Summertime Fun!

Summer is finally, fully here!  And we have been celebrating with lots of fun outings - some of them so fun, I have forgotten to take pictures!  Anyone who knows me is so shocked by that statement, I hope you are sitting down ;)

We started with a visit to a friend's farm, to see the cows and ducks.  Lucy was fortunate enough to get a private tour, so she could get up close and personal with the savage beasts.

This cow.  Is trying.  To eat me.

And she got to watch some profession duck herders corral the flock.

We tried to sneak closer, but Lucy's duck-murdering-machine (aka her stroller) kept them on the move.

We didn't let a few sprinkles, some breezy weather, and a missing Daddy stop us from checking out the Memorial Day parade.  Thank you to all of our servicemen and women.

Of course, Lucy's favorite parts were the noisy bands and the blaring sirens.

They're comin' ta git me!

We also hit up the June Dairy Days festival, which had its very own petting zoo full of baby animals yelling for their parents.  Lucy got all kinds of little creatures brought to her, including a baby goat, fluffy chicks, the teeniest, softest baby bunny I had ever seen (seriously, its eyes weren't even open yet!), llamas, and on the way out we hit up the baby calf, which was covered with children and frozen in fear earlier.  (Disclaimer: not sure if calf was frozen with fear or lounging in the shade, but I initially didn't even realize it was there, there were that many children piled on top of it.)  Noah got Lucy up out of her stroller and crouched down with her, since the calf wasn't coming to us, and I helped her pet.  It was her favorite, as indicated by her huge grin!  No pictures; this was a busy, crowded event, and I was on high alert for a sticky, dairy-covered kid running into Lucy's stroller.

We had cousins visit from Georgia, and the last day of school party at the park.  We got a chance to take Lucy to her classroom one more time, and then I was able to walk her to the park to meet up with her class and one other for a play afternoon.  She got to take turns on the slide and swing, which she thoroughly enjoyed, and meet a cluster of "big girls" (FIVE year olds, look out!)  Everyone was so friendly and thoughtful, and it really was nice to see Lucy be included and loved by kids her age.  Again, no pictures - if you can figure out how to snap a shot while you're sliding 33lbs of unassisted weight down a slide, you let me know.

We also got to meet up with some of our SMA family at Gilles!  The Burks family drives all the way from Kansas to see Lucy's famous, fantastic pulmonologist in Madison, so we coerced them, with promises of frozen custard, into tacking on some extra drive time to come see Lucy and Mateo.  The kids hung out and the parents got to catch up and compare notes.  It's always so nice to see some of the clan :)

Custard!

The aforementioned clan.

After it was all over - she got a lot of fresh air that afternoon!

And we got to hit up the famous Walleye Weekend on Sunday, to see my favorite cover band and yours - The Presidents.  As I heard it put so aptly on the radio, they're not just music; they're the whole show.  And Lucy even got a shout-out, which led to a woman approaching us and offering to put a donation canister for Lucy out in her establishment!  We left, feeling that our socks had been thoroughly rocked off, and that there are lots of good people in the world (after having one of our canisters stolen out of a restaurant a few weeks ago.)

Other than that, it's been a pretty average, wonderful start to the season; lots of walks, running errands, going out for dinner at random odd times of the day to avoid crowds... all of which is so much more enjoyable when you can do it as a family!  I've been trying to get Lucy out of the house as much as I can on my own, which is a bit tricky now that she has a bigger stroller, we make sure to have all of her machines at the ready, and she herself is longer, heavier, and a bit more fragile.  Yesterday we went out and cut peonies in our front yard - simple, right?  Actually, it wasn't too terrible - just 4 trips in and out of the house to get her set up :)  We have yet to put a ramp on our porch, so things (Lucy included), essential things, must be brought out in several trips.  But I got it done, and Lucy got peonies for her room - they smell lovely!

Slapping the ants out :)

Sneaky little Bert with his photobomb.

Next up, as in starting tomorrow, is the Lucy's Hope for a Cure rummage sale, put on by the ever wonderful Marjorie and crew.  We are so blessed, and so grateful, to have a friend as tirelessly devoted to our cause as Marjorie is.  Her whole family is the bees knees!  And we would love to see you at the rummage sale, which runs from Wednesday through Friday - get the details here!  Half of the proceeds will go to the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, and half will go to Lucy's addition fund.  Thank you to all who have donated, both items and time, to make this possible!

We are also counting down the days to our Links for Lucy golf event.  If you haven't registered to golf, or if you want to just come for the dinner and fun in the evening, there is still time!  Message me at bzahn84@charter.net for your registration forms.  There are still lots of slots open, and we are hoping to fill as many as possible for Lucy!

Toss in birthday planning that I was silly enough to leave until the month before the day, and I have a full plate!  We're keeping it low-key this year, because Miss Sassypants just gets herself all worked up the night before, doesn't sleep, and is then Miss Crabbypants the day of.  Hoping that a smaller party (and not telling her about it the day before!) will curb some of that.  I couldn't resist, though, and showed Lucy some of her birthday dress fabric:

I think she likes it.

That should have us all caught up!  I'm hoping to be able to update with lots of fun things over the summer.  After Lucy's events and birthday, we're looking forward to the 5th annual Par 4 Peyton, put on by Unite 4 Peyton - always a fun event!  Stay tuned :)