Regan turns 17

 (Just getting caught up over here...)

Back in February, Regan turned 17. I can hardly believe it, almost a legal adult. It truly is a wild ride raising these kiddos. 

Although this birthday wasn't nearly as much fun....an incidental finding of COVID meant she was quarantined to the basement. Though she felt just fine and so we celebrated the best we could. 

She asked for Italian for dinner so we ordered in and I sat across from her and chatted while she ate.

And some yummy Nothing Bundt Cakes for dessert made for an excellent "birthday cake"! Though I wouldn't let her touch them, and couldn't unwrap them for a picture for fear she'd breathe her germs all over them and get us sick. (side note: I'm the biggest germ freak).

She was a good sport about it, and the 5 day quarantine when she was feeling fine wasn't as bad as it could have been. Bummer of a birthday celebration though.

Happy 17th Regan! 

Washington DC Spring Break trip 2023

Spring break 2023 was a fun-filled trip to Washington DC for myself, Sidney and Grandma Jan. 

It started out a bit rocky with a snowstorm in MN (side note: one of the worst storms I have ever driven in), and a cancelled flight. 

Thanks to an amazing Delta agent, and a flexible job, we rebooked and in 36 hours we were on our way to sunny, warm DC! 

Photos below from the trip are in absolutely no particular order. 

We spent our time with Ben as our tour guide and he did not disappoint! Sidney picked out all of the places she wanted to see before we arrived and he pieced together several amazing days. There was a lot of walking during the day, and a lot of playing with his furry dogs and soaking in his hot tub in the evenings. We made some amazing memories and I'm so grateful to have this time with family. 

We made it to the back-side of the White House, and then decided we should try to walk to the front. After a quick question to the FBI on the side of the House, we learned the park across the street was open and we could get our best pictures from there. I'm so proud of Sidney for letting us know she wanted to see the front, we had nearly given up on the side of the House. 

My phone is filled with pictures of Sidney holding Gizmo and Lokkie. 

This cutie below prefers to be held like a baby, and would sleep in our bed each night. Sidney was in complete heaven! 

WWII memorial. It's more massive in person than I had remembered. All the way across on the right side is the MN statue. 

Every. Single. Night. 

The Baltimore Aquarium was filled with some amazing creatures. It was a nice break for Sidney who was pretty tired from all the reading at monuments, memorials and Smithsonians. 

Our last day in DC we walked nearly 9 miles. In order to keep pace with the day, mom grabbed a bike and enjoyed the view on wheels instead. 
smart lady

While it was windy and cold and snowy in MN, we had sun and heat (and even humidity!). Us Minnesotans loved the change of weather. 

The orchids at the Botanic Gardens were a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Mom loved looking at all of them. 

Although peak season for the cherry blossoms had passed, we managed to find some still in bloom. And even captured some cool pictures of them.

Pretty sure this was Day 1, and Sidney was already tired of all the reading. HA! Mom and I would read something and give her the cliff notes so she could just look at artifacts and not have to read. 

My failed attempt at a picture with all of us. I set up my camera on the grassy hill (Ben and Jon were sure someone would come along and steal it). The idea was to get a photo with the Washington Monument behind us, clearly I didn't succeed. 

Ben and Sidney posed nicely for me with the Lincoln Memorial beyond the reflecting pool. 

Jon took us to the Van Gogh Experience while Ben tended to an emergency dental issue. We learned so much about his short life and it truly was a mesmerizing experience.

Mount Vernon brought us back to the beginning of it all, pretty amazing to walk through the grounds and see the actual home, bed he died in and desk where he worked.

 There was so much more that we saw beyond these photos: Vientam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Holocaust Museum, National Archives (Declaration of Independence/Bill of Rights) Air & Space Museum, African-American Museum, National Mall, etc. We spent our time as complete tourists, yet knowing the great eating spots, oh and some pretty great coffee shops too thanks to Ben and Jon. Safe to say, I think we'll be back, and hopefully sooner than 10 years from now. 

Dancing like his papa

A year ago, when we were thinking of non-toy Christmas gifts, Grandma Jan asked about gifting Lincoln virtual reality. My dad would have loved this Oculus VR she gave to Lincoln. And when I watch Lincoln play Beat Saber, getting his groove on to the variety of songs, I have to laugh thinking about my dad dancing around too. 

