ECFE cabin weekend--take 2!

Last weekend, we had our 2nd annual cabin weekend with our group of ECFE friends that we've been hanging out with since Abby was a baby.  Last year, we enjoyed hanging out at the Chadwick's cabin.  This year, we spent the weekend at the Clark's cabin, and had a blast--the weather couldn't have been more perfect, and the company was great!  We made it up Friday afternoon, followed by the Slaviks, then the Chadwicks, and later on, the Guses.  Friday night was perfect for a campfire and s'mores:

On Saturday, we woke up to a delicious breakfast of cinnamon roll pancakes made by the Chadwicks:

Saturday was spent playing, going for canoe/paddle boat/boat rides, swimming in the pool, eating more delicious meals, and more.  The ladies even got out for a couple of hours to check out the flea market and antique/gift shops in Battle Lake.  The guys had a couple of fishing/boat excursions, and we ended the evening with another bonfire.

After breakfast Sunday, we managed to get some group pictures of the kiddos before the Slaviks and Guses had to take off.  The group has sure grown!

With only three families left, we took a relaxing boat ride around the lake, worked on packing up while the kids continued to play, and had one last lunch together.  We had a great time, and look forward to next year's adventure!

College cabin weekend

We always enjoy our annual cabin weekend with my college friends, and this year was no exception!  Beautiful weather, lots of fun time with friends, and delicious food!  We started out the weekend by driving up to Bill and Katherine's house so that Abby could ride up with them.  She had so much fun sitting in the back with her buddy Harold, and especially loved their DQ stop on the way up.  We were going to join them, but had to take advantage of the fact that Norah slept the whole way--had to keep going!  After everyone arrived Friday night, we enjoyed delicious homemade personal pizzas made by Bill and Katherine. The kiddos took some time to warm up to each other at the kids' table:

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day!  We had a yummy breakfast made by the Brekkes, then got packed up for a day at the beach.  The water was great, and we all had a blast playing in the lake and in the sand, and some even went tubing and canoeing.

After a picnic lunch, we headed back for nap time--a necessity now with all of the little kiddos.  Abby and Jannah watched a movie while waiting for the littler ones to wake up:

We spent the rest of Saturday playing outside, jumping on the neighbor's water trampoline, going for a post-supper walk, and playing games after the kids went to sleep.

The weekend always goes too fast--before we knew it, it was Sunday!  After another yummy breakfast made by the Schwartz's, we had a baby shower/celebration for baby Rhua and Norah, born just four days apart.  My friend Amy made the bib that was part of the gift we gave Rhua:

It's been tradition for the girls to create a baby quilt/wall hanging for each family when they have their first baby.  This is the last of the baby quilts:

Katherine made cookies (another tradition) for Rhua and Norah:

We managed to squeeze in some more outdoor fun, thank-you card writing, and dishes before we needed to pack up:

And finally, a group picture!  Matt, Kristina, and Rhua (5 months); Dave, myself, Abby (4), and Norah (5 months); Bill, Katherine, and Harold (2); Erik, Susie, Jannah (5), and Emilia (2):

Can't wait for next year!

Projects

So, as I mentioned before, I got a little excited about my new sewing hobby this week...in addition to the tote bag I made on Monday, I also picked up fabric for two other projects that I had found tutorials for on Pinterest.

An apron--a little more complicated than the tote, but fun to make and I love how it turned out!

Wednesday--camera strap cover with a lens cover pocket--I loved the patchwork look, and while this was the most complicated of the three projects of the week, the completed product was the most satisfying!  The pictures aren't the greatest of this, but you get the idea:

5 months old

Norah turned 5 months old today!  It's been such a blessing to have had the last 5 months off with her, and I'm lucky to get one more month before I have to go back to school (trying to stay positive about summer ending!!).  Norah's personality has really blossomed this month, and she is truly such a happy baby.  

She loves people, especially when they smile at her, and all animals.  Her favorite is when she wakes up in the morning or from a nap and Abby goes in and says hi to her from behind the crib bars.  She gets so excited.  Just seeing Sadie can calm her down if she is a little overtired and fussy.  Norah's happiest laying on her back, as long as she has something she can stick in her mouth (toys, feet, etc.).  She's learned this month to roll over both ways, so we'll sometimes find her crying on her tummy in bed because she flipped over and can't quite figure out how to get back over.  Norah's been working on developing a taste for rice cereal this month--she's still not a huge fan, but actually finished what I gave her tonight.  Hopefully, she'll find some foods she likes better next month when we can branch out a little bit.  She's doing great with being flexible about eating now, which will make the transition to daycare so much easier and means I can leave her for a period of time and not worry about her not taking a bottle.  Everything Norah can get her hands on goes straight into her mouth, and she has now discovered spitting.  

For the past few weeks, Norah has been really congested--no other symptoms, just her sinuses bugging her. It's most noticeable when she can't breathe through her mouth (while eating, sleeping with her pacifier in, etc.).  I took her in yesterday to see her doctor, and he thought it could be allergies (apparently ragweed is really bad right now), so he told me to give her children's Claritin.  We'll see how that works out!

One last pic of our sweet little peanut:

5 months old--12 pounds, 13 ounces

County fair

For the past couple of years, it's been tradition for us to spend an afternoon/evening at the Freeborn County Fair with Dave's family.  Abby's at the age this year where she really gets into it, so she had a blast.  It was HOT, of course, but we stayed in the shade and were happy when the cloud cover came and cooled things down around 7.  Big hits for Abby this year:  pig races, baby animal barn, riding the pony and merry-go-round by herself (she would not allow any of us to stand by her on either ride), the elephant show/getting to ride an elephant with Dave's mom, and a race car ride.  She has definitely gotten much braver and seemed so grown up this year.

This year, Dave's mom entered some of Abby's photography from our June fishing trip and flowers that she and Abby planted together.  Abby was excited to earn two blue and two red ribbons for her photography and a purple Grand Champion ribbon for her flowers.

I realized that I took one picture of Norah the entire night--she was such a trooper, enduring the heat and happily hanging out while Abby had lots of fun.

Abby already can't wait for next year's fair!