Martin Vacation, 9 mo. old, and a small town day

Gideon has become increasingly mobile. He's getting very good at crawling but prefers cruising.  Now that he can get around, he can get in to everything.  He's starting to get rug burns on the tops of his feet and bruises on his forehead.  Poor little boy. 

my house will never be clean again :)

good thing we have the gate

getting in to my cupboards

A week or so ago, Ellie was down visiting, so a few of us got to go swimming at her parents.  It brought back memories of the good old days. :)

 Last Thursday, Nathan and I headed off to the Martin vacation. It was at Bass Point resort in the Ozarks, the Wyss's went there in 2014.  We left around 10:30, Gideon's nap time, and got there around 5.  Gideon slept the first 3 hours and was pretty good the rest of the way.  

our beautiful view

Gideon was excited to be there

sitting with Uncle Sam

one of the pools

playing in the cabin

some of the aunts and Uncle Dale holding Gideon

Gideon loved vacation.  There was always someone to hold him and something new to look at.  He also loves swimming. 

pool time!

playing with the fountain in the kiddie pool

Saturday, they rented a pontoon boat, so I got to spend the day out on the water.   Gideon got to ride in the morning and then Nathan was awesome enough to spend the afternoon in the cabin with him. 

all suited up

Gideon seemed to enjoy the ride

the view of our cabin from the water

some of the aunts rode too

I got to go tubing! 

I think I much prefer the tubes that you lay down on. Sitting up, you bounce a whole lot more and it's a lot more jarring to your neck. 

Everyone admiring Joe's catch. 

It was 22...23...24...no 25 lbs! depending on who you asked hehe

Saturday night,  the Edna Martin family was in charge of supper. I made desert. 

Chocolate tres leches cake. It was fantastic. 

games with the cousins

They had church Sunday morning and then Nathan and I packed up to leave. 

napping on the way home

Gideon was a trooper and we made it home in pretty good time. 

We had a good time and I'm glad we could go.  Nathan's family is a lot more spread out and there are a lot of single aunts.  We don't get to see each other very often, so it was nice to spend some time together. 

We got home to a garden that, in just four days, had lost control. 

seriously! that is a gigantic cucumber.

sigh. I love my flowers.

Gideon turned 9 months old!  He's such a little stinker and never sits still. 

:)

hehehe

His new favorite pastime is cleaning out my underwear drawer. 

he then attempted to climb out of the pool and landed on his head. sigh.

with mobility comes a cranky clingy baby.... hehe

The other evening I was cleaning up from supper and turned around and saw this:

he can climb! 

And, then he discovered that bookcases are so much fun!

He also loves to escape during diaper changes.  Which results in a naked baby crawling down the hall or trying to climb the dresser. :)

This Tuesday,  I got to visit Amber, an old coworker of mine. She lives in Forrest and she and her sister run The Spotted Owl boutique. I met her at her house, which is a gorgeously redone old Victorian mansion (sigh).  We had lunch at The Cow Catcher. It's run by the Slagel family. It's super cute and the burgers are great.  The restaurant also houses The Coffee Steamer a coffee shop also run by the Slagel family. I of course grabbed a coffee for the road. :)

Then we headed to The Spotted Owl.  It's super cute. They've done an awesome job.   There's home decor, furniture (some made by Amber and her husband), and then tons of really cute clothes.

It's cool that for such small towns they have some really awesome places. I had fun.  It was great to see Amber and her little boy again. 

The rest of the week, we stayed out of the heat and tried to get ready for the next vacation. 

In Christ

~Michelle

Summer days: concerts in the park, the 4th, and Gideon on the move

Oh. Goodness. Seriously where does time go?

We ended June with a bit of busyness. But, relaxed busyness.

Nathan had some friends over one Saturday. Gideon and I relaxed, played in his pool, and went on a walk.

That Sunday, Nathan and I picked up some Chipotle and had a picnic at Glen Oak park in Peoria.  It was a beautiful day.  We then met my parents, and by coincidence a few other people from church, for the concert in the park.  It was a lot of fun. I enjoy music and the weather was perfect.  Plus, it's free.

Gideon finally figured out how to crawl. On the same day he also learned to cruise. So, he is on the move.  And, desperately wanting to walk.  We are suddenly needing to baby proof and daily figuring out things that he can get in to. :)

he loves playing like this with daddy

he has learned how to stand up in his crib...

trying to reach his mobile

and he loves to play with the piano peddles 

baby gate is up.

We had a fun pool day at the farm again.  Jenny and the girlies came too this time.

Gideon and Cadence

July 1st, Nathan and I spent the day doing yard work.  I can usually do little bits at a time when Gideon is sleeping, but the landscaping and the garden needed a ton of help.

That evening we went to Jenny and Bob's for Cadence's 1st birthday party! She's one! :)

eating cake

hehe

he was almost falling asleep in the swing

The 2nd, we were back in Tremont for Katie K's wedding.  It was fun.  I surprised Cecily and Emmy. They were not expecting to see me in their church.  Katie and the dress were pretty. :) The wedding was really nice and different from usual weddings. Santos's family speaks Spanish, so part of the service and the vows were translated. 

 Laura and Joel were at the wedding too. It was good to see them again.   We had a mini U of I gathering at the reception with Susan. 

The 4th was a good day.  Nathan got the day off, so we just relaxed and worked around the house.

In the evening we headed over to Ron and Kary's for fireworks.

waiting for fireworks to start with Jack

he liked his glow sticks

The fireworks at the lake are nothing like the show in Peoria, but they were still pretty good.  Gideon surprised me and didn't seem to mind them at all.  Halfway through, he seemed to get a little bored, but the noise didn't bother him. 

my only decent picture of the night

On the 5th, I met some of my old coworkers for lunch.  It was good to see them again.  There have been a lot of changes since I've left, but a lot remains the same.  I still miss it and if I could work only a day or two, I'd be back in a heart beat. 

Thursday, the 6th, we went to the Fritz's pool with Lena and Jenny.  Gideon loved it and lasted the whole time without getting too tired or cranky.  Which, makes me even more excited for vacation. 

Friday and Saturday, I had a garage sale. My mom was awesome and sat with me.  Gideon enjoyed being outside most of the day. Friday was really hot though, and by the afternoon it was pretty miserable.  It wasn't the greatest turn out, but we did get rid of some stuff and made some money. 

Saturday evening,  we went over to Matt and Lena's for supper.  They showed us the trails back in the woods and we spent the evening outside. 

Sunday, we had the Sunday School picnic. Usually its beastly hot and miserable.  This year it was just hot. There was a decent enough breeze in the shade that it was bearable. I pushed Gideon around in the stroller and watched the baseball game. 


And, just a few more pictures for good measure:

swinging at the park

look at me!

peek a boo!

he loves his baths

Cucumbers.  He really likes them...

That's all for now. :)  With the rate I'm posting, we might have a vacation or two under our belts before the next one. 

In Christ

~Michelle