Happy Birthday Auntie Cat!

We love you and hope you had an awesome day!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hey all!  It has been a very busy, exhausting, but ultimately fun weekend.

Yesterday morning was my half marathon!  Chris dropped me off about 6:45am, and the race started at 7am.  

To be honest, it was probably the hardest race I've done since I did this same half in 2010, 8 months postpartum.  I started off too fast (I'm so bad at pacing myself at the beginning!) and then by mile 6 my legs felt like lead...and after mile 9 I started to feel a little dizzy off and on.  So I took it easy the last four miles, and finished in 2:31:30.  I was aiming to finish under 2:30, so I was close.  Oh well.

Pa took some videos along the route (see the video link later in the blog), and Boom, Chris and the girls saw me at the finish line.  It always feels SO good to cross that line and be done, but ESPECIALLY this one.

Not sure where my running journey will go next, but definitely not interested in long distance running for awhile.

Yesterday afternoon, Callie had her 3rd show.  The Dahlen's came (see Mae with Callie below), and then while she went to a cast party, Chris, Maya and I headed to a restaurant that sponsored my race so I got 2-for-1 margaritas!

This morning Maya and Chris played street tennis, and then later she and I went to an actual tennis court.  The photo below is a terrible screenshot from a bunch of silly tennis videos I took (again, see the video clip link below).  Maya thought they were hilarious and that her form in that screenshot was extremely goofy.

Then, this afternoon it was time for the final Little Mermaid performance.  Auntie Yoda, Lucy and Boom came and I snapped a couple photos and videos (again, see link below).

It was truly a magical and impressive production.  I'm glad we got to see it 4 times.  And Maya got to "meet" Ariel this afternoon, too!

Ok, click here for a random assortment of videos, including cousin time, birthday party fun, my race, tennis playing and the show!

Have a great week...I cannot BELIVE it is almost August.

A Picture Update: Summer Week 7!

Hey all! Happy Friday. Somehow we made it through week 7…Maya was gone most of the week at camp (and there were no Facebook photos posted at all!) so the week felt SO LONG. It was so hot and there was a big storm on Tuesday night and I was worried and missed her all week. 

Thankfully, despite all that (and getting kneed in the eye in the lake and a couple other weird things) she had a good week and was happy when Chris picked her up yesterday afternoon! 

Anyway…I’m just so glad she’s home.

Here are some pics from the week:

I went paddle boarding with a friend, and then Boom, Callie and I saw BARBIE (AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH).

Despite the heat on Wednesday, we went to the farmer’s market for dinner and stopped by the batting cages for a bit (spoiler alert, we think Callie is going to try fall softball this year…we may become a…sports family?).

Thursday was a looooooooong day because it was SO HOT and I knew Maya was going to be home by 6ish pm. Chris picked her up at 4pm and we were able to FaceTime while they were on the way home. 

They got home about 6:30 and had to eat dinner in like 10 minutes because we had to leave to make it to Callie’s opening night, where we met up with Boom and G-ma. It was a GREAT SHOW, and we are excited to see it a few more times this weekend!

Today I picked up my race packet and Maya and I headed to the pool. 

Send positive energy and vibes from 7am-9:30am tomorrow morning…I’ll be running my half marathon! 

Tonight we went to the 2nd show with Pa!

Have a great weekend! 

Timehop Tuesday

First up, this girl (who I am missing like crazy this week while she’s at camp):

And then this girl, who is working so hard on the final week of her musical rehearsals:

And then the sisters in lakes!

Weekend Wrap-Up: Happy Birthday Maya Leigh!!

Ok everybody, not sure how this happened, but THIS GIRL IS 10!!!!!!

She is just the best…smart, sweet, sassy, silly, and all around super.

Here’s a look back at the past ten July 23rds!

We celebrated her birthday with some of our family members yesterday, with a backyard Harry Potter Magical Taco party!

It threatened to rain at points, and did some sprinkling, so we smushed into the porch for a bit.

But thankfully it didn’t last long, and we got back out to the yard and deck for water fun and Clue!

And we had tacos for dinner, of course! 

Maya opened her presents and got lots of awesome things!

Then there were cupcakes…made by Callie.

They were a hit.

Maya got Harry Potter themed gift bags for the cousins, including Harry Potter glasses. The little ones loved them.


