Hellllooooo Summer!

Summer. What a terrific season. Days full of sunshine and boat rides, ice cream and watermelon, family and fun - how can you not love this time of year? When we were younger and summers meant sleepovers every weekend, trips to Valleyfair, and bumming around town with your friends - those three months seemed like an eternity. Since graduating college and getting a "big girl job" time has really started to cruise. Once we got married and welcomed Harper into the mix it certainly didn't slow down! Even though we spend most of our week sitting behind a desk admiring the sun through a window, we still make the most of these summer months!

Another great thing about this time of year is enjoying the outdoors with a little golf. This is the third year I've been on a women's league with Amanda, Jenna and Jennie. You would think golfing weekly for a few months would improve your game, umm - not so much. Maybe it's because we play by our own rules, and spend most of our time gossiping. Whatever, we enjoy each others company and get to spend a couple hours breathing the fresh air. It's also been a Father's Day tradition the last few years for my Dad, Austin, Mitch and I to play 9 holes that Sunday morning. This past Sunday, we could break tradition so Grandma Trish watched Harper for a few hours while we headed to Hollydale Golf Course. We shared some laughs, and there were no clubs thrown so overall it was a good outing. Beers and hotdogs followed our round. Another great golf day for the books! That afternoon we invited both of our families over for a BBQ. As usual, we scarfed our faces and enjoyed each other's company. I think it was a great day for everyone, especially for the Dad's and Grandpa's!

Dad and his kiddos!

Enjoying his $.75 milk.

Harper & Mitch on Daddy-o's Day!

This summer we're also trying something new through Mitch's work. For 18 weeks we're getting a bag full of fresh produce from a local farm in Big Lake. The boxes of goodies are delivered directly to Mitch's office every Tuesday. This was our first week, and I was eager to get the goods. Our first bushel included asparagus, beets, radishes, peas, strawberries, red and regular romaine, scallions and fresh thyme. We quickly realized 1.) it's a lot of food to get in one week and 2.) it's time consuming cleaning and prepping the produce. We followed the directions given by the farm on how to properly clean and store the fruits and veggies and finally got everything cleaned and cut before bed Tuesday night. We've already enjoyed a little bit of everything, and my new obsession might be beet greens! I'm looking forward to next week and the rest of summer to see what we get!

The Goods :: Week 1

Thursday we had a busy day/night planned. Harper had her 6 month doctor appointment, and we also had a graduation dinner for Mitch. The last two years Mitch has been involved in this EDGE program within Boston Scientific. He spent 8 months in 4 different departments learning the ins and outs and working on various projects. It truly seems like just yesterday he came home telling me about the opportunity and saying how two years seemed like such a long time. Well, this week was his last week as a EDGE member and we were invited to celebrate with a graduation dinner Thursday evening. It was fun to see him in his element and put a face to many of the names I've heard the over the last couple years. We're so proud of him! As I mentioned, earlier in the day Harper had her 6-month check up. Her stats weren't too surprising - she weighs 17lbs 12oz (80%) and is 26 1/2 inches long (75%). They doctor said she was "thinning out." We have noticed her belly isn't as big - but she still has those cute squishy thighs and rolly arms! Harper was a trooper again getting 3 shots and one oral vaccine. Overall she had a great appointment, and we'll see them again at 9 months!

Waiting to see the Doc!

At Harper's appointment they gave us the green light to start introducing fruits and veggies into her diet. We decided we're going to make our own baby food rather than purchasing good ol' Gerber jars. Deb gave us a great book, and I've been reading all about puree's and the right ingredients. Tomorrow will be a fun experiment with sweet potatoes. I'm eager to see how she reacts to something with a more intense flavor. Bring on the carbs!

It's another weekend with little on the calendar. We might try to sneak in a Lake Minnetonka trip if possible, but we're just going with the flow! We'll see what the weekend brings!

Until next time...
The Helleen's