It's A Zoo Out There!

With Cameron's awesome summer half-day Fridays quickly coming to an end, we figured we better take advantage of one and do something fun as a family.  We decided to go to Como Zoo...one of the best things in Minnesota.  It's free!  I mean, how can you beat a free zoo??

The kids were in heaven seeing giraffes, zebras, lions, tigers, monkeys, etc.  We spent a couple hours there (again, one of the perks of a free zoo...you don't feel obligated to spend the whole day there after spending who-knows-how-much on admission!), and on our way out we were able to catch the sea lion show, which the kids loved.  A perfect way to spend a nice, summer day.

We have loved having Cameron home for a little extra time in the summer, but now that it is September, it's time to get back to regular hours!  Boo!

Twins Game With the Whole Clan

A few weeks ago, Cameron was able to get some tickets from someone at work for a Twin's game.  He got four tickets, so we decided to bring the kiddos since everyone would have their own seat (a first for us!).  We figured it would be worth a shot anyway, since the tickets were in the Legends Club area, where there is an indoor area with air conditioning, soft chairs, etc.

We all got decked out in our Twins gear and went down to Target Field.  Our kids thought it was great, but then we immediately had to start pulling out the snacks to keep them somewhat in their spots...

Poor Cameron kept taking one kid or the other up to walk around inside, and finally after about 5 innings we decided to throw in the towel and head home.  It was fun (and I guess at least we got some cute pictures, right??), but we have decided that we won't be bringing the kids to baseball games anytime in the near future!

Trip to the Northwest

Wow...I have fallen way behind in my blogging, so I will attempt to catch up in the next few days.

About a month ago, we got to travel out to Oregon for Cameron's family reunion that occurs every two years.  Since we were heading that way anyway, we decided to go out a few days early and spend some time with Cameron's brother, Brennan, and his family who are living in Seattle.

After a VERY early flight, with a connection in Denver, we made it to Seattle at around 10:30 in the morning on July 12th.  We were all pretty wiped out, but had fun just hanging out with the family and taking it easy.  Miley was so excited to play with her cousins, Hailey and Jacob.

The next day, we tried to pack in some fun.  Rachel, my sister-in-law, and I went in the morning to get pedicures and manicures.  after we got home, we packed up the rest of the family and went to downtown Seattle to check out the sights, go to the aquarium, and eat some fish and chips.  It was beautiful being on the sound.  Our kids tired out pretty quickly, so we went back home and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

On Saturday, we packed everything up and drove three hours down to Portland, OR to get things ready for the reunion.  Brennan and Rachel had just moved from Portland to Seattle, so we were able to stay in their home there, since it hadn't sold yet.  The guys were busy shopping for all of the food and things for the reunion, so we basically hung out at the house and let the kids run around.  We were able to grab some sushi for dinner one night, and spend some time at a great park.  It was great just being with family that we don't get to see often.

On Monday, the 16th, we packed up again and drove down to Waldport, OR to our beach house for the reunion.  I don't have all the pictures from this week yet, so that blog post will have to wait, but at least I am starting to catch up!

4th of July Festivities

For the 4th of July this year, we were definitely low-key.  The fact that it was 100 + degrees with the heat index didn't make it very enticing to go anywhere too far from home.  It was nice to have a day to just relax though, and enjoy being with each other.

As if I haven't mentioned it 400 other times in previous blog posts, we are so lucky to have the coolest neighbors ever.  So it was no surprise that we spent the evening at one of our neighbors house (inside for most of the time, unfortunately, due to the heat!).  It was great to be with good friends, have good food, and celebrate this wonderful country that we live in!

We were able to go outside for a few minutes to let the kids play with some snappers that Cameron and I had brought over.  Some of the smaller kids (and the moms!) decided to stay inside and let the guys take care of the kids outside.  They were all heading back into the air conditioning after not too long!

We all braved the heat for a few minutes as we made our way home, stopping every couple of houses to let kids play.  All in all, it was a great evening!  We didn't think we were going to see nay fireworks, as our kids are still a little young to keep up and make the trek into Minneapolis to see them, but as a pleasant surprise, some other families in our neighborhood had quite the fireworks show!  We woke Miley up and let her watch them from the comfort of our office.  Can't complain about that.  Maybe next year we will do some of our own...  :)

My Little Firecrackers

Happy 4th of July!