All in all, the party was a success! After bedtime, I got all the birthday decorations ready for the actual big day.


Maya was up early (though not too early) and spent some time working on a new Lego set before presents.

Once she got Chris to wake up, she got her presents opened before 8:30am.

One of her gifts was a new set of rollerblades!


Then we went to brunch at our fave Sunday brunch spot.


Then after finishing up packing and a little more Lego time, we headed out to drop her off at church camp! We met Pa on the way for a quick birthday visit. 

Can you believe that we dropped her off at camp for the week ON HER BIRTHDAY?!? Way back in February when I asked her about going to camp, I let her know that the only week it worked was this week- on her birthday. And she was cool with it, so I had to be cool with it too. 😭

We left her in the hands of her counselor around 4pm, and I’m sure she’s going to have a great week!

Meanwhile I’ll be stalking the camp Facebook page for photos all week.

All this to say, I think her 10th birthday was a success! So I’ll leave you with a Sunday Timehop. 😭😭

We have another INCREDIBLY busy week ahead…so stay tuned! One thing I’m excited about is TAPERING my training…my half marathon race is on Saturday, which means I just have three super easy runs until then! 

Have a good one! 

A Picture Update: Summer Week 6!

Hey all!  Another summer week has FLOWN by.  Here are some pics from the week:

Maya spent a lot of time biking, and I did a solo paddle board.

We got to see Boom and Mila on Wednesday!

And we enjoyed the rainstorm (+rainbow) and snuggly weather.

Maya spent the mornings this week at "Project Runway" camp, where she learned (or started to learn) how to sew things.  The class ended with a fashion show, which she told me ahead of time that she would not be participating in.  And she followed through on that...instead she was the teacher's "helper" and held the phone for music for the fashion show.  And she hid behind all the other kids for their group picture...ha!

We also enjoyed a cloudy afternoon at the pool.

And then we did some Harry Potter party prep (there's a BIG 10th BIRTHDAY THIS WEEKEND!) and some more sewing with G-ma.

Have a lovely weekend!

Timehop Tuesday

We have some summer vacay Timehops today.

The girls THRIVE on vacation!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hello! Happy Sunday! I’d you missed my big post from yesterday, click here. It’s a good one!

As for the rest of the weekend, it was pretty chill.

I did my last super long run before my half marathon in 2 weeks.

Then we have some sweet and goofy Maya pics:

And cousin time!

Have a good week!

Summer Week 5: The Camp Northern Lights Edition!

Hello all!  It is Saturday afternoon and I'm  finally ready with my Week 5 blog post...summer is now half over (WHAT?!?!?!) and we spent it in the best way possible- AT CAMP!

This year we didn't get into Camp duNord (very crazy lottery system!), but we did get a spot for this week at a newer YMCA family camp in Babbitt, MN, called Camp Northern Lights.  It sits on the lovely Bear Island Lake.  

Like last year, we went up with our friends, the Dahlens: Jeremy, Jennifer, Cam (9), Gus (7) and Mae (5).

Last Sunday morning we said bye to Luna, packed our car to the brim, and headed north!

We made our usual stop at Tobie's for donuts, stopped for a quick lunch, and then made it to camp by 3:15pm. We found our adorable cabin, Cassiopeia, and settled in.

The first thing the kids wanted to do (OF COURSE), was jump on the WATER TRAMPOLINE!

We were able to order Dominoes pizza for dinner that night (delivered by a couple counselors), so we took advantage of that service!  Then we went on a little walk to explore this new (to us) camp.

The Opening Celebration was at 7pm, where we learned all the fun things that were going to happen throughout the week. After the kids went to bed, the adults enjoyed some quiet in nature with wine.

On Monday morning I woke up and took the opportunity to explore more of camp during my run.  I stumbled upon the Gnome Trail, among other pretty roads and trails.

Monday morning at 7:30am was the first "Big and Little Dipper" experience- taking an early morning dip into the lake!  Then we enjoyed coffee, biking around the cabin, and Chris chopped some wood.

Monday morning was also the first morning of age groups: 2.5 hours of activities for the kids every day.  It's awesome!  Once we sent the kids off to their various groups, Chris, Jeremy, Jennifer and got coffee from the lodge and did more camp exploration.

It is a beautiful camp! And Chris found some blueberries.

