What We Do

My brother asked me the other day what we do all day. I thought wow, I should really be documenting it for the kids' sake, so they remember what we did do. We don't do all of these things everyday, but we do a lot of them most days.

So on this day, it rained. I know, it's hard to imagine, but it did. And it rained everyday before that for like a month. Our driveway had lots of good puddles, which Evie asked to ride her bike through and actually asked me to go get the camera and take pictures of her doing it. Graham did it too, but his splashes weren't nearly as impressive :)






Don't you just love the locket with the muddy t-shirt and sweats? :)




All this activity takes some fuel. Here they are with their crazy bed heads eating breakfast. Graham has honey nut cheerios, and in fact some nights wakes me up in the middle of the night just to double check that that is what he is having in the morning. Evie has toast with peanut butter and honey or bread with "matilda" (translation...Nutella) spread on it.



Being educated at home has its perks...like reading to your little brother. Evie has really come a long way this year. I'm so proud of her, and she is really developing a love of reading (which I love about her!)



I know this won't last, but for now they love helping me with the laundry. They sort it, and then help each other carry/scoot the basket to the washing machine. Then they load it and I do the rest. If only they could hang it up!






This may be a lofty goal, being as we will be having a baby soon, but we also plan on having a garden this year. The kids planted a bunch of seeds, and it has been lots of fun to watch them grow. The greenhouse has been great for getting everything started early. Here are the kids in their Easter outfits showing off their plants. No it wasn't Easter, but they insist on wearing them A LOT. I made the mistake of telling them that as soon as Easter was over they could wear their dressy clothes anytime they wanted, and they do. I'm laughing as I look at this picture and realizing how amish they look :)



Any day that is remotely nice they ask to have a picnic in their playset. I'm a sucker for picnics and rarely say no, although right now I'm too large and uncomfortable to go up there with them.




Evie likes to have a centerpiece at her picnic; this time it was dandelions in a dixie cup.




Obviously the runner on first takes T-ball a little more seriously than she does :)




When we first moved in, we couldn't find a good spot to hang our tv. So we post-poned it and post-poned it, and then we realized how much better off we are without it. We still have our computers and our netflix, but it's amazing how many games we play, books we read, and the real shocker: I started sewing. Nothing spectacular, but I did try making an outfit for Evie. It's loud and wild, I know. But she loves it and that's what's important :)




And last but not least is their favorite...going in the creek. Somebody who lived here before us must've "accidentally" disposed of glass bottles down there, so we have to be careful with little feet, hence the unfashionable sandals :)





She likes to throw in anything she finds.




What happens when you jump around too much...and even though the air was hot, that water was cold, so he is being a really good sport..still smiling!






And the perfect way to unwind after lots of creeking...lying with daddy in the hammock!

Look Out!

No really, look out. Graham is you-know-what on wheels. He has started riding his bike sans training wheels, and he is danger in the flesh. He has no concept of slowing down or using his brakes, or looking where he is going for that matter. I have gasped countless times witnessing this madness, sure that it is going to end with blood and bruises. But I guess practice makes perfect, and he really loves it. I'm so glad we moved out here where we have a looong driveway, so at least I don't have to worry about other cars (just my own which you would think would be safe in the garage but I'm not so sure about that).

Pardon the black and white pictures (I like to show at least some color), but well...being a boy with an older sister is tough. Especially when your mom is too cheap to buy you a boy's bike, because she knows you're just going to outgrow it soon anyway and there's a perfectly good one right here.



He really doesn't know how to stop; that wasn't a joke. He runs into the field when he wants to stop (documentation in the next picture).



Ok, so he does look up every once in a while. But only when I yell, "Look where you're going!"

a much needed vacation!

If you are like me, summer in Indiana is a vacation in itself, but winter is like a dark deep hole that seems to never end. So for that reason we decided (well I decided and everyone else just went along with it) to get the heck out of here and head to a warmer climate! San Diego was our destination, and we had such a good time. The weather was unbelievable, and we got to spend lots of time together swimming, sleeping, sight-seeing and most importantly not cooking, doing any dishes or shoveling snow. And it helps that we got a really good deal on priceline! :) The only downsides were that we had a red-eye flight on the way out which took a day or so for the sleepy kids to recover from, and my camera battery went dead with no charger in sight. I got some pictures before it died, but I'm disappointed that I didn't get more. Stupid human trick--always bring your charger!

