Who loves summer??

We do!! Thank goodness it finally feels like summer has arrived, it has been sorely missed in our household. I find it ironic how quickly people start to complain about the heat and humidity after months of crying about the cold. I also find it funny how that no matter where you go people strike up a conversation about the weather. I believe I had a conversation about the weather at two gas stations on Sunday, CVS, and the grocery store. The last one I had to turn away so I wouldn't bust out laughing. Regardless, summer is here and I am thrilled!!

This last weekend we went and visited our home away from home the Heer's in Minneapolis. We always have so much fun in their company. We were able to stay with them with peace of mind that Ruby was well taken care of at the Kuehl's. I couldn't find a sitter for her so she came along for the ride. Erik and I bragged up how easy she is and they will not need to worry about her, she can fend for herself. I think 20 minutes into getting there she projectile vomitted on their gorgeous wooden floors not once, twice, or three times on their floor...but four times! I proceeded to blame Anthony for feeding her Lunchables on the way up when I knew full well it was me. Sorry Amy...I didn't think she would actually puke it up considering she eats her own poop. It all ended well after she settled down but once again THANK YOU to Brad and Amy. I took them out for breakfast on Sunday to say thanks and hope they enjoyed it. I know I did Keyes Cafe' rocks-great suggestion AJ!!

Anyways back to our weekend. We stayed Fri-Sun, the kids played great for the most part. The adults played well for the most part and it was great. We ate well, drank well, and enjoyed a good game of old fashioned dominos. I would have loved to stay one more day but we had to get back to reality and travel back home to work Monday. As always Alex was a horrible traveler and Anthony slept both their and back. Anthony has always been a really good traveller. We can tell him we are going to be there if four hours. He will look at us and tell us he is going to take a nap then. Why does Alex not understand that concept? He will proceed to scream almost the entire time we are driving unless we are trying to bribe him with Lunchables, drink, or garage door openers. Seriously?

Well the 4th of July is approaching us and we are headed to the lake. Alex has not been feeling good the last couple of days so I am crossing my fingers that he will be charged up for the weekend. He really is not a lake fan either. Loves to run and jump in the water, not a fan of sleeping at the lake, and is usually up at 5 am when the birds start to chirp. I am hoping my in-law's will take the boys over night of Friday so we can have some adult time with Brad and Amy, maybe hit DL for some dinner at Fireside and go watch GB Leighton with the Greene's. Anthony keeps asking me about smokeballs so I am thinking we will make a trip for some small fireworks as well.

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July. Appreciate our country, your families, and those that feel like home to you. For those are the people that make it all worth it.

All grown up!

We have a great weekend ahead of us. My little cousin Nicholas is getting married. My sweet Nicholas. I believe he goes by "Nick" now but to me he always be my Nicholas. I think that I have mentioned before that my dad has 12 siblings. He is #6 and I was the first grandchild, my grandma waited a long time for me. Next was my sister and to follow suit were Tiffany, Nick, and Stacey. There are plenty more to add after them and I love them all dearly but with the trio I just mentioned I literally can recall snapshots of their lives in my memory. They are children of my Uncle Bob and Aunt Natalie who are potentially two of the coolest people together and apart. Love them!! Anyways, my dad and Bob are maybe a year apart and so naturally we spent alot of time together growing up. Since I was the oldest I also assumed the responsibility of being the babysitter. Back then I think I was 9 this first time I babysat my little cousins and sister. Gasp!! Now I think you could go to jail for that. Nicholas was the easiest kid, not sure if it was the whole middle child thing or what but as long as you had a good Disney movie and a box of cereal you were good to go. That child lived off of cereal. Bob and Natalie should have taken stock in Post. But now he is getting married and I am really happy for him. He is marrying his highschool sweetheart too. Anthony is his ringbear, I told him that am not responsible for anything that happens. Please keep you fingers crossed for us. So we are packing up and heading to Detroit Lakes for the weekend. Time to get my dancing shoes back out and remind my little cousins just how totally cool I am.

Repeat, Rewind, Repeat, Rewind...

Anthony, can you please get up?
Can you please get dressed?
Can you get your shoes on?
Can you get in to the car?
Can you please eat your breakfast?
I understand you are tired but that is what happens when we don't go to bed on time.
Can you hang your coat up?
Do your clothes belong on the floor?
Can you get in the bath so you feel nice and clean?
Can you please hang up your towel?
No, you cannot have ice cream because you did not finish your supper.
Time to brush your teeth.
Time to pick out a book.
No you cannot sleep in our bed.
Anthony, I see you get to bed.

Repeat, rewind, repeat, rewind...not to mention the don't push your brother stuff and it is really important to listen stuff.

Patience is a virtue or if you ask me a blessed miracle.

Hmmm....where do I begin?

Well the subjects we are covering today are: super busy summer, Rob and Missy's wedding, Kristin's wedding, my new job, and Erik is out of town all summer for work.
Our summer is in full swing. Anthony had his first T-ball practice on Monday, his team is appropriately called the "Angels". He looked so darn cute out there. Some kids were completely focused, others were playing with the "sand" on the field, and I would say Anthony was right in the middle. His attention was good when the coaches were focused on him but if they would move on so would he. Today he spent the day with my in-law's and they relayed he did better practicing at their place. He also drove the four wheeler by himself and rode two of their horses by himself. Grandpa Tony was very proud. Anthony starts St.Joe's summer program tomorrow. He is excited to hit the pool as well as all of the field trips the have planned for the summer.

On Saturday night we had Rob and Missy's wedding. Had a blast! It felt good to get dressed up, see lots of old friends, and dance like crazy. After the dance we had a crew at our house and partied like it was 1999. Erik and I also felt extremely old the next day. But it was absolutely worth it!

I thought that I was going to be able to pull off going to Kristin's wedding as Leslie's date that is this weekend in South Carolina. My new boss approved my time off even though I just started but unfortunately Erik is leaving tonight for the rest of the week to work out of town-BOO! It is going to be an odd week with both Erik and Leslie gone. My two constant adult companions are out of town. I really do not like sleeping alone (without Erik, not Leslie :) but am grateful that it is only Wed-Fri this week. It sounds like it is going to be Mon-Fri going forward this summer so I will be flying solo through out the week with the boys. I am very lucky to have all the help from Erik's parents, I honestly do not know what I would do without their help. They watched Anthony all day today, picked up Alex from daycare on their way to bring him home, and had an awesome hot dish made for us for supper. LOVE THEM!!

I also LOVE my new job. I think it is just the challenge I was looking for. The techie world is a big learning curve for me but everyone in the office is around my age, super eager to help, and laid back. Just the way I like it! We have a mandatory outing to lunch for Rib Fest on Thursday, should be a good time.

Well that is your weekly update of the Tortorice's. Alex is having a hard time due to his teeth FINALLY all coming through. He has done really well transitioning to full time daycare. I definitely have been missing my Mon and Fri's with the boys but am trying to focus on the fact that this is good for all of us in the long term. I guess we shall see!