August Fun

We've had a fairly busy August, so I figured I'd just throw a bunch of pics on here to share them and get kind caught up. I still have more photos on my camera that I might add at a later date!

Random sibling photo from in July

Momma and Alena dancing while singing Camp songs at VBS!



Eating an ice cream cone at VBS

Alena got to swim at the boat landing on Birch Road. Of course, Grandma Hawkins' dog, Baylee joined in on the fun! They're sometimes like two peas in a pod.

And Levi looked on while Alena swam. He had his time, too, since we went a couple of times that week.

Alena got to hold a toad in Grandpa Cance's backyard. She thought it was pretty special, and so did we :)

Every time she goes to her Grandpa Cance's house, she finds the joker hat and puts it on. And, yes, that is dirt on her face. She is always dirty, it seems!

Checking out Grandpa's one remaining Corvette!

She wants to drive it already!!

Eating some lunch on Uncle Steve's pontoon at his cabin.

There are lots of rocks in the swimming area and dock, and Alena enjoyed picking them up and throwing them! We just try to keep her from chewing on the little ones! She had a blast just goofing around! She even went on a tube ride with mama and had a super duper thrill!

Levi just used said tube to take a nap. Cute little guy!!

Random funny shot of Alena while at Lake Wissota.

The fam overlooking Lake Wissota. We camped there for 3 nights. More pics from that trip to come! Lots of fun!!!

Our first family bike ride to Grandpa & Grandma Cerkas' house. They were great on the way there, but Levi screamed the whole way back :( We're hoping to do more of this in the future!

Levi and I went to La Crosse last Saturday to meet the newest member of the family! Auntie Ashley & Uncle Jake welcomed Quinn Dorothy Colstad on August 26th! She was 7lbs 15oz, 21 inches. She seemed so super duper tiny to me! Levi was royally intrigued by this little girl. He did hold her hand and it was so sweet!

Uncle Jake & Auntie Ashley were commenting on how big Levi was, and this was Levi's response... putting on the cute show! Just wait until Quinn is my age!!

Oneida County Fair

Alena got the pleasure of taking in the Oneida County Fair in Rhinelander. The kids and I were up in Tomahawk for a week at the beginning of August to help with my home church's VBS. Since the fair was going on, we decided to partake. Alena was super excited to be able to go on so many rides!! I made sure to get a pic of her on each one, like the good mom that I am (sometimes;)! Thanks for taking us there, Grandma Hawkins!!

On the train ride... she went on it twice and sat in the front seat the second tiem around.


Pulling the string for the bell!

Up in the air on a flying dinosaur!

Checking out the carousel!

On the caterpillar roller coaster before she got a totally concerned look on her face and we stopped the ride. She was the only one on it!

The infamous "horsie" ride. She loves to ride 'em!

Petting the tortoise.

Feeding the ear-less goat. Looked so funny!

Cherry Picking

Cherry picking at the end of July in Door County. We took a day trip up there while the picking was good and stocked up on Montmorency cherries for the rest of the year. It was definitely a challenge to pick while Alena ran around! She knows how to get into trouble and conveniently not listen everywhere! Levi wouldn't let us go too far away (especially Mama) so Daddy had to pick the bulk of the cherries. They are totally yummy and worth it!

Here's Alena checking what's in her bucket... or is she spitting her pit into it? We tried to make a game out of spitting out the cherry pits so she would feel less compelled to ingest them (although, in typical Alena fashion, she ate a whole bunch of pits) by spitting them out into her hand and throwing them.


And trying to help pick cherries. Most of the branches were just a bit out of her reach!

Levi supervised the whole operation from the comfort of his stroller.

Helping by climbing a ladder, just like Daddy!

Cute photo op!

Yeah, Levi got out of the stroller and got to ride in Mama's sling!

First Words

Well, kinda...

At the Manitowoc Zoo

How Young is too Young to Wear Makeup?

If you ask Alena, she'd say that she's ready. In fact, her mother has given her a "tickle tickle" of blush or eyeshadow from time to time. Not that her mom wears makeup much at all these days.

With the heat and, moreso, the humidity lately, we've been firing up the window air conditioner in our bedroom (the only window we could fit it in) and using a fan to drive the cool air down the hallway toward Alena's room at the other end of the hallway. Last night was the first night that we left the fan running and AC on a less intermittent setting. So, we opened her door so that she could partake in the luxurious goodness of sleeping in a cooler room. Eric said he'd close the door when he got up at 5:30am, so it should be no trouble, and she'd probably sleep better. She never really gets out of bed before I get her up, anyway. At least that I am aware.

I woke up around 7, thinking I was mildly surprised that Levi wasn't up yet. I listened carefully and heard a muffled cry over the noise of the fan! It seemingly drown out any noise that the kids made during the night. When I left my room, I noticed that Alena's door was still open. Without my glasses on, I peeked in, but didn't see her in bed. I thought she might have been in the pile of covers toward then end of her bed. I glanced into the kitchen, living room, and down the stairs just in case. Nothing. I responded to Levi's call, and brought him to bed with me to feed him. While lying there, I thought it was odd that Alena wasn't in her normal spot in bed. After Levi was done, I got up and checked the one room that I hadn't earlier. We usually leave the door closed in the bathroom so that the cool air will pass right on by and on to the other bedrooms. It was still closed.

I opened the door, and there stands my little mischief-maker, a tube of Daddy's toothpaste in one hand, his head for the electric toothbrush in the other, and mascara and lip gloss smeared on her face! Busted! Alena must have thought that this was her chance to sneak out of her room and into the bathroom where all kinds of forbidden toddler treasures lie! She even ensured that she closed the door behind herself (luckily didn't lock it)!

After the inital shock of being caught red handed, and frantically replacing the toothbrush and toothpaste to its rightful spot in a drawer, she knew she was done for! Being the mean mom that I am, I took photos and messaged her daddy. After an obligatory spanking and time out, I washed the adult makeup off with a baby wipe. Ironic, I know. She really did do a pretty good job considering she couldn't see herself in a mirror at all. She managed to coat her lashes and get black in generally all the right areas. It's hard to miss your nose with the tip of the mascara brush unless your experienced (I daresay she's still a novice)! I can only imagine how many times she must have poked her own eye! I'm thinking of throwing the mascara out since I really don't trust where the brush may have been :p

What a great expression in the pic! Classic Alena!

Another new motherhood badge: Makeup Defender? (I'm open for suggestions on this one :)

Alena Sings The ABC's