Mary Cate is three! Heaven, help us.

Oh, this girl. She's the same at three as she ever was, though (after a rough couple of weeks) she's settled into preschool. I've seen a lot of growth since then--Mary has all kinds of new songs to sing and friends to play with. It's always so cool and a little surprising when one of the kids starts preschool and learns things that we didn't teach them!

Mary still loves reading, music, and playing outside. She really loves to be with me...all the time...morning and night. She has a strong will and a mind of her own, which we're convinced will serve her well someday! We have to believe that so we don't cry.

As our Labor Day baby, Mary celebrated her special day at Aunt Pam's house at the lake. Here's what she has to say about it all.

How do you feel about being three?  

I AM three! I feel happy when I'm three, but when mommy goes to her class I feel sad that I'm three. [She's not thrilled about preschool, yet.] 

What kinds of new things do three-year-olds do?   
Be happy. Share toys.

Who is your best friend?

Eddie-buddy.

Who are your favorite people to play with?
Eddie-buddy. I love Eddie-buddy so much. At school, Christian. Marina. Annie and Nellie and DJ!

What kinds of things are you good at?

Hugging Eddie-buddy. Hugging and kissing Mommy and Daddy, and Nellie, Annie, and DJ. I'm good at going to a different house, like grandma's,

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A princess. A cleaner.

What’s your favorite song?   
Psalty songs.

What's your favorite food?
Soup. Just soup.

Favorite movie?   
Hm. Frozen!

Favorite book?   

Frozen.

Favorite color?   
Yellow and blue.

Favorite place to be?

Our house. MY house.

What are your favorite things to do?   
Play with Eddie-buddy. Play in the basement, watch a movie, play with mommy.

What was your favorite birthday present?
Gum. That was the best!

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?   
I have Ellie elephant at school. I don't cry at school. I cry when I have tears.

First school weekend

Kevin took Nellie, Annie, and DJ to fishing camp, so I got to spend some quality time with Eddie and Mary Cate! We were tired from our first week of school but also ready to have some fun.

Friday night McDonald's playtime

Saturday morning Flour Child playtime

Mary Cate is (finally) losing the bottle! Me: There's Minnie Mouse, Paw Patrol...
Mary Cate: I want these ones!
This is what I saw when I turned around. :)

:"Mary, smile!" Just...no.

Fun with Otto and Emmy! They would have stayed here all day at the water table if we let them.

Farewell summer break 2019!

The kids start school tomorrow! Annie had the idea for everyone to share their favorite summer memories and write them down so we could look back on it. 💓

Here's the summary:

• Michigan's Adventure was right up there for everyone--particularly the log ride and pirate ship.
• Making pretzels at Flour Child Bakery (Annie)
• Running the 5K on the 4th of July then jumping in the lake (me)
• Playing in the backyard (Mary Cate)
• Tubing at Aunt Pam's (Kevin)
• Blueberry picking (me)
• Going to John Ball zoo (Nellie)
• Ice cream on the boat (me)
• Playing at the park (Mary Cate)
• Spending time together swimming, around the campfire, Michigan's Adventure, and at Buzz's Lakeside Inn (Annie)
• Buzz's Lakeside Inn (Nellie)
• Going on a camping trip (Nellie)
• Lugnuts game (Nellie and Kevin)
• Playing outside (Annie)
• Going to the lake (Annie)
• Running at the ledges (me)
• Climbing a lighthouse (Nellie)
• Going swimming (Nellie)

And...

• No AC in the car or house--not the happiest memory but it was memorable!

It's hard to believe we've been "doing summer" for 2.5 months. It's easy to think it flew by, but really, the days were long (I can't believe how much you can fit into a day when there's no work!) and looking at this list, we have a lot of experiences and memories to carry us through the colder months.

So bring on the school supplies and lunch packing and baths and bedtimes and late nights grading/switching loads of laundry and delightfully slow weekends and fires in the fireplace and football and concerts and musicals and basketball and all the rest. I think we're ready.

A few of my favorite (kid circa summer 2019) things

Mary Cate doesn't say the "s" sound at the beginning of words starting with "sp". So we hear a lot of, "Ooh, that's so 'pooky," "I'm dizzy from 'pinning," "I don't like that toothpaste, it's too 'picy" and "My dress is 'parkely!"

She has generalized the expression "soaking wet" to think that "soaking" is synonomous with "very." As in, "The hallway is soaking dirty!" and "Can I sit with you? I'm cold and you're soaking warm." My favorite--she came walking in pretending to drink from a wooden pop bottle saying, "This beer is soaking GOOD!"

Eddie has come to me with two big questions in the last few weeks. The first was how all the big kids know how to swim without a floatie. So we set right in to learn how to swim and he's an eager learner. He's going to be taking off soon! The second was how DJ can just look at a book and know what the letters mean. Music to my ears! So I sat down one morning and taught him to read. His favorite sentence: The cat is fat. I'm not a reading teacher for a reason--specifically, no patience. Lucky for me (and him) all I had to do was sound out a few words and he had it. Zoophonics for the win, all the way.

