The start of Labor Day Weekend

I don't have much right now as our weekend as been pretty quite so far (and really is for me right now). We did our normal Friday night thing of dinner and drinks with friends. The guys hang in the basement and play Golden Tee and games and the gals watch the kids. It was a perfect night so the kids played outside and had a nice time.

Today went by quickly with not much accomplished. GR took Preston to the University of Minnesota football game, he has great season ticket seats. Preston will have a blast and has been talking about going all week. Maren just went to sleep, she was exhausted after playing outside all day and going to bed late last night.

The kids new favorite thing to do is a bike ride with GR. They both ride 2 wheel bikes (with training wheels) and cruise paths through the forest and around the ponds/lakes. It's amazing to see Maren ride such a big bike because she isn't that big! Preston will still be using training wheels for another year, he isn't a huge fan of the bike so we are just glad he rides it!

We plan on putting the Little Tikes pool/slide up tomorrow for the last time, we will have the same friends/kids over for a Bar B Q and slide party since the weather will be warm. It should wear the kids out pretty good. We are doing a potluck meal so I will make Pasta Salad (with carrots, celery, feta cheese, tomatoes, onion and some green pepper). YUM

Here's Preston & Maren last Labor Day Weekend, check back tomorrow for this years pics.

It's almost Halloween!!!

Not really but we are already trying on costumes here! Preston decided he wanted to be a Police Officer so I bought that but we haven't tried it on yet. Maren wanted to be a dinosaur and I wanted her to be Madeline (the cute little girl in the blue dress with the yellow hat). I bought both and then the kitty that she is wearing in the picture. You can never have too many costumes for dress up! Preston is wearing Maren's dinosaur costume just for fun!





In other news MAREN IS POTTY TRAINED (both day and night) - YAY!!!! She has been for about 3 weeks and it is so cute to see her in the little undies (wunderwear as Maren calls them). It's funny to see her holding herself up over the potty (she uses the full size with no potty seat) because she is all of 27 lbs and looks like she is doing the pommel horse in gymnastics!

Today was the first day without our circle of summer friends, they are all back at work (they are teachers) so it was a quite one for us! Next Tuesday school starts here and then the following Monday P and M head back to preschool (they start a week later than normal school) so stay tuned for First Day of School Pics!

Homemade Pizza

I wish I would have remember to take a picture last night (so you might have to deal with leftover pics). I have been making homemade pizza's on the grill for a few years now but last night I decided to try a homemade sauce. GR's Uncle Greg brought us a bunch of tomatoes and I had quite a few from my CSA box so I figured why not (I also had a plan old jar brand in case I really goofed).

I basically sauted some garlic and good olive oil, then added my cubed tomatoes (no seeds but skin on), fresh basil and oregano and let it simmer. Halfway through I added a bit of sugar, salt and pepper and then once done I blended it and let it simmer for 30 min.

GR thought it was too basil-y (he actually said it tasted like a garden) so I added a bit more sugar and then it was a bit too sweet but all in all edible!

I will say the crust turned out perfect last night, I think because it was cool and for once not humid!

leftover homemade grill pizza (and sauce)



They really are much prettier right when they come off the grill and the whole pizza is still cooling on the peel.

Remember the days....

It's early here, the kids and GR are still snuggled up sleeping so how about a quick flashback. Preston will always be the top picture and Maren the bottom, we have newborn, 6 months, 1 yr, 2yr and then for Preston 3 & 4. These are some of my favorite pics during that time.

New





3 months






6 months





1 yr





2 yr





Preston - 3 & 4

Swimming

Another warm one today, we had a good swim lesson and ran a couple errands and will spend the day at home just playing in the backyard and trying to stay cool.

Preston made a huge accomplishment by doing a backfloat alone - YAY!! Maren is really getting the dog paddle down which is the first step to learning front crawl - YAY!!













It's almost embarrassing to say but I'm so ready for Fall/Winter. And when I mean ready I mean winter coats on the coat rack, snow gloves matched up and ready to wear and boot lined up by the door. Part of me is simply organized (or nuts) and the other part of me is so tired of spending my days outside sweating and try to find a patch of shade. I much prefer being inside with a small fire in the fireplace, baking a nice loaf of bread and relaxing with the kids and a boardgame. It won't be long......

Pretty Things

We have had a week of nice weather which means spending our entire day outside. I do believe the same will be on tap for this week but that is fine. It's lovely to have the kids friends over and let them play while the mom's sit around and chat.

Swimming Lessons are going well, Preston has a great teacher that is really focused on helping him with his weak spots (straight leg kicking and ALWAYS closing his mouth when going under). Maren loves her teacher and he has done a great job just helping her perfect what she already knows.

I'm excited for fall/winter and for snow/ice so we can work on ice skating with the kids. We have a pond right in the backyard (basically) so it will make it easy to get them started. They are adding another sheet of ice to our community center also so I expect for kid ice time in addition to more hockey time for the schools.

GR has been in Vegas since Thursday with friends and since I still see money coming out of the checking account I'm assuming he isn't exactly winning! But I'm sure he is having a good time, I expect him to come back with a wicked sunburn since he doesn't use sunscreen and its been 110+.

Potty Training and Maren are going much better this weak, accidents are few and far between. She is also starting to enjoy dress up with jewelry, clothes and props. Preston is really starting to open up and voice his mind and opinion, he went through a phase of "going with the flow" which is a good attitude has long as the flow isn't kicking your butt!

Anway, both of my kids are up way to early for playing all day yesterday and going to bed late so I imagine a fun day here!

Summer Fun

Just a quick post to catch everyone up on the summer fun here! The kids love the outdoors so we spend plenty of time outside playing, swimming, taking walks or just relaxing. The first pictures are from our zoo trip, which was very successful. We still plan on going to the Children's Museum and a farm with the normal pool trips also.

The kids are doing well with swimming lessons so we will probably take another set during the winter to help them continue to learn and improve. Preston also enjoyed soccer so much (GR was his coach) that we are doing a 6 wk training camp in the fall. Maren will start gymnastics once she turns 3, we think she might enjoy this since she is our "lil monkey"!

Nana (GR's mom) is here this weekend so we are just hanging around and playing with the kids and eating. Friday night we made homemade pizza on the grill, last night we had Creamy Coleslaw, Baked Beans, Roasted Sweet Potatoes and veggie hamburgers. Tonight I have Cucumber Salad, Pasta Salad and Cheesesteaks (without the steak) on the grill.
































I'm excited for fall (my fav time of the year) to experience the cooler weather and lovely bits of fall (leaves, warm cooking and chill in the air). I'm also thrilled to have the kids going back to school, I feel like they have grown so much with me over the summer I'm excited to have their wonderful preschool teachers add to the mix. Plus I have a couple retail consulting projects lined up that I can work on from home while the kids are at school, I'm thrilled to have some projects of my own to focus on!

Furry Friends Update

Milo just had his 2nd birthday on August 1st and Juno will be turning 1 on November 1st. GR also turned 36 yesterday, although not sure why I'm mentioning that in this post......

Milo





Juno





Yes, Milo is as huge as he looks! He is a Golden Lab with something else mixed in so most likely a MUTT but the best dog! Juno is a Siberian Husky like Buddy was and looks similar to him (although she is female and will be petite).