July 2018

We left the campground Sunday morning after a wonderful breakfast and last morning visit around the picnic table with our crew. Another fabulous weekend with our friends who've become more like family! We stopped at McDonalds for a quick lunch on the way home, unpacked, and watched a movie with the kids. A Wrinkle in Time was not what we expected it to be. I was quite bored and snuck in a nap. We ordered Papa John's pizza for dinner and took a family walk. It was the first time we noticed the bugs were bad on the trails. The girls watched some videos in Lilli's bed.

Alexa woke up at 2am and came into our room complaining of her neck being locked. Poor baby. I got her some ice packs and Adam slept in her bed with her to keep her comfortable. We got her an appointment right away at 8:45 with the chiropractor. She was pretty locked up, but handled the adjustment great. He wanted her to come back at 4 in the afternoon to finish the adjustment. He said he got only about 85% of it but said Alexa was so tough, it's one of the most painful injuries. Adam took the girls to Culver's for a treat before Alexa's next appt. Mikey treated them to yummy custard and even held some on Alexa's neck for some cold comfort. I met them at the chiropractor after work and was with Alexa during her adjustment. He said she had improved so much from when he saw her in the morning. He finalized her adjustment and then said if she needed to be seen again to call him at home and we could bring her to his house, since he's off the next 2 days. Amazing! She iced it all night. 10 mins on, 10 mins off and took some Advil liquid gels before bed. After her appt we went and got groceries for the week and then Adam grilled dinner when we got home. Michelle and the girls stopped over to bring Chipper a cupcake treat for his birthday. Alexa and I watched The Bachelorette (a good way for her to lay and rest).

The girls had the Beissel girls over for the day. They watched movies and ate snacks. We were invited to a neighborhood party and thought it would be a good way to meet more of our neighbors. It was a lot of fun. So many people and lots of kids. They had fireworks and lots of yummy treats. I brought puppy chow with red and blue m&m's. Lilli was getting bit by mosquito's so I took her home early, but Alexa stayed and hung out with some new friends and Adam and I had a great time visiting and laughing with our new neighbors We stayed until after midnight and crashed hard when we got home.

Happy Birthday, Chipper! Our sweet pup is 9 years old! We can't believe it. We gave him his donut toy and the cupcake that the Beissel girls made him. We met at the Budde's at 10:30am the morning of the 4th to get decked out in our red, white and blue for the parade. It's our new tradition to walk in the Apple Valley Freedom Days parade with the Budde's, representing Culver's. The kids have a blast getting all dressed up and handing out candy. Adam, Jolene and I hand out custard tokens and scoopie stuffed animals. The morning started off terrible with lots of heavy rain, wind and lightning and thunder. But, it cleared up enough for the parade to start on time. We got about 1/2 way through and the skies broke loose again. We shoved all the kids (and Jolene and I) in the Culver's trailer and made our way back to our cars and then went to The Crooked Pint for apps and drinks. And in keeping with tradition, sent the kids with Carter and Ashleigh to Target to pick up avacado's and tomato's for guac and chips. Afterwards, we all met up at the McCabe's for a super fun pool party. The weather turned out to be beautiful. The kids had a blast swimming and so did us adults. We shared more apps and goodies and then scooted off to the fireworks. We parked in my office parking lot and enjoyed the show in Apple Valley. Another amazing day celebrating our country and our Chipper.

The girls hung out at the Budde's for a little while after doing some exchanges of clothes/shoes from the parade the day before then went to Emily's to swim. Adam got off work mid-afternoon and went to the Sharp's to teach them how to make his rice so they can make it for their camping trip this weekend. I think it's funny how slowly bit by bit the Sharp's are getting all of Adam's recipe's out of him..chili, now rice. :) The girls hung out at the McCabe's until close to 9pm. Adam and I walked over there to check on them, but they were still swimming and having fun. Tammy made them pizza for dinner. Then, they came to our house for a sleepover. Adam and I got them oreo cookies and popcorn for a treat while they watched their movies.

The girls hung out with Emily all day on Friday. They did their chores and played Xbox. They're really into the Wipe Out game.

