The County of Door.

We spent last weekend in beautiful Door County with Grandma and Grandpa K, and as usual we managed to pack in a ton of activity in a very short amount of time. Here are some of the highlights in pictures:
Checking out the garden and picking wild strawberries in the field; posing as a family; riding the tractor per usual; kicking back with Dadam on Grandpa's hammock...








...and out for a pleasure cruise on Lake Michigan for Father's Day!


We had SUCH a good time and the weather could not have been more beautiful. Good thing it's just a few short weeks until we go back for more!

Oh boy.

During first grade we heard a lot about Cecilia's friend Liam, and they developed quite the friendship over the course of the school year. In fact, the first classmate that she wanted to schedule a play date with was Liam, so I finally got in touch with his mom and we got something on the calendar. When I told Cecilia, she had questions about the details, such as the time of his arrival and if she could wear her new blue party dress (no). Her most recent question was whether or not she'd have time to shower after swimming lessons so that she wouldn't smell like "cor-leen" when he arrived. I know it's harmless -- she's not yet 7 after all -- but it still makes me nervous about things to come. Someday there will be boys that she likes (even like likes!), and there will be boys who don't like her back. It breaks my heart to imagine her inevitable heartbreaks, and Dadam just chuckled at me last night when I suggested I would go around breaking knee-caps of boys who were unkind to my daughter. But he's right. She's the star of her own life, she is her own person, and she has to go through all those ups and downs just like everybody else.

Liam is coming for a play date tomorrow. Little does he know I'll be watching him like a hawk.

Blogworthy Ruby Quote.

We just got back from a fantastic visit with Grandma and Grandpa K------ in Wisconsin; a full recap and photos will follow. For now, you'll have to be content with this Rubester quote, which Momlissa reported when I got home from work today.

[The girls are eating cantaloupe for lunch.]

Momlissa: How's your melon, Rubes?

Ruby: It tastes dazzling.

So far so good.

We've survived the first three days together as a threesome, and so far so good. Swimming lessons started on Monday, which has helped, and we started off the week with a clean house, which helped even more (at least for my sanity). We've played outside, read stories, gone shopping, been to swim lessons, cooked/baked, worked in the garden, and did some reorganizing in the playroom. Today our big project - since the weather isn't much fun - is to work on a craft project for Father's Day (pretend you never saw this, Dadam).

As soon as summer weather decides to show up, I think this little experiment is going to work out well for everyone!

Overheard Conversation.

[Ruby has offended Cici somehow.]

Cici: I would like an apology.

Ruby: Well, you can do the same thing to me.

Cici: I don't want to do the same thing to you. I want an apology.

Ruby: I don't know what that means.

Cici: It means saying sorry.

Ruby: Sorry.

Cici [after a pause]: Well, you're still evil.

Okay!

[Dadam hears frantic meowing from the other room.]

Dadam: What are you doing to the cat, Ruby?

Ruby: Okay!

7.9

This is Ruby's final week at daycare, so Cecilia and I have had the rare opportunity for some one-on-one mother/daughter time now that she's on summer vacation. Today over breakfast we agreed that we'd go for a long bike ride, and Cecilia said she wanted to go at least 5 miles. So after grocery shopping and some tidying up around the house, we set off on our bikes.

We decided to head towards the river for the scenery and because it seemed like the right distance, and our first couple of miles were pretty uneventful. When we got to the river we biked out halfway over the bridge to a bench where you can take in the view, and Cecilia turned to me and said, "It's SO beautiful!" The sun was shining with the beautiful Minneapolis skyline in the background and the river was all sparkly -- she could not have been more right.

Then we traveled the River Road south to Summit Avenue, and near St. Thomas she asked if we could stop and look at the pretty flowers in one of the public gardens. We did, and we filled up our water bottle and set off once again.

We took a couple more water breaks, but by the end Cecilia was getting pretty tuckered out and needed some encouragement for the last mile or so. When we got home I mapped out our route to see how far we biked, and it was an incredible 7.9 miles! Considering she also has softball practice tonight, I think someone's going to sleep pretty hard.

It was an awesome way to spend the afternoon.

The Life Of The Playground.

Last week while Cici's baseball team was practicing, I took Ruby to the playground up the block, where she met a five-and-a-half-year-old named Jacob. The two of them really hit it off, with Jacob seeming to have a high appreciation for Ruby's brand of wit. Here's a sample of their conversation.

Jacob: I like Spongebob.

Ruby: Spongebob? How about Bungebob?

Jacob: "Bungebob"! Ha! Ha ha!

Ruby: How about Hot Dog Bungebob?

Jacob: Ha ha ha!

Excerpt From A Dinner Conversation.

Dadam: . . . and just forget about the cream for a minute. What I want to know is, how did they make coconut cream pie without any flour?

Momlissa: What?

Dadam: Where'd they get the flour?

Momlissa: What are you even talking about?

Dadam: On Gilligan's Island!

Momlissa: Oh my god.

Cici [shrugging]: They probably milled some.

Stay At Home, Mom!

Many of you know that today is Momlissa's last day on the job; most of you probably saw her earlier post in which she discussed her reservations about her ability to stay sane while keeping both of our girlies at home with her this summer. I just wanted to pop on and let everybody know how proud I am of her, and how I'm sure all her fears are in vain, and how much she's going to cry when it's time for them to head off to school/preschool in the fall.

Of course, she will have pulled out all her hair by then too. But that'll just make the tears come all the easier. . . .

Preschool Gradulation.