Finally, a weekend at home!

 It was nice to have a weekend at home--and the weather cooperated too! Saturday was a nice day--we walked to the library and checked out some books! Nora had a playdate with a friend and we enjoyed some more time outside!

Reading the books they picked out outside at the library!

Lunch with Ashton

Playing at the park!

Nora loves her Bday present from the Bormann's!

Icecream date!

Practicing on the pedal bike!

Playing some ball!

Bishop LOVES his hoop! He loves basketball!

They love to draw and color!

Weekend with Grandpa and Grandma

We are so fortunate to have both sets of Grandparents willing to help out and watch the kids while we're away! This weekend Grandpa and Grandma came to stay! They took the kids to Bishop's basketball game on Friday.....had a fun "stay home" day on Saturday.....went to church and a birthday party on Sunday!

We made it home in time to pick them up at the birthday party and it was so great seeing them! The weather was mild, so the kids got their bikes out in the afternoon and we ended a fun weekend with bowling!! I missed the kids a lot and it felt great to be home!

The bball boys!

Practicing dribbling

Bday party time!

They dressed themselves! ;)

Biking in February!

BOWLING!

Birkie 2016

This past weekend was Birkie Weekend! Luke was registered for the Birkie and I signed up for the Korte. We both trained as much as we could and Luke was excited to cut some time off his race from lsat year! The Birkie is a 51K (31 mile) race while the Korte is 26K (16 miles). My cousin Tim also joined us for his first Birkie this year! It was a fun weekend with a great group of friends (many friends of friends). It was hard to leave the kids again.....but it was "no big deal--it's just 2 nights" (as Nora proclaimed).

We were all a little concerned about the conditions as it warmed up the days leading up to the race and rained on Friday! It was 37 during the race, but the conditions held up really well and we all were warm!

Luke, Tim and I were all happy with our results! I finished in 2:02. My goal was to finish--my next goal was to move up a wave and my stretch goal was 2 hours! I was happy with 2:02 for my first race!!

Luke cut an hour and 20 minutes off his time from last year and was extremely happy with his race! He finished in 3:27! Tim had a great first race as well finishing at 4:30ish! We all enjoyed a post celebratory beer at the Angry Minnow afterwards!

Trying our bibs on!
Luke, Barry, Stacy, Tim, Carla, Fred, Andy, Nate

Korte Skiers! Dan, Stacy, Ang, Carla

Early wave Birkie Skiers! Fred, Luke, Andy, Barry

Fred and Luke at the start!

Happy to be done!

Celebrating at the Angry Minnow!

Cousins--first year finishers get the medals!

First year finishers!

Most of the gang!

A car full of skis!

Birthday buds, 100th day of school!

Nora with one of her best buds on his birthday! :)

Tuesday marked the 100th day of school for Bishop! I was not able to attend his "Friendship Party" since we were in the Grand Cayman and so Mrs. Delebo asked if I'd bring 100 pancakes and help with their 100th day of school celebration! They had a day filled with 100 things! ;) I brought in 100 mini pancakes and the class kept track of the number of pancakes they ate! Surprisingly, Bishop didn't have ONE!  He was very busy making his necklace......and he was the first one done with it, so it was worth it to him!

100 day crown and necklace!

BEST BUDS!

North Shore trip

After getting home at 10pm and turning around and unpacking and repacking--we were on the road by 11am on Friday.....headed to the North Shore for a weekend of skiing and swimming! It was so great being home and seeing the kids.......and they were so excited to take a road trip up North! Nora got her new car seat and absolutely loves it!!

We stopped at Fitgers for a late lunch and made our way to the Lutsen Sea Villas. We had never stayed there before and it worked out great! They had a great swimming pool that the kids loved! We went swimming, had a little dinner, watched a movie and finally made it to bed. The Hennum's arrived after 9pm. Nora couldn't make it up that late.....and while Bishop was SO tired he forced himself to stay awake long enough to see them! 

She can move in the backseat! ;)

 Saturday was a COLD day! A little too cold for the kids to get out and ski--so we took turns. We went swimming in the morning with the kids while the dad's went skiing. We had lunch and then Liana and I got out for a ski. We skiied at Oberg Mountain while the dad's hung out with the kids, took them on a little toboggan ride and back to the pool! It was a great day and everyone was happy!

Swimming with Siena and Maia!

Nora loves her girl time!

 Sunday brought some warmer temps--so we drove up to Bearskin Lodge to ski. I had never been there and it was a really neat lodge with some great ski trails. The dad's took the kids skiing while Liana and I skiied and then we ate lunch with the kids and hung out in the lodge while the dad's skiied! We stopped at Voyageur Brewing on the way back and then went swimming and had dinner in the place! The kids had a blast skiing, especially Bishop. He insisted on being the leader and his favorite part was the downhills!! ;) All he wanted was big downhills!

Hanging out with my girl at Bearskin Lodge!

Nora taking pictures of Bishop and I!

Rootbeer, hot chocolate and cookies as a reward!

Trying on cute hats in the gift store!

A highlight of the weekend--riding in the back of the car to the swimming pool (200 yards away)! :)

 Monday morning brought more swimming and our last ski before heading home. It snowed a little overnight Sunday night so we chose to classic ski. We went to Hogsback Loop and since they had gotten snow the classic track hadn't been groomed yet. It was a little slower going and we ended up skiing 5 miles!! There were a couple of meltdowns (rightfully so--5 miles is a long ways)! I had no idea we'd be skiing that far so I didn't bring water or food. Luke pulled Nora in the Chariot and she got cold (and probably a little bored). We all made it.....packed into our cars and headed for home. We decided to skip swimming lessons as it would have been cutting it pretty close to getting back for them. So we stopped at Fitgers for a bite to eat on the way home instead!

The skiiers!

Nora will be ready for "real skis" next season!

Wow--it was such a fun weekend with friends, skiing and swimming! The kids had a blast and it was a great transition back to reality for Luke and I!  We were all happy to get home and to sleep in our own beds!

Meanwhile....back in Minneapolis

The kids kept busy playing with their new birthday toys! Nana and Papa visited Bishop's "Jungle Gym" and even brought Nora with them (she was SO happy to be able to see it)! Papa and Bishop put a lot of lego's together....I'm not sure who had more fun.....Papa or Bishop? :)

Nora loves her new Peppa Pig outfit from her buddy Ashton!

Pancakes with Nana and Papa at school!

Birthday Donut! Happy 6th birthday, Bishop!

Birthday Kids!

Nora's birthday donut! Happy 4th birthday, Nora!

And this is what I came home to....my sweet girl asleep!

Mom and dad, I just can't thank you enough! Thanks for staying at our house all week and for making the kids' birthdays so special (Mikkel Donald's 2 nights in a row is pretty special)! :) You're amazing.....taking them to church, the book store, swimming lessons and even visiting them during the day during school! Thank you, thank you, thank you! We all love you so much!