Adam came home and mowed the lawn and grilled pork chops and veggies for dinner. We sat outside on the driveway and planned a family fun day for Saturday. We hung out in the basement with the girls and played Xbox - Adam taught them how to play FIFA soccer.

We got up and ready to go Saturday morning. We didn't tell the girls where we were going, but told them they'd need their life jackets and a water bottle. We took them to Lake Calhoun to go canoeing. It was a beautiful morning and we had the best time relaxing on the lake. Adam and I paddled and the girls got to relax. We had the canoe for 2 hours and got back a little earlier. We ate at Lola's on the Lake - the girls had grilled cheese and Adam and I had tacos. It was so fun to eat out on the patio outisde on such a perfect day. We made a stop at Culver's on the way home for custard. The girls and I relaxed for a bit. I napped and they played Xbox. Then it was on to the second part of our family fun day. We packed up the car, told the girls to bring blankets, pillows and jammies. We stopped in Woodbury to grab dinner at Arby's & Chipotle. Then went to Vali-Hi Drive In Movie Theater. There was quite the line to get in but went really fast. We got the perfect spot. Front row, right on the end. We got set up, ate our dinner and then walked to the building to the arcade. The girls (and Adam) played some games and then we went back to our spot and played catch - we brought some outside toys along. We also laid out a blanket and played cards. Finally it started getting dark so the girls changed into jammies and got the back of the car set up with their pillows and blankets. Adam and I sat on our lawn chairs right in front of them. The movie was Incredibles 2 and was super cute. Lilli fell asleep. It was such a fun fun day. Family time is so important and we had the perfect activities all day.

We all slept in on Sunday. Adam got up and cleaned our cars, inside and out. And then Bryson came over to help board up the bottom of our shed so Javie can't get under there anymore. Emily came over to play with the girls. They played Xbox. They're turning into little gamers. Adam took them to Game Stop and got some new games. We played Fast Track with the girls and watched them play their new Xbox games.

The girls whipped through their chores right away in the morning and before I knew it the Arlo was going off non-stop with kids coming over to hang out and play XBox. They're obsessed - seriously! They played for awhile and then they all got on their bikes and went to the Budde's for the afternoon. Emily & the Beissel girls ended up at our house again after that. Adam grilled burgers for dinner and I watched the Bachelorette with the girls and colored in my room, while Adam played FIFA in the basement. We all gathered back in our room at 10 for the premier of Stay or Sell. A girl I went to HS with and her husband have a new show on HGTV, which is super exciting.

The girls have been so awesome all summer, so far, about doing their chores each morning with zero complaints. They tag team each other and get it all done before lunch so they can either relax or hang out with friends in the afternoon. Today they went to the Sharp's for the afternoon. Adam has been getting home from work later due to construction/traffic. I had dinner ready when he got home and then we went to my office to check on the little bunnies we have burrowed outside our office window. One of them was out of the burrow and hunkered down by a metal post about 2 feet away. We went to get Culver's custard and then decided to go back to put him in the burrow with the rest of his family. A lady in the suite next to us was still working so I asked if she had any gloves. She gave me a dish towel to scoop him up. He was so happy to be back with his family all snuggled in and warm. We watched America's Got Talent when we got home. And then, Synergy, the girls' dance studio, went live on Instagram/Facebook with some exciting news. They bought a NEW STUDIO! Super exciting. The Sharp's and us loaded up the girls and drove over to their new location and Dana gave us all a tour. It's a beautiful 2 story building, lots of huge windows, 4 large studios, 4 bathrooms, there will be a Synergy "store" and cafe area with tables and TV's so we can watch each studio. Lots of storage space and just a nice new building. We're so excited. And now the kids just CAN NOT WAIT to be back dancing. They deserve this space! We finished up America's Got Talent when we got home and then Adam and I watched the 20/20 special on the soccer team from Thailand that was rescued from the cave.

