the darndest things

Some recent Tommy sayings:

"Oh...I made a big mess mamma."

"I want more watermelon, Lisa." (daycare teacher: "Tommy that is all of the watermelon your mommy packed") "It's okay, just call mamma."

"Can I please see pop row row in a few minutes?"

"Mia, I ride a train, did you ride a train?"

"I got a owie on my elmo" (Daddy, "You mean your elbow, Tommy?") "Yes, my elmo."

"Mamma, I spitting. Spitting is a bad idea. Spitting rude, okay mamma?"

He is all over this communicating thing. It is pretty cute. Had a fantastic weekend with my family. He misses "Uncle Bill and everybody" a lot.

The dog, the myth, the legend

Dash, the wonder doggie, has a new forever home. He has retired to a lake house. He is loving it, and so are his new family members. He has a little furry brother to play with, and a great yard and house situation. We have been looking to do this for about six months now, but were waiting for the right family to come around. It was incredibly difficult on us to make this decision, but in the end it was for the best. He is a fantastic pet, but he has an unusually high amount of dander, making it very difficult for our family and friends with allergies to enjoy a visit to our house. We also have found ourselves traveling more, and it just was not working. We hemmed and hawed about it for quite a while. Tommy does not seem to be too worried about it either, he has only asked about Dash twice since the move, and I just tell him, "Dash lives with a new family now." and that seems to be satisfactory to him. I thought Tommy would ask more questions, but he simply has moved on pretty quickly. Matt and I miss him terribly, but are happy that he is happy. It has been a week now, and it is still strange for Matt and I to go to bed without the furry little dude following along to the room. We still are careful about not leaving the door open for more than about a half second. It was very weird for me to come home to see Matt mowing the lawn without this happy little guy tied out to the tree, enjoying the breeze. But... no more barking when the garage door opens, no more kicking him off of the couch every time I get back into the living room, and best of all, the vacuuming situation will be drastically different. We may be able to vacuum without having to dump out the container 3 times before we are finished. Still, it is a little odd. But Dash is very okay with this decision, I have been in contact with his new mommy, and he has transitioned beautifully. It is just a little odd for us. It is what it is. I guess I can look forward to being able to wear black pants again without making sure that I have a lint roller in the car. If nothing else, there is always that.

The Little Green Frog Part II: Not so Little Anymore

Remember the green frog who liked my dasies (on the stem in the background)? Well, turns out there are a million like him all over my yard. They are so gosh darn cute! We had fun with a little green frog on the deck yesterday. Tommy spotted it. then it jumped over the edge! Not to worry, it was a tree frog, with sticky legs, so it hung out on the side of the deck for a while. Tommy looked and looked at it. He was very amused. Daddy came over to get the frog back on the deck. He jumped on Daddy's foot. That was hilarious!! Tommy really liked things so far... then things took a turn for the worse. The frog jumped on Tommy's leg. He did not like that one little bit. He let out a TERRIFIED scream. Then the frog jumped off, all was right with the world again, and the little green frog moved on with his day. And Tommy moved on with his. He even bragged later "I got a frog on my leg!" He seems to forget the part where he screamed like his life was in danger, but I suppose that is all for the best. Tommy and I went an picked a cucumber, and went inside to eat it with Daddy before bed. It was delicious. I never realized that this particular vegetable could be so flavorful. Don't get me wrong, I do love cucumbers, I just never realized how truely yummy they could be. The end. I think this story would make an excellent screen play, it is riviting.

mmmmm ahhhggghhh

mmmmm ahhhggghhh went the little green frog one day... I could not get that song out of my head as I took this series of pictures. Those of you who know the song, I apologize. It is one of those songs that sticks around in the ol' noggin for quite some time. I just felt the need to share that moment with all of you, hoping that if I put it down in writing, it would leave my head. That theory proved false. To those of you who do not know the song, I apologize if you feel left out, that was not my intention. Find peace in the knowledge that you do not want the song in your head right now, it is not good. If you are a sub 5 year old, you may find the song amusing and possibly hilarious, but otherwise, you are not missing a thing. Speaking of hilarious, my son said the following to me in the car today, out of nowhere, "Mommy, I am hilarious." I laughed out loud. He is hilarious.

...Please pardon the small interuption in the story... Did you ever realize how hard it is to use the mouse in your non dominant hand when you are trying to stop an almost two year old from playing with it, while he is trying to avoid Daddy? Daddy is starting the tub. The tub that goes right before the story. The story that goes right before prayers. The prayers that go right before bed. He is not interested in the day ending, so is attempting to hide with me. Something tells me that Daddy will find him. Now back to your regularly scheduled post...

Ahh... dasies. I love them. This time of year, they are the best. So sunny, so bright, so cute. Mine have taken off this year. I cut about 50 dasies a week to bring into the office and Tommy's daycare. I do not want the summer to end! I am loving this. Apparently the entire small creature world agrees with me. I caught all of these little buddies enjoying the dasies tonight. (Sorry for the quality of some of the pictures, it is hard to capture the little guys)

A moth enjoys the color yellow.

A daddy long legs climbs up the long stems. Can you see him?

A grasshopper jumps on top.

A fly lands on a flower to join in on the fun.

The little green frog hides on a leaf.

Oh, and by the way, the dragonflies at my house are bright cardinal red this year. I have never seen anything like it. Anyone else have red dragonflies this year?Also, I know what you are thinking. Two posts in one week. Has Katie lost her job? What is with all of the free time? Not to worry. All is well. Just felt like sharing a little more lately. I am sure that I will be back to my once a month posting soon enough. Just enjoy the extra communication while it lasts.

By the way, Grandma came to visit this weekend and Tommy loved it. She brought a fire truck to ride on. And hats to play with.

Come on people. I know you do not come to this website to listen to my random thoughts... you come for pictures of the cute dude. Isn't he a cute dude?

The Sleeping Bear Dunes

So, if you have not ever been to the Sleeping Bear Dunes, go. Take your camera. Prepare to burn your feet on hot sand. Prepare to do a lot of hiking. Prepare to have your mind blown. It is breathtaking. Seriously, you need to go.

This post is long overdue, but the issue is simple. I have well over 200 pictures of the place, and narrowing it down to just a few to share with you has been difficult. Now, I need to decide which ones to print. Matt and I loved the trip so much that we definately want some prints up at the house, just do not know which ones. If you have any guidance in this area, or any comments about the pictures, I have put a number under each one for your commenting convience. (for all two of you that comment.)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18- might be my favorite, but I am fickle, and may change my mind before I publish this post.

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29- we are quite far up at this point. that little white dot in the water to the leftof matt's hip is a seagull flying over the water.

30

31

32

33

34

35