Summer lovin'

In between our summer of fields, we have had an opportunity to take advantage of the gorgeous Minnesota weather. It saddens me that we really only have 3 great months of weather. And I continually question why on earth we live in such a climate. But I digress....

 

One goal this summer is to venture to a few Waterparks that our great metro area has to offer. We recently headed to Cascade Bay for a day of fun in the sun. The kids went non stop for 4 hours, moving from one slide to the other. Lincoln continues to prove his skills to every Lifeguard he encounters, politely first asking if he can go down the particular slide in mind. The folks at this place insisted on asking one of the girls for verification (nearly every time) that he could, in fact, make it to the side.
And he had no problem at all.

 

Ryan's goal this summer was to get me back out on the golf course. For those that don't know, we met on a golf course, many (many many) years ago! So with Hope's gracious babysitting skills, we were able to double date with some friends for a round of golf and dinner. It felt really good to be back out there, having played only once in the last 12 years. Shockingly I didn't do so bad either! I joked that Ryan better look out, I may start crashing more of his golf outings :)

 

 

We have spent many evenings pool side, complete with dilly bars in hand :) When a family with a pint-sized friend comes over, Lincoln gets super excited and giddy. We love having some built in entertainment just steps from our door.

 

 

One other focus this summer was for Lincoln to learn to ride his 2 wheel bike. This little boy was determined I tell you. And with the help of his incredible Strider bike, it took him just 3 tries and he was off. There was none of the "run behind and hold onto the seat" business. He just picked up his feet and rode! Now that heavy orange bike is carted around everywhere with us. I somehow managed to get his bike, Sidney's softball bag and Regan's big catcher bag into my tiny trunk along with all of our other items (collapsible wagon, extra clothes, balls, etc) each weekend.

 

 

I tend to take off a lot of time from work in the summer. Sometimes I'm better at unplugging than others. When we venture out to explore, I have little choice. Since Lincoln loves the zoo, we decided to head over to Como to not only see the animals, but also enjoy Como Town.

Sid might look a little big for those cars, but I promise she had fun :)

 

 

With a tiny white lie, Regan was able to take him on some extra rides (shhhh, don't tell anyone that she isn't actually 14 years old). He was so excited to ride on this tiger ride!

 

 

Oh my goodness I could have watched them on this ride all day long! I love their sweet giggles as the Frog Hopper went up and down. Sidney's endearing glance over to Lincoln is enough to melt my heart. She was so interested in ensuring he was having fun!

 

 

We sure are packing a lot in these 3 months of summer. I know it's already August, but I'm not ready to let these days go and head back to school in just another month.

Spring break

Despite being the very last week of March, Spring break was a cold one. We opted to stick close to home this year, having gone on trips the last two winters. I took a couple days off work and did some exploring with the kids. 

We started at Minihaha. This place continues to amaze me with its beauty. I think it’s almost as pretty in the winter as it is in the summer months. We love to walk around and explore. Sidney brought along her scooter and Lincoln his balance bike so they had a blast sipping around and down some hills. 

With the help of some boots, the kids were able to slush through the cold mud and found all sorts of wildlife. Sidney screamed when they found a couple of ducks quaking at each other; only to realize we were standing just inches from eggs and they were probably quacking at us! 

This cutie spotted the exact spot we had come for family pictures a few years back and asked me to take some photos of her. She’s such a ham! 

We found our way to Como one day as well. I had to drag the girls out of the house on that particular day, they’re definitely over the idea of walking around Como. Makes me sad :( While I think they still had fun, Lincoln certainly was the reason we headed over there. 

He suckered me into buying him a tiger too. Stinker. But he simply loves tigers right now. More than having toys that are tigers, he wants to BE a tiger! We chuckle when we hear his daycare friends greet him with “hi tiger Lincoln!”, wondering what on earth he does all day to deserve being called tiger Lincoln! Ha! Love that sweet boy. 

And love our adventures. 

Como-winter version

We headed to Como just before Christmas in hopes of catching some warmth in the Conservatory. Not only that, but Lincoln has been begging to see the tigers for quite some time. Sometimes when we enter the sunken garden area, we get a picture like the one above. And sometimes we get one like the photo below of Lincoln... 😦

It just cracks me up! 

I took what felt like a bazillion photos, and yet this one describes the moment perfectly. Sidney was compliant, Lincoln wanted nothing to do with pictures and Regan was having fun mocking her little bro. 

It's not always roses with this crew! 

I adore the sunken garden. Always have and probably always will. As I snapped pictures, I told the girls that some day, they could have a wedding in there! Sidney was intrigued and I'm pretty sure she is already planning that ceremony :)  

We came upon these wild looking spiky plants and I giggled, telling Regan to sit next to it. You see, her hair has all these wild curly strands that have a mind of their own; and they look identical to this plant. 

Let's take a closer look at that thing....

 Even she couldn't help but laugh at the resemblance. 

Ryan was quick and snagged a somewhat blurry picture of me with the kids (ok so there were 5 other photos just like this where someone wasn't looking at the camera!). The background of this place made us feel like we were all in a warmer climate, which was just what we all needed on a chilly morning. 

Oh that cheesy smile, how I love our 4 year old spunky, full of energy little boy. 

He drives us batty some  most days, and he wakes at 5am no matter what time he goes to sleep. But I remind Ryan a lot that these moments in time won't last forever. Sure he asks for 2 hugs before bedtime, and begs for the other parent to re-enter the room for yet another "good night", then yells for another drink of water. You get the picture. As we know, these kids grow up quickly, and we know he won't stay little too much longer.  

Following all of my picture taking in the warm conservatory climate, we headed out to the frozen tundra and took in all of the animals. TWICE. 

That little animal loving boy made us do the loop of animals two times. We had a great morning and Como continues to be one of our favorite family activities. 

