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Block Party 2016

I really, really like weeks when I only have to work three days.  Can I do that all of the time?! 

I took Tuesday off so G and I could go to the Hissin' and Hootin' Toddler Time class at the MN Zoo.  We went to a toddler class last summer and he had NO interest in learning about frogs.  I remember thinking, "Next year...it'll be better!"  And it WAS!  He listened, he participated, he paid attention...amazing!


We learned about snakes and owls...and we both had fun petting the snakes back and belly when they passed him around.  We also sat right in front with the owl...G's became instantly attentive once they brought her out of her mobile cage. And at the end, when she flapped her wings, and came right at us, I think we were both a little unsure of what to do.  The amount of wind created from her flapping her wings was insane!

Before the animals came into the room, the kids had free range to play with anything they wanted to.  G found the bucket of balls/beanbags.  He proceeded to sort them by color, and then noticed that each color also had a square, a triangle, and a sphere.  He quickly realized that the green sphere was missing and wanted to know where it was.  I was super impressed that he categorized everything so quickly and realized the one item that was missing. 


After a fun trip to the zoo, we had a lunch date at McDonald's (I have never gone just with G) and then he settled down for a nice nap.  It was a great afternoon...and ended up being a really nice day off of work with my little guy!

On Wednesday, Ava's #8 tooth came out AND she passed from the red class to the yellow class in swimming!  She brought her goggles to her lesson and that made all of the difference with her being able to do the front float successfully.  So proud of her...it seemed like she was going to be in the red class forever!

You can't see her missing tooth, but the gap is in there!


My co-worker bought her some books as a thank you for giving her daughter the books that Ava has outgrown. Ava loves this new series!

 
On Friday, I took the day off for just ME.  And it was another great day!  After I dropped the kids off at daycare/summer power, I got coffee and took a leisurely stroll through Target.  And when I got back home, I spent 1.5 hours at our pool...it was so quiet...there were just a few kids there, and mostly women, reading on their chairs, enjoying the solitude.  I even managed to sneak in a nap on Friday afternoon before everyone got home!!  After I picked up Ava from summer power, she and I took a trip to Michael's and she picked out a Rainbow Loom set as her "surprise" from passing to the yellow class in swimming. (I had told her this summer that if she moved into the yellow class, she'd get a surprise.  She asked for a $100 gift card to Target. I said no. LOL)  I'm now the proud owner of a teal and black bracelet, made with love by Ava.


Yesterday the west side of our neighborhood had a block party...and WOW, it was pretty awesome!  There were SO many games for the kids, great food, meeting neighbors we've never even seen before, and then the Rosemount Fire Dept showed up!  The kids loved climbing in the truck and trying on the fire suits.  They tapped into the fire hydrant in the cul-de-sac and the kids had a fantastic time turning on and spraying the hose!  The four firefighters stayed a while, and even joined in to have some food with the neighborhood. It was a great addition to a very fun party! After the sun went down, we enjoyed a bonfire at the neighbors, and finally called it a night around 10:30. We had been out for 6 hours at that point, and needed to hit the hay. Such a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon and evening!

It was such a surprise when the RFD showed up!




SO much fun with the fire hose!



Ava won the donut eating contest...


And she kinda did the limbo...


G wanted to eat the egg, but we convinced him to run with it instead (and then he lost his hat in the process.)


 Wish all weeks could be this great!

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