The Borup Family: FHE

RIGHT UP OUR ALLEY

Most of the summer we didn't see much of daddy, he was a busy fella. But we did happen to snag him one afternoon for a kid's choice family day out. I was surprised they picked bowling, but it was a blast!

We decided to make our game a little more creative...

and a little sweeter!

Are these not the cutest little bowlers you've ever seen?!

SOME OLD FAVORITES

We kept our summer pretty busy. I was feeling a little sentimental (read: very sentimental!) about the whole "Brinlee starting school and not being around all day every day anymore" thing, and I really just wanted to milk the most out the time I had left with 2 schedule-less little pals. And we did a pretty good job getting out and running around.
But we also enjoyed some relaxing days together just at home too. Play time with these happy, fun, creative kiddos is always a treat for this mama, and some of our lazier days are my most favorite!

CONSERVE-YOU-TORY

A year or two ago when we had grandma and grandpa here, we spent an afternoon checking out the conservatory. And it was really fun. The girls were littler then though and didn't remember it at all, and I knew they'd get a kick out of the butterfly room.

Ok let's be honest, I wanted to go back to the butterfly room... for myself.
It's so magical!
And the girls thought so too. They could have watched those butterflies forever!
The conservatory (or 'conserve-you-tory' as McKenna calls it) is now one of their favorite places to go!

We stopped for a while to eat a snack and watch a glass-blowing show. It was amazing! I didn't think the girls would care for it much, but they were mesmerized. Especially Brinlee. She's decided she wants to learn to do that someday, and in the meantime, she's wanting to earn some money so she can go back and buy a glass-blown keepsake from the shop.

Be still my heart!

Welp. There went June.

Man, I'm not doing so hot here with the keeping up on updates thing. May managed to do the same thing, just slipped right by.

But, better to be busy and behind on blogging than bored and have nothing to blog about, right?

So let's see what we've been up to. Here comes our month in mini-post version.

SUMMER TIME SICKIES:

The girls both took several miserable turns this month with some pretty crummy stomach bugs. Luckily every time one hit, it was pretty quick to come and go.

And luckily we had our beloved plastic vacuum to cuddle with.

PLAY DATES:

We have some friends moving pretty soon and wanted to squeeze in as much play time as we could! We also had lots of rainy days...

When you're stuck inside it never hurts to get a little creative!

I rest my case on that "getting creative" thing.

Oh, and apparently pants are an option around here.

POOL DAYS:

Do yo remember last summer when it was SO hot? And the only thing that saved us was that awesome little kiddie pool that we parked on our back patio? And it was so well loved all summer long that by the time fall came around, that poor little pool was falling apart and ready for garbage day pick-up? And it was really sad?

Well never fear. Brinlee and her birthday money, to the rescue!

She's already so wise with her purchases. A couple weeks ago she took some action in the Summer 2017 Beat-The-Heat initiative and got us all set up with a new pool and just about everything the dollar store had to offer in plastic water toys. And just in time too! The sticky heat is coming on strong, and this thing is gonna see a lot of love!

POPSICLES FOR BREAKFAST:

Because, why not?

GOODBYE RITTERS:

Our best friends moved! :( I don't really want to talk about it. My poor broken heart isn't ready.

Even though we're SUPER excited for them, and their residency placement, and their graduating and being done with med school, and their next phase of life, and their cute new little house we get to go visit just a few hours up the road in Michigan...

Ok fine, it is exciting I guess. But oh they will be so missed! You don't find people this wonderful very often, and we just love them!!

Thank goodness for FaceTime!

A LITTLE OUTING:

Tim was a busy, busy man most of June finishing up rotations, and studying for (and then taking) the Step 2 board exam. We felt like we didn't see a whole lot of him. So the day after that test was done, we grabbed a hold of that daddy and made sure we got a quick family outing! Going out to breakfast for smiley-face pancakes with sprinkles, then playing dress-ups and taking a walk around the lake seemed like the best plan.

It also happened to be the girls' plan...

can you tell?

HELLO GRANDMA AND GRANDPA:

We weren't the only ones ready to snag some time with Tim during his time off. Grandma and Grandpa came out for a visit!! We had way too much fun. This one is going to need a little more press time, so I'll save the details for a more comprehensive update. Stay tuned.

THE SPLASH PAD:

Nothing says We Love You Summer! like a good old splash through the fountains. And nothing really drives that message home like going once or twice a week! Which we have. No shame.

PARKS:

Here's another outing we do more than once a week. We can't help ourselves! The weather is so beautiful, and there are SO many fun parks here!

NEW ICE CREAM PLACE:

Last week for family home evening we talked to the girls about what a family tree is, and then we went to the Worthington Mall where we had heard they have a treehouse play place and some yummy self-serve ice cream. Both things were true, and it was awesome!

THE ZOO:

And yet another of our very frequent outings.

Yup. We're still regulars at the zoo. To say we love that place is a serious understatement.

THE TIME-OUT CHAIR:
A few weeks ago the girls and I popped into Once Upon A Child for a quick look around. I found this darling little chair for $5 and thought "Hey! With a quick coat of spray paint, that would make the perfect little photo shoot prop!" So I grabbed it and had it sitting in the basement.
Well, randomly one day the girls started calling it the Time-Out chair, and then started asking me if we could use it for that...
"Mom! McKenna took my toy and isn't being kind. Don't you think she needs to have some minutes sitting in the Time-Out chair?"
"Hey Mom! Bwinwee not sharing dat for me so I tan have a turn. Can she sit in dee Time-Out chair?"

You get the idea.

I had been feeling like we had a decent discipline system that had been working for Brinlee at least. Mckenna on the other hand likes to be her own little person and I thought she might actually benefit from a change in the discipline tactics. But what goes for one kid has to go for the other, right? So, I brought the chair upstairs and we gave it a try!

Our first perpetrator was the one I thought needed it the most. Unfortunately it didn't seem to bother her much. Her little face looked like this the whole time, and when she was done, she wasn't very sorry. But she had come up with a new fun game called "talkin' to my toesies!"

This lady though, when it was her turn to have to sit there, she was completely broken hearted, remorseful, embarrassed, and ready to never do anything wrong ever again in her life.

So! It would appear that what we have here is yet another system that works for Brinlee, but doesn't seem to do much for Mckenna...

Sigh.

I'm hopeful though that this one will make more of a mark as time goes on. I talk like she's still super tough, but sweet little Mckenna has really mellowed in the last couple months and is surprising us with how sweet and obedient she can be!

That, and we have since done a few more rounds for Mckenna in this chair, and the fun factor seems to be wearing off a bit. Her last time in there looked a bit more like Brinlee's first. Fingers crossed I guess!

Also, it's worth noting that the chair has yet to be used for it's original intended purpose.

And no, it has not yet been painted either.

Because I'm just that awesome.

LAST DAY OF PRE-K:

It's official! Our little Brinlee girl has left the ranks of the preschoolers and is all ready for kindergarten!

We celebrated with caps and gowns. And cookies, of course!

Mercy, could she get any cuter?!