Summer fun: family style

I'm only moderately embarrassed by the number of pictures on my iPhone. But what's worse, is that I am keeping all of these great moments locked up on my phone! Life has just been so full for us that I'm having a hard time finding a quiet moment to share our memories and photos. But here we go....

A few weeks back, I took a week off from work to spend gallivanting around this wonderful metropolis, having a grand time with the kiddos.We saw some things new, experienced some things old but most importantly, made memories to last a lifetime. I love making the most of our days! 

We spent some time on the renovated Old Cedar Avenue bridge, a place that only Lincoln and I had visited last fall during the grand opening. Turns out, it makes a great location for some great pictures. 

And because it feels a bit like a hidden gem, it's a nice open spot for Regan to race along on her hoover board. Talk about perfect location! 

I get so happy when my kiddos oblige and let me take photo after photo without complaining (too much). 

I was blessed with a visit from my BFF and her adorable kiddos, sadly this was the only photo I took! I'm going to say we were simply too wrapped up in conversation to think about taking photos. 

The kids ask every summer if we can rent bikes at Minihaha Falls. We adore the falls in any season, but in summer they rent out bikes for a whole family. Let's just say Regan and I got worked that morning as we pedaled around the falls :) 

We had some time before the rental place opened so we hiked down to the bottom of the falls and around one of my most favorite places in the middle of the city. 

We're finally at a point in life where I don't have to carry a small (or big!) child up those stairs. I'm both happy and sad about that fact....

It was H.O.T. that morning and we got a workout! But we got many laughs as well! Lincoln refused to sit up front with Sidney, thinking he could instead "drive". Thankfully Regan's steering wheel didn't actually control anything; but when he hopped on her lap to "drive", it rendered her virtually useless to pedal. Yea that didn't last very long as I tried to move that thing on my own. I may have also driven us into a few tree branches which created belly laughs for all of us. Oh, and Sidney is a little long to be sitting up front and we had to enlist the help of some passer-bys to help free her from her perch! 

I think I've mentioned before that we used to take the girls to Como Park/Zoo several times every year. And by the time Lincoln came along, they were over the excitement of that place and it often feels like I'm dragging them along. However, Como opens up their ride/amusement park in the summer and our kids still enjoy going on rides (Ryan included  though he had to work). I'm so happy the girls take a break from the sole roller coaster for a few kiddie rides with their little bro. 

Helps that we added a few friends to the mix at Como. Each girl had a buddy join us and it meant I had an adult to chat the day away! 

And it worked out well that everyone wanted to take a ride break and walk around the zoo, checking out all the lazy animals, many of who were taking their afternoon nap. Boo :( 

Of course, there was plenty of time spent swimming in the backyard, on one of (what feels like) 100 inflatables. Seriously, we are busting at the seams with inflatable toys around here! Our pool shed is filled to the max and they keep wanting to add more! 

Summer is never complete without a trip to Wild Rumpus bookstore. Even if we don't purchase anything, the experience alone is one to write about. It reminds me of the family-owned book store in the movie "You've Got Mail'....

only better. 

Because Wild Rumpus has animals. Cats, tarantulas, chickens, all roaming free around the place! Yes, it's incredible!
And this picture below is in the bathroom mirror. When the lights are off, it glows a real fish tank. Turn the lights on, and you're staring at your reflection in the mirror. 

The kids (and adults!) just love it! 

Lincoln's balance bike abilities have soared this summer. He's so good and really fun to watch. Toss in a little commentary from me: "not so fast!", "be careful!", "watch out!" and you've got yourself some entertainment too. (Click HERE for a short video). He brought the bike around the nearby lake when we went for a walk, errr, I ended up running along side him. He's that good!

 I took this photo of Regan because I have the same photo of her as a little girl. And I just can't believe how grown up she is already. 

7 years ago already....how did that happen?!

We had an incredible 10 days together; memories to last a lifetime. These 3 are our entire world and I'm so happy to find new adventures with them!

Como Spring 2017

I love the Como Conservatory. When the girls were younger and our schedules allowed much more free time, we would venture over to that place at least every couple of months. I could convince them to pose for pictures provided we would then walk through the zoo. It was a win-win situation. I got my pictures with beautiful floral backgrounds, and they burned out some energy buzzing around looking at animals.

Ok so I guess it didn't always work out as I planned :)

Unfortunately, as the girls have gotten older, they have much of a less desire to pose for pictures. And the bribe to subsequently see animals no longer works well either. Couple that with their busy schedule (especially in spring) and we rarely get to my beloved Conservatory.

However, during spring break this year, we had minimal plans and the weather only mildly cooperated with outdoor fun. I was able to get them to oblige to my wishes and we headed over to Como for a quick photo shoot and run through of the zoo just before Easter. I was over the moon to catch a few pictures of all 3. And looking at our Conservatory pictures from years past, I just cannot believe how much they have grown. Oh where has the time gone!

The smell and sights of this place are so inviting. I love how beautiful it is laid out and could have spent an hour just sitting there. Now hopefully it won't be another year before we are back again!

family time

Last weekend, we headed over to Como to take in the animals and spring flower display. We had heard about the newest zoo baby, a tiny orangutan baby girl and couldn't wait to lay eyes on her. 

Oh my, the monkeys (all of them), did not disappoint! It happened to be feeding time and so they were all so very active, coming up to the glass, showing us the new baby and gobbling up their lunch. 

I loved seeing Lincoln get so excited over all of the animals. He gave us his best monkey impression, "ohh, ahh, ahh, ohh". He loved it!!

And what trip to Como is complete without a quick visit to the sunken gardens. Both girls have developed a sincere love for the gardens and will eagerly pose for me. I should really do a time line collage of all of our pictures from here.