July Family Weekend/Wedding

So, once again I have fallen terribly behind on my blog posts! This summer is just flying by! In July we spent a wonderful weekend in South Dakota, hanging out with the Hoekman family, having a belated celebration for our awesome niece Anna's 2nd birthday, and going to Dan's cousin Emily and Travis' wedding. Good times!



When we arrived for family dinner, we were presented with an octopus appetizer courtesy of Katie (and Pinterest). :) They were cute but I think that our Norwegian octopus tasted better!

Here is a picture of the kids table. Pretty soon our little peanut will graduate from her high chair and join the other cousins!

It seems hard to believe that Anna is already 2 years old!! What a little sweetheart. Here she is opening her birthday gift from the Storm family. She has a play kitchen set so we got her some wooden foods to play with and, of course, the handcrafted apron (previously blogged about :) ).

After a morning of thrifting and garage sale-ing, we attended Daniel's cousin Emily's wedding in Tea, South Dakota. It was a lovely ceremony! Lucy was a bit of a wildcat during the service but we survived. :) Here is the new Mr. and Mrs.

Lucy looked so cute in her pink dress! This little girl is only a few months old and she has already been to 3 weddings. Here she is spending time with Grandpa Ken after the ceremony.

When we were packing for the trip to SoDak, I was responsible for my stuff + Lucy's things. Dan was responsible for his stuff + the dogs. What could go wrong, you ask?

Here is my wonderful husband from the waist up:

And here is the full body shot. Dan forgot his dress pants in Madison!! He did pack nice shorts and it was blazing hot, as usual, so it wasn't an epic fail.:)

A picture of the limo, complete with a red carpet, ready to take the new couple down the beautiful streets of Sioux Falls.

Lucy had a great time at the reception. She spent time with Grandma Nola, Grandpa Ken, Great Grandpa & Great Grandma Storm, and some other aunties and uncles. Here is our Lucy Bear, all smiles.

Thanks for another great family weekend Hoekmans and Storms!

Our 8 month old

Our baby girl turned 8 months old a couple of weeks ago! Little Lucille is growing - she weighed in at 17lbs 8oz before our pictures this month. Her favorites include: emptying out drawers/containers, making loud noises (hitting the kitchen table with a wooden spoon is awesome!), touching/feeding the dogs (she does not put finger food in her mouth, she drops it on the ground for her puppies to eat), and jumping in her exersaucer (check out this youtube video of our bouncy baby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjrpl0H8pA8 ). Lucy's latest new trick is making raspberry noises! I will try to get this on video sometime for you to see - it is super cute. As far as dislikes go - she suddenly hates taking baths (!?!?). She loves swim lessons but hates her little tub with a passion. Any tips on making your child love bathing would be appreciated!

We love you Lucy!

Chief is 5 years old!

Last week our dear Chief turned 5 years old!! Yay! Chief was so sick last winter that we did not think that he would see his 5th birthday but our boy made it! We are so thankful to have him in our lives. We continue to monitor his Addison's Disease closely. Chief is on a strict medication and monthly shot regimine but his temperament and weight are normal and his blood work is right on track. We love our sweet, energetic, friendly, and crazy dog!

Sewing Project

Well, folks - it has been awhile! My sewing machine has pretty much been collecting dust since Lucy was born. Yikes! I decided that I needed to get back to crafting. :) The perfect occasion to sew something new = our niece Anna's 2nd birthday on July 5th. Anna has a sweet play kitchen so I decided to create an apron for her to wear while she cooks.

Here I am in action! I didn't have a pattern so I just did my best with a yard of fabric and some ribbon.

And the finished result! Dan wasn't being a very enthusiastic model...

but I think that this little apron turned out to be a pretty cute little project! Hope you love it, Anna! :)

4 Year Anniversary in beautiful Dubuque

On July 5th, Daniel and I celebrated our 4th wedding Anniversary! Yay! I can't wait to be married to Dan for 100 more years. :)

Each year, we try to spend an anniversary weekend away. This year required some extra planning because we now have our sweet baby girl, Lucy! We decided to go to Dubuque, Iowa for the weekend. It is a quick drive from Madison, it has a great Museum/Aquarium of the Mississippi, it has a cute downtown, and some nice, scenic hiking trails and bluffs along the river.  We had a great time!

We spent most of Saturday at the Museum and Aquarium because it was a scorcher outside!! It was an excellent museum, if you are in the area we definitely recommend a visit. There were exhibits on Native Americans, early American explorers, fur trading, steamboats, Mark Twain, lots of fish/wildlife, and an awesome interactive area for kids. Lucy will love this place in a couple of years!

Lucy and Mama checking out a canoe

There was a cool catfish outside that you could walk inside and see its anatomy.

And now a real life catfish. This guy was a monster! He and Lucy were checking each other out. :)

Our little peanut hanging out at the hotel after our big day at the museum.

On Sunday, we spent some time walking around the beautiful bluffs! We had a wonderful time but it was pretty hot so our hike was cut a bit short. What a fun weekend! Love you Dan!

Concerts on the Square 2012

July marks the return of a summer favorite to the Storm household! The Concerts on the Square season started again. :) We love spending our Wednesday evenings sitting on the Capitol lawn, having picnics and listening to the Madison symphony orchestra. Last Wednesday Lucy attended her first Concerts on the Square. How fun! Lucy enjoyed the music and dinner with our friend Melissa. It was a beautiful evening outside.

Happy 4th of July!

We wanted to celebrate America's birthday with a picnic/barbecue, some time outdoors, and some fireworks but our plans were an epic fail due to the heat! As with most places in the Midwest, Madison has been hot, hot, hot this summer! It was a very balmy 4th this year so, sadly, we spent the day mostly indoors. We still had a great time with our little sparkler, Lucy. She wore her patriotic sundress all day. :) Here she is spending some time in her highchair after breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, we enjoyed some donuts as a holiday treat. Giant donuts with patriotic red, white, and blue sprinkles. Can you get more American than that? I don't think so! :)

Even if we didn't get to have our family picnic, we still had an awesome day hanging out with our little girl. One of Lucy's favorite new things is emptying drawers and containers. Here are some photos of Lucy Bear taking all of her little blocks and toys out of her green drawer. 

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July with their family and friends!