Heat Wave....

It's HOT in Minnesota-hotter then it's been in a long time! 90's since last week. Madison has acquired a plastic kiddie pool from the neighbors and is loving her time spent in there. She likes to dig which is a riot to watch as the water splashes all over the place. Although she won't get herself completely wet (as in lay down) she does enjoy walking around in it and putting her entire face in the water. And I like wading in it too when it's this hot!

We had a nice vacation. It was nothing major, just lots of time with family and relaxing. My nieces have grown in both height and maturity-which is a joy to witness each time we see them. Grandma took them shopping, we all went to the Mall of America one day as well, so they are equipped with a variety of new things for school this Fall.

For the third year in a row we went canoeing on the Upper Iowa River with my dad, step-sister Janelle, aunt Diane, cousin Allie and her boyfriend, cousin Tyler, Mike, and the rest of us. Beautiful day-not intensely hot and the river was ideal. We really enjoy the leisurely ride down the river taking in the scenery and the wildlife. The kids love the water and it's always a treat to see them swimming at "Big Rock"-the 4th generation to do so. It's amazing to think that my Grandma Webb learned to swim there, as did my dad. I highly recommend going to Bluffton, Iowa and renting a canoe from Randy's Bluffton Store.

We also spent an afternoon in Forestville, a small town in SE MN. It is no longer a working town, but had it's hey day at the turn of the century. It's now a re-creation with people in character talking about life in the late 1800's. I had never been there, considering I grew up less then 45 minutes from there. We all enjoyed it.

Otherwise, I did not feel very well most of the week due to allergies and pregnancy. I was bummed because there was a lot more I would have liked to have done with the girls and my family, but my energy just did not allow for much. I complained to my doctor on Tuesday, who in turn prescribed my old allergy medicine and said to go back to it and see if it makes me feel better. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

This week at the appointment I did hear the baby's heart beat, which is always a thrill. However, yesterday I do believe I felt the first kicks of our little bundle. It was fairly consistent through the day, on both sides of my belly, so I'm thinking this might be it. It's early-just 15 weeks, but the experts say it can begin to happen between 14-18 weeks. While the doctor was monitoring the heart beat, it kept fading away which was due to movement as well. Pretty cool.

Mike is beginning work on the basement this weekend. His final paper is due in just 3 weeks, so I am also giving him a limited time to do basement stuff, and then back to the paper again! Hey, he asked that I be the hard ass, so I am!

We also received an email this week that our friends Amy and Cris, in California, had a baby girl on Monday evening. Welcome Kylie! Looking at the pictures they sent made it suddenly seem much more real to me that we are having one of our own soon. :) Congrats to the happy family.

Have a good weekend!