Summa, Summa, Summertime!!!

Where the old folks dance at the FAMILY REUNION!
The above quote was from an 80's hit by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (Will Smith)- called Summertime..great song...suggest you listen.

Well as you can see we are super excited to get the summer going. Melissa has been hard at work in the gardens; the first round of vegetables have been planted and we are already seeing the results. Jon got the rain barrel out early this year and the "May showers" did not dissapoint in getting it filled up right away. He added some stone to the base because the support tilted due to the weight last year. But thanks to his new levels....it is good as new:)

It seems this year is extra special of course because it is Maddie's first spring/summer, well the first that she can really experience the outside. And we LOVE the outside. Whenever mama or papa asks her if she wants to go to the playground or go outside she gets this huge grin and if we are holding her pretty much jumps out of our arms. We set her down on the grass and she takes off. And I mean takes off. We have to keep ahead of her. She smiles and laughs even when she falls down. We do have to be careful because any "puppy" sighting means a mad dash to meet the puppy...then when we get close it turns into more curiosity as the "puppy" gets bigger and bigger. But seriously, she sees a ball accross the street at the park and has to have it, runs toward it, same with puppies, birds, and of course trees. Oh yeah..and PAPA taught her how to hug a tree:)

Momma is really excited because she takes Maddie on a daily "walk around" the house to see the gardens; Maddie really enjoys when Mama points out and names all the different plants and what kinds of good food will come from them. Maddie of course wants to touch them all.

We have been spending some nights on the deck when possible. We purchased a deck rug so Maddie kind of sits on it and plays with her watering can, electric laptop (not kidding) as well as some duplos (thanks Muellers!). She is really content, until we step off the deck, then she wants to come with, she NEVER wants to miss out!! But then there is the stairs...we dont know yet how to crawl down them, hence the hazard, but crawling up is no problem, in fact, when we are downstairs in the basement she squirms if we walk up the stairs carrying her...she HAS to try!!! :)

So special thanks to Mama for getting all the flowers and gardens planted, especially the strawberries outside, Mama put in about 18 strawberry plants around the front garden and they look GREAT! Now Papa has a new chore..we are turning the side of the garage into a garden bed, we already have rasperries growing there, and we are adding blueberries, but want to dig it all up to make it extend all along the side of the garage...keep the fruits and vegetables coming!

We have had the chance to make several visits to the farmers market which is always a treat. We just love all the fresh produce the state has to offer. And Maddie loves her morning pumpkin scone...seriously..she goes nuts when she sees the bag. Mama likes the scone also. Papa loves his beef sticks.

We have been visiting a lot with family. This past weekend we had the chance to celebrate Ur Oma's 75th birthday with the family. We went out for lunch and then spent the afternoon outside. It was an 80 degree day and Maddie had a great time running through the excellent manicured lawn of the Lehners (ours is dandelions..but thats ok, its a learning experience, she learns what they are then before papa kills them.)

It is memorial day weekend right now, and we remember all of those who fought and died for our country and continue to do so. Mama and Maddie had the chance to visit Oma and Opa again this past Saturday in Milwaukee. They hung out for the day and had ribs...Papa had to work...he missed the ribs..ugh..:)

Maddie and Papa had a chance to visit with Grandma and Grandpa at the KOA campground in DeForest. We played on the merry go round, which we loved, and even sat on the teeter-totter to go up and down. Our highlight was climbing the stairs of the slide..the lowlight was realizing we had to go down the slide when we got up there...but we survived. The weekend is still young..but it has been great.

Tomorrow (Memorial Day) we plan to do more garden work, shop at Menards for a trellace, and hang out on the deck..and of course grill! Speaking of foods..thought I would give you a Maddie update..she pretty much can and will eat anything..which is GREAT. So in one of my previous posts I was commenting how she slammed down her rice cereal and soon she would be ready for steak...

Yeah..she's had steak! and spicy hummus of course!!!

Oh, and that little stinker had her first molar come through this week! She is very proud of it..and smiles to show us in the morning..well not really..she's just a smiley kid in the morning. Oh..and Maddie told me to tell everyone about her new Pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa..they have flowers on them..top and pants..and are pretty cute.

Sidenote..we STILL LOVE reading books! And we have been hitting up the library and bringing a couple home every week. Maddie is not just statisfied getting read to..she has to grab the book from you and read it to you herself..turn the pages and everything....but then we get wild and start bending pages...and then we have to chill and have the book read to us...then we meltdown..but then we have a GC treat (Graham Cracker) and we are all good...

Heck..I would be happy too.....:)