Poor tooth fairy

Last week we had a fun time with Cindy and Joe and their fun kids at the their cabin at Strawberry resevoir. Catching three fish in a row was the most exciting part. Well, actually Cindy and I creaming Nate and Joe at a late night Spades game was more exciting, but the kids missed out on that part.



After Nate took this picture I said, "you just love taking bad pictures of me, don't you..." He said, "I take good pictures of you"... Hmmmmm.... Well, I guess I look as tired as I felt... :)



This is Emily with Nate on Saturday before she knew I was taking a picture.


This is Emily perked up and posing for a fall picture with her brothers. I guess she likes hiking after all... :)




The tooth fairy is going to go broke on our family. Ben lost his first tooth Saturday night. He was so excited about it. I can't believe he's at this stage already. My babies are growing up!

Delicious summer salad

This is a great way to use all those extra summer veggies from the garden... I should try throwing in zucchini! My friend here gave me this recipe and with some tweeking I got it just right for my taste. I ate lots of it the last two days for lunch. YUM!

Tomato Cucumber Salad
1/3 c. olive oil
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 cucumbers, quartered and sliced in 1/4 in. slices
1 small green pepper, chopped
1/4 c. thinly sliced onions
1 can olives
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp. minced fresh basil
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese cubed

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the first seven ingredients, shake well.In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, onions, olives, parsley, and basil. Drizzle with dressing. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Just before serving, stir in cheese.

The first day of school was last week! I can't believe the summer is over. Emily started 2nd grade, and Ben is in kindergarten. I am doing a co-op preschool this year for Deven. The kids come home so happy. They love school! I remember feeling exactly the same way. I miss them when they are gone, but I am glad they love school. Ben did bring home a nasty stomach thing. It slowly went through all the family. We are all healthy now luckily.


We went and toured Winnetonka caves last weekend. It was pretty neat.


Emily bit into her popsicle last night and out came her tooth. Everyone got a kick out of that. Emily and Ben have learned out to play "Settlers of Catan", one of Nate's and my favorite games. That's what we were doing in this picture.

I could post more, but the kids are going crazy as usual... :)