4th of July in Deephaven, MN

(Okay, I know I am 24 days late with this entry, but life has been busy, and I was out of the country for 8 days, so please cut me some slack!)

4th of July in Deephaven, MN looks a lot like a Norman Rockwell painting. Biking into Cottagewood, one could easily mistake the year for 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950....pick your favorite decade from the past. Whatever the year, it is a great place to be in the summer, and especially on July 4th.

We began getting ready for the festivities on July 3rd by decorating the wagon and Maya's bike for the parade. We learned that threading crepe paper through bicycle spokes is harder and takes longer than one might think! But, it was a labor of love, and a small price to pay to celebrate the freedom we have in this country. On July 4th, we were up bright and early to take the trail into Cottagewood for the parade. Ava took a seat in the wagon while Maya pedaled proudly through the entire parade. At the end of the parade, all kids received a patriotic "bomb" pop before heading over to the town square for fun, games, and food. After dunking one of her classmates in the dunk tank and getting her face painted, Maya was ready to chow down on an All-American meal of hotdog and chips. Then, it was time to head home and rest up for the fireworks....which were about 9 hours away! What to do? Well, the girls and I stayed cool inside for awhile watching Disney's Enchanted while Daddy played Scrabble on the computer. Then, it was fun in the sun again outside on the slip-n-slide and in the kiddie pool. Next, we grilled out for dinner and waited for it to get dark....which, in Minnesota this time of year, isn't until about 9 pm. Well, that was going to be too late for little Ava, and Daddy wasn't feeling well, so they stayed home, and Maya and I headed over to a friend's house in Cottagewood. We hooked up with some people with a house on the lake (Lake Minnetonka, that is, not to be confused with any of the other 9,999 lakes in Minnesota), and were able to watch the fireworks over the lake from their lawn right in front of the docks. It was a beautiful night....cool, clear, and no mosquitoes...the perfect ending to a fun and memorable day.

"Mommy pway wittle people with Ava....pwease!!!!"

This is a phrase I hear several times daily lately. Ava LOVES playing with Fisher Price Little People. She can entertain herself for hours at a time with these toys. They usually stay in the play area, with the occasional bus ride to Maya's room, but have recently ventured outside to the deck and play structure (my idea....hey, I am determined to enjoy nice weather while we have it here in Minnesota!) Whenever I sit down to "pway wittle people," the scenario "pways" out as follows:

1. Ava puts me in charge of the Mommy and baby inside the house.

2. She gathers the rest of the people and begins having them knock on the door, one by one.

3. My job is to take the Mommy and have her look out the window and say, "Who is it?" to which Ava replies, "It's a monster!"

4. I must have the Mommy scream now, and call the police on the phone.

5. Ava laughs while saying, "Just kidding! It's just me!" Then I am supposed to let her character in the door and offer her a snack and some lemonade from the fridge.

This goes on until all of the characters are sitting around the table in front of the kitchen. Then we disassemble and start over, usually. Or, it might be time for a bus ride or trip to the ferris wheel....at which point the plot thickens! As there aren't enough seats on the ferris wheel for all of the characters to ride at once, they have to take turns. It can be a long and tedious process before everyone has had a fair ride (pun not intended; even I will admit it is a bad one!) Then, it's everyone back onto the bus for the ride home. And the wheels on the bus go round and round....all through the house!

The things they say....

Last week, Rosie had a birthday. She is now eight years old. We got a cake in her honor (good excuse to eat cake, huh?), and while we were all sitting around the table eating it, we started explaining to Maya how old Rosie was in "people years." (8*7=56) She started to do the math and figured out that Rosie, if she is lucky, has about five years left before God calls her "home." The thought of Rosie leaving us made her sad, and she asked us if we would get another dog when Rosie was no longer with us. Michael and I looked at each other, and I said, "We'll see....," but the lack of enthusiasm in my voice must have indicated to her that it wasn't likely.....

