Timehop Tuesday

Hi all!  I have a VIDEO Timehop for you today: Maya "reading" from 4 years ago may be one of my favorite things ever!  Click here!

Also a few good pics:

Sassy, sweet, swinging Cal

Maya and her excitable extremities (ever since she was a baby she would express her excitement through the flexing/shaking/straightening of her arms and legs...she still does it to this day!)

In Training and Unlearning Week 4

I'm halfway done with my 10K training.  This week was a bit easy because my long run wasn't actually long, but fast.  I did a "5K Race"...on my treadmill...in 27 minutes 45 seconds.  My goal was under 30 minutes, so I made it.

Anyway...this past week I ran 18.5 miles, so I donated $18.50 to The Conscious Kid, an organization "dedicated to equity and promoting positive racial identity development in youth."  It was an organization that I found on Instagram after doing lots of research, and a teacher, it is an organization I'm happy to support.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hello!  We had a nice weekend...on Friday night we swung by our friends Nik and Danielle's yard to meet their new kitty Cleo! 

Yesterday our big outing was the drive through zoo tour.  Since we could only go 4mph, Maya helped Chris "drive."  

Boom, G-ma, and Pa came over for BBQ dinner, and G-ma brought the girls some water balloons.

This morning Luna went on a 3 mile run with me, so she was tired later.  I caught her in mid-yawn.

Our church put together a 6 week virtual Vacation Bible School, so we started that this morning. The first big project was creating a field journal to document the seeds that the girls will be growing in egg cartons, the other project this week!

The girls were over in the neighbor’s yard all afternoon for a birthday party. So we took it easy tonight and watched an episode of the documentary about making Frozen 2. I was fascinated and will continue watching... the girls were somewhat interested but then wanted to turn on Master Chef Junior instead. Ha!

Have a great week. Can’t believe it is almost July. Time flies when...you’re stuck at home...? J/K we have been lucky enough to have kept ourselves busy, healthy and happy. I’m so grateful. 

A Picture Update: Summer 2020 Week 3

Happy Friday!  Our third week of summer started off at a nearly empty beach on Monday morning.  It was pretty chilly- I don't think it had even hit 70 degrees yet.  But the Held kids joined us for a picnic lunch and they caught four fish in that silly pink bucket!

Later I tired Luna out on a walk (we had already run 3 miles early in the morning) and finally finished my Harry Potter puzzle.


Tuesday was a magical sky day.  I took this picture in the morning around 10am.

Auntie Hanna and Mitchell came over and we walked to the park for play time and lunch!  It was Mitchell's first time in a baby swing and he didn't hate it.

What he LOVED, was watching Callie do silly dance moves.  He thought she was HILARIOUS.


Later that evening, Maya did some reading on the porch...and then magical sky #2 happened... a double rainbow!  You may recall that we also had a lovely rainbow in the sky last week.  We had already put the girls to bed, but I went to get them up to see the rainbow(s) for themselves.

On Wednesday we met Boom downtown for...guess what? Another picnic lunch!  And the girls played at Gold Medal Park and the Commons.

Maya helped Chris start little indoor herb garden.  She also had fun sticking a toy plunger on her forehead...and then yesterday we went shoe shopping and Callie can now shop in the ADULT SHOE SECTION.



Also yesterday... we did a nature hike with Pa (we saw muskrats, egrets, geese, and ducks) and then the girls got very long overdue haircuts.  

We were going to meet G-ma and Pa at the beach for a late afternoon swim, but it was SO CROWDED (like Florida beach crowded), so we didn't feel comfortable staying.  Instead, we came back to the privacy of our backyard and got the pool out.  

This morning I took the girls and neighbor boys up to a local park for a change of scenery. Later we drove to drop some donations off at church and swung by DQ on the way home.

I'll leave you with a few videos from the past week...click here!

Have a great weekend.  

Timehop Tuesday

Here you go!!

In Training and Unlearning Week 3

Good Morning!

Last week I ran 20 miles, so I donated $20 to 

Brown Sister Speak, an organization that helps women of color with mental health and empowerment. 

“ Our Mission is to increase awareness of mental health issues effecting  women of color and the stigmas around them. We educate, empower, and advocate for women of color living with or supporting someone with a mental health condition.”

Have a great day!

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Happy Father’s Day Edition

Happy Sunday!  And Happy Father's Day to all the amazing men in our life...we are so blessed to have so many wonderful guys around us.  

We had a very lovely weekend.  Yesterday morning Cal and I went to take Luna for a nice walk, and then Luna got some playtime with Chris. 