Speaking of reading, this has been the summer of reading for DJ. He's into the "Who Was" series. This summer I think he's read about Dr. Seuss, Einstein, Jackie Robinson, The Beatles, Steve Jobs, NASA, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. Maybe some that I'm forgetting. The best part is that I'm learning a lot, too. Because he reads me everything he thinks is interesting or funny. Which is a lot of things. Did you know that Ringo Starr narrated Thomas the Tank Engine? Or that Theodor Geisel was once paid thousands of nail clippers by a magazine? Reading isn't quite at the top of DJ's list of favorite things to do--that falls to the monkey bars, I think--but I'm happy that he's found some chapter books he likes.

As for Annie and Nellie, our favorite things are their two favorite pasttimes--baking and preparing to be in their first real production, Frozen Jr. Bring on the sweets and singing!

Lake Michigan vacation

We just got back from our annual Lake Michigan trip with Lisa, Genny and Jason, and Sarah and Alex and the girls. It was delightful, if sleepless, fun. And a bit of an "adventure" this year. Here are some things that didn't go right:

1) There was a septic issue that closed down two of the buildings at the inn where we've stayed for several years. This led to some room-shuffling, which led to us assigned to rooms that were too small to accommodate all the sleeping bags we need to throw in there. So Lisa managed to book the two Wernet families in an apartment that's part of the inn--enough space for 13 people, plenty of togetherness, but only one bathroom.

2) There was a middle-of-the-night storm that knocked out the power for almost 24 hours. Going to the bathroom in the dark, keeping refrigerated food cold, and dragging buckets of water up from the lake to flush the toilet was...interesting. The kids hardly even noticed, because the pool was still there.

3) When the power came back on, the water didn't. It was fixed the next day, but the water in the house was never quite the same. It sort of trickled out of the faucet along with what looked like sand. What do you suppose is the minimum number of times 13 people need to flush a toilet in a day?

BUT, overall I think we'd all agree the trip was a success. We got to spend time together, both with extended family and then "just us" because we extended the trip by a couple of nights. There were game nights, many swimming hours, long walks, Lake Michigan sunsets and sand dunes, great views, and delicious dinners. Our day at Michigan Adventure was definitely a highlight. I learned that Eddie and Nellie are fearless on the rides. Annie and DJ are more reserved but grew increasingly adventurous. Mary Cate will probably never trust me to take her on a ride again--they were all too 'cary. We hadn't been since we went with the girls seven years ago. In the words of Annie, "I loved that so much, we'd better not wait another seven years to go back!"

Our view of the (soggy) inn and White Lake

Tailgate lunch!

The only ride Mary liked--driving me around

Waiting for their favorite ride: Zach's Zoomer

Late dinner at Dog 'n Suds. We were exhausted.

Current chapter

If this chapter were one chapter in my life, I think the title would read something like this:

Chapter 157

In which we stay close to home 

because the Trailblazer has an exhaust problem 

and no air conditioning, 

but the air conditioning at home is also not working, 

so we learn how to be okay with sweat, 

always.

The highlights would be the newfound joy in simple things like driving above 30 mph with the windows down (heaven), sitting in front of a fan, eating watermelon for dinner, and standing in the shade of a tree.

Nellie, age 12

I'll be honest. I don't know how to raise a 12-year-old! But WOW is this a fun and exciting age. Middle school! Band, choir, musicals, softball, babysitting class, youth group--and probably lots of things I'm not thinking of. Nellie remains her clever, reading, singing, and activities-directing self. But she's increasingly independent and thoughtful. We love her infinity, as Eddie would say!

Nellie at the ledges with a turtle in the background!

Good friends from LCS

What was your favorite memory from the last year?
I guess going to Michigan Adventure. That's the thing I remember most--it might not be my favorite.

What is one way God's been working in your life this year?
Helping me through trying something new this year--going to a new school, making new friends.

How do you feel about being twelve?  

Happy, I guess. Nervous about middle school.

What are you most looking forward to in the next year?
Being in band and choir--I've heard both teachers are really nice. 

Who are your best friends?

Avery, Leah, and Emma.

What are your strengths?

Swimming, reading and writing, math I guess. Making iMovies.

What careers are you considering?

Being a writer or an English teacher so I can write. Or a marine biologist.

Why are you interested in those fields?
Because I love marine animals and I want to swim all day! Maybe that doesn't actually happen if you're a marine biologist, but you get to be around the water. I love writing stories because you get to make things up. 

What’s your favorite song or type of music?   
Hamilton music. That's really all we ever listen to, so...

What's your favorite food?
Carrots and celery with Aunt Pam's dill dip. Herbed chicken and tomatoes. Blueberries, obviously (as she eats the whole carton.)

Current favorite movie?   
That's hard, I have a few new favorites. Captain Marvel, or Aladdin--that was a good one.

Current book you're reading?

The Lunar Chronicles--right now, Scarlet.   

Favorite color?   
Blue. [Mary: No, your favorite color is PINK!]

Favorite place to be?

At home or Aunt Pam's house.

What are your favorite things to do? 

Read, swim, find a spot where it's cool...sleep in the basement. It's so hot.  

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?

I just got a turtle for my birthday! His name is Petoskey (Peto) because he looks like a Petoskey stone. If you have a pool, please invite me over. I'm dying over here. [It's 86 degrees and humid and our air conditioner is broken. Please, invite me too.]