhill crane, deer, a beaver dam, swans with babies, loins with chicks and geese, osprey and eagles which were all a treat. The park was beautiful. The nature center was awesome but small. There was a sand table to make animal prints ob with a truckload of large rubber foot imprinted of all sorts of animals. Liesl had a ton of fun. Then there was a large loom exhibit showing loons above and below the water in thier habitat as well as wolf and coyote exhibit comparisons. We were then back on the road to Grand Marais. Aunt Barb's car had already been there for some time exploring the beach. After settling in we went to get some beers and snacks "downtown" and then took Liesl to the cute little park down at the beach and some swimming in lake Superior. Yet again the cold water doesn't phase her. Poor little Jeannie got a terrible rash ob her inner thigh and was bleeding. Don't worry it heqled by morning and is not even visible. The girls were easy to put to bed but Liesl now has a cold. The next day we woke up to Aunt Barb and Kaethe making waffles. Yum. They couldn't wait for us to get dressed so yet again we were on our own which was ok. We got a little lost going the wrong way and found a logging trail.... For the moat part..... With street signs.....lots of mud....didn't want to go offroading so turned around.....then found our way and visited pictured rocks. Started packing Sable dunes and Sable falls Liesl leading and Jeannie in the pack. Liesl took us up the dunes to see the water and then we turned around.....had to talk her into the falls by letting her have a ride in the pack while Jeannie went to the sling on Oma. liesl enjoyed herself and the pack is well made so she wasn't too much burden and it was comfortable. It was a nice hike with a long stairway going down the falls and back. We then headed to Munising for lunch at the Dogpatch after Liesl snuck in a 40 min nap. Been a long time. Jim would have liked it. On the way back visited Miner's Castle. I needed to insist. It is a must see and I let Liesl know that I would take her swimming. She got a walking stick in the gift shop and a new sticker book which she devoured in the car ride back. snuck in a little beach time, Liesl secretly likes being thrown in the water. There is a gorgeous sandy beach right outside our hotel and accross the street. Cold water but is nice in the hot weather. We met back up with the pack for dinner. Poor Jeannie doesn't get a moment to herself in that bed of hers it seems. Pizza was good and I bypassed the beer this time. I bought everyone icecreams in the gas station before we went back to the park so Oma could get tiny-might to bed. We didn't get long before it was time for us too. I couldn't keep my eyes open to finish the book but she fell asleep ok. Today we need to check out and haven't figured out what we are up to yet. I hope for another hike before heading to the cottage.

glasses arrived

today was Liesl's first day with glasses. it was a bear getting her into the fitting for them but once I got them on her at home she kept them on. she wore them most of the time not even noticing them. boy those things are super thick. I cant even see out of them. the three of us girls visited lakeside mall to spend a gift card for the Disney store where she wanted a Pocahontas babydoll. She was very good in the mall shopping for some time and exploring the store.We went to the boat this weekend to watch the fireworks. they were amazingly spectacular. I have not seen anything that nice since Disney. Liesl has been talking about going for the 4th for a month. she wanted it the same as last year; making sure aunt Melisa and uncle Scott came and the piazza was important to her. she ate all her piazza and she gave quite a few ohhhs and ahhhs and a whoo hooooo! On the actual 4th we visited a friend's house to bbq. we couldn't believe the weather! 2 hail storms within a couple hours! unbelievable. Liesl had a great time playing wit he kids and doing very little swimming. we huddled under the tent avoiding the hail stones. Liesl was so cute. she didn't want to leave. the very next day our air conditioning went out.....it would have to in the most hot stretch of the summer. luckily Jim was able to find a friend to fix it for him that had a heating and cooling business (Friday night for free). needless to say we three girls hung out in the pool when we could and cooled down in the bath frequently. going on vacation with mom in grand Morais soon. should be tons of fun. Liesl is looking forward to it. hope I can get these girls PACKED!

Nasty

Liesl decided to grab a silly cup with milk in it that she hid a couple days ago and take a drink.....she said that it was nasty. Heck yeah it was nasty. Jeannie and Liesl both had Dr appts this week.

eye dr for Liesl

Well 1 more Dr visit out of the way and I am not seeing the end to all of this. Liesl went to the eye Dr today to get her eyes checked and no surprise she needs glasses. I am thinking that it is going to improve some things for her because the Dr said that she has a pretty strong prescription. we were in there for 2 hours. it is quite a chore getting an almost 4 year old through an exam. hoping that this will make it a lot easier for her to read her letters because she is quite far-sighted. we then went to my eye Dr office to pick out and order the frames. no surprises again.... she picked out the Barbie frames. very cute glasses on her. I cant wait to see them in a week. Liesl has been pretty tolerant of these visits for a 4 yr old. she has another eye appt. and Dr visit with shots next month.....uhhhgh....oh yeah and she has to wear an eye patch to strengthen her right eye. good luck to me with that. on the bright side she looks cute in glasses.

we had quite a nice day yesterday with Oma exploring Shelby nature centers. it was very hot out so a little unbearable at times but we got to see some fun stuff and have a little picnic. she enjoyed herself with her magnifying glass and binoculars looking at flowers and searching for bugs and frogs. We topped the day off at the rainforest cate and daddy came home from Chicago. yay! we missed him so much. we had a nice dinner out on the patio last night and this and Liesl went in the backyard pool and sandbox to top it off. She had an awesome time in the pool and was thinking that she was in some kind of photo shoot tonight. There was even one picture of her beding over and putting her head strait into the pool. Looked pretty wild.

