Covid day #4. To complicate things even more, today is Gary's 100 mile run! The other 4 of us tested negative so he still decided to give it a go. Gary had a rapid negative & a PCR negative, so the guys were okay with him still going up. Thankfully, he's still got antibodies so I think he's okay.  Only other change of plans is that I stayed home with Maeve. Here are a few pics from today just before they started...

Thankful for this support crew helping him out while I can not be there.

He's out running 100 miles & we're here looking a lot like this...

The weather has been so great so Maeve has been able to mask up & be outside. It's nice for me to hang with her a little too. Feels more natural vs going in the bedroom with a mask on. Marin is bored to tears. She can't handle the quarantine. She also had to miss a meet yesterday, so that upset her a little. But I keep telling her to be thankful we are okay. And she is negative, so her time may still come! Today it was warm enough for Maeve to even go through the sprinklers!

Sun is setting on the guys. Hoping they have a good night tonight. I so wish I could be there with them, but I know he's in good hands. We'll see what the morning brings.

xoxo

Yesterday Margaux & Maeve had a meet. 1/2 way through the day I got a call at school that Maeve had been exposed at school. We knew it was coming because the close contact was one of her friends that she had also been with over the weekend. Regardless, if you are not allowed to go to school because of close contact, you cannot go to after school activities. So she could not run her CC meet. Margaux was a go though! And she did great! 

I came home from Marg's meet around 5pm to a very hot, feverish Maeve laying in my bedroom. UGH, I knew right away. I gave her some meds, got her some food & shut the door.

Today, I go her in at the doctor for a Covid test. And this afternoon we got her positive test, which we knew was coming. Thankfully, she is doing great & feeling okay. Her fever broke right away & she has a little congestion. That is it & I am so relieved. This virus can be scary. So for now, she continues to quarantine in my room. I mask up to bring her drinks, food or whatever else it is she needs. She's in pretty good spirits too. The big girls have to be home now too because of a positive case in the house. 9 more days! Hoping it goes fast & Maeve continues to do well. xoxo

 Beginning of the cross country season for Marg & Maeve today! Marin's meets are on Thursdays, the other girls run most weeks Tuesday & Thursday. Their courses are 1/2 of the high school 5k. They also had a tiny cheering squad today.

First meet of the season! 

Go Marg...

Go Maeve!

And a quick pic of GG from this weekend when we gathered to celebrate her birthday. Luckily it was beautiful outside so we were all able to be there to enjoy cake with her. 

Love you GG & we are so proud of our runners. Great start to the week. xoxo

 Cross Country week two for Marin. Her first official varsity run & she shaved some time off her time from last week already. 

Even a few medals for their varsity team this week. They also enjoyed a team dinner together last night. Every night before a meet, one of the runners hosts the team at their house for a spaghetti dinner. Every family sends something to share. Marin's friends have become very fond of my brownies. I have a feeling that is what I'll be sending each week.

Congrats team!!! xoxo

First Day of School 2021. 

Here is our 5th grader...

High School Freshman Marin & 7th Grade Marg...

Maeve is the last of the girls to hang with me at school. Makes me sad. Two years with her at school with me & then I'll be riding solo. She's super excited to NOT have to ride the bus. She's equally excited to have the class hamster that Margaux got to enjoy for 2 years. Maeve's turn now.

Love these girls so much. They all survived their first day of school & came home with smiles on their faces. 

And we made a quick stop at the Johnsons to see Sloane on her first day of 1st grade.

Here's to a great school year for us all! xoxo

 This is it, the official end of summer. No summer is complete without a party for Marin & her friends. Almost officially high school freshman.

They ended with a fun day at the lake together. I'm sure being back in school won't stop them though.  The weekends ahead will be continued fun for them I am sure. I keep telling her I'd like to live her fun life! haha

 Today was Marin's first high school cross country meet. She's worked so hard, running with the team for weeks already. It was fun for her to have a big cheering squad.

So much excitement at the start. I was so nervous for her. We knew going into the run that the top 8 runners make varsity for the season. Even as a freshman, she really wanted to compete for a spot.

Thankfully, she ran a great race & finished 8th!!! We officially have a varsity cross country runner. Excited for her & so proud. Not easy to do as a freshman. Look how cute these girls are...

They've already developed such a great bond together in these few short weeks before the season. Fun season ahead! Congrats Marin! xoxo

 Today silly Marg decided to give the green man suit a try. Hasn't been out for a few years. So funny to see her little body in it. Made us all laugh.

And Maeve spent the day celebrating Hazel's birthday. The girls have started a new tradition of decorating each others rooms the day of & baking birthday treats. It's been so fun for them.

They're all growing up so fast & have such great friends. Glad they can all have so much fun together.

I made this amazing charcuterie board at Wendy's over the weekend. Surprised myself! It looked so pretty I just had to take pictures of it.

Last night we went downtown for Katie Witthuhn's birthday & did the pedal tavern. Gary & I had never done it before. Such a fun time, but it was hot & hard to pedal. Much harder than we thought it would have been. Assumed a motor would do the work.

