Closing Out September

Grandpa and Nana with most of the grands.

Esme drew this adorable picture of Parker with a pizza shirt.

french braids for picture day.

Crumbl 6-Pack on Jimmy

We needed to get out of the house last weekend so we drove out to Lake Minnetonka Regional Park.  It's a huge playground and it was hard to keep track of both kids.

Free iced coffee and a brat with whiz and curds for our victory against the cheesehead Packers!

Esme's First Vikings Game

At my work picnic in August I won a set of 4 tickets to a Vikings game.  Esme was so excited to go.  I was worried it would be foiled when she was invited to a birthday party the same day, but she didn't put up a fuss.

We got a parking pass for a ramp nearby and made out way through the skyway.  We found our section in the Polaris Club and Esme immediately spotted the ice cream stand and started with a pre-game, pre-lunch treat!  Mint chip with M&Ms and whipped cream.

We had a phenomenal view!  My dad completed our foursome and Parker got to hang out with Nana.

Esme got a hot dog for her main course.  It was tough for her to bite so I cut the dog in to pieces and then she ate the bun separate.

The Vikes got out to a killer start ending the first half up 14-0.  Esme has watched some football at home, but this was the first time she was asking about specific aspects of it.  She thought every cheer was a touchdown but quickly learned about first downs, sacks, and turnovers.  Course 3 was a sack of mini donuts shared with me.

THe final snack was some Skittles that I promised she could have after halftime.

She can be sensitive to noise (despite being as loud me most of the time) so we brought some ear protection.  Shew wore them most of the game, but did take them off from time to time and didn't complain about the noise.

SKOL chanting like a pro!

We threw the Texans a bone in the second half and finished them off 34-7.

I didn't forget about our weekly hot dogs!  Spicy jalapeño chili dog for dinner when we got home.

Beyond 100 Parks #139 - Crooked Creek Park - Plymouth, MN

The real last park in Plymouth!

Key Features

I love that more parks are embracing the natural terrain upon which they are built.  This one had a great woodsy theme as well.

I'd put one of these wobble spheres in our backyard if it wasn't so expensive.  Parker loves these things!

Jimmy got a new phone so we were playing with the camera.  Got some pretty intense closeups of thei grasshopper.

I almost gave this one an 8, but it really only had 1 spinner that Parker that Parker could enjoy, so just a 7.

Sassy September

With school starting it's been a whirlwind month already.  Here are some of the highlights. The Vikings season started with a couple wins!  I decided to make opponent themed hot dogs for each week.  Started with New York style for our 28-6 win over the Giants.  Kraut, onions, and mustard.

Esme found out she will be playing young Elsa in her Frozen Jr play this winter.  Snapped this cute picture of Parker waiting for his van one morning.

Parker had been talking about a "spinner" at Target for weeks.  Jimmy even took him there, but they couldn't find one he wanted.  He wasn't giving up so we took a trip to Menards to find one for him.

Esme started gymnastics the first week of the month.  She will have weekly classes until we decide to stop.  She is loving the first few weeks and always comes away sweaty and tired.

We visited grandpa and nana for a dip in the hot tub with Jameson and Jaxxon.

Week 2 hot dog for our 23-17 win over San Fransisco.  They don't have a confirmed style, but a BLT dog was one I saw a lot in my google search. Bacon wrapped dog with lettuce, tomato, and mayo.

Esme started asking about who her Nana's mom is.  So, I told her about my wonderful Grandma Jensen and the jgreat chocolate chip cookies she made.  Emse was sad she never got to meet her so we made cookies in her honor last weekend.  They were so tasty and brought me back to my childhood.

And yes, they are supposed to be thin with crispy edges and a soft center.

Finally, Esme had her well child appointment yesterday.  She got two shots, but was a brave kiddo and got a new unicorn stuffy to snuggle.