Fun at the park

Sunday was wonderful weather (windy, but a nice temp) so we took the kids to the park with our friends. The kids had a blast running around for about an hour, before we called it quits and headed home for dinner.

Holly and Preston on the teeter totter

Cutie pie Preston pauses his fun for a picture!

Myles spins Mason around on the spinny chair (I would personally call it the torture chair, but that is because I'm old and it would make me sick!)

Erik chillin with Justin at the park. Zone parenting can be a plus!

Holly hasn't figured out that chucking sand behind you isn't behavior that we approve. But she sure had fun doing it!

Dizzy kids

If you think it is funny to watch kids spin around and then fall down, well here are 3 funny videos for you! This Sunday afternoon, we went to the park with our good friends/neighbors. They have this spinny chair that the kids love!

Myles in the spinny chair - he seemed to love it!

Here is Holly's video in the spinny chair - just like her brother, she loved it!

Finally, here is Mason in the spinny chair - this little guy had a blast!

Date Night @ Lord Fletchers

On Saturday night the kids spent the night at Grandma & Grandpa's house, so that Erik and I could go on a date. Erik had never been to Lord Fletchers on lake Minnetonka, and it had been 10 years since I ate there, so we got dinner reservations for 7:00 pm. Lord Fletchers is so great - the dining inside is fancy and serves super great food (Erik had a tasty Steak, and I had a wonderful Sea Bass). We were seated by the window, which made for great people watching below us (as you will see from some pictures below). Out on the patio it is a whole different kind of environment. Not so fancy, but rather more like a beach party. After eating, we moved down to the patio to do more people watching and saw tons of fancy boats pull up to the dock. I invited my friend Katie to come join us, and she did with a friend of hers as well. We had a super fun time hanging out, chatting, and people watching. I didn't want the evening to end. But alas, all good things come to an end. I can tell you that we will definitely go there at least once more this summer! I give Lord Fletchers high praise and a 10 out of a 10! Go there if you can!

Here is the view down the patio from where we were sitting.

Self portrait of Erik and I. Not bad aim!

So while we ate dinner, we watched this dude in the white shirt with a gold chain & gold sun glasses prowl for chicks. But we finally noted that no women were going for his look, but he sure knew all the other goofy men who looked just like him. It was such a riot watching his goofy behavior that I just had to take his picture. I only wish that I had gotten a better shot of him!

Finally, to wrap up the night, Katie and I decided we had to get our picture with these goofy guys - they were totally trying to pick up women by dressing up in their military dress. I don't know who the girl on the far left is however. Weird. After Erik took the picture, the "sailor" to my right asked me for my name. I said "My name is Andrea, and my husband took our picture." For some reason he quickly stopped talking to me and turned to Katie (who gave a great fake name to the guy!). This pretty much ended our night and we all left. But it was super funny!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Myles decided that the best way to watch a cartoon was to lay on the floor all snuggled up in his transformer blanket. As soon as Holly saw him, she grabbed a pillow and asked if I could lay her blankie on her "just like Myles". It was so cute, that I had to go get my camera. And immediately I knew that the posting headline would be "Monkey See, Monkey Do". Holly totally loves Myles and wants to do what he does. Super cute!

The Bills

I just wanted to post 2 more pictures of our California friends/family. It was so great to see you both!

(L to R) Bill senior, Erik, and Bill junior (just incase you couldn't figure it out!)

The kids really were digging Billy - Holly climbed up in Billy's lap for one last picture before he left!

Starting young

Well, Holly has been whining about bikes for many weeks now as Myles and the other boys ride around on their bikes. So I finally went to Target and got a little tiny bike for her. It isn't as great as I thought it would be, but Holly totally digs it and that is what matters. I hope she learns to ride by the end of the summer.

Holly on her new bike!

Yes - I did buy her a cute bike helmet with little butterflies on it.

Pool Time!!!

The fun continues in the afternoon with our new alligator pool. The kids had a blast playing in the pool and cooled off in the hot afternoon sun. They were excited to also play with the little blow up space shuttles that I picked up weeks ago. They splashed around in the water, and had a great time. Bill & Myles invented some fun game that involves chasing after each other and whacking each other with the shuttles. By the end of swim time, both were tired and Holly was as chilly as an ice cube (and her teeth were chattering!). So we dried off and came inside to relax while we got dinner ready. It was a great afternoon!

