Go, Go, Goers!

Leprechaun Days is here! Well, it officially started last weekend, but this is the weekend where we had a lot of stuff going on with the city celebration. We headed to the Midsummer Faire at Central Park yesterday early evening. We hung out with my parents, met up with some friends, and had an overall good time eating, drinking, riding rides, and playing a few games until we were absolutely exhausted, which doesn't take much these days! After the awesome marching band performance for the Tournament of Roses team at the high school, Ava and friends headed to Central Park to join in the adventure. We barely saw them, but know that they were having fun! Playing Hammerschlagen with his friend Abigail Around and around we go... Spinny Bears! (vomit!) ((no, no one vomited...but ugh!)) Munching on a walking taco for dinner The pirate ship ride The big slide - G loved this! On Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early and prepped ourselves for the 44th Grand Day Parade! The RHS marchin

Ava survived Drill Week...mostly! She fainted on the first day...it was really hot, and they were in the parking lot practicing, so that heat was radiating off of the pavement. She is fine - mostly a badly scraped knee; she didn't hit her head, and her trumpet wasn't damaged. We made some adjustments to her mealtimes/snacks/water & ice intake, and she had a much better week after that. It fact, I think she even had fun and met some new people! I donated food for the trumpet section's dinner early in the week, and also volunteered to serve one night. I stuck around to help organize the uniform room that night, as well, and I met some new people, too! I was told at the very beginning of this adventure to just dive in, volunteer, and it would be easier to meet new friends and feel comfortable asking questions. And it's true! Even though it's exhausting, I've felt more at ease going to events and being a part of this group. Last weekend, Ava participated in the

Turns out that we don't have a lot of time to do stuff as a family, so when an idea comes up, we try to grab it! Last Saturday, we took a rare break and went to the movies. Both kids had been counting down until Minions came out, so it seemed like an easy movie pick. I am so happy that we can order tickets/picks seats in advance, as well as pre-order all of our food. It makes the whole experience so much easier and organized. Plus, we know we're going to get great seats without having to fight for them. Me & G (the pic of Scott and Ava didn't turn out, boo) I remember a few years ago, Scott and I tried to go to the movies, before we realized that everyone was buying their tickets online. We walked into a chaotic scene at a movie theater that we had been to a million times before. We were so confused as to what was happening! Eventually, we just backed out of the theater, having no idea what we were doing. But NOW, it's great! We've had some really rain weather l

We really believe that all weekends should be three days long. Usually the two standard weekend days are taken up with side work, chores, and more work...and we only squeeze in a few hours of relaxation at the very end. But when it's a 3-day weekend, we get a bonus 24 hours to enjoy life!  Last weekend we invited the grandparents over for dinner, to celebrate Scott turning 46 on the 7th. It was a wonderful time of chatting, eating, and catching up. Also, there was a little planning happening regarding the fishing adventure that the boys were going to take the next day! Scott, Garrett, and my dad all headed out together on Sunday morning for a fun day on the lake. And they had a blast! The weather was perfect, the lakes were busy (but hopefully not too busy) and the fish were biting. More importantly, there was good bonding time that happened. I was very happy to stay at home with Ava...we went to Caribou and ran some errands. It was a perfect, relaxing day with my favorite Ava!  Pr

Let's see...what has happened in the last few weeks? Last we checked in, Ava was turning 14! We had a small family celebration at home on her birthday, and then she and one of her best friends hosted a joint birthday party the following Thursday. Abby was born one day after Ava, so it just makes sense for them to celebrate together. They came up with a galaxy-themed birthday party, and created food/game stations for each of the planets. But mostly, they just had a great time with their squad. They ate pizza, snacks, cake, played games, and even ended the evening at a local park, playing on the equipment. Seems like success to me!  Chomp, chomp - how many alligators are in this post? The next day we took our kiddos to apply for their passports, and then G and I spent the rest of the day together. We went to the Mall of America, and toured the SeaLife Aquarium. We went to the M&M store, and then walked through Nickelodeon Universe and watched the rides zoom by us. We also decided