Wednesday the 11th was our 3rd "couples event" hosted by Chuck and Tammy and Stacey and Bryson. About a month ago we got a "save the date" delivered to our house. It was a wooden sailboat with a cracker jack box sail. Details that were given 2 days before the event were that all hands were needed on deck at the Sharp's house at 4pm. We'd shove off at 4:30. A dinner would be served around 7-7:30 and 1 drink would be provided at a few inland excursions. We were to dress casual as we'd be outdoors all evening. Clearly, all clues pointed us towards a boat ride or something, but we knew better. The nautical theme was just a ploy. Our first 'inland excursion' was at Dan's Bar in New Trier. We had a drink and played a game for points. Second stop was King's Bar in Meisville. Then to the Meisville Mudhen's BASEBALL GAME (hence the cracker jack sail on the boat). We tailgated. Grilled brats, played a bean bag tournament and of course, watched the game! It was such a great time. We connected back at the Sharp's where points were tallied and prizes were awarded for the games we played. Adam and I took first. YAY!

-- The kiddos started planning their own events and teamed up with families to plan. The Sharp & Budde girls (and Jack) planned a waterballoon/squirt gun fight with paint to tye dye white t-shirts. They made a fun picnic dinner and had other games. The kids had a blast. Then, they all walked to the Sharp's where there was more food and snacks and had a sleepover. Their plan was to camp out in tents in the back yard, but with high humidity and chance of storms, they ended up staying inside.

I just love this group of friends. So many fun memories being made.

The girls hung out at the Sharp's all morning, Friday. They didn't get to bed until 1:30am(Lilli) and somewhere between 3-4am (Alexa), so they slept in, obviously. Isabelle made them waffles for breakfast/lunch. They rode their bikes home around 1. Then, Michelle picked them up and brought them to the beach with Kaylee and Kenz. They swam and paddle boarded and were home around 5:30. I fed them some dinner and they told me all about their fun kids event. They had a blast. As we were sitting there the skies were getting darker. We quickly cleaned up and snuggled in to watch World of Dance. About 1/2 way into it the power went off, came on just enough time for me to set the clocks, and then it went out again. It came back on breifly, but went back out and stayed out for 2 hours. The girls were so sleepy, we just laid on the couches in the living room/eventually went up to my bed..and I rubbed Lilli's head and played with her hair. Adam had a late meeting. Linda had a conference in Alexandria over the weekend so she came up to stay for the night and arrived during our power outage. It came back on around 9, we finished our show and then went to bed. Another storm came through around 1am with a loud crack of thunder, so our little Cruzie ended up in bed with Adam and I.

Our Arlo camera - the one that's wired on our garage peak, went out during the power outage on Thursday, so after work on Friday Adam had Mike and Bryson over to help fix it. We ended up meeting up with Jeff and his daughter Gwen at Celt's in Farmington for dinner and then we all went to Jeff's house to play games. It was such a fun time!! Mackenzie and Kaylee had a sleepover at our house.

The girls slept until after 11am. Adam and I were up and ready and had breakfast together before they even came upstairs. Craig picked his girls up and then we went to Jack's baseball game in Bloomington. He won! Afterwards, we drove up to Minneapolis for the MNUFC game. We grabbed a quick dinner before heading into the stadium. We ran into my dad's cousin Nancy and her daughter Naomi, husband Nick and little Tony. It was fun to see them. And the game was AWESOME! We all had a blast. We beat Utah 3-2. The girls also received their groups for dance - Alexa is in Elevate and Lilli is in Believe.

Adam mowed and I cleaned inside, vaccumed and laundry. Then we were invited to the beach with the Beissel's. We went to Lake Marion. It was such a hot day, perfect for the beach. Adam's mom came to hang out with the girls and Adam and I went out for a date night. We ate at Chipotle (so romantic), ran to Home Depot and then picked up a few groceries at Target.

Linda stayed the night to hang out with the girls a bit Monday morning. She took them to Michael's for some crafts. They got a fun little butterfly craft. Adam's cousin Hal and his wife Erika came for dinner. They were in town from North Carolina. It was so nice to visit with them and hear Hal's stories of being in the military. Adam grilled burgers and brats.