We hosted Deck Dinner #1 last night with Boom, Auntie Yoda, Uncle Craigles, Lucy and Mila.  It was a beautiful night and the girls had so much fun playing, as usual.



Today we had a quiet morning (I ran 6 miles before anyone was really awake and about!) and then the four of us went to the cemetery. The girls have only been there a couple times before, and they did a great job being respectful and curious, looking at other grave stones and asking good questions. 

Later, while I was trying to rest, Luna was being EXTRA.

Then we had what was supposed to be Deck Dinner #2, but it turned into Porch Dinner because of thunderstorms!  But it was really fun, regardless of the the crappy weather.  Mitchell was the star of the evening, as per usual.




We got the most adorable cousins picture!

And then the girls with their daddy.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, too.  On to another week of summer!

A Picture Update: Summer 2020 Week 2

Happy Friday!  Another week sped by.  Going into summer I was pretty nervous about how it was going to go- having no activities, etc.  But overall (so far) things have gone fairly smoothly. There are definitely times when I want to pull my hair out and get some space and alone time, but thank goodness for good weather and neighbor kids to play with outside every day.  

Anyway...Luna and I had a nice quiet start to our Monday morning and Maya joined us too.  Then, we took a trip to Target.  This was the girls' first trip anywhere inside in public since early March.  Thanks again to G-ma for the cute masks!  Then we spent more time outside.

On Monday evening we went over the Auntie Cat's house for a campfire cooking experience.  We made bannock (sp?), a sweet bread cooked over the fire.  It took a few adjustments but by the end we got in the groove and it was yummy! It definitely looked like cooked fingers and toes, though. Ha! 



We went to Logan Park on Tuesday (it was HOT), and it was fun to get a change of scenery from our yard.

Later we went over to G-ma and Pa's house for some sprinkler time and snacks.  We got to FaceTime Mitchell too!

On Wednesday the girls posed in front of their "Zombie Apocalypse" shelter and Maya organized a bunch of shoes.  On Thursday Callie and I started reading together the young-adult book about the history of racism and the anti-racist movement called "Stamped From the Beginning.”

It is really engaging and I think it will be a good discussion starter. Then I made homemade Cauliflower Buffalo "Wings" with homemade bleu cheese dip.  DELICIOUS.

On Thursday night there was a huge rainbow over our house!

This morning we went downtown to go on a walk with Boom and then play in her house a little bit- again, the first time since early March!

This afternoon we went to Uncle Richie’s to check out their play system...the hope is we’ll get it to our back yard sometime soon!

Tonight before bed the girls read outside. It was so lovely to be outside in the quiet and just hear the birds chirping.

I’ll leave you with some videos from the last week...

click here!

I found that last video clip on our Ring app and loved it because it shows what a little hugger our Maya is!

Have a great weekend.

Timehop Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!

In Training and Unlearning Week 2

Hi all!

Last week I ran 18.6 miles. I donated $18.60 to MIGIZI, an organization in Minneapolis that "nurtures the development of Native American youth in order to unleash their creativity and dreams – to benefit themselves, their families and community."  They lost their building on May 28th in fires that were near the 3rd Police Precinct in Minneapolis and are working to rebuild their community.

 

Migizi means "Bald Eagle" in the Ojibwe language.  I love that.

Weekend Wrap-Up

We have really lucked out with the weather this past week.  It was another gorgeous weekend.

Yesterday was the rescheduled dance class pictures.  It was a very different experience than normal...the girls had to wait outside to go in, wear masks, and there were no group pictures taken.  I will say it was also very much less chaotic.  Ha.  The recital was supposed to be next weekend, but has been pushed back a month and will be outside with fewer dances and a smaller audience.  Weird times.

The girls gave Luna LOTS of love and attention yesterday...so spoiled!

Last night Boom, G-ma and Pa came over for dinner on the deck.  I found a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps and they were delicious, if I do say so myself.  If you enjoy browsing recipes and want to support a few young local Twin Citizens, their website I am now obsessed with when I want to find recipes is Fit Foodie Finds.  Also, Maya created her own kind of crazy hairstyle last night before bed...

Today started out (for me) with a 4 mile run + a Luna walk.  Then later Chris made me brunch, Luna was cute, and so was Maya.  

Our Gosselin Sunday afternoon outing was to Bush Lake.  Auntie Cat brought her canoe!  It was a lovely and relaxing afternoon.

Tonight we had some friends over for play time and another dinner on our deck.  We are getting such good use out of our outdoor dining space!


Hope you have a great week!