Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Sunday! 

Somehow after nearly 90 degrees on Friday afternoon, we woke up to this:

Sigh.

Yesterday was a very productive day at home- cleaning, organizing and generally getting rid of things. We have a lot more to do, but got a good start. We are outgrowing a lot of toys we have had for a decade, so there may even be a garage sale in our future!

Also, Callie gave me a makeup tutorial, and Maya spent a lot of time finishing up the 2nd Harry Potter book so we could watch it last night. 

The girls spent the morning cleaning up their rooms…and I let them have iPads to do Timelapses. Callie’s room always looks like a teenager’s room, and I’m just trying to let it go…progress not perfection, right?!  And Maya’s Timelapse is always hilarious so I took a screenshot of a funny pose she was doing.

Then we headed to Boom’s house for lunch and then  got pedicures! And Auntie Yoda, Lucy, and Mila stopped by later too. 

And also we FaceTimed AVERY (and Auntie Mari!).

Have a great week!

A Picture Update

TGIF Y’ALL!!!

These are the only pics I got this week…basically just thankful for the warm weather that finally hit us.

In true Minnesota fashion, this week on the weather app sums up spring in Minnesota:

Have a great weekend!

Timehop Tuesday

Here are some spring break Timehops…the girls and I usually don’t have the same spring break, so these are from various trips up north that Chris and I went on the past few years. 

First, we have white wine drinking in the cold and the warm. 

Animals at the resort and in the wild.

And the two of us.

Weekend Wrap-Up: Happy Easter!

Hello all! Happy Easter!

Our recovery day from vacation before heading back to school was not exactly recovery…it was Easter! 

We went to church this morning…

…and then to Boom’s house for an Easter Candy hunt, play time and brunch!

And this was the best we could do with the cousins…;)

And then we had another Easter Egg hunt, outdoor playtime and dinner at our house with the other cousins. 

Dinner with these four is pure chaos.

And this was the best we could do with these cousins! I can’t stop laughing at Mitchell’s face.

Have a lovely week! It may almost feel like summer here in Minnesota later this week. I can’t wait!

Spring Break Wrap-Up: The AZ Edition!

 Hey all!  We are home from a whirlwind spring break week in Arizona. 

On Monday morning, we woke the girls up at 4:45am to head to the airport.  The flight was easy peasy, and we got a lovely view of the sunrise.

When we landed we went to get NYC bagels in Scottsdale. Complete with poppy seeds that got stuck in my teeth!

Then we went to my Uncle Jim and Aunt Coco’s condo. After a tour, including a stop up on the roof with an amazing view, we walked around their neighborhood and ate lunch at a delicious Mexican place near their condo.

Then it was time for the pool! They had a cold plunge pool (bottom right picture), and Callie was a ROCKSTAR.  That is her in the cold pool (maybe 45 degrees?) and Maya is in the warm pool.  We all did the cold plunge, but Callie didn't seem bothered by it at all.  Ha!

Later that afternoon, we went to check into our first Airbnb house (complete with a putting green in the back), and then we met up for dinner with Jim and Coco at The Cheesecake Factory. Callie was very excited to pick out the cheesecakes for the table for dessert.

On Tuesday morning I went for a run in the neighborhood.

Then we met up with Jim and Coco at the Arizona Boardwalk to go to the aquarium!

Chris, of course, had a blast touching all the stingrays...and Maya, Uncle Jim and Aunt Coco did too!

The girls posed in front of a green screen and we got some very interesting photos...LOL!

We ate lunch at a restaurant with dinosaurs hanging from the ceiling (and a big one chasing me outside!). AND later we got to create our own ice cream sandwiches.

We also got to go see butterflies. They loved landing on Uncle Jim!

Later we hung out back at our house and then went back to their condo and went out for a pizza dinner. The time change meant that Maya was VERY tired by the end of dinner the first couple nights, but I didn’t mind the dinner snuggles.

On Wednesday morning, I went on a sunrise walk and it was lovely.

Then it was time to head north! We picked up donuts and coffee and started out our next leg of the trip.

Our first step was the Out of Africa Animal Wildlife Rescue Park!  We started off with a bus ride tour to see a lot of the animals.

And we got to feed giraffes! They made themselves at home by sticking their heads into the bus.

Then we went on a walking tour to see more animals.

Our next stop was hiking in SEDONA! The weather got cooler as we headed north, but the sunshine was glorious.

It. Was. GORGEOUS.

After a 2 mile hike, Chris and Callie decided to take the shuttle back to our car, and Maya and I walked the extra mile to get some more amazing views! She also wanted to take a tricky panoramic photo so she could have a "twin."

Then we headed up to Flagstaff! There was still snow on the ground and it was about as cold as home has been, but we still decided to get ice cream and then hung out at our next Airbnb for the evening.

On Thursday morning we headed more north to THE GRAND CANYON!!! The line to get in was VERY long, but once we finally got through the gates we were greeted by some wildlife.

We went to the visitor's center (which was closed) but made it to a lookout point near there and got our first view of the canyon.  WOW.

We stopped at a few other lookout points along the way.  The views never disappointed.

And then it was Callie's turn to do the tricky panoramic shot, but if you zoom in on her "twin" on the right, she looks a little rough...ha!

And then on the way back down to Flagstaff, we FaceTimed Luna, and then the girls and I went out to a brewery for dinner.  Chris wasn't feeling great, so we took the opportunity to slow down and just relax at the house for the night.

On Friday morning we got up and started heading back down to Scottsdale. On the way we stopped at Montezuma Castle. 

And then we stopped at the Rock Shop and explored the area around it. The girls and I picked out souvenirs and played around. 

And then it was back to Jim and Coco’s for swimming!

After the afternoon in the sun, the freckles were popping!

Jim and Coco grilled a wonderful dinner up by the pool and we enjoyed the sunset. 


After that we went and enjoyed more lovely views on their balcony. It was a wonderful way to end the evening, and the vacation.

This morning we were out the door by 6:30am and had another easy flight home. And we reunited with Luna!

As you can see if you made it this far, we had just a wonderfully magical time in Arizona. Click here for some videos from along the way.