💕💕

Hockey season

Lincoln's hockey season is well underway. He had a small set back in December when he broke his collarbone, but he was back on the ice in just over 4 weeks and eager to get back out there. It's been non-stop since! 

He is in his final year of Mites, and the association has a lot of exciting things for these 3rd graders to keep them excited and involved in hockey. 

One of the highlights is when the 3rd graders get to be flag bearers at a Varsity hockey game. And bonus, Lincoln has been able to do it twice! He loves skating with those big boys, and man are they great to those little kiddos. 

Regan's friend-TJ is extra sweet to Lincoln (TJ's little sister happens to be a classmate of Lincoln's). He always looks out for Lincoln who lights up when he sees him. 

This month has also been filled with loads of practices and scrimmages. Sometimes doing twice/day! He's really come a long way in the last several years, working on his skating skills and stick handling. It's incredible to look back and remember he could barely stay upright just a few years ago. 

He's made some good buddies and learned a lot not only about the sport and game, but also about teamwork and working together. 

Sports are good for life-long lessons.

 

December 2022 recap

December came and went in the blink of an eye. As per usual, it's an incredibly busy month, consumed with shopping, gatherings and all things Christmas. 

This year we had a few extra inches of snow, making for some beautiful morning walks. And despite the cold and snow and ice, I continued my mantra of "no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing" as I layered up for my daily morning walk in the amazing winter wonderland. 

Ellie our Elf and her side kick Olaf returned, up to no good as usual. Lincoln was eager to wake every morning and search for her. Whether it was hiding in the tree, or somewhere in the fridge, he always got a good laugh out of her antics. 

Lincoln's hockey team had a few events he sadly had to miss out on. The first was a real tournament. We made it out for the final game and he/Ryan got to join the team on ice for the obligatory final picture. 

To help cheer him up about missing out on so many fun things, Lincoln and I had a date night with Subway and a local light event. He loved this place so much, we had to walk through a second time and take it all in. They even have a train with teddy bears, a ferris wheel and more! 

Eventually as the month wore on, he started to use his arm more. I caught him helping wrap a present one day and couldn't help snap this picture. We had the kids exchange names for Christmas and he was so proud as he wrapped up a gift for his sister. He even made a crown for himself! 

Christmas morning was a quick pivot due to a recent snowfall. Grandma Jan was too nervous to head on the roads alone, so we brought Christmas to her instead! 

Grandma Jan made Ryan's dreams come true with an entire TOWER of grilling spices! 

Lincoln's hockey association does a 3rd graders vs Varsity game/pizza. And it was the one thing he had been really looking forward to, even shed a couple of tears knowing he couldn't get on the ice to play. But we sat in the stands and watched the game, and then he was able to find his Varsity buddy TJ for pizza afterwards who was also nursing an injury. Lincoln actually is classmates with TJ's little sister. And TJ actually goes to school with Regan. 
Small world. 

Eventually we got back on the ice, and I couldn't help but chuckle when Lincoln took his first few steps on the ice and said "oh yea, I can do this". Turns out, he had thought he would forget how to skate completely! Good thing that's not really how it works. 

New Years eve we got to spend with some dear friends who have recently moved back from to MN from Germany. Regan's boyfriend-Jack made this wonderful arrangement I had dreamed up. And it looked great! I'm bummed I forgot to take a picture until we started digging in. 

We are so thrilled to have Paul and Renata closer so we can get together more often. We rang in all sorts of New Years, knowing not one of us would make it to midnight! 

HALIFAX! 

And this little guy might be the #1 reason we didn't make it to midnight. 

But our girls want so badly for him to love them so they enjoy any moment they get to play with Max. 

Regan was all smiles at the end of December, having Jack visit made her month completely! 

 

A Christmas visit

Uncles Ben and Jon came for their annual Christmas visit in early December. It was a whirlwind weekend with a lot of softball, a little shopping, and missed hockey (thanks to a broken collarbone). 

But we had a great time spending extended time together, shopping, eating, games and more shopping. 

Lincoln decided against most shopping and opted instead for experiences, even with his bum arm. They had a lot of fun at Build-A-Bear and he dragged Ben into the VR experience at the MOA. Building some fun memories for sure. 

