Summer Days

A typical summer day in the Douglas household looks like this...

Cate on my lap, as usual.

My contaminated water after I let Cate drink some.

Mom's view of Bronwen and Ava's rear ends and legs behind the table as they are eating their cat and dog food (goldfish), respectively.

Ava, running back into the house after I called her in to pee in the toilet when I saw her about to go in the yard (like a dog). She will probably be the actress in the family as she tends to stay in character.

Life doesn't get much better than this. :-)

A New July 4th Tradition is Born

Conrad and I decided to take the girls about an hour south to an indoor water park/ hotel called The Great Wolf Lodge for the 4th. Honestly, guilt made us do it! With a lot of the firework shows starting at 10 (really? and this was advertised as a family event?), we weren't up for going out to the see the displays. However, we didn't want to just sit around and do nothing. Thus the idea of a mini-vacation was born! We had a relaxing time (i.e. no laundry, making beds, cooking or cleaning), the girls got to work on their swimming, and Cate got to go in a pool for the first time.

The Entrance

A Peek-a-boo View of the Indoor Water Park

Oh yeah, sweets were to be had!

Cate getting ready for her first swim

Baby Wolves


I love this man!

Catching up: Bronwen's birthday!

We now have a 6-year-old in the house! Bronwen was living it up for almost the whole month of June with birthday festivities in her honor.

Mrs. Crowley, her wonderful teacher, allowed us to celebrate in her classroom.

The following weekend we celebrated with some of her classmates at Chuck E Cheese. I forgot the camera, but you can imagine the scene: a million happy kids running around, filling up on pizza and cake. The coolest part is when they put her in a booth and she had to grab as many tickets as she could in a minute. She got so many!

Then came her actually birthday, which included homemade lasagna (her favorite) and cake and ice-cream with the family.

I love our big girl more than words can describe. She has a sweet and gentle spirit and is always willing to help others. She is always striving to do the right thing. I am so proud to be her mom. Happy birthday my love!

Sleeping Arrangements

Hi my little sweetheart. I bet you've been having the grandest time sleeping in my bed during the last 6 months.



Turns out it's not the convenience it used to be. You have gone from being a great sleeper to a little monster who likes to wake up every few hours to nurse, and I let you because I don't want to deal with the crying.



I'm afraid I have to break both of us of that bad habit (i.e. time to move you to your crib).



Maybe I'll start tomorrow, though. I still can't think of not snuggling with you all night.

Schooool's out for summer!

Yep, I've been humming that tune all day because why? Bronwen's school year ended today and summer has officially begun! Bronwen and Ava began the festivities by putting on their favorite dog and cat costumes in the backyard (love the slots in their tricycles "for their tails," as Ava told me). In case you're wondering, yes, they have regular bikes, but they're in the garage so they won't rust over with our surplus of rain.

Next up, we headed out to a nearby lake and had fun playing, visiting the ducks and making sand-castles. Man how I love summer!

Father's Day Photoshoot

Today we had the first sunny day in a week! What does that mean? Photo making time! I broke out the tripod and took some pictures for a collage I'm making Conrad for Father's Day. Here are some of my favorites -enjoy!

Kitchen Remodel Complete!

What's the best thing to do when you pull your house off the market? Remodel of course! Last week completed the painful month-long process of remodeling our kitchen. We had the granite and slate backsplash professionally installed, but I did the cabinets, island, faucet and helped Con with the lights. The only thing left is crown molding -yeah! The improvement is 100%! For those of you planning on remodeling in the future, the process takes a toll on your sanity (especially if you like things clean and organized) almost as large as the toll on your wallet. :-p