A Picture Update

Holy moly we made it to Friday. I’m EXHAUSTED after 5 days of teacher workshop week and I think Chris is ready for the girls to go back to school on Tuesday! 

Here are our photos from the week:

Crazy storms!

Cousin time!

Middle school open house and more cousin time!

Have a good long weekend! I’ll be back on Monday night for the wrap-up.

Timehop Tuesday: Happy Birthday Avery!!!

Hooray!! Today is Avery’s 2nd birthday!!!

We love you and are so excited we got to celebrate on Sunday. 

I’m going to repost my Maya Timehop from the weekend today because I just love it. 

Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Sunday!  We had a pretty exciting weekend.  We left early yesterday morning to spend a few hours at the state fair!  We got all our fave foods, as usual: mini donuts, bacon, corn, g-free corn dog, cheese on a stick (new for me this year!), peaches and cream, pickle on a stick, French fries, and tiki whip!

We also stumbled upon Amy Klobuchar, so we got a photo with her.  We wandered around and went on the space needle. 

Maya and Boom did the swings, we did the weird mill ride, and ended at the dairy barn.

 

Of course, we had to do names at the Alphabet Forest as well.  

All in all it was a great morning!

Then, later that day, we had a Lynx game.  It was a big deal for two reasons- #1, it was against the Indiana Fever, so it was our first time seeing CAITLIN CLARK in person, and #2, it was Maya Moore's jersey retirement ceremony after the game!

First up, Callie made a sign for Caitlin and we got there super early to watch them warm up.

The Lynx won the game and clinched their playoff spot.  Woohoo!  At the beginning of the game, all of a sudden I saw that Maya Moore and her husband were walking to our right and were going to come right past us, so I was able to whip out my phone and get a photo of them on their way to their front row seats!  Everyone got t-shirts, and the ceremony after the game was so cool- her name and number is now up in the rafters with the other 4 dynasty players.  But the coolest part was that Chris and Maya were able to track her down after she did an interview and take a photo.  

Chris was determined to get this photo, because TEN YEARS AGO, he took our then-baby Maya to a Lynx event with Boom and Bops and got a photo of Maya Moore holding Maya.  

So...the most EPIC Timehop occurred last night and I have Chris' persistence and determination to thank!

So it was a special night all around!  Click here for some Lynx game content from the past couple of weeks.

Today's exciting even was AVERY'S BIRTHDAY PARTY!  Auntie Mari, Uncle Josh and Avery came to town today and we got together with Josh's family to celebrate our favorite little redhead.

Have a great week! 

A Picture Update: Happy Belated Birthday Uncle Craigles!

Hey all-

First up, yesterday was Uncle Craigles’ birthday! Since it is State Fair time, I’m throwing it back to years ago when I was a third wheel on their State Fair date! Welcome to the 40s club…we hope you had a great day!!

I survived three days back to work, with the remnants of Covid still kicking my butt. I’m so tired. But feeling better as of today. Here are my pics:

Final relaxing opportunities on Monday and Tuesday. 

Watching the DNC speeches and feeling HOPE for the first time in a long time! Go Governor Walz!!! 

Today Maya got to hang out with G-ma, Mitchell and Isla! 

The girls and I are supposed to run a 5K on Sunday, but August has just been a disaster for training for all of us.  None of us are ready. So I’m bummed but I’m just letting that go…

Have a good weekend! 

Timehop Tuesday: Summer Wrap-Up

Since today is my last day of summer, I thought I’d do a little summer retrospective! I went through and pulled out some photos that represent themes of the summer.  Enjoy!

Books: I read 6 full books this summer and have 2 others that I have started (Iron Flame is killing me a little bit...it's a long slog). It was fun to find various outdoor venues (and an airplane or two) to read in!

Next Up: Cousin/Niece/Nephew time!  Lots of fun summer activities. 

We VERY MUCH enjoyed our season tickets to watch the MN Lynx!  We got to meet players, made it up on the big screen, and had fun in various sets of 2.

Then we had a variety of other shows, sports and dancing (at home too!).

We did a variety of outdoor activities in various places, at home and away.

Some specific activities we enjoyed this summer included VBS, Band Camp, helping Auntie Cat, watching the Olympics, and WORKING (Callie)!

We enjoyed a variety of family time and celebrations- Father's Day, bridal shower/weddings, girls nights, fourth of July, birthdays, and a Covid anniversary.

