Category Archives: photos

Photo Dump – Tea Parties, Dragons and More!

I have so many random photos from the past few weeks/months, so it feels like the perfect time to do another photo dump and figure out just where all my time has been going and because I wanted to save the pictures for reasons, but then they somehow never made it into a blog post, so here we go!

Can’t say that a book makes a very good pillow, but you know…

Not gonna lie, we’ve had a LOT of ice cream so far this summer.

Finally Josh joined us at the zoo!  Haha!

Playground break during carnival fun!

Phoebe had a picnic for her stuffed animals, and I included their names so no one is confused as to who is who.

Can’t have too many Bowser pictures, right?  He’s slowly growing!

The first and last time he held Bowser.  They get a little freaked out by his tiny claws.

Feed me, Hooman!

Best kitty ever.

Sleepy boy.

Before our pancakes were cooked.

Love when they bring me home colorful art!

He really is the best cat…

This one, however, is very naughty. 😉

The other reason for this photo dump is because I’ve just been really busy and distracted by other things.  Time to settle down and create a schedule for myself again, methinks!

7 Year Anniversary

Technically our 7 year wedding anniversary was yesterday, but I was away the from computer all day, which seemed like the better idea.  Where does the time go?  It’s hard to believe that we’ve also been living in Minnesota for 9 years, and together for 10 years. I also never thought I’d still be living in Minnesota, but kids have a way of altering your entire life path, you know?  Suddenly you start to worry about which schools are good and where the safest neighborhoods are and what the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow is.

This post is mostly just a nostalgic look back as I reminisce about times gone by and look to the future with googly eyes, imagining future adventures and the journey to come.  You may think it’s easy and straight-forward to love someone, but it isn’t always and navigating parenting can be hard, and marriage in general can be a tricky beast to manage, but I really can’t imagine any other path.

Here’s to a lifetime of adventures together!

The Long Weekend – 4th of July Style

It doesn’t need to be said, but I’m going to say it anyway. I love a 4 day weekend.  It’s even better when you really only have a small portion of it planned.  We knew we’d be going to the carnival on Sunday, but that was it. So, I started our Saturday day off the best way possible. I took the kids to Costco.  Not my best idea, but it needed to be done and we got a TON of water balloons.  The kids decided we needed to have a water balloon fight at some point.  They were not on their best behavior, however, so we ended up heading straight home after to Costco.

The kids could not have been more excited for Sunday to arrive, and it actually worked out really well because the carnival wasn’t nearly as packed as it is on the actual 4th of July and it was wristband day, which meant that for 5 hours the kids could go on as many rides as they went.

Phoebe wasn’t quite as adventurous as last year, but Enzo was even more so, which wasn’t the end of the world, but at times made it difficult because each kid wanted to be on different rides pretty much every time.  We met up with my brother and sister-in-law like we usually do and their two boys, which is always great for the kids, but I think we were often split up most of the time. Ha!  It was also surreal getting this glimpse into the future when our kids are even more independent than they already are.

It’s nice right now because neither of them really care whether or not they have to go on a ride by themselves, but I admit it was nice when one of them requested that we join in on the fun.  All too soon they’ll be off on their own and not want us cramping their style.

We did have one scare (which thankfully I didn’t find out about until afterwards) where Phoebe wandered off.  I was in line/on a ride with Enzo and Aiden and Josh and Steve were watching Malcolm and Phoebe when apparently Phoebe wandered off in search of me. Steve and Josh split up to look for her and thankfully found her quickly when Steve found a woman who was bringing her to Lost and Found.  I think it’s time we have a set game plan and a long talk with both kids on what to do if one of them gets lost.

Back to the fun!

As we were getting ready to leave, this little robin wandered a little too close to the little kid rides and not surprisingly small children started chasing it, so Josh ran and rescued it from the fray and took it somewhere safe.  I was about ready to adopt it, but after calling the Humane Society the woman assured me that our little friend should be flying in a few days and since we had no idea where his nest/tree was, the best bet was to take it a little away from all of the chaos of the carnival.  So cute!

On Monday, I blissfully found myself alone at Target and it was quiet and empty and magical.

I later found myself at IKEA where they were temporarily out of the bed I wanted for Phoebe (boo!), but they had a fantastic cabinet almost 50% off for my office!  Score!!

We also cleaned Bowser’s cage.  (Not all of the lights are in use on top of the cage… they’re to keep Vega off.  His new home should be arriving around the 14th next week and then we won’t have to worry about it!

Okay, time to wrap this up!

Random Road Trip Stuff

Somehow in the midst of writing all of the blog posts, a handful of photos didn’t make it into posts… still not sure how, but now that means I get to drag it out even more!

The highlight is always getting to see family that we don’t see very often.

I’m just going to say it… I really don’t enjoy having to climb up ladders and whatnot to follow the kids on these.  I prefer to be within a foot of the ground!

Wish we had had more time in Colorado!

So tired…

“What are those, Mom?”

“Oh, just some shrunken heads…”

Some nice people let the kids borrow some toys at the park!

South Dakota…

Drank this bottle of wine (with Josh’s help).

Swimming!

Now where to? I’m ready for more vacation!  Haha!

Road Trip Part 7 – Wall Drug and Home!

After our visit to the Reptile Garden, we spent the rest of the day at the hotel in the pool and in the room.  We were all fairly tired and since we knew the next day was going to be long as well, we figured we might as well be well rested.  We left as early as we could the next morning and it was long until we started to see the many signs leading to Wall Drug.  Honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect, but I think I was expecting a little more. Haha!  It was really just a bunch of touristy shops all in one big location with a bunch of cheesy touristy things to look at.  We did get some donuts and 5 cent coffee for sure, though.  It wasn’t a bad way to stretch our legs either and the kids decided to kill some time in an arcade.

There are so many signs advertising Wall Drug… SO MANY.

Phoebe thought Annie Oakley was a witch. Haha!

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