We decided to take out some kayaks to explore the lake a bit, and then Chris and I went to relax on the dock before picking up the kids.

The afternoon was filled with lunch in various places, more trampoline time, game time, and lots of snacking.  And then we made tacos for dinner!

We signed up for a family sauna that night at 7pm, and it was just BEAUTIFUL!  We were out there as the sun was in it's golden hour. We all enjoyed a number of sauna trips and then lake dips.

The sunset on the lake was beautiful on Monday night, as was the sunrise on Tuesday morning! I enjoyed a longer run and got to see more of the area on the gravel roads and trails.

After Big and Little Dippers, the kids spent the morning playing games before age group while the dads made a big breakfast.  While the kids were at age group I relaxed and read my book on the lodge's porch while Chris took a boat out to fish.  Then later there was beach time.

That afternoon we took out a fishing boat.  It only held four people, so Chris took various groups out throughout the afternoon to try different fishing spots around the lake.  Everyone who fished caught at least one fish! And Chris caught a couple of big ones, too.

That evening we relaxed around our cabin, made a fire, and had S'mores.

We kept the campfire going after bedtime and the adults enjoyed later evening time together outside. 

And it was awesome to be just steps away from the beach to see the sunset!

By Wednesday morning, Cam and I established ourselves as the only Big and Little dippers of our group.  After the morning dip I enjoyed a solo walk and working on the puzzle with my coffee.

During age group time, the adults went paddling on the river connected to the lake.  We made it to a very cool beaver dam and saw some beautiful lily pads and flowers, but it got very rocky and shallow so we had to be careful.  The views didn't disappoint!

After lunch, we took the kids out on various boats and watercraft, and paddled our way (slowly) around Bear Island. 

Then there was ice cram (every day, not just that day!), playing catch, and going to the Art Barn.

And then the girls and I took bikes to do a trail ride.  The camp has a few different levels of bike trails and loops.  We did the "easy" one...and the girls did great!  It was my first time on a bike in YEARS, so trail riding while feeling very much like a novice biker was a little scary but ultimately fun.  And I had Maya biking in front of me narrating the path so I knew what was coming "Mom, there's a big hill...uh oh, Mom, watch out for the big rock...oh boy, Mom, you better slow down for that turn!" Etc.  It was hilarious.

The kids still had time to fit in a little lake time and then Chris made us all stir fry for dinner. 

The adults enjoyed the views of the lake after bedtime again, and set up blown up burritos (from a game) in funny positions at the table for the kids to find in the morning.

Three of the four of us slept in a bit on Thursday morning, and woke up all smiles.  While the kids went to age group, we participated in the adult age group- more sauna time!

After lunch, we went out on a pontoon boat for the afternoon!  Some of us drove the boat, some of us jumped in, some of us fished, and all of us had fun hanging out on the water on a beautiful day.

Jeremy and Jennifer made a delicious spaghetti dinner that night, and the kids had fun playing outside our cabin.  The adults participated in a game of trivia on a patio while the kids played games with their counselors for an hour that night. 

On Friday morning Chris took a fishing boat out again to enjoy some solo fishing time, so after Big and Little Dippers (for the last time!) the girls and I walked up to the lodge to get souvenirs.  

After goofing off and age group drop off, Jennifer and I went to get our last fancy coffee from the lodge, and then I went out on the dock to read my book.

The rest of the day was spent finishing the puzzle, playing catch, watching a counselor hunt (where we let a counselor "hide" by sitting with us at the beach), getting more ice cream, and reading.

And we got our annual camp photo in the lake!



That night was Closing Celebration.  It was a BEAUTIFUL evening.  All the age groups did skits and we sang songs and enjoyed the sunset.  After the kids were in bed, the adults enjoyed our last evening of Quirkle along with some Prosecco.

This morning we woke up, packed up, cleaned the cabin and headed home.  We are all so very tired, but happy to have spent a wonderful week together, with friends, and enjoying time away at a beautiful place.

If you want to see some random video clips from our time at camp, I have two sets of clips put together.  Feel free to click on the links and enjoy:  Video #1  and  Video #2.

And a special shout out to G-ma, Pa and Uncle Dan, Hanna, Mitchell, Isla and Shambles for caring for Luna this week!

Now, on to the second half of the summer.  It will be another busy 5 weeks!