lake geneva

Last week, I had to travel for work. My flight didn't leave until Monday afternoon, so in the morning I took Mae to see her first movie in the theater! A nearby cinema shows free kids movies during the summer. I thought we were going to see an animated movie called "Surf's Up," and was disappointed that Mae's first movie was going to be something... not very memorable. When we arrived at the theater, I was so happy to realize I had misread the schedule and the showing was actually "Muppets In Manhattan!" (Dan is a huge Muppets fan and was very jealous.) We had just introduced Mae to the characters recently, and she was so excited to see Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie Bear. Afterwards she kept talking about "Gonzo big jump boat!"

Later in the day I flew to Chicago and got a ride to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for work training. I had a hard time figuring out what clothes to pack, and decided to kick off the week wearing a new Biscayne blouse that I finished sewing a few weeks ago. I used the same pattern as my previous one, but used KAM snaps instead of buttons for the closure. They are so easy to install and I had the perfect peachy color to coordinate with this Art Gallery Fabrics rayon.

Wednesday evening, our training finished a little early, and I had a bit of time to walk around Lake Geneva. There's a narrow path that winds through the lakefront properties, with beautiful views of both the lake and the amazing houses along its shore.

I arrived home mid-day on Friday and got to visit with Kelsey and Kevin who had come in for the day to watch Mae while Dan was at work. On Saturday, Dan and I took Mae to a puppet show at a local park. Mae loved the performance and keeps talking about the "big octopus washing dishes so noisy!" (It was a pretty silly play... perfect for kids.)

I seem to have brought the slightly cooler, less humid weather home with me from Wisconsin, and we are enjoying being outside as much as possible!

fried egg shorts

Why does this happen to me sometimes? I spotted this fried egg fabric by Cotton + Steel and immediately NEEDED a pair of egg print pajama shorts. I chose the City Gym Shorts pattern by Purl Soho because 1) it's free, and 2) the yellow binding around the edges is so cute!

The egg fabric is from a local fabric store, and I hunted down the matching yellow quilting cotton at Joann. The only alteration I made was to add pockets using the pattern piece and instructions from the Carolyn Pajamas. I love these new shorts, and they will be perfect for lounging around the house on Saturday mornings!

beach and lake

We took another whirlwind trip to the East Coast a few weeks ago. We flew to visit Dan's parents for the first half of the week, then drove to see my grandparents for the second half. We did a similar trip last year and two years ago. Combining our family trips saves lots of travel time and flight expenses (especially now that Mae is two and needs her own plane ticket)!

Mae absolutely loved visiting the beach with GranE ("Deenie") and Batman. She splashed around in the water, built sand castles (pronounced "sand CAStles"), dug holes, and jumped in the "big waves" and "tiny waves".

As the tides receded each day, they left a large shallow pool at the top of the beach. The water in the tide pool was a bit warmer than the ocean and the perfect depth for a toddler; it was the ocean equivalent of a baby pool. Mae took turns towing and being towed on the boogie board. We even found a little hermit crab that we tormented by making him ride on our plastic boat. Mae liked watching him scuttle around on the sand, asking to see "more walking crab."

We spent a bit of time each morning at the beach and then went back to the house for nap time. We all got to spend some quality time together with Tim, Colleen, and Pepper! Mae was both obsessed with and very timid around Pepper this visit.

Half way through our vacation, we drove to meet up with the rest of my family (minus Christopher, who had to work) at my grandparents' house. We filled our days with trips to the pool, boat rides, card games, and mini golf! Mae was excited to see "Mop" and "Pop" and constantly asked about them, saying, "Mop doing? Pop doing?" Since the, she's pointed out every gray-haired person we see and calls them Mop and Pop!

Mae and Ollie had lots of fun playing at the little beach at the edge of the lake. They spent an hour getting their feet dirty and then washing them off with a little bucket and sprayer set.

On our last day, we drove back to spend the night with GranE and Batman before catching a VERY early flight home. We had such a nice visit with both families! Thanks for a great vacation!

paparounes knits

I made another t-shirt! This is another Lark Tee, similar to the bird print one I made last year. The fabric is an Art Gallery Fabrics knit (just like my lemon dress) and the print is called Paparounes Spices.

I also made Mae a shirt and shorts set with my leftover fabric. The pattern is the SPRINKLE bundle by PUPERITA on etsy. I used a different PUPERITA pattern for Mae's Halloween costume last year, and my only complaint is that the leg holes on both items are way too big for Mae's little chicken legs! The patterns are easy to follow and budget-friendly. I assembled the shorts in a different order than recommended and also put elastic in the waist for a more secure fit.

ollie is two, too!

I'm catching up a little bit around here since we were gone on vacation again last week! I realized I never shared our cute photos from Ollie's birthday party. He celebrated two years with a "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" themed party. Daniel Tiger is a spin-off from "Mister Roger's Neighborhood", and the current favorite kids show... this generation's "Barney." (It's also the bane of my existence, but that just makes Mae love it even more.)

Mae and Ollie loved the trolley-shaped cups and tiger-striped cupcakes, but the biggest hit was playing with all the water toys in the backyard on such a scorching hot day! They had a kids pool, water guns, and a sprinkler. They also spent a while "painting" the fence with water. Thanks for a fun party, Ollie!