Petoskey Triathlon

Patrick setting up his transition area.
Anticipating the swim that he has before him!
Out of the water and kicking butt!
Running along at a good pace.
Finished!

This triathlon took place in Petoskey, MI and it was Patrick's second one. He did great coming in 15th of 55! He was kind of looking at it as training for this coming Sunday's Accenture event here in Chicago. (Largest in the world!) It was a beautiful morning and he enjoyed the scenery very much despite the fact that the event was small and somewhat unorganized. Thank you to Sue & Dennis for coming out to cheer him on. Good luck on Sunday, Pat-Pat!

Sturgeon Bay

Patrick & Jasper frolicking along the shoreline!
Jasper had a blast swimming and jumping the waves!
Buddy Coyote
Buddy likes the water okay.
By request...a picture of pregnant Ree! Nope, still no belly shots. ;-)

We were able to spend some time at one of my favorite places...Sturgeon Bay. It's a beach/dunes area of Lake Michigan just minutes from my parent's house. I spent endless summer days here growing up and I am forever missing it.

Home

We finally made it home after a few cancelled attempts in the spring and early summer. It was wonderful to spend some time with family and just relax in the quiet and smell the fresh air. My Aunt Rosemary passed away and the timing of our visit allowed us to attend her funeral on Monday. She was a really neat lady and she lived a good, long life. She was the last of my dad's seven siblings.

Got Nothin'

Happy August! I have had some of you tell me that you peek in for blog updates only to find the same tired old Mamma Mia! entry. So sorry to disappoint but we truly have not had a whole lot going on. (Pregnancy has kind of cramped my summer style!) We work, we have days off and Patrick has continued to work out and train for two upcoming triathlons. He also went to Warsaw, Poland for a job in mid-July but I have yet to get my hands on any pictures from the trip. I am almost finished painting the baby's room and then I have to work on getting the remaining guestroom in order. That's pretty much all I've got. Hope you are all well and that your summer wraps up nicely! Ooh! I actually do have something...above is the invitation to my first of three baby showers. My friend Bex made these and they are beautiful! (She even lined all of the envelopes herself!)

Mamma Mia!

I have been looking forward to seeing this movie since I knew it was in production and today I went with The Bone, Kim and Anna. LOVED. IT. I agree with Kim that it was the best time I have had at a film since Grease! I sang along, tapped my feet and I wasn't even annoyed like I usually am when the audience clapped after certain scenes and at the end! My face hurts from smiling. Go see it! ABBA forever!

American Girl Place

Anna with Ruthie
The Clear girls:Kim, Anna & Abby (+Ruthie)
Joanne with the lovely dessert
Ruthie's new glasses
The Doll Hair Salon

Patrick's mother, sister, two nieces and one nephew are visiting us for a long weekend. One of the things on the agenda was to take Anna to American Girl Place since Abby had loved it so much years ago. This was my first visit and I had no idea I would be so intrigued since I am not a person who has held any interest in toys since childhood. This place was pretty incredible! The dolls were of course amazing, but the accessories had me totally fascinated! I really should have taken more pictures. Anna chose Ruthie, the best friend to Kitt Kittredge (she has Kitt already), little girls who grew up during the Great Depression. Kim had made reservations for all of us to have dinner and the cafe dining room was fabulous in decor & service and the food was delicious! Anyone who has a little girl should not miss this place!

Baby's New Old Dresser

Before.

After!

I adore these knobs I found on eBay!

Jasper & Buddy...just because they're so darned cute!!!

I made it my mission to scour Craig's List for older pieces of furniture to refinish for the baby's room. I ended up finding everything that I was looking for...a dresser, a hutch and a bookcase. I just completed the dresser today and I love it! The other pieces are going to be more time consuming but I hope to get them completed soon. I loathe the sanding part, but the rest of the project is really quite fun!