Family Time

We had another little pool party with the baby cousins on Sunday.

Esme enjoyed a movie with Jaxxon and has been asking when he can come back again.

Grandpa and Uncle Sean were in the boundary waters and brought back some fresh fish.  We headed over there Monday night for supper.

More swimming and shark week cookie from Crumbl!

Rainy Day MOA Trip

After going to the movie on Saturday, we decided to take the kids to Mall of America to burn some more rainy day time.  Jimmy has been wanting to try Duck Donuts for a while, but we never get over to Woodbury.  When we heard they were coming to the mall we knew that would be our chance.  If you aren't familiar, they are a cafeteria style donut shop.  Like Subway, or Chipotle, they top them for you fresh and hot!  We got Peanut Butter and Jelly, and S'mores.

Next, we stopped at the arcade.  I accidentally bought a $20 arcade card when we were in here in April thinking I was getting ride credits. I hung on to it and knew it would get used eventually.  They had a great smaller section for kids and we played a few games.

I got to introduce Esme to Ski-Ball, my all time favorite arcade game!

A trip to MOA isn't complete without a stop at the M & M store.  We got our custom mix and luckily Parker didn't have any pockets today, so he didn't try stealing another fan.

It cleared up a bit that evening, so Esme and I grabbed an ice cream treat at Dairy Queen!

The Return of the Pixar Tradition

The pool hit 90 degrees this week, so we were really soaking it up (even Jimmy!)

I also started working on version 2 of the BevLedge®.  I grabbed a couple PVC pipe brackets to hook on the sides.  I just tied it on last weekend, but this will help with easy on and off.  This pushes it out a little further, so I may need to add something to help mitigate the tilt.  My dad had some leftover Trex decking that could help make a premium version.

A few weeks ago we inherited a chair from Jimmy's aunt.  It originally belonged to his dear Grandma Arlene and has since been reupholstered.  We put it in our newish little nook and Esme has been enjoying it.  I hope Grandma Ar is looking down from above with a smile.

Friday brought Dunkin Donuts and a trip to Menards.

Esme asked to take picture in the tub and also got some special stickers for her room.

Peppa!  We took some time Saturday morning laying them out around her room.  She promptly decided to move them all around to different spots....

On Saturday we finally got out to see the first Pixar theatrical release since Onward in 2020.  The 3 previous movies all had very limited theatrical releases and we just streamed them on Disney+ at home.  It was fun to continue the tradition in theater.

Happy Birthday Nana!

It's amazing what a pool will do for party planning!  If it's going to warm, why not make it a pool party too!  Nana's birthday was on Saturday, so we invited everyone over for a celebration on Sunday.

Esme asked to make a strawberry cake with chocolate, so that's what we did.

The last time my dad was over, he complained about not having a place to set his drink.  I remembered this early afternoon and decided I would try to fashion something quick in true competition reality show fashion!  Introducing the BevLedge®.  It must have been a hit because it was full most of the day! I already have some ideas for improvements. 

I made some frozen pineapple margaritas and regular margaritas for the grown ups.

Grandpa and Nana enjoying the water with the babies.

Double fisting the margs!

We had pulled pork sandwiches, chips, coleslaw, and watermelon for supper.  And finally got to have cake!

Happy Birthday Nana, we hope this is your best year yet!

Bowling with Old Friends

We had a pretty typical summer week over here.  Continuing our July streak by swimming every day!

It's been a while since I shared a cookie picture, but this was the first Crumbl 4-pack we've had in a while.  They really nailed the Pop-Tart one!  Esme fell asleep in our bed with a whole crew of stuffies one night.

Then the next night she wanted to play movie theater and we watched Toy Story 4.

Friday night I had the chance to go out and catch up with old friends from high school.  It's always a blast getting together with Chelsey and Brianne!  I even threw 4 strikes in a row at one point and broke my previous high of 151 by throwing 178!  I love that great game every once in a while.

State Fair burger with cheese curds on top.

Thanks for taking time to go out with us while you were home Chelsey, looking forward to next time.