4th of July Weekend

What a whirlwind of a weekend it was! And a good one at that.

Destination: Lake Camelot for the annual Guenther-Sowinski Lake weekend. With 10 adults, 3 dogs, and 2 children (which is a smaller group than it could have been) it was a full house. And it's only getting bigger as the years go on!

Here are some of the highlights from the weekend --

The weather was HOT on Friday. Needless to say, it didn't take long after arrival to get our suits on and cool off in the lake.

Even I had to bare the belly and get in.

Can you say Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Edition!?

Rusty couldn't wait to get in. He's a very happy dog when he gets to go swimming.

As you can see, Nora was a very happy camper splashing in the water.

Kojak's family portrait.
Greg, Claire, and Karen

Nora is giving rice cakes to all three of the dogs. Patient Rusty waiting

in the back for his turn. One for Sammy, one for Gunner, one for Rusty

and one for Nora.

Grandpa and Nora

"Can I get one of these?"

Swimming with Daddy.

mmm... who doesn't like chocolate frosting? (besides Daddy)

Enjoying a cupcake with chocolate frosting for Grandma's birthday.

We woke up on Saturday to find out there were major winds during the

night that took our staked-in shade tent out of the ground and put it down

in the water at the end of the neighbor's pier.

Luckily, they were able to get it out.

All the swimming, running, and trying to play with the old dogs can tire a pup out!

It definitely tires Rusty.

Nora was able to get her first boat ride. We are all ready to go.

Greg came along for the occasion.

Captain Karen

It's safe to say, she enjoyed the ride (and only tried to pull the life jacket off

a time or two near the end).

She got more and more brave as the ride went on. First standing with help.

Then letting go of one finger, then the other.

And soon wanting to sit on the seat by herself.

She pointed to everything along the way.

When the ride was over, she discovered all the rocks she could

collect along the path.

Man and man's best friend.

We could see a couple different sets of fireworks over the trees.
This was the best shot at night I could get.

Sunday, Nora was content sitting on a floaty in the shade.

It had a hole in the middle that was filled with water to play and splash in.

Claire was a little fussy and didn't want her mom or her Grandma.

I offered my comforting pregnancy hormones to see if that did the trick.

She fell asleep for about 45 minutes on my belly.

Nora got to spend some more QT with her Godfather before the weekend was over.

Monday, we were back home. We took in Mt. Prospect's 4th of July parade.

She got a lot of suckers. Suckers and Tootsie Rolls are run-of-the-mill here.

They also throw out cookies (from the best local bakery) and mini packages of

wheat thins, and freezy pops to name a few. They take their handouts seriously here.

Completely tuckered, she fell asleep in the car on the way home

from the parade. That's when you know you've had a good weekend.

A Day for Daddy

Dear Daddy,

I love you because...

you passed on your love of long johns to me.

And you share yours with me even though I have my own piece.

I love you because when you want to check on your garden you take me along.

I love you because you read all of my favorite books to me.

More than one time in a row.

I love you because you walk in circles around the house with me knowing Rusty will follow us and that makes me laugh a lot. And even when you say you're getting dizzy from walking in circles, you'll walk around one more time because you know it makes me happy.

I love you because you made apple juice popsicles for me to eat on hot days like today.

I love you because even though I kicked you out of the swing so I could get in, you still pushed me.

I love you because you let me help push the stroller on our walk

and then helped buckle me in when I changed my mind.

And I love you because you try on my sunglasses when I ask you. Thanks for playing along, Daddy.

And those are all reasons just from today! I hope you had a great Father's Day! I love you, Daddy!!

Love,

Nora

Kitchen

"This floor is really starting to look gross."

"These cabinets actually aren't that bad. All they would need is to be refinished."

"Dan, can you fix the floor transition again. My sock got caught on that nail and I almost fell."

"I bet I could spray paint those handles and make them look brand new."

"I just washed the floor and it still looks dirty."

"I bet if we refinished the cabinets, it would even make our counter top look better."

We've both been muttering about the kitchen for a couple years now but we've never been ready to bite the bullet, spend the money, and start the project. Until now. After all, what better time than when I was 6 months pregnant.

