Is is already June? I didn't think I would be away as long as I was. May was a busy month. There was a lot of gardening, playing outside, time making macrame, enjoying new bikes, and spring cleaning. But, most important was that my daughter turned four years old! Time truly does just fly by. 
I think the time away from here was good for me. I feel more motivated to blog now- I kind of missed this. Thank you for sticking with me :)

This week we've been spending as much time outside as possible. There's been a lot of trips to the garden store, our first picnic, and visits to the park. Carrots, lettuce, radishes, snow peas, onions, and spinach have been planted in our garden. Oh, and herbs. We're off to a pretty good start. Now we are working on our landscaping and lawn. So much to do, May is going to be a very busy month!

We made a trip to the botanical gardens yesterday. I took Sara to the indoor tropical conservatory for the first time and she loved it. What a lovely escape on a cold winter day. Summer feels so far away right now....

I wish the fall colors would last longer than they do. These photos were taken the past couple weeks. Now the colors are fading and some trees are already bare. My little one is enjoying all the leaves on the ground, swooshing her feet through the piles of leaves. Just trying to enjoy it all while we can. 
Have a nice weekend! 

Ahh, fall. You are finally here! The leaves are changing more and more each day. We had a great trip to the apple orchard. This time we bought cortland apples, caramel apples, apple cider donuts and a pie. A perfect autumn day.

There's a creamery not too far from where we live that sells the best ice cream. Love their Butter Pecan. It's a fun place to visit. They have a pen outside with a calf and some goats to entertain the little ones. It's one of our favorite places to go as a family.
It's been a rough week. Sara has been getting up 1 1/2 hours earlier in the morning than she usually does. So there's been a lot of cranky days. Bedtime has been a nightmare lately. It's getting more difficult for me to be patient and I end up feeling like a crappy mom. I'm just exhausted from it all. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon. 

It was such a pretty spring here in Wisconsin!

Hello Spring! Although with temperatures still in the 70's and 80's, it feels more like summer. So, so nice. We've already planted spinach, radish, and carrot seeds in our garden. Now I'm off to plant some lettuce seeds and relax on our patio.Yay for Spring!

It was a beautiful frosty morning and a very busy afternoon and evening. One sick husband, one cranky little one, and a mama with a never ending to-do list. I'm exhausted. I should be doing our Christmas cards right now, but I think I'll curl up in bed and read a book. Good night!

Yesterday my mother-in-law came over to babysit so I could have a couple hours of "me time". It felt so good, and was long overdue. I went to a thrift store, quilt shop and then wandered around a park with my camera. My favorite things to do. I think we'll have to do this a little more often. Sometimes I feel so focused on my family, I just need to step out on my own for a bit and recharge.
Hope you are having a good weekend!

It seems like in the last few days the leaves have really started to change color. I love it. We went for a long walk at the marsh yesterday. And I mean long. We didn't think the trail went quite that far. The little one was such a trooper. She walked almost the whole time, for an hour. I hope to get out every weekend this month for a family hike and really enjoy the season. It always goes by so fast!

What a lovely way to close out summer....

OK, so in my last post I said I didn't mind the heat. I now mind the heat. Mid to high 90's this week! These photos were taken when it was a little cooler a few weeks ago. Our second time taking the little one to the county fair. She loved seeing all the animals. It was a nice time. Hopefully we'll do this every year. This week though, we're staying in and keeping cool!

What a nice trip to the greenhouses we had this morning. Sara loved touching all the flowers and sticking her fingers in their pots. The ladies who worked there said she was their kind of gal :-) There was a group of older kids there on a field trip and the little one was thrilled that some of them waved to her. I only bought some fountain grass, so we'll definitely have to make another trip there very soon!

from the botanical gardens

I've been busy getting ready for the little one's 2nd birthday this Sunday. Wow, two! I still have a few things to sew for her- hopefully I'll have enough time to do so!