Day 2176 | Denver!

We’re in Denver and loving every second. Our new baby nephew/cousin is about the sweetest little nugget ever. And we’re soaking in every second with him.

The days have gone by fast but we’ve managed to squeeze a lot in. We’ve had tons of baby snuggles (mostly me), done lots of exploring (today’s highlight was the boys’ first escape room), and have eaten way too much delicious food. We’re beyond grateful for the chance to travel again after going 23 months without being on an airplane. I just love Denver.

Day 2171 | A Front Tooth

Robbe has been working on wiggling his front teeth for weeks and weeks. Today was the day for the left one—thanks to his cousin’s help and encouragement.

The ingredients for a successful extraction?

  • a Froot Loop

  • three pistachios

  • lots of pushing, twisting, and spinning

  • a piece of floss (and some delicate finessing by me)

I have a feeling he other front tooth won’t be far behind.

Day 2170 | Wisconsin Logging Camp Museum

Today was our third Summer Surprise Adventure day. I try to find something new to do once a week to expand our horizons of fun activities in our area. Today’s adventure was a visit to the Wisconsin Logging Museum (yep, that’s a thing!). We enjoyed the beautiful day by meandering through some historic buildings and learning a lot about the area’s logging trade.

To round it out, we finished up with ice cream from the adorable ice cream window pictured above. Sometimes everything just works out.

Day 2166 | Farewell, Richmond (Again)

We said [another] farewell to Richmond this week. Unfortunately, he hasn’t found his forever home yet, but there was another foster home willing to take the sweet little guy because we’ve got some travel coming up in July. Richmond has been with us for almost two months. It was hard to say goodbye, but that’s part of the deal and I have high hopes Richmond will find the perfect family really soon.

Day 2164 | Madison Outing

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I promised more photos from Madison, and here you go. It was such a fun little getaway. The boys were SO excited about a mini vacation—it was the sweetest thing ever. Staying in a hotel after so long was about the best thing that’s ever happened to them. This city remains one of my favorites.

Day 2163 | Success…Short-Lived

This little guy (or gal?) emerged today! It was beautiful and incredible and so exciting.

And then? Before we could wait for his little wings to dry out and release him, there was an incident. Richmond, our foster cat, was outside on the porch where the butterfly cage has been for the past two weeks. Apparently the fluttering inside the cage was too much for him. When Richmond was out there for a few minutes on his own, we came back to find the cage on the floor and our new friend gone. It was (and still is) devastating.

We’re continuing to hold out hope for our second chrysalis (even though the cage got batted around a bit). Keep thinking happy thoughts.

Day 2157 | 15 Years of Marriage

“A good marriage is one where each partner secretly suspects they got the better deal.”

Fifteen years. Chris and I got married 15 years ago today. It was a crazy hot day surrounded by all of our friends and family with ice cream sundaes and a pretty epic dance party. That day remains the best day of my life (I was in pretty immense pain when the boys were born, after all).

I’m thankful every day that we’ve built this beautiful life together. We’ve gone through a lot in those years, but it really feels like we’re just getting started, you know? This is the life I’ve always dreamed of with the best friend I never could have imagined.

I ran across the quote above when I was contemplating marriage today. It gave me a good chuckle and I thought you might enjoy it. In case you’re wondering, though, in this marriage, it’s clear that I got the better deal.