August 2019

We had a great time at Flekkefest with my family. The girls brought Kaylee and Mackenzie along and they seemed to have a great time. We got there late Friday night. Tiny took them to the Dollar General for supplies to make puppy chow and chex mix. We stayed up and played solitaire. Saturday we went to the community center for the pancake breakfast and visited the library. The girls played mini golf and Finn rode the ponies. They all held the bunnies and pet the animals in the petting zoo. We went to the craft fair and took a trolley to the airport where the girls did a bunch of tik toks in front of the airplanes. We went to the parade and dinner at The Knotty Pine. There were fireworks that night. We took the girls to the funeral home where my mom works and scared Kaylee and Kenzie by having a lady my mom works with hide inside a casket. It was pretty hilarious. We played more cards that night. Sunday we all slept in and we took off for home right before lunch. The drive home took forever. It was nice to be back and to see Adam. He had a beanbag tournament in Turtle Lake. He took 4th out of 40 teams.

(Mon) 5 - // 71 The girls went out to the Dakota County Fair today with the Sharps, Buddes & Beissels. They hung out for a few hours and spent most of their time in the petting zoo, of course.

(Tues) 6 - Lilli Dentist Appointment 8:30am // Lilli Hop Hop 6:30-7:30 // Alexa Hip Hop 7:30-8:45 // 70

Lilli has a dentist appointment right away in the morning. She ended up having 2 cavities. The girls also started their hip hop classes since their teacher will be leaving for college soon and wanted to teach them choreography before she left. Lilli's dance is WhoDunit and Alexa's is 007. They were both super happy to be back in the studio.

(Wed) 7 - Dakota County Fair 5:30pm // Adam Working Late 9pm // 69

I took the girls out to the DCF in the evening after work. Adam unfortunately had to work late, so he couldn't make it. We met up with the Sharps, Budde's and Michelle.

(Thurs) 8 - Alexa Going to DCF w/ Amanda // 68

Alexa had her friend Amanda over for the afternoon. I got them pizza and then took them to the Dakota County Fair in the evening. Lilli and I had a little date together. We went shopping and then to Cherry Berry for dessert.

(Fri) 9 - Adam's Bags Championship at Mystic Lake // 67

(Sat) 10 - Adam's Bags Championship at Mystic Lake // 66

(Sun) 11 - Adam's Bags Championship Mystic Lake // 65

Alexa was super jealous of mine and Lilli's thrifting that she convinced me to take her Friday night. We started in Lakeville and made our way to Burnsville. We had a blast together, found some cute deals and had dinner at Chipotle. We watching The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants when we got home. Adam had his end of year beanbag championship at Mystic Lake. Saturday Adam was back out at Mystic. The girls and I got groceries and Alexa and I babysat the Wheeler's in the afternoon. I made spaghetti for dinner and then we snuggled in basement to watch our shows. It felt so much like fall - cool temps. Sunday we shopped for school supplies, cleaned up the house and had a fish fry with Jeff, the Buddes and Sharps to celebrate Punta Cana. All the kiddos ended up spending the night at our house.

(Mon) 12 - Lilli Hip Hop 6:30-7:30 // Alexa Hip Hop 7:30-9pm // 64

The kids all hung out at our house most of the day. They played gaga on the tramp and practiced their hip hop dances. The girls both had hip hop again tonight. Adam and I walked the dogs and Lilli and I played solitaire.

(Tues) 13 - Shopping w/ Punta Cana Crew 5:15pm - Outlet Mall // 63

We had such a fun evening. The girls had the Sharp's over to hang out in the afternoon. And then we all met up at the outlet mall to shop for our Punta Cana trip. It was so much fun. The guys came and had a great time - they found lots of cute things and even a matching outfit. The girls of course had a blast and found some cute things. And I did, too! yay! The Budde's, Jeff and us went out to Buffalo Wild Wings for some wings afterwards. Such a blast!

(Wed) 14 - MNUFC 7pm (H - Colorado Rapids) // 62

(Thur) 15 - Adam's FF Draft // 61

Adam left for his guys weekend/fantasy football draft in Mankato. He picked up Timmy from the airport and they stopped at the house before they left. It was great to see him. The girls and I went shopping for Sophia's birthday present and then home for dinner and a movie and popcorn. We watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and part of Songland.

