summer photos

Summer is coming to a close, and I am happy to look back and see that we lived our days to the fullest and made lots of fun memories. We made so many visits to the park, played in the yard, got together with friends, and have enjoyed lots of grill-outs (and will continue throughout the fall!)

Below you will find a (massive) photo dump of our summer adventures.

I put mandarin oranges in an ice cream cone and they thought it was the coolest thing ever. Ha.

Always a cuddle after bath time.

The last time I visited my grandma at her home. Stella was at VBS so Grace and I stopped by with doughnuts.

Grandma kept a basket of beanie babies for the toddlers to play with; Grace always liked the black lab puppy.

Lots of time with my niece Gwenyth

This one loves her sleep sack. She is in a size large, and I believe they have an XL size, too.

Helping me make dinner; Grace helped herself to some grilled chicken. Yikes!

Stella Sunshine

I love love love pine trees

A house I like :)

Summer evening grill-out with friends

The kids' table at dinner

My girls with 2 out of 3 Richter kids

Grace scampered off after diaper change and in between clothing changes!

Fun with the Richter kiddos

Fun with Charlotte

They went through a recent coloring craze

Bedtime stories

She loves her black lab puppy

Sam entertains Grace during her breakfast

James and Grace

Bubbles with Sam

Grace is being so quiet...where is she? Just lying on her sister's rug and cuddling her sleep sack.

That was one of the crazier days.

Chikfila before MOA

She swooned when she saw that there were dozens of frames available for the American Girl doll. She exclaimed: "She has glasses just like me!" and then she swooned and fell back against her stroller seat.

Checking out the wonders of Nickelodeon Universe

Stella loved this; Brett tolerated it well. 

Lunch at Grandma's

Working the barre!

Good posture, Stell!

Stella picked out this DQ cake for Brett

Stella has been all about holding Grace and cousin Gwenyth lately. She said to Grace: Do you want to sit in my lap? It's a very big lap for babies!"

She is rarely ever without a plush toy animal

Grace was happier watching Stella go down or throwing her stuffed animal lion down the slide than going herself. :)

The three cousins hanging out

Gwen loved playing with Stella's shoes, so Stella lay down so she could reach them and play with the velcro straps.

Cozy in her Frozen sweatshirt that my grandma gave her for her 4th birthday. Stella said of it: "And she got me pockets on it!"

They're always game for the park!

Stella has loved holding Gwenyth this summer

Jogging with Uncle Jared

Grandma cuddles her granddaughters

Susie spends some time with Gwenyth

Getting a closer look!

Goodbye sweet Gweny

Brett took last Friday off and we spent a little time in Excelsior, a lake town nearby. Brett has had a cold all week, and he still wasn't feeling the greatest, but we made the most of it!

Grace LOVES guacamole; she calls it moley or oley

Grace tags along with her guacamole container

Oh how I love this place

We were making dinner and they were playing downstairs. We heard them saying, "I love you" and saw that they were giving each other hugs.

Daddy is a good sport even when he is feeling lousy!

She loves climbing onto this chair lately, and many times she will take a doll or stuffed animal with her.

We tried Sea Change for Brett's birthday dinner. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling very good, and then Brett came down with a cold that evening, too. We joke that usually our birthdays fall around the same time as tragedy or sickness.

Grilled shrimp and langoustines 

Brett's arctic char and my swordfish

View from the Guthrie's deck

We rounded out the evening at French Meadow for some peach-rhubarb crisp

Mill City Ruins

Sometimes I really wish we could spend more time downtown. Just yesterday, Brett and I were able to steal away to Masa on Nicollet for some delicious Mexican fare. So fresh and the flavors are amazing.

Next summer I would love for us to take the girls somewhere up North as a family. We tend to take trips to Ohio in the fall with the kids, and Brett and I like to get away in winter or spring. 

I hope you all enjoy the remaining weeks of summer!