Sebastian and Sophia have been gone for six days. They spent two days in the Twin Cities and four days at the cabin. Mike’s parents will bring them back to Duluth tonight. We can hardly wait until they get home.
Six Days
Relaxing!
Sebastian and Sophia have been with Mike’s family since Wednesday. This has given us some time to relax and enjoy each others company. We played volleyball Thursday and came home to enjoy the warm weather and a drink on our deck. We also went for a walk in the neighborhood. After work on Friday, we went to Grandma’s to have drinks and appetizers on their outdoor deck. Although we spent some time cleaning, doing projects and running errands on Saturday, we did go to see the move “The Hangover” in the afternoon. We didn’t have the highest of expectations, but we ended up laughing the whole time. I also took some time to take photos of all the things blooming in our yard. I’m lucky enough to have a Mom that is quite a gardener and she has given us different plants over the past 10 years to fill in our perennial gardens.
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This clematis vine isn’t actually from my Mom, but I had to show how beautiful its flowers are. We had one at our old house that did very well with poor soil and afternoon sun. This one has the same growing conditions and seems to be doing just as well.
We have a four different colors of irises in our back rock garden. We also transplanted some to our front yard under our bedroom window.
We had this yellow rose bush at our old house. When we moved to our new house, we left the bush behind, but my Mom had taken a small plant that had started growing next to the big bush. When my Mom’s bush had it’s own babies, she gave one back to us.
This peony was growing on its own when we moved to our current home. It was a tiny plant that was growing between a hedge and our front steps. I kept digging it out, but it kept coming back. I finally realized it was a peony and had Mike dig it out all the way down to the roots. We replanted it where it gets a sun all day long. A second plant came up behind the hedge and we moved that one too. Now these peonies have overtaken a portion of the flower garden with their beautiful foliage and blooms.
Our roses and lilies are just starting to bud and will be blooming soon. The hydrangea that resides under our bedroom window with our irises will be in bloom soon too. I can hardly wait!
Let The Race Begin
We had a full weekend with friends in town Friday and Saturday for Grandma’s Marathon. We also made a trip up the North Shore Saturday afternoon and enjoyed Father’s Day activities on Sunday.
Mike ran the 1/2 marathon with his high school friend Dave. Mike was hoping for cool conditions with low humidity, but got the opposite instead. Despite the less than ideal race conditions, he finished the 13.1 mile course in under two hours at a time of 1 hour 56 minutes. His friend who normally runs full marathons, finished at 1 hour 47 minutes. Way to go guys!!
After the race, we drove up the North Shore to visit the Split Rock Lighthouse (which Sophia kept calling the Split Rock Light Post, despite a number of corrections by myself and Sebastian).
We also spent some time at a cabin on the edge of Lake Superior being rented by Dave’s sister. The weather was hot and sunny, which made it very tempting to jump into the water.
We spent Father’s Day at home. The kids gave Mike their gifts in the morning and we enjoyed the nice weather outside with some yard games. We finished the day with steaks on the grill (Mike’s favorite) for dinner.
M. Sullivan Photography 