We all went on a variety of trips this summer- long weekend at a cabin, Door County for the girls and grandmas, Denver for me, and then Maine for me and Chris!

And of course, we had Luna time all summer long!

I head back to work tomorrow and am grateful to have had another fun summer, though August has been pretty much a blur of Covid and coughing.  I'm still struggling with coughing three weeks later, but really hoping it clears up soon!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hey all! We had a fun weekend! On Saturday the girls got to hang out with Boom, Auntie Yoda, Uncle Craigles, Lucy and Mila!

While they were doing that, we went to Chris’ cousin Beth’s wedding in St. Paul! It was a lovely wedding and so fun to see all the Gosselin extended family we don’t see very often! 

There were a couple tables full off Gosselin cousins and we had a great time at dinner and then later on the dance floor! 




Today was a quiet day- Callie went to work, Maya and Chris ran some errands, and I stuck close to home. After a big, active social event yesterday I just needed a day to relax! 

Have a good week!

A Picture Update: Summer Week 10!!!!

Here we are.  Winding up my last full week of my summer.  I head back to work on Wednesday.  The girls still have a couple more weeks.

Here are my pics from the week: a pretty butterfly in the showers, matching Boom while doing school clothes shopping, margs and queso and voting!

Yesterday the girls requested to be dropped off at Target to go shopping alone (ok! I got to go to Kohls alone!) and then we went to the pool for the last time this season.

Our big event of the week was heading back to watch the LYNX!  They are back from the Olympic break for the second half of the season, and we scored 2 free tickets so all of us could go to their first game back.  Chris and Callie even got to be up on the big screen and Maya and I sat pretty close to Minnesota phenom and current UCONN player Paige Bueckers! Oh- and we got Napheesa Collier bobbleheads. ;)

Tonight we went over to the Dahlen's house for dinner and to jump on their new trampoline!

We also got to try an immersive experience video on the AppleVision headset, which WAS WILD.

Have a good weekend!

Timehop Tuesday

Happy Tuesday! I have a few Timehops for you today.

First up: the girls and their dog

Then: Maya’s fashion sense

Lastly: Chris and Cal!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hey all. We made it through the weekend. On Saturday we went school supply shopping! It’s a bit easier now with a middle schooler and a high schooler- way less specific colors of notebooks and folders needed! Then I made a NYT summer pasta recipe that was delicious. 

This morning Chris felt well enough to go fishing and I felt well enough to try a 1.5 mile run. Maya and Luna helped keep me going. 

The women’s US basketball game was this morning and it was BANANAS but we won gold!!!!!! 


This next week is my last full week of summer…I can’t believe it! 

A Picture Update: Summer Week 9

This week (starting Tuesday night) was my first foray into Covid and I’m NOT a fan. 

Chris and I both tested positive that afternoon and therefore we spent the week masking at home and staying 6 feet away from the girls as much as we could to keep them healthy…so far so good…

Here are the few photos I took when I could:

On Wednesday we spent some time outside and I had comfort corn for dinner, sitting at our dining room table alone. 

By Thursday afternoon I was feeling better and had been 6+ days into symptoms, so the girls and I went to the pool and found an empty corner for me to hang out in. It was chilly and cloudy at times, but it felt good to get outside.

Today Luna cheered for Callie as she went on a training run, enjoyed various other snuggles, and the girls more outside time.

My Covid symptoms are now solely concentrated in my chest with continued congestion and occasional coughing. The thought of attempting a run at this point feels impossible (even yoga feels like it would be too exhausting) so I’m just taking it easy and hoping after another couple days I’ll feel back to normal…?!?! Chris has had slight temps every once in a while, but thankfully his version of Covid hasn’t been too awful. Maybe because he had it a few years ago, it isn’t as bad the second time around…?!?! Who knows! 

Have a good weekend!

Timehop Tuesday: Anniversary Trip Wrap-Up: The Maine Edition! (+ Covid)

Hello! It’s August 6th, which means it’s our 19th wedding anniversary. 

Spoiler Alert- I gave Chris Covid for an anniversary "gift."

But let me back up. 

To celebrate, we decided to spend a long weekend in MAINE! On Friday we woke up very early for a 7am flight to Portland.  I had just gotten home Wednesday night from Denver, and felt the tiniest of little throat tickles, so I took a test and it was negative.  So...off to the Northeast!

We rented a car and found a restaurant recommended by the car rental company called Nosh. It was the start of my lobster journey…we got lobster rangoon. 


