kayaks and camp outs

This weekend, we were invited to a neighbors' house down the street from us for an afternoon of swimming at the beach.  Why walk when you can kayak, right?  It was Henry's first kayak ride and he said that was his favorite part of the day.  The dry space in the back of the kayak came in mighty handy to hold a few beers for the big boys. 

They have a little boy who is just a few months older than Henry, and he may have had every "construction" sand toy known to man at their beach.  They little boys sure had fun playing!

On Saturday night, Phil wanted to take Henry on a camp out (aka sleeping in the tent up in the loft because it's a billion degrees and windy outside).  I zipped them up in their tent and went to bed myself around 9pm.  He was pumped up :)   

Two flashlights in hand, and that was all the entertainment he needed (I did offer to make popcorn and I thought they'd want to watch a movie on the iPad)!  Apparently, he had a couple hours of fun while "playing flashlights."  Phil said Henry was still going strong at 10:45pm, that's so late for him!  He just couldn't fall asleep in that tent - having too much fun!  

good times

Once again, time is flying :(  I can't believe the kiddos start school around here next week (Henry gets a little later start - September 10th), summer is coming to an end (you'd never know it with our 90+ degree forecast for the next week), and of course the State Fair has arrived - yes, we'll be attending at some point, as I do love my cheese curds and Sweet Martha's cookies.  

We've been busy with fun, outdoor playdates with friends.  This week, we enjoyed another beach date one morning with Finley and Fiona.  We (at least I know I was) were exhausted after all that swimming, digging, and of course, snacking.  

We went to Maple Grove one morning to see Owen and Lisa and partake in a few "projects" outside!  The boys made up their own batches of cloud dough (pictured here) and flubber.  What, you mean little boys love to get dirty?

We stayed for a picnic lunch, followed by a freezies for dessert.  Why is sugary-flavored ice so good on a hot day?!  Check out these sweaty heads - it was a warm one out there.

I'm pretty sure we went through an entire water color paint set this week.  Henry loves painting his Thomas the Train coloring book sheets.  On this date, he did 14 of them in a row.  Oh, my little Picasso :)

The last couple weekends, we've ventured away from our Lino Lakes church, St. Joseph's, for a couple church and brunch outings.  One Sunday, we went to church at the St. Paul Cathedral, followed by brunch at Bon Vie.  The following weekend, we had a great morning, starting with church at The Basilica in Minneapolis, along with a fabulous breakfast at Good Day Cafe (Phil's fav brunch spot - the fried egg sandwich is sooooo good).  In this pic, Henry was the big tic-tac-toe winner while waiting for his pancakes to arrive.  Our server could not believe that he was able to eat a whole plate of 5 small pancakes, and neither could I, for that matter!  The boy LOVES his pancakes :)

Last week, Henry had a playdate with buddy, Harrison, at Como Zoo, followed by a picnic lunch with the flamingos and ducks.  Harrison was pumped to see Sparky the seal put on his show.  Henry and I were first-timers for Sparky's performance!  Good times.   

I had my 32-week appointment this week.  Baby must have been snoozin' - heartrate was just 131 - tired baby :)

Thomas the Train

The North Shore Scenic Railroad in Duluth was hosting A Day Out with Thomas this past weekend. We caravanned it up there with our neighbors (and fellow Thomas lovers) to see the great engine himself!  Here he is, #1, in all his glory!

We got to take a train ride (with Thomas leading the way), lots of photo-ops, do a little Thomas merchandise browsing, play at a few train tables, and make a Thomas art project.  

Here Henry is on the train ride with Rohit & Diya.  The boy couldn't stop grinning when we were on that train!  

Henry and Diya, posing with Thomas!

This was the other big deal of the day - meeting Sir Topham Hatt.  The kids were just in awe of him, took a few photos, and gave a high-five on the way out.  

30 weeks

My 30 week appointment was yesterday.  Baby is measuring right on and heartrate was 154-159 (with the hiccups in there too), which is about 10 beats faster than it has been, hmmm??  Baby's head is now down.  No concerns, so that's good!   

another week flew by

The weeks are flying by, and I've been slacking (once again) with my blog!  We've been enjoying our time simply playing outside with this great weather, that's for sure.  

Henry finished his summer session of school (ECFE) this week, and will be starting Preschool 2 days/week in September for the entire school year, crazy!!

This past weekend, we walked over to the TPC golf club for the 3M Championship.  Allina had a booth for employees, where we took a group photo, checked out the Family Fun Zone (yes, the bouncy castles were bouncin') and then went and had some lunch.  The weather was beautiful!     

On Sunday afternoon, we met Sonja at Lake Harriet to ride the trolley, the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line.

There she is, and Henry was lovin' it!

He wanted to sit with Sonja, of course, and I had to give her strict orders to hold onto a body part of his at all times, or I thought he was going overboard!

Seriously, couldn't wipe the smile off his face the whole time we were on it :)  There were many squeals along the way as well.  

After the trolley ride, we then took down some ice cream at Bread & Pickle, fed the ducks, and wondered which sailboat his Uncle Matthias would like.  I was lucky enough to talk Henry & Phil into stopping at Punch Pizza for dinner, so I could get my favorite Punch Salad, mmm mmm good.  

One other playdate photo to add in here - here's Henry and one of his lady friends, Addie.  We met them at the park one morning last week and have plans to do the same thing again this week!  Seriously, they look like they're dating :)

Night to Unite

Last night, the storms stayed away long enough for us to get outside and enjoy National Night Out with our lovely neighbors.  Miss Nina, from across the street, did a fabulous job organizing everything - a bike parade, game stations, and little prizes for the kids - she's great!  We had 2 police cars visit, and then unfortunately we missed the fire truck as it was close by when it starting raining and we were all heading inside.  

Bubble blowing with Diya and Rohit :)

Our block is packed with kiddos, as you can see here.  We figured there were about 30 kids on this street right now (our babe will be #31).  They're all so lucky to grow up with lots of friends to play with :)

Henry and Nathan, lovin' their picnic dinners!