Hi everyone!

I know I didn’t post last weekend or this past week, but there was good reason. This last week has been a week of birthdays (and a gotcha day)! Instead of trying to post as I went along, I decided it would be best to stay in the moment and enjoy it all. So this post might be a bit long—sorry guys.

Last week I took Friday off so I could get some time with my mom for my birthday. We spent the day at the lake, which was amazing. In the morning we watched Cruella on Disney +. I really enjoyed the movie. Then mom got coffee and bagels and we had a nice brunch. In the afternoon it officially became summer for us as we went out on the lake and went swimming for the first time this year! Mom and I both love the water, and I can’t wait to share that love (while not forcing it) with our future kiddo. Mom left the lake late afternoon so that the really exciting part of my birthday weekend could happen—my best friend Mary and her family came to visit!!! This was the first time we saw them in about 16 months, thanks COVID. They took a half day and drove to our cabin to spend the weekend. Andrew didn’t take Friday off but he came down after work.

We spent the weekend catching up, playing with Conor (their one and a half year old), and eating delicious food. Friday night we were just all so thrilled to be together again. We learned that a barking Goldy scares Conor, but only until he stops barking. We stayed up late talking and it was just amazing. Saturday, I made smoked eggs for breakfast. We set up the new water table Andrew and I bought at Costco and got to play around with Conor getting everything wet. Conor also figured out he could walk out on the dock and wanted to walk up and down it about a million times—but it was so cute! Don’t worry, we never let him go out there alone, one of us was always holding onto his hand or life jacket. After Conor’s nap time, we (slowly) got ready to go out on the lake in the pontoon. Most of the day was spent inside because it was 100* and humid, but when we got cloud cover we took our chance to get on the water! Jobe and I went in, but then we started hearing thunder, so we didn’t stay out long. Better to be safe than sorry and make it back before the thunderstorms hit. Conor' got dipped into the water briefly as well! I have to say, Conor is the first little kid I’ve seen at the lake that hasn’t hated wearing a lifejacket! He was all smiles and loved being out on the water, even if we made him wear his life jacket. Dinner Saturday night was smoked stuffed tomatoes, smoked ribs, pesto pasta, and coleslaw. All of it was amazing. Conor got a bath and I had a lot of fun reading him bedtime stories while he snuggled with me! After Conor went to bed, the four adults played a Hunt a Killer premium mystery called Space Madness—it was a lot of fun! We managed to safely solve the mystery and launch our “space ship” on the correct course to head home.

Sunday was bittersweet. We got more time with Mary, Jobe, and Conor but they also had to head back around 1 PM. We watched some of the 101 Dalmatians and enjoyed Andrew’s amazing french toast. After breakfast, we went out on the pontoon again. We did a trip around all three parts of the lake and enjoyed the nice weather out on the water. I was so sad to watch them pack up their car and leave but it was just the best birthday weekend I could ask for. Below are some great pictures from the weekend.

Andrew’s birthday was next! His birthday was on Wednesday. To celebrate, he has a city charter commission meeting. Just kidding, we had a delicious dinner on Wednesday night but put off our true celebration until this weekend. Yesterday we got takeout, which was the first time that we had something besides Costco Pizza as takeout in ages. Andrew picked the restaurant and what he wanted to eat. With dinner, we watched In The Heights. It was a great movie! A great end to a relaxing day (which I’ll touch on in a second).

Friday I took the day off to do some yard work and catch up on sleep I missed last weekend. Andrew took the afternoon off as well. The final “birthday” was actually Goldy’s gotcha day! We got him 5 years ago on June 11. He loved having us around and not working as much. After lunch, we went to run errands. The most important stop was Von Hansen’s meat to get Goldy a couple of treats. We got him a bone and a pig’s ear. He was thrilled when we gave him the bone on Friday! We spent some more of our afternoon thinning the apple buds on our two apple trees. It seemed like a really daunting task, but it went much better than we thought! With all of our work out of the way, we could relax the rest of the weekend!

Yesterday I started out by going to a coffee talk put on by my church. It was in our local park, which is just a beautiful place to spend time. I came home to Andrew and Goldy. Andrew had started the smoker for smoked eggs, which is one of our favorite breakfasts now that I can make them myself! We spent the rest of the day relaxing both inside and outside. I got out the plastic kiddie pool and filled it from the hose as a way to keep cool. Between that and our two sun umbrellas it was pretty great to be outside. I finished the book I started a month ago too. Goldy got his pig’s ear treat and proceeded to bury it not once, but twice. He got so dirty doing this that he had to come into the pool to be cleaned off! This was not his favorite thing but he seemed to enjoy that it helped cool him off as well. Andrew spent some time playing Destiny and some time reading. We ordered in dinner from one of our favorite restaurants and enjoyed a cool evening watching the movie in the basement.

So far today, I haven’t been outside much. It’s hot and sunny but also windy so the umbrella’s aren’t super stable. I took it easy this morning and then worked on writing this post. Andrew is currently down playing Destiny again and after I finish up here, I’m changing into my swimsuit and heading outside and to the kiddie pool again!

~Natalie