Fast forward to yesterday. I took Maya to the allergist; her pediatrician had referred her there to see if she has any allergies that trigger her asthma (she doesn't.) The doctor asked her if she had any cats or dogs at home. She replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, we have a dog, but when she dies we aren't going to get another one."

Kindred Spirit

During my life's journey so far, I have been blessed to have made the acquaintance of a few "kindred spirits" along the way. If you have one yourself, you know the type of person about whom I am referring. These are the people to whom you are connected on a level separate from time and space. My sister is one of these people---which is good, because, being she lives across the Atlantic Ocean, time and space are not on our side! But our connection transcends that. I often know that she will be calling me even before the phone rings. My friend, Amy, in Phoenix, is another one of my kindred spirits. I have been thinking of her a lot lately. Tonight, after I put the kids to bed, I wandered downstairs, feeling alone (Mike left for San Antonio today and won't be back until Thursday night), and wondering for a split second how I might remedy that, when the phone rang. It was Amy. Thanks for the great chat, Amy, and for your friendship. I am glad our connection has transcended time and space! I just added another entry below. I hope it keeps you entertained (perhaps even enlightened?) at work! ;-)

Third Time is a Charm

I recently sat down to read Wendy Mogel's book The Blessing of a Skinned Knee for the third time. The first time I read it was about 3.5 years ago, when I was still the mother of one. I remember being overwhelmed, thinking, "Boy, I have a lot of work to do!" The second time I read it was this past year in a parenting class at the temple. I was so excited to hear that they were going to be discussing this book, because I had always wanted to get feedback from other parents on the topics covered. We had a great group of parents and an awesome leader, and I gained some new insights. The other day, I picked it up again, just to refresh myself and sort of evaluate how I have been doing RE: implementation. While there are still many things I can improve upon, of course, I am happy to report that I am feeling pretty good about where I am at on this parenting journey. And it's not because things are necessarily "better" than before--every day presents its own challenges (some new, some of the same ones, over and over and over again!)-- but that I have come to the point of acceptance---that parenting is TOUGH, but I am giving it all I have got, and that is good enough. The rest is in the hands of a Power greater than myself.

A Happy Camper!

The first ten days of summer "vacation" (as a parent, the "vacation" part of "summer vacation" takes on a new meaning!) have been somewhat challenging for us here in the Bellowe household. While we had plenty of activities planned during the week to spare her from sheer boredom, the adjustment to a new routine away from her peers resulted in several meltdowns (hers and mine) over the course of last week. Needless to say, we were both looking forward to her first day of day camp at Camp Teko. She woke up bright and early, raring to go. We got her to the bus stop at 8:45, said our good-byes, and went our separate ways. Fast forward to 3:50 pm....back at the bus stop to pick her up. She was all smiles coming off the bus, chattering about all of the details of her amazing first camp experience. She got to go kayaking, which she described as being "like the bumper boats at the fair." She went on a speed boat with her group, and they even braved the cold waters of Lake Minnetonka to do a water treading test. She made a bracelet and did a leaf project in art. They sang a lot of songs, but she couldn't remember the words yet. She is definitely a happy camper once again....and so am I!

Sugar and Spice

Thought it was time Ava got a little press coverage. As is the case in most households with more than one child, the older siblings' schedules tend to set the rhythm of family life, and the younger ones hop on board the ride already in motion. Fortunately for us (and her!), Ava is a fairly mellow, even-tempered child who pretty much finds her sync wherever she goes. She is 32 months old now, and is mostly sugar, with more and more spice added as the days go by. We know that, while challenging at times for us, this is good for her.

An example of how she is exerting her own independence occurred the other morning. She told me she wanted to play outside, but it was raining, so I explained to her we had to wait for the sun to come out and dry the grass. Apparently that answer did not satisfy her. She had another solution in mind and proceeded downstairs, wearing only her shirt and diaper, to put on Maya's rain boots and head towards the door!