(Fri) 16 - Sophia's Birthday Party 1-5pm // Adam's FF Draft // 60

Stacey picked Lilli up and dropped her and Ellie off at Sophia's birthday party at 1. They pretty much swam the entire afternoon. It was so great to pick Lilli up and see her cheeks sunkissed and a huge smile on her face. She had a blast. Alexa went shopping with the Budde girls and Jolene. Lilli and I met up with them at the Burnsville mall and had a total blast shopping together. The girls got a few things for back to school and a couple things for our trip, too. We decided to go to Lucky 13 for dinner and sent the girls back into the mall to buy us sweatshirts and sweatpants because the restaurant was so cold. They LOVED it. And Jolene and I were able to have good conversation. It was exactly the kind of fun we needed.

(Sat) 17 - Adam's FF Draft // MNUFC 7pm (H - Orlando City SC) // 59

I got up, had my coffee and let the dogs out before the girls even woke up. I was able to finish my book, too. Then I started my cleaning list. I got the mudroom, bathroom and kitchen done and then took the girls to Wendy's for lunch and shopping at Burlington. I had so much fun with them - much needed girl/mama/daughter time. We went back home to clean some more. Alexa worked on her closet. Lilli's neck was sore from swimming the day before so she relaxed and watched a movie. And I worked on the rest of the house. I accomplished so much and it felt so good. By the time we knew it, it was 7pm. We made nachos and ate out on the deck. Then later, around 9:30 we went to Little Cesar's and got a pizza and Kwik Trip and got Fur_reals. We went home and played solitaire until midnight.

(Sun) 18 - Adam's FF Draft // 58

Adam got home just before 11, right as the girls were just waking up. It was so nice to have him back home. Alexa had an Elevate dance pool party at Caidyn's and Lilli was invited to swim at Sophia's. They both had such a great time. Adam and I were invited to the Vikings game with my boss and his gf. The girls went to the Ohluhe's for a movie night and ended up spending the night. Alexa was with Autumn and Kaily and Lilli was Tabitha and Grace LaBeau. Again - living their best life - making the best memories. Adam and I had a great time at the game - our seats were amazing. We saw 2 touchdowns so close up!

(Mon) 19 - 57

Alexa, Kaily and Autumn drove up to Minneapolis and had breakfast and coffee and Fairgrounds Coffee shop. They had soo much fun and took the cutest pics. I was super jealous! They also stopped by park board headquarters and visited Adam. That made his day, of course. Lilli, Grace, Tabitha & Tommy let the dogs out at our house, rode bike to the park, and then to SA for slushies. All the kids hung out at the Ohlhue's all afternoon. I'm so happy to see them hanging out with different friends this summer. I did my workout at home and then picked them up. Adam grilled for dinner and the Budde's stopped over to chat about visiting us at our cabin this weekend. We are so excited!!

(Tues) 20 - Alexa helping Ms. Van in the Art Room at Dodge w/ Amanda // Alexa Pictures/Schedule Pick Up @ FHS - 9am-4pm // Synergy Shoe & Attire Fitting 4-7:30pm // Alexa Hip Hop 7:30-9pm // 56

Alexa's friend Amanda picked her up around 9 this morning to go help their old art teacher at Dodge get her classroom ready. They worked with her at the end of the school year and she has some other projects she wants their help with. Alexa was so excited and super pumped about helping. Lilli got picked up by the Ohlhue's for the first leadership meeting from 1-2:30 today. I did my workout after work and made us dinner. Adam was able to come home and join us. Then Lilli and I took the pups for a walk and Alexa was picked up for hip hop. Lilli and I showered and then played a game of Battle Ship before I went to pick up Alexa.