I made a short movie of the pictures, but there are also still pictures below in case you wanted to see those instead. The kids, Greg, and I were all laughing through this thing. Must be the song or the silly faces Graham is making.

Untitled from Sara Willhelm on Vimeo.

What's a vacation without a heated pool and a boy who can't keep his pants pulled up?



Oh to be 5 again and not care about or notice wedgies...



We spent a little time in La Jolla where there are seals on the beach. I couldn't get close enough to the seals to get a good shot of them, but I did get yelled at by one seal activist. I stepped about 6 inches inside the rope to get a shot of my kids on this rock and apparently almost killed a baby seal in the meantime which was at least 100 yards away. I kindly stepped back inside (but only after I got the shot I wanted ;))








Then onto Sea World where nobody cares how close you are to the animals! Evie is a FANATIC when it comes to animals, especially marine life. She was in heaven.



Sting rays...couldn't believe you could touch all these things!



We stayed in Carlsbad where they had the best beach. And since it is February, we had it mostly to ourselves except for the locals (who are all very tan and fit by the way; I guess I would be too if I had weather like that all year long)









Have to show that Greg and I were actually on this vacation. 6 months pregnant and largish looking--but I'm with my kiddos, and anytime I can document that I will :)

Girlfriends

I always seem to have good fortune when I visit second hand stores. Evie loves to dress her doll just like her, and when I found this outfit with crazy ruffle bottom pants and an "e" on the shirt complete with a matching American Girl outfit for $8 I almost lost screeched for joy. Unfortunately no one was with me to share my excitement, but she sure did like it when I brought it home to her! And she wore it in the middle of July. I am thrilled that she can finally wear it without sweating :)

Love this girl!







Still can't believe any daughter of mine is this pretty. And she's growing up so fast.

One Tree

I need to be posting to this blog like I need a whole in my head. I am so far behind on my business stuff that I can't even see straight, but I can't resist right now. People have been asking to see pictures of our new place, and although that's not what this is, it will give a taste of our new home in the country. This fall hasn't been the prettiest I've seen...pretty much everywhere I look I see lots of dead thanks to no rain at the end of the summer for what? 8 weeks? But there is one tree in our yard that catches my eye each time I pass it. The way the sun shines through it at sunset takes my breath away, and I always think to myself, I need to get Graham out there to take his picture next to it! (I just took Evie's pictures--those are to come soon) Well tonight I did. He needs a haircut and a bath, but did I mention I'm behind on my work stuff? :)









Hmm...wish somebody would've gotten Evie ready today! :)

High Tea

Evie is a tea party kind of girl. She loves to have tea parties here at home with water and fake "crumpets". I decided it was time to take her to a real tea party. I had been to the Ritz Carlton in downtown Chicago for tea once before, for my sister in law's bridal shower (otherwise I'm positively sure I would have never gotten to experience such a thing). Since I went, I'd been anticipating the day when I could take Evie there for a real tea. It was on the top floor of the Ritz, and Evie has been talking about going to tea at the "tallest tower of the hotel" since I told her about it. It was sheer joy watching her enjoy it, calling everyone "My darling", and commenting on how good her food and tea was. What a great time we had!

We almost missed our train (I keep wanting to call it a bus, but as it turns out, Jess my sister in law who is from the Chicago area, reminds me each time that it is in fact on tracks) but a 5 foot nothing maybe 90 pound Jess scooped Evie into her arms and sprinted up 2 flights of stairs JUST in time to get on the train! Special thanks to Miss Liz for letting us stay with her since we couldn't afford a room after our tea! :) And thanks to my mom and Jess for going with us!

Just before we got our tea, you can see her excitement...



Practicing the tea hold...





Rebecca made the trip too, so they brought her her own chair. Adorable!



She loved the sugar cubes.



Our food was really good. But then I really like food.



This is a French press (in case you are ever on Jeopardy)







After our waiter took this one, he said, Oh perfect! Umm..yeah except for the guest of honor's face being hidden!