Teacher Appreciation Week

This week was teacher appreciation week so each day had a "theme". Monday was pajama day, Tuesday was Tie dye day, Wednesday was "crazy day", Thursday was sports day and Friday was Superhero day! The kids had fun participating! We are so thankful for the wonderful teachers the kids have! The kids love their teachers and we appreciate all they do for our kids while we can't be with them!

Tie dye day!

Luke was on the road Mon and Tues nights and so I was solo at soccer on Tuesday. The kids were awesome--I was afraid they'd be running for the park while the other was playing, but they both sat and colored and then watched a little Peppa pig on the ipad while the other was playing. They were rewarded with icecream after their games for being so good! :)

Having a picnic in the car before soccer!

Pigtails!

Crazy day!

Playing at the park with Andrew!

Nora and Alex!

Bishop, Ms. Molly and Nora!

Nora LOVED having Declan over! She cried when he left!

Kavanagh's

This past weekend we headed up to Kavanagh's resort in the Brainerd Lakes area with my parents. My mom found a groupon to stay in a 3 bedroom cabin and we were free this weekend so we joined them and had a great time! The weather was hot for the beginning of May and it was the perfect weekend away! Unfortunately my sister and her family had plans so they couldn't join us on this trip!

The kids and I drove up on Friday and met my parents and Luke at the cabin. The resort was great--there was a pool (both indoor and out, but the outdoor pool wasn't open yet), a few play grounds, the lake, a volleyball court, a basketball court and a walking path. It was a relaxing time away and we all enjoyed it! The kids' favorite activity of the weekend was "catching" rocks! We found many beautiful rocks in the lake and had fun fishing them out! Thanks for a fun weekend, mom and dad!

Paul Bunyon was a big hit!

Always so happy to see Nana!

Diving for rings in the pool

Relaxing in the hot tub

"Catching" rocks! :)

Looking for rocks!

Playing catch with Papa

Playing games with Papa! :)

Bedtime stories

Excited to be with Papa!

Playing on one of the many playgrounds

Coloring together!

Nana's snuggles are the best!

Enjoying popsicles in their new pool in our backyard after getting home!

Happy May Day!

The kids made May Day baskets for a few friends in the neighborhood on Friday! Their first one was for...Blue, Casey's dog!! They also left one for Claire and Johnny and Carolyn!  Happy May Day everyone!

A beautiful week!

Last week was an absolutely gorgeous week, weather wise! Thankfully we were able to get out and enjoy it! On Monday Luke and I biked to get the kids from school........only to find out Luke had a flat tire and we ended up having to walk most of the way home. I biked to get his pump and so he was able to bike with the kids part of the way home! He also didn't pack normal shoes (just his clip in biking shoes, so he had to walk with no shoes on)! :)

On Tuesday it was soccer night! Grandpa and Grandma were in town in the afternoon so they were able to come watch the kids play. Grandma brought cookies, which is always a big hit and produces quite the smiles! :)

Claire had a softball game Wednesday afternoon so we picked the kids up and went to watch her game. She had a great game, but the excitement was before we got there. They were ahead 13-0 when we got there so we didn't see much of the game, but it was fun to be there! After her game we went to the bandshell for dinner. It was the first night the bandshell was open, so that was fun!

Bishop woke up Thursday morning wanting to play catch--Claire is such a positive influence on the kids, we are so thankful to have such good "big" kids for our kids to look up to!

Thursday evening was Kindergarten orientation for Bishop!! He'll be going to Lake Harriet Lower Campus this fall.....I can't even believe I'll soon have a Kindergartner! He was so excited for orientation and as the lunchroom filled up he became more quiet and a little nervous. The principle introduced the teachers and then the kids went with the teachers for an activity. The parents stayed in the lunchroom and met more of the staff and learned about their different roles and the rules of the school. At the end the kids got to ride the school bus around the block! Bishop is probably the most disappointed that he won't get to ride the bus to school, as he'll be going to Minneapolis Kids before and after school! While we were at orientation with Bishop Nora got to spend some time with Jack and Andrew--she had a great time! Thanks again Jesse and Nina-we really appreciate it!

As I mentioned it was an absolutely beautiful week and a very fun one too!

Walking home after Luke's tire went flat

Cookies from Grandma!

Nora listening to coach Tank

Soccer fans!!

She's on the purple team!! Perfect!!

Nora and her friend, Anna, from school!

Bishop's turn!

Bishop and Nora with Claire!

First night at the bandshell

Icecream!

Playing catch at 7:30am! :)

Kindergarten Orientation!

Waiting for orientation to begin

Nora having dinner with Jack and Andrew!

Weekend at home

We had a pretty low key weekend at home, which was nice. Friday night we ran to Michaelangelo's for pizza....in the rain. There was a school carnival at the school, so Michaelangelo's was packed. We decided not to wait and ran back home in the rain. We played a few games while we waited for the pizza to be delivered.

Saturday morning Luke went on a long bike ride with one of his friends. The kids and I went to Great Harvest Bread for a bread sample and then to the library. We had a great time and it was pretty quiet at both places. We left when we realized Luke was home!

Saturday was a beautiful day and we spent it outside....hanging out in the alley with neighbors and helping Peter patch some stucco. In the afternoon we went to Minnehaha Falls--played at the park and then hiked down to the Mississippi River. Afterwards we had dinner at SeSalt and then headed home.

On Sunday we went to church, brunch for a walk/bike and then Bishop had Henry Kruger over to play. The 3 of them had a blast together--playing with the remote control cars and we walked down to the school park, which was fun too!

It was a very fun weekend at home and around the neighborhood. The kids seemed to be fighting a little more than usual, which was tough--I'm hoping this is a stage that passes quickly (but Luke tells me it's just the beginning)! The forecast for the week looks beautiful so we're excited to spend some time outside enjoying the beautiful Minnesota spring!

Running to get pizza

Surprise Slides!

Great Harvest Bread Bear!

Baking cookies at the library

The library is great!

Helping Henry (and Peter) fix the stucco

All smiles for icecream at SeSalt!

Minnehaha Falls!

Visiting the rock for cousin Mark Bedard!

Luke's great idea to walk the rocks---they both got wet!

Touring the limestone caves on our hike down to the Mississippi River

The Mississippi River!

Bishop and Kruger!