Go, Go, Goers!

Ava had an awesome spring break in Austria and Germany, while the rest of us stayed at home. G, of course, didn't have school, so I took Thursday off of work, and we spent the day together. We went out for breakfast at Caribou, did a few local errands, and then headed to the Mall of America for some fun! We generally ride the Flyover America ride, but we had seen both locations (the U.S. and Africa), and decided to try a different activity while there. We ended up at the Museum of Illusions...it was really neat! We spent our time and looked at each illusion and tried to figure out how it worked. There were a few where G had to explain it to me (that kid's a smartie!) After we were done with MOI, we went to a sushi restaurant. Our drinks were delivered by a robot, and our food was sent to us via a conveyer belt. He really enjoyed the experience (and the food was tasty, too.) When we finished up with lunch, we walked through the MOA, and hit up a few of our fave stores (LEGO was,...

This was a big week! Ava flew overseas for her first international trip. She and two bands traveled to Germany and Austria, where they will spend 8 days, exploring, playing music, taking tours, and having fun! We are very excited for her adventures, but were pretty nervous on Thursday until we saw her plane touch down on Friday morning. We've been able to stay in contact with her, and her bf's mom sent me a pic of the two of them together! At the airport, nice and early on Thursday morning Cute, but really tired - somewhere in Munich, I think Back home in the states, we had a boring week of work and school. But, it's been fun having more 1:1 time with G. He and I took Pria on a walk today...her first one in a long time, now that all of the snow is melted (she doesn't like being outside when it's cold, and I don't like walking on ice/snow...so we take a break from walking in the winter.) Part of my Pria collection that I have been instructed to send to Ava every ...

Once again, I'm struck by the fact that we don't have kids who play sports, we have kids who play music. We're not running from one sporting event to another...but we are doing that with musical events! This past Tuesday, G had his 5th grade music program at Red Pine. The kids looked like they were having so much fun. Each class had a showcase song, and when it was G's class' turn, they had picked a song that wasn't even singing. It was all dancing! The Donut Dance featured his class doing some tricky moves and do-si-dos, while the rest of the classes were waving paper donuts they had made. It was high energy and a great way to wrap up the program! G and Caleb were being extra silly during the concert - you can see G looking right at me, from the middle of this pic Donut! We had a very small break after his program, and then headed off to the high school, so we could watch Ava perform in the 2nd Wind Symphony concert of the year. They sound so wonderful! Ava lov...

March hit us this week with a really heavy snowstorm...enough heavy, wet snow came down that schools were cancelled on Wednesday. The kids relaxed most of the day, but we did put them to work shoveling the sidewalks. Scott wisely suggested that Ava clear off her car on Wednesday afternoon so she didn't have to do it on Thursday at 6am. She grumbled at the time, but was VERY happy the next morning when it was ready for her to jump in and head to school. The kids didn't have school on Friday (planned day off), and I took the day off (end of fiscal year is coming up and I have days to burn), and it was wonderful. We were productive and peaceful, and spent time together. Aaron joined us on a trip to Goodwill to donate some items, and then we all did a little shopping while we were there. Standard weekly Pria pic :) This is from last Saturday...I joined my parents for dinner, and spent several lovely hours with them. I love them so much! Saturday was an incredibly busy day. We woke ...

We've had some very busy weeks recently with school, work, activities, etc. Plus, the weather is warming up, so the desire to spend time outside is increasing. I put out my spring table runner this morning...it's almost here! Snuggling in to watch a movie one night G and I went to Noodles for lunch a few weeks ago - so good! Ava prepared a presentation on why she needs a new phone (there's already a plan in place to upgrade ALL of our phones, but she was trying to accelerate the timeline. Sometimes we have to say no...) Love her! Last weekend, I was out of town with some friends, and I captured this sunset over a nearby lake. It was so beautiful, and I even managed to squeeze in an hour-long walk with a friend. It was fantastic to be outside, soaking up the sunshine! Ava continues to ask for pictures of Pria every day while she's at school, and I thought this was pretty silly, with her little leg kicked out to the side I'm looking forward to have dinner with my pare...

This past Friday, Scott and I battled a snowstorm and had a lovely dinner out for Valentine's Day. It was really nice to get away for a few hours, although I kept checking in on Ava because she and Aaron were also out, battling the snowstorm for their Valentine's Day dinner. Everyone ended up being safe, and had a wonderful evening! (Note: G and Pria hung out at home, so they were the most safe!) Last weekend, Ava and my mom helped me clean out my closet and dresser, and they both went home with some new (to them) clothes. In fact, Ava wore an entire outfit made up of my clothes on Friday! Do you see G peeking around in the background? Every school day, Ava asks me for a pic of Pria, just to see how she's doing. Here are a few cute ones from this week. Tiny beagle! Wait a minute, this isn't Pria. You're right, it's not! This is Tucker and he was a rep from the Can Do Canines event that I participated in at my work on Wednesday. We packaged up doggie care bags, a...