Extremely Busy Weekend!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activities. I am still exhausted. It began with dinner at Tinucci's in Newport to celebrate the 55th anniversary of Julie's parents. Dinner was delicious and having dinner with the Roboles is a rare occasion so it was nice to catch up. Saturday began with swimming lessons for the kids which was followed by the Bloomington Heritage Day parade. It was a little long but was a nice parade. We were amazed to see people throw candy onto the blanket even though the kids weren't even sitting there. We had to even tell them NOT to add anymore to the pile!

 

 

 

I was able to convince Curious George for a quick photo

 

 

Our spot near the beginning of the parade 

 

Yvonne!? What are you doing with all that candy!?

 

Sirens... and suckers

After the parade we ate a quick lunch and made our way to Applewood Orchard in Lakeville. We love this tradition and it was a quick visit. It realized that with both kids wanting to pick apples it was going to hurt my pocketbook in a hurry. We were only in the orchard for the tractor to go around once! It was such a beautiful day to be outside and the apples were very yummy.

 

And lastly, on Sunday Julie and I took my parents, my sister and brother in law to see Xanadu at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. It is a spoof on the movie with Olivia Newton-John. I know I wasn't the only one at the table laughing. This was our Christmas outing from last year and this year, since we dropped the ball last year. I think everyone had a good time.

 

 

Iowa's Oldest Labor Day Celebration

Graettinger, Iowa boasts this claim. There is a street dance, carnival rides and games and a parade. The kids and I went down for just two days but sure seemed to get a lot in.  We even fit in a trip to the ER with Leo after eat decided to swallow a penny. Though it was a whirlwind trip it was still lots of fun.

 

L-squared giving some love

 

Sisters all grown up

 

ER visit: of course he felt fine

 

watching the parade where the kids hauled in a truck load of candy

 

Dru: "This is SO fun!!" as she went by :)

 

Rocket ride

I Hate Goodbyes

The director of the daycare the kids attend is leaving us. Annette has become part of our extended family and was one of the reasons we decided to entrust them with the care of our children. Because she is so good, her boss has moved her to help turn around a failing center. We know she is the perfect choice but she will be deeply missed. We said goodbye to Ms Annette last Saturday with some bowling and beverages. Julie and I thank you for keeping our kids safe, teaching them, and most of all for loving them.

 

Me, Ms Becky and Ms Annette

Nicollet Commons

Last Saturday the kids and I met up with Heather, Reed and Grandma Sue. We checked out the Nicollet Commons water feature. It was really neat. It featured "dancing" fountains and water falls and squiring statues. It seems they made it look like a serene park so if there aren't kids there it still is a nice place to visit. The kids enjoyed all of the areas to play in. We brought a picnic lunch so we were able to hang out for a few hours.

Evening Bike Ride

On a recent calm Monday evening kids rode their bikes while we walked along the river in South St. Paul. It is a nice flat path and has a nice view of downtown St. Paul. It won't be long before Julie and I will have to get out our bikes again.

 

 

Cousins Outing for Kara

My cousin, Kara, is off to college now but before she left we did a cousins outing to wish her well. Due to most cousins living out of state now, it was Kara, Hailey, Heather and me. We started out at Color Me Mine, a pottery place where you can paint and decorate pieces of pottery. It was fun but clearly I don't spend much time doing crafts or using the right side of my brain. After we finished our projects we went to the Twisted Fork on Grand Avenue for dinner and followed that up with dessert at TruBerry Yogurt. It was nice to spend time with Kara before she started this next chapter in her life. All of her cousins wish her the best!

 

 

 

Creating our masterpieces

 

Dinner at Twisted Fork

 

Dessert at TruBerry, delicious!

2012 MN State Fair

This year we again went twice: once with kids and once without. Unfortunately I forgot my camera when we went without the kids so there won't be much to see from that day. My cousins Jen and Amy and Amy's husband Jeff were in town so it was a fun time getting to catch up with them at the fair. We went the first day of the fair (Aug 23rd) without the kids and in addition to us, Jen, Amy and Jeff, my parents and my aunt also joined us. We saw Tonic Sol-Fa and ate a bunch of yummy food. We spent about 12 hours wandering the fairgrounds.

 

Fairborne & Fairchild having fun

 

Where's John? (we lost him a few times)

We took the kids on Tuesday August 28th along with my parents and my aunt. We consider this visit for them. The giant slide is a must and we spent time in the kidway and they rode on quite a few rides. There was a new art exhibit called "Luminarium" that we explored as well. I ate a few of the same things as our first visit but I do have to admit to having the best chocolate shake I've ever had a the fair. Where you ask!? At the Dairy Bar in the Food Building! I was seriously amazed. Here are some snapshots of the kids.

 

Bumper Boats

 

Leo was a little scared so Dru was keeping him safe (LOVE!)

 

Whale ride

 

Kidsdance DeeJays had kids on stage dancing (Dru didn't want to get off when it was over)

 

Pronto Pups!

 

Butterfly House

 

Luminarium

 

At the end of the day, phew, we were tired!