Blessings Wrapped in Friends

In May, I posted this video of Carl running through a flooded portion of the park. It was our small group end of year barbecue and I couldn't resist keeping the video quiet so I posted slightly out of order, but it was a good video, why wait!

It's been wonderful to get to laugh with this group, grow with them, and study the Word with them. It's great too because the kids have so much fun playing together. 11 under 11 is pretty much amazing. We took a group shot last year, so I thought it would be fun to get another one to see how we've all grown. Jon had a work thing that night so I was on my own, but I did manage to remember the tripod!

As you can see, we do like to have fun! Thanks everyone for a great night and breaking bread together. And a special shout out to Dan for helping me watch Carl on the playground while the adults talked about next year. I can't tell you how sweet that was and how much it blessed me that night!

The Very Next Day

The next day we headed over to visit with my sister and her boys for the day. We biked to the park for a while and just hung out and played through dinner time. I had considered a trip to get some ice cream after we ate, but once I heard my sister and family would come too, we made it official! It's always better to enjoy ice cream with others!

And enjoy it we did! My sister nabbed this shot of three of the them working on their dessert choices.

Once we got home, bed time actually went rather smoothly. Maybe they were in an ice cream coma or maybe they were rewarding me for the delicious dessert, either way it made my evening!

A Rough Nap

One afternoon, Carl was having a really hard time napping. I tried a few times to let him cry it out but it didn't seem to be working, plus Brianna was napping, so I decided to let him rest on the couch. He was so tired he just laid there for about 45 minutes, exactly as he was when I put him down. He must have gotten the idea from daddy and I that couches are for napping!

Not a Fan of Sprinklers

I've noticed that Carl is not a fan of sprinklers. He loves baths and he loves going to a pool but it seems he doesn't appreciate water spraying him randomly without fully getting him fully wet. The few times now that I've put the sprinklers on for Brianna and Carl he gets more upset than ecstatic (like his sister). Even on a really hot day, I thought for sure he would at least take a bucket to the sprinkler and try to fill it up but he had nothing to do with it. Maybe it's his age or maybe like I said he prefers the predictability of the water in a pool, but either way he is not a fan. Oh well... maybe next year!

Shades of Orange

Brianna received sunglasses for her birthday that Carl couldn't resist taking from her and putting them on. I think he wore them more than Brianna did! In my opinion, with her sunglasses on, he reminded me of Sir Elton John... but that's a whole different story!

Anyway, since she had sunglasses, I've been keeping my eye out for some for Carl. I think we picked this pair up at the grocery store but he loved them the moment he put them on. He didn't want to take them off, only if I slide them on the top of his head. They are perfect for his on-the-go, never stop even if I run into something nature and have held up so far. Plus they make him look cool!

Later that same day, Jon came home a little early so my mom and I could go to the Twins game together. It had been a while since we got to chat, so I thought it would be fun to watch the game and have some alone time with mom. It was a gorgeous night for baseball and simply fun hanging out with my mom. Thanks mom for coming out with me and thanks for the conversation! Love you!

Mother's Day Walk in the Woods

For mother's day, we met up with the rest of Jon's family for a hike around Banning State Park. Carl gave me a great gift - a fabulous hug and kiss!

He didn't however give me the gift of walking on his own... We tried many times even trying to add incentives into the mix to get him to walk and he would start walking fine, but he threw a fuss here and there which caused us to fall behind the group and then walk alone. He ended up being carried for a big portion of the walk and I think he liked that better. I mean look at that smile!!

New for Schmooze

Jon was asked by a business partner if he and his wife (me) would want to do a dinner together with him and his wife, instead of the usual lunch with just the two of them. Well, since the wives aren't usually involved with the schmoozing, his wife asked if we could do something fun, "you know, so we don't just have to sit across the table and stare at each other the whole time racking our brains for topics of conversation." I'm pretty sure that is very close to what she actually said! So, after watching a Saturday news cast, he stumbled across this new company, Get Knit, offering an event that you make your dinner with the help of a chef in a microbrewery warehouse.

We said why not! We found someone to watch the kids and off we went, not really knowing what to expect. It was a neat experience and really fun. The couple we went with was hilarious and super nice, which made the schmoozing much more fun. We made burgers, whipped up our own mayonnaise, and finished the meal with Bananas Foster. We also were able to sample the Microbrews. 

The Chef was also very good at her job. There she is on the right. We messed up our mayonnaise and she swooped in to help us save it. Then, I must have been taking to long with my Bananas Foster process (I'm a recipe follower and there were no recipes so I was trying really hard to remember what she said and when to do everything) because she came by again to dump in the ingredients. I think since we messed up on the mayo she was keeping a close eye on our table. It ended up being a good thing, because she was sharing a lot of good information with us and was simply a hoot!

Very fun night out. Moral of the story: It's good to try new things.

Gotta Love Pizza

We love our pizza in this family and with GF members it's hard to go out for a good pizza. But we manage - and one of our regular stops is Davanni's! I love making my kids food and testing new recipes but nothing beats a hot out of the oven pizza! So thankful for places that have an array of options so we can eat as a family. This is our "normal" and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Birthday 31!

Birthday's on a Monday are not always my favorite but what can you do when you get weather like this! It was beautiful out and the kids actually napped, giving me the opportunity to lay out in my hammock and soak it all in. 

