Happy Birthday, Savvy-girl!

Yesterday was Savannah's 7th birthday, and what better way to celebrate than to skip school and head down to the Great Lakes Aquarium for a field trip.  After that we visited the great-grands and overloaded them on kid-energy.  Fun, fun!

Hard to photograph how pretty the drive down Lake Avenue in Duluth is, but it is one of my favorites.

The girls in front of the Great Lakes Aquarium

Our Savvy girl is 7!

Supposed to be able to pet stingrays, but the water was being treated.

Savvy named this catfish Butch.

Jesse taking in the views of the lake

Just thought this was a funny sign

After the aquarium we visited the great-grands.  And picked apples.

Savvy was the gatherer after Jesse climbed the tree and shook them to the ground.

Yeah, I don't know.  Sometimes Riley is just plain weird.

Our handsome boy playing in the fall leaves.

Getting ready to make a wish

Hard to believe that our second girl is already seven.  But I am still in denial of the "these days just fly by" theory on raising children.  These days have NOT flown by.  Often times, I've felt that I've been dragged kicking and screaming through the nine years of Motherhood that I've experienced.  Maybe what people mean by flying time is the fact that we lose memories.  What song did I sing to lull her to sleep, and what tooth came in first?  If that is what the wise parents of the world mean, then I totally agree.  Seems like it has gone fast when I try to pick those precious jewels out of the mess of my brain.

But I love watching my Savvy-girl sleep.  When her face is at ease, peaceful, I remember holding her in my arms and rocking her to Dreamland while she contentedly sucked that crazy pacifier for dear life.  I remember having to buzz her cute little head at two months old because she was born with a samurai topknot and not much else.  I close my eyes and remember pulling moths out of her mouth, thankfully un-masticated.  The memories that remain, I cherish.