Tuesday the 17th was mine and Adam's 14th wedding anniversary. It was a special day from the very beginning. Adam was up and downstairs before me and made me coffee. We sat out on the front porch together, my favorite place, and talked briefly about our 14 years together before I had to jet off to work. Then he got off work early to be home when I was and surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a fun evening date. He arranged for the girls to be at the Beissel's and stay the night so we didn't have to rush getting home. He took me to Norenberg Garden's in Orono, one of the very first places we had a date. We stopped at Jimmy John's to bring a picnic along. It was so fun sitting on the boat dock reminiscing about our life together. Some of it seems forever ago, yet it's all gone so fast. We walked the gardens and then drove over to Minneapolis for some ice-cream at Izzy's. We walked around Gold Medal Park and enjoyed the beautiful evening. What a fun surprise - I can't believe it's been 14 years. I'm so lucky!

The girls woke up at the Beissel's Wednesday morning and Craig brought them back to our house. They did their chores and had lunch. Then Alexa went to her friend Aubrey's for a few hours to hang out. Lilli was home alone. I FaceTimed her and she cried. She missed Alexa. But, then she found the remote for the TV in the basement and started playing Xbox and was totally fine. I love that kid so much. I picked Alexa up on my way home from work, fed the girls and the plan was to meet Adam up in Minneapolis for the Aquatennial Torchlight parade, but plans changed when Adam scored 4 tickets to the Loons game. We were so excited to go to another game. And they won. Again!

The girls had the Budde kids over (Taylor, Katelyn & Jack) right away in the morning. Their plan was to bike to Subway for lunch, but it was raining, so they ordered in Domino's pizza instead. It was so cute watching them (on the Arlo) answer the door and pay the delivery guy - even tho they paid $45 for 2 one-topping pizzas and an order of breadsticks. They ended up over at the Budde's later in the afternoon to play Mario Cart. We were going to watch Katelyn's lacrosse game, but it was canceled due to rain, so we went to the Budde's instead for mules. Stacey and Bryson came over, too.

Friday after work, the girls and I drove up to Minneapolis to Adam's office where we met my parents..and Adam. We grabbed a bite to eat for dinner at a burger place down the street. It was so nice out (a little windy) so we ate outside on the picnic tables. Then we drove over to the river to get a spot to park and sit for the River Rats Waterski Show, part of the Aquatennial. Unfortunately, it started to rain, but we toughed it out and sat through most of the show. It was ok. The tricks were definitely fun, but quite a long pause in between. Us girls stopped at Target on the way home to grab some snacks. My mom and I sat out on my porch for awhile and we started cutting out raccoons that Adam printed at work as our prank against the Sharps.

We slept in Saturday morning and made the new Synergy studio the first stop of the day. Dana was there working so we were able to take my parents in for a quick tour. We had lunch at Carbones and then made a stop for some chocolate treats at Abdullah. Then we drove back up to Minneapolis for some more Aquatennial fun. We walked around Mill City Ruins Park and then visited the Family Fun area. The kids played some games and won some little prizes. We ate dinner at the Crooked Pint, because the food trucks were less than impressive and then made our way to our seats for the fireworks. Hands down the BEST fireworks show we've ever seen. I'm so glad that we went. When we got home we went and placed all the Ricky raccoons all over the Sharp's yard and set Ricky up with a marshmallow and chocolate picnic on their front steps.

My parents left Sunday morning. Alexa went to the movies with her friend Lauren. They saw Mama Mia 2. Isaac's son and Adam's cousin's son played in a baseball tournament in Lakeville over the weekend. They were in the playoffs so we went and watch a couple games in the afternoon. And had Isaac and his family over to see the house afterwards. We watched the Loons beat LAFC 5-1 on TV. Such a fun game. Adam grilled pork chops for dinner (Lilli's request) and we called it an early night.

I'm back into my morning workout routine. Full speed ahead! The girls have had such a busy week/weekend that we laid off on most of their chores for the day and declared it a rest day for them. Ellie came to hang out for a little while in the afternoon. I picked up a few things for my Kombucha on my way home from work and then we went over to the Budde's for fish taco night. Adam showed Jolene how to make rice and chile and then we split her scoby and made my first batch of Kombucha. I'm so excited to get started! Michelle and Craig stopped over, too. Such a fun Monday night.