(Wed) 21 - 55

The girls played outside a lot this afternoon. I encouraged them to stay out there for 2 hours. Alexa laid on the trampoline in her swimsuit and Lilli sat on the deck and played cards. She also gave both puppies a bath with the hose. I was watching from work on the Arlo. It was so adorable. I did a yoga workout when I got home. Alexa made some mac and cheese for dinner and then we started packing and cleaning up the house in preparation for the cabin. I can.not.waaaait! The girls and I also ran to Target to pick up a few care package things for my friend Jolene who is dropping her son Carter off at college tomorrow. Kleenex, a devotional book and some chocolate. Adam took the pups for a long walk. I made popcorn when we got home and we watched

(Thurs) 22 - WEB Day for Lilli 8am-12:30pm // Leaving for Cabin // Lilli Hip Hop 6:30-8pm // MNUFC 8:30pm (A - Sporting Kansas City) // 54

Lilli started her day with WEB Day at her new school. It's a day for her to group together with some of her peers as well as a few 8th graders to get shown around the school, play games, acclimate themselves and go through the lunchroom process before the actual first day of school. She was excited to go this morning, maybe a little nervous, but her confidence took over. I watched her walk into the middle school and was so proud. I get sad if I think real hard about it, but mostly I'm excited for her in the stage of her life. She's grown so much! Alexa and Adam worked on packing up the car, mowing the lawn and getting groceries. I put in a 1/2 day at work and then picked up Cruz, Jack and Katelyn from WEB Day. They all had a great time. We stopped at home, loaded up the car, swung by the Budde's to get Carter's parking pass for college and then had a quick lunch at Culver's before taking off. We met Mike at the McStop in St. Cloud and he took Katelyn and Jack to see Carter's dorm. We chatted for a quick second and then were on our way to the cabin. The ride there always seems like it takes forever, just because we are so anxious to be there. But, everything went really smooth. We got there, unpacked and took a quick run into Battle for some last minute groceries. We had dinner and enjoyed the evening taking a walk, playing cards and games.

(Fri) 23 - @ Cabin // 53

It was windy when we woke up, so the waves were coming in a little bit. The new neighbors were also cutting down a bunch of trees, so we had a lot of chainsaw noise. Not the calm, peaceful morning that I was expecting or hoping for. But, Lilli went fishing out on the dock and Adam and I sat in the yard together in the warm sun. Lilli caught a couple little sunnies and a bass. We had breakfast and lunch, played cards and took the pups for a walk to the cemetary. Our friends Mike and Jolene and Katelyn, Taylor and Jack joined us that afternoon. We sat out on the deck while the kids swam and jumped off the dock. They came in to play games, so Adam and I took Mike and Jolene on a walk around the lake. We stopped at Bordson's cabin and put our feet in the water. We left for Battle Lake as soon as we got back home and had dinner at The Boathouse and dessert at Granny's Pantry and Smakin' Cakes. We had a bonfire and played games that night. It was so much fun! So happy to have the Budde's there to share our favorite place on earth with.

(Sat) 24 - @ Cabin // 52

The Budde's had a baby shower in Melrose Saturday morning, so we got up made a big breakfast and then they were on their way. It was super windy again, but we still sat out on the dock in the sun and Adam and Lilli swam a little bit. We played lots of games and cards. Adam and Alexa took the pups for a walk while Lilli and I did dishes. We also made another trip to Battle Lake. Alexa and I got sweatshirts and Lilli got a little beanie hat. It was fun to look around in all the little shops. We made tacos for dinner and played lots of card games until we couldn't stay awake any longer.

(Sun) 25 - @ Cabin // Andrea and Cesar Here // 51

Unfortunately, the wind was even stronger Sunday morning. The girls slept in until 10 and Adam and I sat on the recliners with the puppies. I sipped my coffee and we visited and rested and enjoyed the relaxation. We had breakfast with the girls and then played cards for a long time, knowing the time to pack up was coming. I was hanging on to every minute, not wanting our time there to end. But, it eventually came and so did the rain, which made it easier to leave. Our drive home went well, not too much traffic. It felt good to get home and unpack. We showered and the girls danced and I looked through the calendar at the week ahead. Adam made dinner and his sister, Cesar and Linda joined us. They were home for a wedding. It was fun to catch up with them.

(Mon) 26 - Lilli Ortho Appt 9:15am // 50

Lilli had an ortho appointment right away in the morning. Adam took her. She got purple bands on her brackets and then bands for her bite. She said it feels weird. It will take a little time to get used to. The girls hung out with Dre, Cesar and Linda for the day. It also rained all afternoon. I did my workout and the girls danced. They both got their assisting positions and Alexa will be assisting Lilli's hip hop, so Lilli was filling her in on what they've learned so far. We grabbed a quick bite to eat when Adam got home and then took the puppies for a walk. The bugs were pretty bad so it wasn't a very long walk. As we were coming back home we saw our SHEIN order arrive on our step via DHL. The girls were so excited. We went and tried on all our new clothes we ordered for the DR. Mostly everything fit and worked for us. Then we snuggled in and watched AGT with popcorn in the basement. We slept with the windows open and it felt soo good to have the fresh air.

