Summerfest Part 2

Summerfest Part 2: Friday, July 23rd, 2010

This is how we started our Friday morning at yet another one of John's baseball tournaments. It was hot and the kiddos were getting weary fast.
We had two extra visitors for the weekend, as Gaven and Gabi were staying with us. It was fun to have them join us for such a busy, but fun weekend.
Since having all of the cousins together doesn't happen very often, I had to grab this photo. It's AMAZING that everyone was smiling. I kind of wish we could have plucked out just the Baumgarten 4 to see if we could have gotten one of them alone, too! So rare, and there was NO bickering! :)
During the game, I am sure there was no bickering either, but there MAY have been a bit of bossing... Gracie, apparently, was the "teacher" for their outdoor gym class....
It seems that maybe they needed a bit of individualized instruction on the art of jumping jacks...
After the game, which, I believe, they won that day, we headed home for a community supper and variety show.
Lots of singing, by lots of different groups.... dads and daughters, whom actually gave me goose bumps as they sang one of my all time favorite songs, Landslide, by Fleetwood Mac..... soloists, friends and even choirs.
And even a bit of garbage band music by one of our favorite hometown musicians.
Post-variety show, we went uptown for a few drinkss with friends. I think I might be glad there was no camera in tow... we enjoyed some beverages, LOTS of laughs, and then, somehow, a picnic of take-out pizza on my brother's front sidewalk.... Fun times! Fun times! Thanks to the our friends the Eversons, the Byes, and our Sista Jen for making it all happen! Great friends make any night perfect.

Summerfest Part 1

Thursday, July 22, 2010

(Yes I am stealing the majority of this post from Jen again, because she beat me to it and

I did not have my camera along on this evening. Thanks Sista.)

As always, there is a LOT of walking that happens duringSummerfest weekend....
Thursday evening is spent "Uptown" at the car show. It's fun to compare favorites... for us girls, that is solely based on the exterior....
There were SO many cars this year!

There were cars lining both sides of the street, plus parked down the middle of the street in two rows (because, yes, that is how we park on a special street in my small town on a regular basis), for at least four blocks. It was quite impressive!

We walked up to the show, then we walked through the show...

I get a little nervous when I see cars this close to the ground... really?!?! Can you drive ANYWHERE in cars so low? Definitely would not work during a Good old North Dakota winter.

Of course, there are some people that love to check out what's under the hood...

like my brother and his boys...

and then, there are those of us that just love to find our favorite colors....
Jay found a special little car that was JUST PERFECT, too!It was love at first sight! He reminds me of Stuart Little standing next to that little car.
The evening ended with a close up view of my brother's friend, Shaun's new baby - a beautiful Mustang. Of course, as he drove off into the sunset, he had to show off just a bit, which sent the kids straight into the giggles. :)
Summerfest, evening 1 = SUCCESS!

Legion Sectional Tournament - July 22-24

Even though this post should be about the new Sectional Tournament Champions, I could not help but put this photo first. I have to say it is one of my very favorites of the summer. I am so proud of myself for remembering to get this photo while ALL of the cousins were together. It just does not happen very often. They were all smiling and there was absolutely NO bickering or whining. Gabi and Gaven were so proud to be at the game to see John play.

Here are just a few random plays of the tournament.

Way to go boys! It has been a great year and we are so proud of each and every one of you. Here is to a great State Tournament in Grafton.

Gracie's New Room

Bedroom Project #1

Gracie gets her own room!!!!

Stripping of the wallpaper.

Oh, I can not wait to rip this stuff out of here!!!! It is so gross.

The carpet is gone and thanks to this helper the tack strips are too.

My helpers.....

Nate

Colleen

Shay

This wall looks very YELLOW but it is truly a lime green.

My polka dot helper. Shay helped do the top half of the wall and then I got brave enough to finish the lower half. I think the dots or bubbles as we like to call them turned out so cute.

Daddy helped put up the molding and cut the angles. He didn't trust mom with the air nailer and she didn't trust herself to cut the pieces with out hurting herself.

We added molding to the top of the ceiling and down the corners of the walls.

Here it is now finished....

For now we kept the floor in it's natural state and just added this very pink area rug. We hope to eventually refinish the original hardwood floors that are in the room.

First thing you see as you enter the room.

The North wall...My Favortite!

In the corner of the north and east walls.

Corner of east and south walls.

This is designated as her cozy corner and it is perfect!

We are just searching for the perfect chair to add the area.

This art was an early birthday gift from Grandma Colleen.

The words fit the room perfectly again.

The west wall.

The room turned out great!