Either way, it was fun & it was HOT. 

A couple outdoor patio stops downtown along the way & another great sunset! Then it was time to pedal back to our starting point.

xoxo

We've had a busy few days. Girls weekend in Pewaukee for me with my high school girlfriends. We had so much fun together. Always so great to see everyone. A few that it's been over a year because of Covid. 

I also had the big girls in Milwaukee for a few days visiting the Anguils. Laughed so hard when we were at this stop sign & this guy was asking for money outside the car. Marin was so uncomfortable. She'll have to get used to it if she wants to live in MKE for college.

Maeve was with Kentops all weekend living her best life with Eva. She's so lucky that they take her everywhere. Lots of fun experiences for her when she's tagging along with Eva.

Tonight we are all back at home celebrating Gary. He won the High Cliff Ultra yesterday!!! I am feeling terrible because none of us were there with him. I was in Pewaukee with the girls & our girls were all over the place too. Either way, we are so dang proud of him. Never ceases to amaze us. I wish I had even just a fraction of his determination.

As we celebrated it was downpouring raining outside. The kids asked to skip dinner & play in the rain. They had so much fun! The sound of all their giggles was priceless.

Our girls look so big in this photo next to Katie's littles. Love them all so much. Acre couldn't even look up for the picture. Such a fun 45 mins for them to play together in the rain & fun for us to watch too. xoxo

 Marin & the girls decide to have a good ol' fashion game day today. It was so funny listening to them laugh while they played fibber. Nice for them to unplug every now & then. They constantly have devices in their hands. Typical teenagers.

Maeve & I went on our daily golf cart ride and picked up a little friend. Arlo, Ebelings dog. Look at that smile on Maeve's face. She is so funny because sometimes she hates dogs & is terrified... and other times she is happy as ever. He just loves her & was happy to be on a ride.

Soaking in these summer days. xoxo

 Hot one today. We spent some time swimming this morning. I feel like the summer is going by so fast. We're a day away from August already. Makes me sad, my free time is coming to an end.

Then this afternoon we headed to the fire station for the grand opening of the new station. My dad is so proud of the new facility & it was so great to tour it. 

I'm sure it's the first of many visits. Turned out great! And these kids sure love their grandpa. xoxo

Today we went to the diamond to watch Bhodi play for a bit. Great win. 

And... Marg is the first Brown child to get braces! She was not thrilled with the idea of a photo but she better get used to it. They'll be in all her photos for the next 2 years! 

She also needs to change her diet a bit. Way less sticky stuff & they say no gum. We'll see if she sticks to that! xoxo

 End of July & I have officially been given keys to my classroom. Mrs. Brown Room 209!

Lots of work to be done but I am slowly cleaning it out & bringing things in to make it my own. First magnet on the cabinet is Gary's elementary football picture. So blonde & little. I'm sure the 5th graders will love it.

Maeve and her friends played outside on the playground while I worked in the classroom. Then we had some time a the marina with Warrens.

And another beautiful sunset. xoxo

Never a dull moment with random nights at Veraghens.

 Always great conversation with friends & a lot of laughter. These boys had a little too much fun last night. 

Complete with shotgunning beers together by the pool. Love our neighborhood & the great friends we're surrounded by. Trouble!!! xoxo

 Some lake fun this past weekend with the Ebelings. Always a great time hanging by the fire, playing yard games & spending time on the water.

This is usually an August weekend for us & with a free weekend it worked to push it into July. So glad we did because the weather was perfect. We decided to keep it simple & boat across the lake Friday night for dinner at the restaurant on the lake. Beautiful sunset as well!

The rest of the weekend was filled with a lot of boat time & the sauna.

All of them in their happy places on the lake... 

Margaux, the sauna.

Marin, surfing.

Maeve, chilling on the boat with snacks. 

They'll all sleep well this week. xoxo

Wow, is summer busy! After we got back from the vacation, it felt like it was July before we knew it. One hole month of summer already done. So sad! Our girls were so happy that we were able to head up north for the 4th of July after we missed it last summer. Still so crazy to think of all the things we missed with the year of covid. Thankfully things are improving & life is somewhat returning to normal. Lots of interest in driving the boat this past weekend, the girls loved it. 

They also spent a lot of swimming & fishing. All three of the girls have friends on the lake, so it was nice for them to spend time with them as well.

We had to go back for bait after they used the entire first container of worms fishing all day, every day. Fun for them all to catch fish with each cast. Marin was the only one brave enough to take the hook out, the other two needed Grandpa.

Quick pics before we headed to the parade. It was hot again too. 90 degrees.

Annual whole group pic...

And we were off to the parade. We all felt like the parade two years ago was a little lacking. This one was great! Way more floats & as always way more than enough candy.

We went for a sunset cruise Sunday night before the fireworks. The lake was so quiet & beautiful.

The fireworks were great! Some of the best we've ever seen on the lake. It was had catching them all because they were being lit off in every direction. So much fun for the girls. Maeve even braved them from the dock. Maybe that fear is wearing off?? Wishful thinking! Happy 4th of July!! xoxo