Adam and I both got up early for our workouts. He's alternating his running/walking days and I'm doing a Little Obsessed from Beach Body. The girls were still sleeping when Adam left this morning, per usual. They got up around 9 and did all their chores and had Ellie over to play again. We dropped Lilli off at the Beissel's at 4:45 for Kenzie's party and then I took Alexa to the Wheeler's to babysit. She watched Turner and Maddox for 2 hours and then Carter was able to pick her up and bring her to the Beissel's to join the party. Adam and I went with Mike and Jolene and Stacey and Bryson to Synergy to help move props to the new studio. Tom and Neil were also there. We worked so hard moving the very large pieces of wood flooring from the old studio to the new and made an assembly line to hoist them up the stairs. We got in a good workout and sweat so much! We also moved several other larger props. We treated ourselves to a dinner at Bourbon Butcher afterwards. The girls spent the night for Kenzie's birthday.

The girls stayed at the Beissel's all day. They slept in, went to the park, ate left over pizza and played the Wii. Adam and I were in desperate need of a night in so we made dinner quick, ate, and then vegged out on the couch the rest of the night. We caught up with America's Got Talent, World of Dance, the girls' dance recital video and another episode of World of Dance. Unfortunately, Eva Igo (Minnesota resident) lost in the duals. It was such a bummer to see her out so soon!

The girls hung out with Taylor after they chores, first at our house and then over at the Budde's. Then they met up with the Beissel girls and played gaga ball at Akin park. Adam picked a rotisserie chicken up on the way home for dinner and then we biked to the Sharp's for a fun little visit.

Oscar and Olivia were at Teal and we FaceTimed them while the girls were doing their chores. It was super cute. Ellie and Izzy came over to hang out for a bit in the afternoon. We went to Whitetail Woods to Avery's grad party in the evening. It was gorgeous weather and his mom, Nikki, had every decorated so nicely. And such good food, too. They had a couple boards set up so Adam and Avery were able to play a couple games. It was so fun to see them throw together again. We went to the Budde's after and sat out on their patio. Such a beautiful night.

We walked in the Leprechaun Days parade in Rosemount with Synergy on Saturday morning. The kids tossed out candy and we gave out banana's and info cards. We had lunch at Celt's in Rosemount and then met up with the Sharps, Budde's, McCabes and Jeff out at Whitetail Woods for some kickball, bags, crochet, bocce and grilled brats and hot dogs. It was the perfect day. We played kids vs adults in kickball. Kids won! Eventually it started raining, we packed up and went to our house to watch the MNUFC game. They lost to Vancouver 4-2. Ugh!

Adam had to work on Sunday so the girls and I had a little girls day. I took them to Minneapolis to Wild Rumpas Bookstore. They have animals around the store..cats, chincillas, rats, ferrat and birds. It's such a cute little place and the girls were able to each pick out a book. I just love hanging out with my girls. They did NOT want to drive so far to go to a bookstore, but ended up having a blast. We made dinner & popcorn when we got home and watched the girls' dance recital video.

The girls started VBS today. It's Lilli's last year to attend the classes and Alexa's 2nd year of volunteering. She is in charge of crafts this year with Katelyn. They all said they had a great time. But, poor Jack ended up in the hospital and after a long day ended up getting his appendix removed. We kept Katelyn and Taylor and brought Katelyn to and from her lacrosse game and kept them overnight so Jack and Mike and Jolene could get a good night sleep. Emily stayed the night, too.

The girls had another fun day at VBS. Tammy picked them up and then invited them to their house for lunch and to swim for the afternoon. Adam picked them up on his way home from work and I had dinner ready for them when they got home. I have meal planned this entire week and have been 2 for 2 on the first meals of the week. Homemade mac & cheese with chicken and broccoli. The kids gobbled that right up and helped themselves to seconds and thirds. And then tonight I made zucchini pizza boats. It's a combination of the girls' favorites - Pizza (Alexa) and Zucchini (Lilli) and they both loved them. Alexa ate her entire slice and Lilli had 2. So excited to add 2 new easy and healthy recipes to our rotation. The Budde's came over to celebrate National Avacado Day. I made some yummy guac. We also transfered my first batch of Kombucha. It was soo good. And started my 2nd batch. Carter and his girlfriend Jocelyn came over, too. It was so much fun. The girls rode bike up to Akin park and met their old dance teacher Amanda and her baby, Lilli, for a little playdate.