too many dr visits

This past week the girls had too many Dr visits for my liking. Jeannie had her hip ultrasound....which we will have to do a follow up with the orthopedic....uuugh. I feel so bad for her. She was so uncomfortable with it. Liesl did better than I expected on her Dr appointment. She behaved very well for the doctor despite her earlier protests about going. Only bad thing is that she has to do a follow up eye appointment on Monday. Good thing is I will be done until August.... not long enough. I just need to find a dentist for her. surprisingly she is excited about the dentist.Jeannie has been sleeping very well through the nights. She sleeps from about 9 until 7 in the morning strait through in her bassinet and then falls back asleep after eating for 4-5 hours or more. Liesl never slept so sound until 3! hope she keeps this up. Jim and I feel confident in her sleeping habits so much that I actually have left the house several times to run errands. She is doing great with holding her head up. she has been practicing her tummy time every day and thinking she is going to be rolling in a couple weeks. she loves her mobiles in her room. I have one in the crib and one on the changing table. she will lay in there and talk to it for 20 minutes sometimes. Jeannie seems to be cutting a few teeth. poor thing is doing that a little early and she is very fussy....at least for her. She is such a talkative little baby. I love listening to all of the wonderful. sounds she makes. She really likes it when I imitate. her. Liesl has been enjoying her pool time this week. we went to Lifetime a few times and to Barb Gater's to swim with her friends yesterday. She has really been practicing her skills in the water and she is almost there with treading water. She just needs a little more confidence. she was doing a good job in Barb's pool but Kayla was a little skittish so Liesl also played that game. even after all of the diving under she did at Lifetime. she was diving down to retrieve things for other little girls and making friends there. I was impressed. This week Gavin and Liesl went to the library together. Liesl loved it and brought book after book to the table for Heather and I to read to her. She also loved all the puzzles they had there too. it is too bad I don't have a Rochester library card anymore because I like them there so much better than Shelby. Liesl has been into the baby dolls this week. She now has a Tiana and a Merida baby doll along with the Aurora and Dora and Ranpunzel and they all talk together in elaborate games with her. I finally got the house organized this week and I am looking forward to working on the basement soon too. maybe I will get some stuff together for a garage sale this summer. I am so happy to have all Liesl and Jeannie's stuff organized and off the floor and so is Liesl. She even put away her toys after playing the other day because she likes finding her toys and not having to play with a jumbled up mess. It is to her advantage. She did a lot of helping in getting it all organized. Liesl is very excited to see fireworks off the boat. she has been talking about it for weeks. hope it is everything she dreamed of.Daddy took her to see Brave this past week and again the next day with Oma and Grandad and Jeannie and I. She loves that movie. She has been imitating a Scottish accent and saying the lines from the movie. Especially "feast your eyes" pretty funny. I'd like to see it again myself. it was quite cute.

Projects for the day

Today I had a few projects that I completed among getting the kids occupied and happy. I completed another taggie blanket and a bean bag cover to put all the kids stuffed animals into. liesl said it was comfy. The bean bag chair is just a little heavy with newbie babies in it and I will have to store those elsewhere. Since the organizing of my craft/tea room I have been able to get my mind in order and my supplies. I really enjoyed being able to find things today. I love making home made things and the next taggie blanket will go on Etsy. Thinking it won't be as complicated. Plus the next monster will go on there. Hoping for Liesl's input to help. Today I didn't do as well with that task and I feel guilty about the amount of TV she watched. For bedtime Liesl and I read "The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe" more than 50 pages! She really enjoyed it and I can't wait for tomorrow. It is much easier than reading the same books over and over. Yesterday the girls and I spent time at mom's getting the "walking" baby toys together since this little one is growing so fast and getting more and more ready for them. Liesl was a very good girl when mom and I took the girls to Vincent and Joe's. Before dinner Liesl was making up a song to aunt Melisa. "I do what I want to".....then she looks at her foot which she just realized she cut and sings " and I cry when I'm bleeding" but she didn't. It was so funny....but the cut was pretty bad and I am amazed she didn't cry. We all ventured out to Scott and Melisa's new place to check out the construction. I can't wait! The place is amazing cool and have been meeting lots of kids in thier neighborhood. They are almost to the drywall meeting. Liesl spent father's day watching Madagascar III with daddy and some mediocre Chinese food. She behaved so well for him and made him happy and proud.

Jeannie' s Dr. Visit

Jeannie visited the Dr. Today and we were taking bets on her weight this morning. I was betting 12..... She is 11 lb 15 oz. Well I was pretty close there. 23.5 inches. Everything is ok and she is getting another slew of shots...ergh. age has been doing better with her play yard and likes the swing. When we got into the office today she was giggling up a storm. I knew we would be leaving with her upset. We got too many shots for my liking. Poor little thing cried so hard. Then they sent us down for a mysterious ultrasound on her hips. I think it is just easier for them to send her for tests than it was for them to send her sister with the office being on the hospital. The Dr. Said just to be safe because the hip problems are more often with girls.
Our friend From from Florida came in yesterday and we spent the day in ferndale with him. Liesl was flirting with him like crazy, constantly wanting to have his attention. Love Facet, he is the awesomest. He really gives her his full attention even though he doesn't have his own kids he really knows how to interact with her and make her feel special. We had made her a really cute ugly doll....hahaha  I used some embroidery on the eye and mouth to make it special. We had just made it that morning and she wanted to show it off to him. I love how she makes major decisions in the project. Will show it off later. This morning I finished off
A lovey for Jeannie that is really cute with some fleece and some ribbons I have been saving. I used
A cute heart embroidery to finish it off.