Their visit happened to coincide with Lincoln's annual "art" event at school so they got to see Lincoln's self-portrait and hear a few music songs too. It was fun for them to be part of Lincoln's special day at school. And even more exciting as it was Lincoln's first art/music program because all of them previously have been cancelled due to the pandemic. 

He did great and loved having a few extra audience members!

Thanks for a fun visit Uncles Ben and Jon! 

 

Halloween 2022

Halloween 2022 was a little more normal in comparison to the previous 2 years, so much so that we barely were able to squeeze in time for pumpkin carving! 

Sidney was my biggest helper of the night, not only did she scoop out the guts, she created her own carvings as well. She was creative and laughing at how silly her pumpkins looked as she carved them freehanded. 

Lincoln did some of his own scooping and then abandoned Sidney and me at the table to finish up the job.

I'll leave it to you to guess which of the 3 I carved, and which ones Sidney carved. 

The kids each hung out with friends on this Monday evening. Regan and her friend handed out candy to our 17 trick or treaters so that Ryan and I could take Lincoln with his friends trick or treating. 

Sidney and her friend split one costume, but spent most of the night on Tiktok. 

Lincoln might look a little more like a prop in this picture....he's on the far left. 

Yep, his request back in August was to find a blow up dinosaur costume, with bones only. It took some time, but we managed to find his perfect costume! 

Watching Lincoln waddle around the neighborhood was the highlight of the night! He was so cute and did amazingly well keeping up with his buddies all night, despite not being able to see well. There may have been a couple of close calls where he nearly ran into a tree or a parked car :) 

Lincoln made out with quite the stash of candy as he wrapped up trick or treating. He slept great that night after all that walking door to door dressed up as a blow up dino! 

Hoping everyone had a wonderful Halloween! 

Lincoln turns 9

Tomorrow marks this little man's 9th birthday! 
He is the sweetest, most talkative and energetic one in this family and we love him to pieces. 

I love that he still wants me to lay with him at night, reading stories until it's late. He will try to chat with me to avoid going to sleep and often I will have to remind him it's time for bed, no more talking. 

Lately I've been asking him to help me in the kitchen. It helps when he's cranky and hungry, engaging him in a task; plus, he loves that he gets to use the sharp knives! I have to say, he is getting quite good at chopping vegetables my little lefty sous chef.

He often tells us that one of his most favorite places to go is the MN State Fair. He doesn't so much love it for the same reasons we do (like Ryan's giant pickle), but he does love the rides and the animals and a lot of the attractions. 

But his absolute favorite summer event is the annual cabin trip with some extended family. He adores driving the pontoon, fishing as much as possible, riding the jet ski, catching frogs and going tubing. 

I think we could probably make his 9th birthday even brighter if we would buy him a faithful companion, but alas, that is not likely to happen. So instead, he gets to enjoy the occasional visit from either Pepper or Quinn. He loves it when they come into his toy room so he can narrate to them his video games :) 

For 9 years, he has graced the sidelines of a softball field, and done so with a lot of patience. Some friends laugh because he hollers pretty loudly if we accidentally move our phones too far away from him. He will often scream: MOM, THE WIFI!

Between both girls, this kid has been to more tournaments, scrimmages, practices and lessons. We've waited it out in the car, found local playgrounds, explored area drive thrus and spent far too much money at concession stands! 

Regan seems to be the sibling with the most patience for him lately, and he adores her for it. Having a license has opened up a lot of opportunities for them. Over the summer, the two had many adventures, going to Valleyfair, Como, Minihaha and lots of ice cream treats. I love their relationship, and it brings me to tears to think she'll be in college before we know it. I hope he cherishes these memories forever! 

As he turns 9, he is less and less into traditional toys, and more and more into video games, exploring or board games. 

We're heading into the cold weather which brings along with it the regular hockey season. While he's excited when we get there, he does a lot of complaining as he puts on his hockey gear. It's a lot of work and he's our little "Princess and the Pea" when it comes to adjusting his skates and elbow pads and shin guards, oh and his neck guard, breezers and helmet! 

As is tradition (minus that one year we went to Hawaii and couldn't find leaves), he was super excited to remind me that we had to take a "9" picture. 

I love that he has core memories, created from the little things. 

Happy 9th Birthday Lincoln Ryan!