The kids in their alligator pool - perfect for a hot afternoon!

Myles playing with the space shuttle - he was totally digging it!

My little princess loving the water!

Oh, and did I mention that I got them goggles? How funny is this picture!

And this is my cutie pie in her nerdy looking goggles with a big booger hanging out of her nose...... I can guarantee this picture will make it's way into her future wedding slide show.... won't she be so happy about that!

St. Steven's Summer Festival

This weekend we were are enjoying the company of some good family friends: Bill and Bill. No, I didn't write a typo. We have Bill Senior and Bill Junior staying with us from California. They have family in the area, so they are spending time with us and them. Always great to have them visit!

As we were looking for things to do on a Saturday, it dawned on us.... let's go out in the super hot & humid weather to the local church festival! Erik looked them up on the internet, and the St. Stephen's web site said the Summer Festival started at 11:00 am. So we played outside for a bit before we hoped into the truck to head over there. Got there right at 11:00 am. And all the rides & games were closed still. The food carts were open, so after walking around a bit we decided to get some lunch. Myles scarfed down an entire corn dog. Holly munched a bit on some mediocre pizza. Erik had an expensive Gyro, while I ate an average cheese burger and chips. Bill also got the same freshly deep fried corn dog as Myles. At 11:30 am we learn that they actually aren't up and running until Noon. Ugh. Luckily there is a park right next to the festival so we went over there to play (and sweat in the burning sun) for 30 minutes. Finally everything everything opened up and we quickly bought some tickets. Shockingly Holly was big enough to go on some rides - which she LOVED! Myles also had a blast on some rides. We also played some of the church games. Minnow racing was a big hit. (I think we should suggest that game to our church for the Corn Fest!) After sweating for almost 2 hours in the hot mid-day sun (on a blacktop parking lot I might add), we decided to go home to cool off with some Popsicles before nap time. It was a great time, and the kids had a total blast!

The kids on the Merry go Round - I had to keep a hand on Holly to make sure she didn't fall off.

Erik and Bill watching the kids go around on one of the rides. Look how much fun they are having!

Here are Holly and Myles on the Space Ship ride - Not shocking that Myles wanted to go on this ride. Holly of course wants to do anything her big brother does. They had a blast going round and round on this ride.

My 2 munchkins on the space ship.... maybe it will take them to our home planet...

Here are the 2 sweetest kids in the world! They were very well behaved at the festival.

Here is Holly on her first official carnival ride! She wasn't scared for one second! Sometimes I forget she isn't even 2 yet!

Our busy weekend

Below are some pictures of Sunday evening. At the bottom I blog about the entire weekend.

Cute video of the kids swinging - it starts off sideways, but then I correct the view - operator error!

The swings are always a hit at the park, for both of the kids!

Holly playing with the tic tac toe at the park - no real game here, just spining around the triangles. I guess everyone is a winner!

Myles thinks he is so cool when he climbs up the outside of the tunnel slide.

Holly ready to go down the twisty slide - she loves the slide!

Holly coming up the tunnel slide! Notice the theme here..... slides are fun!

Myles coming down the tunnel slide

Holly climbing up the stairs at the playground

What a busy weekend this turned out to be! Friday after work I met up with my personal trainer and he whipped my muscles into a burning frenzy. Feels so good, it hurts! Then when I got home, Erik took off to hang out with some friends for the evening. Good for him to get some guy time, and I enjoyed hanging out with the kids and then some quiet time by myself after they went to bed. Saturday morning was busy - I hit up a garage sale right at 8:00 am and scored big time by getting Holly a toddler bed. It's a cute little white wood one. I'll probably transition her in July. Can't wait! We then played outside for awhile before going over to our Babysitter's graduation open house. The kids were so happy to see her! Myles couldn't believe that he was at Jenni's house. We hung out for a while, ate cake, and chatted with people. Then home for nap time (for Holly). In the evening my Sister and her husband Pete came over for dinner and hung out for awhile. It was good to see them, and the kids were happy to play with them! We already can't wait to see Aunt Erica and Uncle Pete again!