(Tues) 27 - Back to School Night at Dodge 5:30-7:30 // Lilli Hip Hop 6:30-7:30 (Alexa assists) // Alexa Hip Hop 7:30-8:30 // 49

Alexa had her friend Miranda over and Lilli had Sophia over for the day to hang out. We brought Lilli and Sophia to the Back to School Night at Dodge to meet their teachers. We met Jay and Susan there. Lilli and Sophia's lockers are so close together and they have the same math class. Lilli has many of the same teachers as Alexa did, so it was a nice to meet you again type thing. We did get to all of Lilli's teachers unfortunately, but the majority of them and she feels excited and confident to start school. She also learned her friend Syd is in her TC and Transitions classes. That made her feel even better. At 6:30 we brought the girls to the studio for hip hop. Alexa assisted Lilli's class. They were pretty giddy about that, too. I talked to Dana for a bit. Adam and I watched a little of BIP and Lilli showered. Michelle brought Alexa home after her hip hop class. We watched AGT in our bed. Soaking up our family time before school and dance take over.

(Wed) 28 - Alexa 9th Grade Orientation 6-7pm - Pictures & Schedule Pick Up 5pm // Open House at FHS until 7:30pm // 48

Alexa went to the Beissel's for the afternoon to work with Kenz on looking up songs for their duet this year. Lilli had her friend Bre over to hang out. I am so glad they have stayed connected over the years. And tonight we had Alexa's school picture night, schedule pick up and 9th grade orientation. She got her student ID and we walked through her schedule to all her classes and met some of her teachers. I really liked her RAMP/Academic Support teacher. Then we split up and she went with her LINK leaders and Adam and I went to a parent meeting in the auditorium. She played games and got a tour of the school and Adam and I learned all the logistics of having a high schooler. I still can't believe it. Alexa looks SO tiny in that BIG school. Bre ended up staying over night with Lilli and Adam and I stopped at the Budde's for a mid-week mule.

(Thurs) 29 - Parkview Ponds Bean Bag Tournament // 47

Bre hung out for the day. The girls did their chores and after work I took them to Fairground Coffee Cafe in Minneapolis. Alexa told us to order the wrong thing, so unfortunately none of us liked our coffee..even after adding tons of sugar. But, we laughed about it and the girls got some cute pictures. We walked around downtown a bit and the girls posed in some cute spots, and then we took off for home. We dropped Bre off and then the girls and I ran to check out the new HyVee in Lakeville and then grabbed some chicken at Canes for dinner. We walked the pups down to the park when we got home and watched Adam win our neighborhood beanbag tournament. They played twice and he won both - $100! He looked so happy and was having so much fun, totally in his element. The girls took baths and we snuggled in to watch HGTV until Adam got home.

(Fri) 30 - Sign Up/Pay for Faith Formation/Confirmation Online // 46

Happy Friday! I can't believe we are entering the last weekend of the summer. I'm never happy to see summer come to and end, but this year I'm ok with it. What I'm not ready for is the girls being at the stages they are in the school. High school for Alexa and middle school for Lilli. Crazy !! Adam and I met the Sharp's for a quick happy hour at El Churro and then we had a wonderful family night together. Adam grilled steaks and corn on the cob for dinner. 1st time all summer eating corn on the cob. We took the puppies for a walk and then snuggled in to watch AGT.

(Sat) 31 - 2 years in our house! // Amanda's Birthday 5pm - Sleepover // 45

We woke up early and took off for Albertville to visit the outlet mall. We'd never been there before, so it was fun to actually visit all the stores. The girls found some great deals on school clothes and shoes, Alexa got a North Face backpack and Adam found a few shirts, too. We had lunch at Wendy's/Culver's and then back home. Alexa got ready for Amanda's birthday party and we dropped her off. Then took Lilli to Walmart to look for a grey t-shirt for gym. We played cards when we got home and had so much fun betting each other. I love family togetherness. It makes me so so happy.