boats and boat jackets

Since our trip to Minnesota, Little Miss J has become obsessed with boats and boat jackets. She asks to wear a "boat jacket" every.single.day. and is quick to identify any boat she sees whether in the water, on a trailer, on TV, etc.

A few days before we left for vacation, Little Miss J's swim instructor had the kids wear life jackets at a swim lesson. At that time, Little Miss J must have thought it was some sort of torture device because she screamed her little face off, when I strapped it on her. Fortunately, Grandma Amy started conditioning her on the car ride to the cabin telling her that she had to wear her special boat jacket so that she could ride on the boat. Apparently, that did the trick. All week long she was talking about boats and boat jackets. Unfortunately, here in Arizona, we have neither a boat nor a boat jacket. Last night at dinner, she was looking at pictures of her on Papa Roger's boat and decided that she needed to be wearing a boat jacket at the dinner table. She went nuclear when I broke the news that we did not have a boat jacket for her to wear. After much cajoling, the only way to talk her off that ledge was to suggest that we go swimming. So after dinner, we took a little dip in the pool. I grew up going to the cabin and riding in boats, and I'm glad that Little Miss J gets to experience the cabin life even though we live so far away. It's also fairly amusing that she now says "boh-t" with a true Minnesotan accent.

boat driving J

happily ever after

We blew through the Windy City last weekend to celebrate Nicole's and Paul's nuptials. Just enough time for a quick stop to stuff my face at Portillo's, a walk by the Bean, and to hang out with Gus's extended family for 2 seconds before we were back at O'Hare headed to our soon to be former home.

Little Miss J watching the boats on the Chicago River.
She is obsessed with boats. No seriously. Obsessed.

I missed out on the photo opp because I was too
busy gettin' jiggy with it on the dance floor with
Little Miss J

the Chung girls. Cheese!

cuttin' a rug

and the obligatory cousin picture ... every family does it.

Congratulations to the happy couple! Thanks for inviting us to share in your special day!

lake vermilion 2012

Our next adventure lies right around the corner, but I wanted to take a moment to remember our family vacation. We spent an entire week at Lake Vermilion with Grandma Amy and Papa Roger and my brother and his family. Lazy days were spent sitting on the deck, playing cribbage, and of course ... SWIMMING! Little Miss J got to go swimming at least twice every day. As soon as she saw one of the older kids putting on their swimming suits, she would start taking off her clothes to get ready. Here's the highlight reel ...

Little Miss J sings "seri and appah banana boat"

happy birthday, papa roger!

shortly after this picture is taken, Jackson pushes Little Miss J away and yells "no more hugs!" oh Jackson, if only you knew. someday you won't be able to get enough hugs from pretty girls.

Little Miss J was the fairy princess star of Grandma Amy's 1st place parade float

my little firecracker

a cabin vacation wouldn't be complete without some rock skipping

and a bonfire on the beach

we even got to see papa ralph

we love the lake. until next summer!

home sweet home

After our Minnesota vacation, which I still need to blog about, we headed to California to find a rental house. Yesterday afternoon with D day quickly approaching, Gus calls me and says, "you can stop looking, this is our house." It's the perfect little (emphasis on the little) house for all members of the Chunglund family. The neighbors (who also happen to be the landlords) are a very nice couple with two kids, ages 5 and 8. Juliet was already playing with the 5 year old. They have lived there for more than 12 years and love the area. We also met our across the street neighbors who have a 1 year old and a 4 year old.

The neighborhood is great. Close to work, close to Trader Joe's, close to a park and close to two great daycares that I'm hoping I can get Juliet into. Julie, our neighbor/landlord, said she would write up a little guide and give us ideas for restaurants, things to do, etc. After seeing how much fun Juliet was having at her house with her daughter, she even suggested that there was a date night in a future. Yippee!

The little bungalow is perfect for us right now 3 BR/1.25 BA. We've been living in a small apartment so don't have that much furniture anyhow. It comes with all appliances where some of the places we looked would have required us to purchase our own refrigerator and washer/dryer. Landscaping service is included so we will not have to mow the lawn. Most importantly, I have been wishing for a yard for Carleton for several months now as he seems a little anxious to get out and run. The back half of the garage (which was converted into a shed) has been finished into a room, which is climate controlled, and as a dog door to the fenced in backyard. I'm hoping Carl can use that room as his "dog house," while we are at work - instead of being crated. That way he can go in and out as he pleases and have a comfortable inside area when the weather is warm.

We only had three days to find something and I think we did a good job. This will be a great place to live for the next year and explore our new city.

our new home