Sunday was a good day as well. It started off on a good note when I slept in until 8:00 am! Yippee! This was a good thing since my lovely daughter decided to cry for a while during the night, which interrupts all of our sleep. Ugh. The morning was a lazy, relaxed one. Lots of warm coffee. Then we headed off to the local green house to buy some flowers. Myles and I took on the challenge of putting them in this giant flower pot that Erik had bought earlier that morning. It turned out great! I should have taken a picture... maybe that is a good idea for another day. Lunch was at home - mac & cheese. Yum. More playing out side, then Holly went down for a nap. Myles has now given up naps, and so he hung outside for a while with us chatting with neighbors. He then came inside for some "quiet time". That has replaced his nap time. I was off to the Goodwill to drop off a donation or two. When I got home we packed up and headed to the local community center to swim in the outside pool. That was fun! We ran into our other neighbors there and had a good time. The kids were thrilled to have someone to play with. After it clouded over a bit, Holly and Myles started to chatter their teeth and complain about the cold. So off we went, back to our house to grill some brats for dinner & finish off some left overs as side dishes. And once again after dinner we headed outside to continue to burn off our energy at the local park! This is where I got some cute pictures for this blog. We met up with yet more neighbors to play at the playground, and a good time was had by all - kids and grown ups alike. We then got home just in time for bed time. Lucky us! So now Erik and I are just relaxing, while he watches the Lakers hopefully beat Orlando. Currently they are ahead by 15. Cross your fingers that it stays that way!

Hope everyone had as good of a weekend as us!

Love, Andrea

Rain vs. Garage Sale

With tons of kid clothes cluttering up my storage space, I decided to have a garage sale with a friend of mine. We were hoping for the "sale of the century"! But I have learned that you must alter your hopes and expectations when the weather forecast calls for rain. Because let me tell you.... the rain was more successful than our sales. The kids had a blast - they all came over and played with each other and the babysitters. Jen and I sat in the freezing garage, and greeted the 4 people who came to shop. In the end, after paying for the babysitters, I earned a whopping $2. Amazing! Erik and I are now trying to figure out what to do with our earnings. Since we just got back from vacation, we have decided not to take our $2 and go on a tropical adventure. Getting a new car is out of the question as well (unless we are talking about a cheap toy car!). So I think I'll just bring it with me to work and get 2 sodas with it. Lucky me! Since the amount of money earned was such a shock/surprise, I decided to take a picture to document it.

Behold.... my 2 dollars!

Patrick & Nicole's wedding

Well, my baby brother got married to the woman of his dreams! What a wonderful wedding weekend it was. The Johnson family traveled down to south western MN to a town called Edgerton to participate in the celebration. Below are a few select pictures that documented the busy weekend!

We made a pit stop in Mankato to picnic at Sibley park. Lots to do there! Picnic grounds, playground, and a small small small little farm animal "zoo". It was fun!

Myles pauses to smell a "flower" - super cute!

The kids loved this giant rock! So I got a cute picture of them.

Daddy and Holly check out the miniature pony - it was cute!

On Friday night was the rehearsal and grooms dinner - Myles was good, and wanted to hang out with Nicole. Holly was all over the place. One thing I learned: If you misplace your diaper wipes and discover your daughter has blown out her diaper, you can simply grab your husband and the napkin dispenser from the restaurant and head into the woman's room to make your own wet diaper wipes! Necessity really is the mother of invention.....

Here is our little princess on the wedding day - she fought this dress all morning - she kept saying "don't like dat" and tried to rip off the bows in the front. Thank goodness for good stitching!

Hmm... notice a theme? Here is Myles again hanging out with Nicole between pictures.

Some how Myles convinced the bride to read him a book. He is quite the charmer!

At this point Holly was taking her afternoon nap, so the family picture in not complete. But this was still good enough to make the blog!

Each and every tux had something wrong with it. The groom started out with capri pants! Some were giant, some were so small they men would have ripped out the back of the shirt if they folded their arms. Once it was all corrected, we had about 3 tux coats loose the top button. So here I am sewing on a button for my cousin Ryan.

Wow - we sure look cool in our shades! At this point we are on the "Party Bus" going around town taking pictures.

My sister and I hanging with our hubbies on the party bus!

Here is the entire family

Picture of my brother and I before the wedding - doesn't he look happy?!

Holly was totally digging the maid of honor, sister to the bride. She wanted to just be held while Connie danced. She was also very very tired at this point so all she wanted to do was chill out.

I'll end on this picture - it says it all. What a lovely couple! Congrats to the Bride and Groom! Enjoy your honeymoon!