The very thought of starting exhausted Nora.

But start we did. At first, all we were going to do was refinish the cabinets. Then we realized if we were going with a slightly darker stain then we should probably lighten up the paint color so it wasn't too dark. Then Dan said something that was music to my ears, "Katie, I think I'm ready to replace the floor." (cue the Hallelujah Chorus) Then we thought... if we are getting a new floor it's probably perfect timing to replace our dishwasher that's been known to leak all over the floor while running. So -- turned out to be more than we originally planned but it's done and it's AMAZING! Looks brand new. Take a look for yourself!

Before Pictures --

Week by week, we took sections of doors off and sent them to Wisconsin to get stripped (BIG thanks to Mary Ann for volunteering to do that for us!!) After about 3 weeks, all the doors were done. It was time for the "bones" to get stripped and stained. (Nora and I got out of dodge for this part and stayed with Gram for the weekend.)

These were the worst cabinets. Right by the sink = lots of water marks.

Also note what the hardware looked like prior to my handy work.

The bones are stripped.

The walls are painted and the new floor is acclimating.

You can see in this picture the bones are stained but the drawers are still bare.

Although this is a mighty cute picture of Rusty Roo,

it is also meant to show you a close up of the old floor.

After Pictures -- drum roll, please....

Cabinets stained - check.

Hardware refinished - check.

New dishwasher installed - check.

New floor installed - check.

Fresh paint on the walls - check.

LOVE IT!!

This was that really terrible part. It turned out so nicely!

These look like brand new, pay big bucks per pull kind of handles if you ask me. All it took was some soaking, scrubbing, spray primer, brushed steel spray paint, and a clear coat for protection.

Even Rusty got a new personalized mat for his food dishes.

Sneak Peek

This morning, Dan and I got to take another peek at the newest little Guenther. Although a third trimester ultrasound is generally not standard, it is at our practice (another reason I like it there). They want to make sure the baby is in proper position and growing well.

He's growing well, alright! He's about 5-ish pounds. The doc said, on average, they gain about a half pound per week from 34 weeks until delivery. Assuming I go full-term, he might be an 8 POUNDER!! I have to admit... that's a daunting thought. But, I can do it! (I think I can, I think I can.)

Without further ado -- here's the little one at exactly 33 weeks.

Being somewhat cooperative, he showed us his profile. It's not quite as clear as it was at the 20 week peek but it still looks like the Guenther nose.

This is a straight-on look at his face. (The top of his head is at the right of the picture.)

Towards the end of the ultrasound, I asked the tech if she still switches over to the 3D wand. She told me she would as long as I didn't snitch on her she would do that for us. Technically she's not supposed to. So an extra thanks to the purposely unnamed tech who bent the rules for us so we could get an amazingly clear view of him. Makes me wonder what ultrasound pictures will be like when our kids have kids.

That is a hand near the top of his forehead and a foot near his nose. No matter what we did to try to get him to move so we could see his entire face, he wasn't having it.

Another view with his foot in his mouth. Hopefully he won't have too many times in his life where he feels the need to do that. (There's nothing wrong with the side of his head. It all has to do with the fluid and how he was moving when the picture was being taken, etc.)

For the last shot of the day, he gave us a hint of a smile!

June Isn't...

supposed to be this hot. That's according to my husband. I would agree, especially considering it's only the first week of June. Yesterday, Chicagoland had the hottest day since August of 2006. Today is also supposed to be a record-breaker. So yeah... HOT. Luckily the humidity has been low. So while sweltering, it has also been bearable (and breezy which also helps).

So, a 33 week pregnant me has been doing a lot of this.

A 16 month old toddler has been doing a lot of this.

And a 4 year old black doggy has been doing a lot of this.

We've all been drinking plenty of this.

Even the plants.

The heat is an equal-opportunity offender. Nora has the hair-do to prove it.

The heat doesn't stop her from being a good helper either. Last night, I said to her, "Let's put your sandals away and then take a bath." She quickly got up, grabbed one sandal and ran into the kitchen. Ran back for the second and off again. Then I heard the cupboard door.

Makes sense. This is where her snacks are. Why shouldn't her shoes go there too? Gotta love little minds!