The PERFECT Day!!!!

My summer was incredible...but went far too fast. It's such a gift to be a teacher for so many reason, one of which is having 9 weeks with my son full-time. It is both a blessing and hard because it gives me a taste of what life would be like as a stay-at-home mom, and I love every minute of it! It makes for a very hard first week back to work that's for sure!!! Damn the need for money huh?! What I wouldn't give to be able to do this all the time. I loved seeing him change every day and really felt a part of all of his learning and growth. Ty is at a really fun age, where everything is new and fun, and he's portable and communicative. Such a difference from last summer at age 1. The year between 1 and 2 brings such huge changes! He has become a very independent chatterbox, and I love that about him! On our last weekday together, Ty and I had kind of a summative day, a day that incorporated some of our favorite summer activities. It could not have been more perfect, and so bittersweet! The weather cooperated and we had a great time. I can't wait until June 2010 to do it all over again!

We started out the morning having breakfast at Panera. I forgot to take pictures there. Ater breakfast we headed to our favorite park to feed the ducks and geese. Ty could not love this simple activity more. After fending off all the ducks and geese who were following us around...we played at the park for hours! He's a daredevil now, very comfortable with most of the parks in our area.After the park, we went to the Smoothie King to get smoothies together...another of our favorite activities on hot summer days.

After lunch and naptime at home, we took Cincy for a walk around the neighborhood and played outside until Daddy came home from work so we could go to our neighborhood pool to swim. Ty can actually walk Cincy all by himself now. Cincy is so good being patient with him. It's adorable to watch...until Ty tries to pick up Cincy's poop with no baggie...oops!

I'm so sad summer has come to an end. I was incredibly lucky to watch Tyler change and grow this summer. I wish I could be with him all the time. It's such a gift and I certainly didn't take a minute for granted! We had a blast!

Chicago/Wisconsin Weekend

One weekend in August, I took at trip by myself (a rarity indeed!). I flew into Chicago and rode the L into the city. It was both hard and exciting to be back because I miss it so much! I got to see and spend time with two of my favorite people, out with Amy on Friday night in Chicago, and with Pills on Saturday night for her bachelorette. Jen's sisters and mom really put on a great weekend. We stayed up at their lake house in Wisconsin and had a relaxing day boating and an incredibly fun night helping bachelorette celebrate her upcoming wedding to John! Although we did get kicked out of a bar (a hilarious story for another day!) the day and night were perfect. I was so glad I could be a part of it. Jenny's friends were so welcoming and fun. I had a great time relaxing and having a few drinks.

Opening up her sexy giftsPre-game tequila shot courtesy of her sister, the maid of honor The Pillsbury women; Mrs. P, Jen, Allison & Kayla

Dance party USA post bar booting :)The whole gang

Indy Trip

In July, we met up with the Faulkner and Gustafson families for our annual Indy adventure. The three of us are still extremely close, yet we live in three different states. It's hard being away from everyday changes going on in each other's lives. Indy is kinda the midway point between St. Louis, Chicago and Cincinnati, so we've made it our meeting place for these annual trips. Last time, Marina was preggars with HD, so now all the kiddos are old enough to play together and sleep well in a hotel room while the adults catch up. We decided to meet up at a Holiday Inn that has an incredible indoor waterpark for Saturday and Sunday (thanks travel agent Marina!).It was a blast for all (including us...yes we loved those waterslides too!). We are hoping to make these meet-ups more of a biannual tradition, so we're looking forward to the next fall/winter destination:) I miss you girls already! Ty had an incredible time with the kids! Warning: lots of pictures. I was the official photographer for the weekend and there were so many cute pix I had a hard time choosing what to post.

Addison practicing her "diva" pose
Buddies Ty and Lucas...a million times up and down this slideDaddy and HDMe and Ty enjoying the lazy riverCorey after a trip down one of the three waterslidesLisa and her big girlMike and Ty...with a nice view of the waterpark behind themRina relaxing in the lazy riverFaulkner family fotoGustafson clanOur failed attempt at a group picture with the kids in their dinner outfitsAuntie Rina and Addison at dinnerpre night-night funStoryteller Rina winding the kids down for bedtime

Random July Shenanigans

I know I'm ridiculously behind in my blogging. Here's a bunch of random stuff we did in July. We spent lots of time at parks, pools, doing short day trips to see friends and family and I spent much of July training...but ended up hospitalized instead. Fun times!

Ty got a great baby pool from his Grams and we used it a ton this summer.
BBQin' on his new grill from the Laskey fam...thanks guys!

Zoo adventures. We have season passes so Ty and I have taken quite a few trips to check out the Cincinnati Zoo. Checking out the Monkeys with MimiIn being home with Ty full time this summer, I got creative with what we did with our time. We discovered countless parks and pools. On rainy days, we went here...Shanon and I took a trip to Dayton for Kelly's baby shower. She has since had her baby, Ethan Christopher.Tball with Papa - he's batting Left :)I also competed in the Columbus International Triathlon in late July. It started out being a practice for my upcoming half ironman, but ended my triathlon summer career instead. I was taken in an ambulance and admitted for Pneumonia for two days 10 days before my half ironman. Four months of training down the drain...great! I did finish this one though...even though it was a pitiful finish, my worst performance ever!