After lunch we headed out to see the lighthouse at Fort Williams Park. There also happened to be a gelato food truck there, so we indulged. 

We walked around and down onto all the rocks near the water. It was so beautiful…and HOT! 

Then in was time to make the hour long trek from Portland to Harpswell to check into our Bed and Breakfast. We opted to take the longer but more scenic route to get there. 


The Harpswell Inn was ADORABLE.

After unpacking and a little nap time, we walked down to “lookout point”. We were able to walk out to it because it was low tide. 

When we got back we realized we locked ourselves out because we deadbolted one door and went out the side door and the key wasn’t working. We learned to not use the deadbolt! But at least there was a cool living room to hang out in while we waited for the owner to help us out. 


Then it was time to drive to our chosen restaurant, Cooks Lobster and Ale. The drive there was lovely and  it was down an inlet that had just one road with water on both sides.

The restaurant was awesome! We sat outside on the deck. Chris got a full lobster and I eased in with a lobster BLT. Have I mentioned I’m not usually a seafood gal? My goal for this trip was to expand my horizons! 

It was great! And we were able to enjoy the sunset after dinner. In the way home we stopped at a candy company store. 

When we got back, it was high tide. So the lookout point we had walked to earlier in the day (top left) was covered in water! 



On Saturday morning it was rainy so we slept in a bit (meaning I didn’t get up to run or do yoga or anything!) and headed down to breakfast. 

My head felt more congested, but I'll be honest.  I was quite convinced I was one of the few magically immune from Covid, since I'm sure I have had thousands of exposures and have never once gotten it.  So I assumed my congestion was a summer cold.

Then we drove about 45 minutes to Bath to visit the Maine Maritime Museum. Lots of information about shipbuilding and lots of old boats on display. 

We headed to the adorable “historic” downtown Bath for lunch at a wood fire pizza place.

Based on the recommendation of someone we talked to at the Maritime museum, we headed over to the fort at Popham Beach.

We learned it was manned for multiple wars but never attacked. After wandering around the fort we headed up and down the beautiful beach. The water was chilly!

Later we relaxed back at our B&B and then headed to a casual dinner spot called Sundrenched…where I was too chicken to get fried shrimp for myself but Chris got it so I could try some. 😜 I was happy with my chicken tacos choice too. 

On Sunday morning it was pouring down rain for our 3 hour journey up to Bar Harbor.



It was still rainy when we got there so we stopped at an Oceanarium. We saw a blue lobster!

We found  lunch spot in BUSY downtown Bar Harbor. It was great! At this point I'm just more annoyed than anything by the chest and nose congestion, but otherwise feeling fine.

After lunch we were able to check into our 2nd B&B and it was so adorable.

By then the sun had come out for a bit so we wandered around down by the harbor and did some shopping in the cute stores.

Then it was naptime before driving to Acadia! We had a timed entry at 6pm for the Cadillac Mountain Summit.

It was so beautiful. We did a quick hike up at the top of the Cadillac Summit drive.


And then got some sunset action driving back down.

We got back late but still were able to find dinner at a delicious Indian restaurant before relaxing for the night.

On Monday morning we got up to have breakfast on the porch of our B&B before heading back to Acadia for a morning of hiking. 







After our 2 mile hike going up (Gorham Trail) we headed down to the water (Thunder Hole). We climbed down a series jagged rocks and cliffs and found a spot to watch the waves.

Then it was time to make the 3+ hour trek back to Harpswell to our original B&B. We stopped in Ellsworth for lunch on the deck of a cafe.

I can now see that I hit a wall Monday night, so after we got back in the late afternoon I took a hot shower, put on my PJs, got hot tea and Chris went to get takeout for our dinner. 

And this morning, on our anniversary, Chris woke up with the same congestion I had been dealing with. 

Not good. I was them worried that it might be Covid, so we got masks for the airport and plane, made it home on time, tested when we got home and it was in fact Covid. For both of us. 

In sickness and in health, right? 😬

Despite all that, it was lovely to spend the long weekend together in a place we have never been! I'm grateful we were in a place were outside eating and being outdoors was the norm, so we were rarely inside with others, and by the time it looked like we may be contagious, we were able to get masks and be as safe as we could. considering the circumstances. 

Click here for some pretty Maine scenery videos. 

I'm grateful for G-ma and Boom for helping once again with the girls, and now sad that though I'm home, and can't give them hugs. :(

All this to say, here is my Timehop for today!