just add a few lemons...

The boys' biggest "Summer Bucket List Item" was the idea of a lemonade stand. 

They woke up, pretty much every morning, this summer asking if they could have one. 

Over, and over, and over, aaaaand over, I had to explain that a stand on a cul de sac was pointless.  

So when we planned a last minute summer trip north to Grandma Charlie's we figured we would advertise on Facebook and hope to bring some local friends up the hill for a cool glass of lemonade.

My expectations were low on the number of customers that we expected. 

Henry said while falling asleep the night before, "I have to go to sleep so I have lots of energy for the lemonade stand tomorrow."  The boys imagined 100s of people.  

Grandma had just the right little yellow table.

And in the cozy kitchen they worked on signs.

My tribe of three little entrepreneurs.

Then Grandma and her eldest grandson made lemonade out of a few lemons.

Always the case up north...whether the sun shines, rain falls, or it is cooler by the lake - we make lemonade out of our time up here. 

Chocolate Chip cookies were baked and blueberry muffins made from blueberries picked by grandma...

A cute pitcher that both boys could pour from. 

While Grandma finished muffins the boys and I ripped fabric from her ENORMOUS bin of scrap fabric and tied it onto a long piece of fabric....I kinda got my Pinterest thing on and I was kinda proud of the finished product.  And while daddy rigged up the signs and posted them out around town...we figured out how to hang this banner to attract the customers.  

When we could hear a car coming the kids all ran and did their job of waving, jumping up and down, yelling, and looking as adorable as possible. 

And it worked.  The quarters turned into dollars...and even $5.00!
Ed and I worry that they have a pretty rosy illusion of the profit capabilities of a lemonade stand, because the customers were all adults who couldn't help but tip our crew...

 At one point I sat back in my lawn chair taking in the busy and so happy to see the boys manning their station, Syd excited to see daddy scooping lemonade, and grandma chatting with the customers...who were actually lining up!

An hour adventure turned into a whole day of running around outside at Grandma's and enjoying a possible new summer tradition....an annual lemonade stand at Grandma's.  

Life is good.  Little boys dreams came true. 

Quick thought and Links I Love

Last weekend I was at my parents...
Here are a few of my favorite shots.

The last few days I have had PLENTY of "me" time. I also had a few days of busy prep to get ready for the "me" time.   More to come on that very soon. Just know that I am COMPLETELY enjoying quiet time, vanilla lattes, time with my husband, talking to my boys on the phone, window shopping, eating out, and wine.

 For your weekend enjoyment...a COUPLE of links I enjoyed this week.  Not much since I have been preoccupied.

Taking Care of Me  by Small Notebook

Use the Good Stuff by Simple Mom 

Happy Weekend!  More tomorrow!

Henry's new trick - Putting on his own jacket!

I remember specifically when Charley learned to put his own jacket on. We went to Sesame Street Live and another little friend showed us how she could flip her jacket over her head. When she did it her parents whooped and hollered. They were super excited. Her mom explained that when they were teaching her how to do it they would make a HUGE deal every time she did it. So the mom got down and showed Charley and we all whooped it up and from that day forward Charley knew how to flip his coat over his head. A couple weeks ago, Henry came into the kitchen and asked me to "Watch, Mama!" And away he went. I have no idea if Charley showed him or if he figured it out by himself. I had tried a time or two. Either way...he is oh so proud. He shows his teachers and the lady who checks us out at Target...over and over and over again! So proud of my Hank! Funny how with number 2 things just progress - they just happen. They just "get things." And today one of my "get to" moments was watching Henry put on his own jacket...over and over.

Henry putting on his jacket from Sarah on Vimeo.

Expanding our Horizons in the North Woods

We have had a delightful weekend "Up North".....well, Charley actually got sick and we had to lay low for a few days but that gave me time to learn how to can applesauce with my mother-in-law. We canned 11 Quarts and 47 pints! Incredible! Today Charley finally felt good so we headed out for an adventure...we stopped at a couple garage sales, a local coop type store, and then we hit the neighboring town's marina. They were taking the large sailboats/yachts out for the winter. We were all entranced and I couldn't help but take video so that my dad could see what we saw. I thought he might be impressed.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

After Henry's nap we headed outside to dig up some potatoes that Charlie planted with grandma earlier this summer. The boys had a blast digging them up.

Always something new to learn at Grandma Charlies....now we can head back and Charley can go to school on Monday and say:

Do you know what....I dug up potatoes.
Do you know what...we have enough applesauce to feed the town.
Do you know what...