Later that afternoon, we walked over to the park to play a little bit. On our way, we just missed my mom who stopped by to drop off a little surprise from my fabulous husband and kids. She started ti head for home but turned around and came to hang out with us for a little bit. I'm glad she did because we were starting to have a mini meltdown and driving home sounded better than trying to walk home.

THEN! That evening we had small group over at a friends house. They surprised me with yummy cheesecake for dessert and my husband took on kid duty upstairs so I could sit in with the adults. Looks like that had a lot of fun playing upstairs!

So blessed to have a loving, surprising husband who made another birthday special and two kids who couldn't stop saying happy birthday to me all day!

Baseball in the Metrodome

Uncle Jeff's school's baseball team was playing a game in the Metrodome and they asked if we wanted to come watch the game with them. We packed a dinner and headed to the game! We were really excited to watch Baseball but even more excited to see Uncle Jeff!

It was fun to watch the game but it was more fun to run around the empty seats. That is until a foul ball came right up and over the home plate netting and landed within inches of Brianna's head. So close that on the up bounce it breezed Brianna's leg. You could hear the gasps in crowd and I was doing what I could to get to her. Thankfully, she listened and stopped exactly where I told her to and it missed her... by that much! We then sat still for most of the rest of the game and waited till it was time to go.

It was fun being back in the Metrodome to watch some baseball but outdoor baseball is definitely the way to go. Nevertheless, we took a family photo to document possibly the last time being in the Dome!

Another New Experience: Tumbling

Besides wanting to do swimming lessons, I also wanted to do a tumbling class for Brianna to introduce her to gymnastic fundamentals. We found a local community center offering a class and I actually pulled the trigger this time. Ms. Tiffany and Mr. James were her teachers and were very good with a bunch of crazy 3 and 4 year olds. The parents weren't allowed to be in the gym with them so we sat patiently outside the window watching. I didn't know at first that I wasn't able to go in, but after watching the first night, I completely understand. Parents would have been too distracting and in order for them to learn anything, they needed as much attention as the kids could give. It was all very cute!

Brianna was timid at first. She would wait and watch, and even be skipped over in turns because she was simply waiting and watching. Ms. Tiffany was good about keeping her engaged and trying everything at least once! B wasn't sure of Mr. James but by the end she said he was nice and could be her friend. How sweet!

The picture might be hard to see, but that's Brianna waiting her turn for the balance beam in the stripped pants. More pictures of B in tumbling to come later!

Swimming Lessons With Auntie Mick

I've been wanting to do swimming lessons for Brianna for a while, but never pulled the trigger. So when my amazing sister called to say they checked out the local swimming pool and asked if we wanted to join them next time for a little swimming lesson, I said yes! She used to be a lifeguard and taught lessons, but I guess it never registered in my head that she did until I saw her in action. Brianna listened and followed instructions really well. It didn't take very long and she was bobbing under water on her own and doing an assisted back float.

Thanks to Michelle for helping B gain more confidence in the water. Although she never wanted to do it during lessons, she now jumps in the water saying, "I want to do it by myself!" Then without hesitation she jumps, reaches out and kicks back up to the top. And of course Carl is right there jumping as soon as she's up!

So when can we get back in the water for more lessons??!!

First Outdoor Picnic

It is wonderful to have summer finally here and be outside again. We were thankful, after a lingering winter, to have our first outdoor lunch on April 26. In general, I'm not one to eat outdoors (I'm getting better), but Brianna was being so good and asking so nice that I couldn't help but say yes. We got out the little table and they immediately pulled their outdoor chairs up to it to eat. I hadn't even had food ready, but they were willing to wait! I think we were all in desperate need for some sunshine! We ate and giggled our way through lunch then it was time for nap. B & C were reluctant, but who could blame them - the sunshine was beckoning!

Mac, Mac...

Carl loves his cousin, Baby Max! When Carl says it though, it sounds more like Mac. We were happy to help out when my sister called and asked if we could watch him for an afternoon while she went to a meeting. Brianna and Carl were already down for a nap when he arrived, but they were excited when they woke up and saw he was here. There is no stopping them from being as close as possible to the little guy. He will get SO much attention from his older cousins... at least while he's still baby "Mac."

I even got a chance to pull out my baby sling and cuddle with Max while I got some work of my own done. He was so peaceful. It was just too bad Carl didn't really like the sling that much. Brianna loved it, but Carl only wanted to be as straight as a board and that is not much of an option in the sling. Oh well, I was able to cuddle with this little cutie!

 

And later that evening... 

...your guess is as good as mine!

Creating a Masterpiece

Small cardboard boxes double nicely as small houses for little hands to color on! We opened up our crafting box and got to work. Carl even got in on the fun with his Cars stickers! Brianna was super excited to see me pull out all of the fancy stickers, scissors, and some crazy tape that she could use on her creation. Usually when she creates something, either a picture or otherwise, it goes through a series of "this is for..." Daddy is the normal go to recipient, she likes to tell him that he can bring it to work. The house however, did not go to daddy, it went to Gammie's house! Had I put a little more thought in the construction of the house, it could have worked nicely as a kleenex box cover. Alas, it was just a house, but a mighty fine afternoon art project.