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!

A Picture Update: Summer 2020 Week 1

Happy Friday!  It is the end of my first week of summer (technically the girls are a week ahead of me) and it was lovely.  

Monday was SUPER HOT.  The girls enjoyed the pool!  

On Tuesday we took Maya for a run and hung out in G-ma and Pa's yard for a bit in the afternoon.

Tuesday was Dan and Hanna's 2nd anniversary, so we watched Mitchell!!!!  It was SO MUCH FUN to have the cousins together.




Wednesday was beautiful and we enjoyed biking and basketball.


On Thursday the girls played crazy games with the neighbor boys in the yard, and enjoyed some quiet time on the porch.

Then we got one of Chris' Father's Day gifts delivered super early, so we decided to have him open it and play...Ladder Golf!

This morning the sun rays BECKONED me out of bed at 6:15am.  My plan was to do 4 miles, but ended up doing 5 and then some because I decided to wander and take unfamiliar paths.  It was truly beautiful.

We stopped by G-ma and Pa's again for a bit and watched Luna run around like a crazy dog.

Tonight we grilled out and had dinner on the deck, and then went for a family walk/bike/scooter ride.


There were lots of beautiful sunrays today...and it is also my parents' 44th wedding anniversary. 💜💜

Other things from this week: Chris and Callie were busy in the kitchen!

Also, Callie and I started watching fancy hair youtube tutorials.  I think the few we tried turned out pretty well!  Click here to see the hairstyles being done in fast time.

And click here for some other videos from the week.

Last, but not least, if you're a Hamilton fan: click here for a bit of "Aaron Burr, Sir" performed by a few familiar faces.

Have a great weekend!

Timehop Tuesday

It’s Dan and Hanna’s second wedding anniversary! It was SO FUN to go to Timehop today and see all the fun memories.

Another boy added to the gang!

Sisterly love...

And a professional updo compared to a novice mom-do:

In Training and Unlearning

Summer is usually my time to train for something.  Except for last year (I did my half last May), the many previous summers past were spent training for half marathons.  This year, with COVID, no actual races are happening in person.  BUT.  Virtual races are happening.

So.  I signed up for a couple of things.

One- a CUMULATIVE Marathon.  Through Bloomington Community Ed, I signed up to run 26.2 miles in June.  The proceeds of my race registration go to VEAP.

Two- Urban Wildland Virtual 10K.  The proceeds go to the Woodlake Nature Center.

So last Monday I started an intermediate 8 week 10K training program, and I have to run my 6.2 race on my own sometime between July 25th and August 1st.

Every time I walk out my door to do an outdoor run in my safe suburban neighborhood, I acknowledge my white privilege.  I decided to donate the amount of miles I run each week to a different organizations that I have researched that do racial justice and equality work.  This week I'm donating $17.75 to the Black Voters Matter Fund. I thought I'd share the different organizations each week in case you want to check them out too.

My 6:30am runs are beautiful and I'm very grateful that I'm able to do them.


And now I’m grateful to be able to share important work that others are doing to make our world a better place.