kids bdays part 3

Just when you thought the birthday fun was over, there was one more party to attend.

Kids bdays part 2

On Saturday the kids had friend parties -- Sully in the AM, Harper in the PM.  I made cakes for their friend parties.  ...and then helped with the logistics of getting the kids to and from.  T's sister Melanie, Brian and baby Abram arrived on Friday night to take part in the fun of birthday weekend.

While H was enjoying her puppy cupcake cake party, Sully enjoyed watching Rescuebots from the comfort of his new jeep.

Saturday night was early bedtime for all .....as another party was on tap for Sunday.

kid bdays part 1

My parents arrived on Thursday to experience a late season snow.  ....and to celebrate bdays with the kids.  Sully opened some gifts, as it was his actual bday.  Then we had dinner and went out for ice cream to mark the occasion.

Sully was not that interested in his new big boy bike, so Harper gave it a ride in the house...

birthday celebration

T made reservations at Mill Valley Kitchen on Tuesday night for birthday dinner. The food and wine were both excellent. I had bologonese, one of my favorites. I also ordered a bunch of sides. The best of which were the sesame carrots.

Then we had mini-desserts and ended the night with my favorite beer at the Town Hall Tap.


On my actual bday, we had birthday dinner at home with the kids. Of course we had cake!

Big sis turns 40.

My sister's 40th birthday week celebration started on Saturday. I joined her and a few friends in Chicago for a night of dinner and fun.

We stayed at Hotel Sax, which I thought would be fairly centrally located. It had a great view of the "corncobs".

After piling all of our stuff in the room, we headed to dinner (tapas) at Emilio's. The food and wine were both excellent. The company was stellar as well. We ate, talked, laughed and had a most fabulous time.

We headed back to the hotel for cake and presents and to chill out before the "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind" comedy sketch show.

We headed back to Rockford early Sunday morning, after a Starbucks run of course. Then T and I packed up and headed back to Minneapolis.

T bday weekend, part 3

Sunday night: Dinner at The Butcher & the Boar

Reservations for 6:15. We arrived late, but not too late. The restaurant was busy for Sunday night. Nice atmosphere. T ordered an Old Fashioned, which he thought was good ...not sure if he agreed with the waiter that it was the best in the city.

The food was excellent. We had jalapeno poppers, which were made with a PB based filling, apricots, feta. So tasty. I would go back just for those.

Next up was gilled oysters. Perfectly buttery and lemony. Yum.

For the main dish, we ordered the sausage sampler platter - three house made sausages with various accompaniments. All were delicious.

Of course I have no picture of T and I from dinner. We dressed fancy-ish. ...and there is no evidence. As a matter of fact, I think the only picture of he and I from the weekend was taken by H at Target Field ...and I'm pretty sure my eyes were closed.

We finished the evening with a beer at Town Hall Tap. Sweet.

T bday weekend, part 2

Sunday: Brunch + Twins game
T loves the chicken toes and cakes, so we started the actual birth day celebration with brunch at the Town Hall Tap. The kids both attacked their pancakes too. And then had fun playing with the cars on the bar.

We came back and played outside for a bit before heading to Target Field.

The Twins game was fun. Both kids wanted Bullseye, the Target dog, painted on their face. We took some super cute pictures. I think the kids lasted until the 6th inning, which was pretty good.

After the game, we dropped the kids off and headed out to the birthday dinner.

T Bday weekend, part 1

Friday/Saturday: Camping with the kids at William O'Brien State Park

We loaded up the car (and the car topper) with camp gear and headed out for a night in the park. The drive there was short and sweet except for some traffic in Stillwater and getting slightly lost trying to find the entrance.

We set up camp. The kids got used to being at the campsite. H helped set up the tents. Jordy was a banana because he was tied up. We grilled dinner, started a campfire, went for a walk, searched for chipmunks. Then came the best part: s'mores!

The kids slept in their own tent with their own flashlight, which was whirly-gigging around until WAY too late at night. They also woke up WAY too early in the morning and both climbed in our tent.

The plan for Saturday was to hike down to the river & Lake Alice, swim, and head home. We packed up camp after breakfast, then loaded up for our 3 mile hike. We stopped in the nature center before heading out, consulted a map, and checked out the MN wildlife exhibit.

We took a wrong turn on the hike, but still discovered milkweed, a frog, pine cones, lots of sticks, and grasshoppers. Instead of hiking down to the water, we drove. I walked along the river for a bit with Jordy while T and the kids swam in Lake Alice.

We headed back towards home with a lunch stop in Stillwater at the Water Street Inn.

After arriving home, we unpacked, cleaned up and crashed.

Sydney turns 10.

I arrived in Rockford on Friday evening just in time to have dinner with Jennie and the girls. We hung out, watched the opening ceremony of the London Olympics -- pretty low key evening.

Little Leo thought we were pretty boring....

Normal Saturday morning, then Mom and Dad arrived. Sydney fired up her new Kindle Fire and started right in teaching Gma new stuff and playing words with friends. Lunch, errands before pool party. Sydney and Cass both had a friend attend her party at Peak -- rock climbing and pool time.

Sunday was family party day!

It was great fun. I'm sure there are more stories here, but overall it was good, family fun.