Summa Time in MN

Now that it is October, I can finally post some pics about our trip back to MN (yikes!).  Hey- I've been busy, you know, going to the park, swimming lessons, bike riding, ballet class, song and dance class and so on.  So that's my excuse for slacking.

The kids and I did our solo parent trip back to Alexandria for two weeks back in August.  Even though the weather didn't coroporate for half of the time, we still managed to get out on the lake a lot, visit with family and friends and even made it to the good ol Minnesota State Fair!  Or as I like to call it "fried food on a stick fair". 

It wouldn't be a trip to Alex without feeding the ducks and geese at Noonan's Park.

 Any activity on the lake is always welcomed.  Parker LOVED tubbing with Auntie JJ and Uncle Dave.

Myself, Parker, my cousin Docia and her son Colton

Parker and Auntie JJ

 And then this happened....Parker got to go wake surfing with some good friends of ours who just so happen to be the owners of Hangloose MN.  They give lessons in SUP, wake surfing and wake boarding.  Basically they have the best jobs in the entire world.

Visiting 2nd cousin Avery!

I feel like this is an advertisement for Soothie pacifiers

 On my sister Jaime's birthday, we loaded up the kids and Grandma Sue and headed to the one and only Minnesota State Fair!  I know what you're thinking...state fair?  For reals?  But trust me...the MINNESOTA state fair is unlike any other state fair.  Ever.  I hadn't been in YEARS, like, my last memory of it was being terrified in the haunted house.  This time we just basically focused on how much food on a stick we could possibly eat.  And make sure to hit all the kiddie rides and attractions.

 And now...for your viewing please...just a little sampling of the things that you can eat on a stick at the MN State Fair!

 This, my friends, is the haunted house from my childhood...we ran out of time and I'm totally disappointed I didn't get to go in and see if it's really as scary as I remember! 

We got to visit with Great Grandma and Grandpa...which is always such a fun and special time.  Asher was not diggin group photo time though...and we left shortly after that.  The picture cracks me up though!

 Time out at the Olsen compound was spent in the garden, helping to process food and just running around!

Lounging with Puppy Kai

A walk in the woods with Grandma Mary

 Parker and I spent a night in Minneapolis with some of my best high school girlfriends.  We all gathered for a day of great food, fun and many laughs.  It was so much fun getting all of our kids together!

Stef, Mandi, Tami, myself and Jana

A small sampling of the kids

 Alas, all great things must come to an end.  And with the end of our Minnesota trip came the end of my good-solo-parent-travel luck.  Let's just say that our late night, MSP-SFO flight full of business people was....less than ideal.  In a nut shell, Asher screamed (SCREAMED...in a tiny tube flying in the sky) the entire 4 hours.    Did I mention I had the only children?  Plane- full of business people.  People I used to be.  But now I was the people I HATED.  Oh how cruel the tides can change! 

I had to doccument this- the only 20 minutes (no joke) of silence Asher provided. 

But let's end on a positive note...because in the grand scheme of things, it was all worth it!

A wrestling session with Papa Rick

Uncle Dave, a crowd fav

Nana Sue, Ace, Parker and Papa Rick

Parker doing her favorite thing, taking a "funny faces" pic

Just some shots with old friends

Parker and Caroline

 

A Summer Recap!

Ya, ya...it's been forever!  Who knew life would get so full and busy, but in a great way!  So ya, I've been slacking, big time, on the ol blog.  Let's start back when Aaron ran in the Eugene Half Marathon.  This year we made signs, finally!  I love sporting events...the energy in the air is contagious, even at 6am.  

 This summer also brought the start of another new activity for Parker, soccer!  My sister gave her soccer lessons as a birthday present...and standard...she loved it!

Doing a little warm up with some jumping jacks.  Always hilarious.

 There were also a lot of fishing sessions, blueberry picking, performances in the park we attended and a ton of bike riding.  It also wouldn't be summer without a visit or two to the local county fair!  We went with Parker's friend Starra, who also loves going on any and all rides.  They are finally getting tall enough for the majority of them!

 Asher continues to entertain us all.  He's all energy, all the time and will eat anything and everything.  Especially berries.  We were at a park that had a ton of wild blackberries that I picked with the intention of bringing some home to freeze.  Nope, he ate ALL of them.

I once again played on my women's softball team, The Dirty Skirts.  It's always such a blast getting out every week with these ladies!  

Aaron's office got a team together and competed in the Cascade Lakes Relay Race.  There are 12 people on a team, two vans with six people in each and they run...continuously, starting on a Friday morning and ending on Saturday late afternoon.  200-some odd miles!  It was exhausting but they all had a blast!  Aaron can't wait to do it again next year. 

We ended the summer with the kids and I heading back to MN for a couple of weeks!  More to come on that soon!

OCF 2014

Ahh, the Oregon Country Fair.  It's one of the highlights of the year for us and every year we see the Fair so differently as Parker and Asher get older.  This year we spent a lot of time in the new kid's loop area and Parker even went to play care (day care) one day for a couple hours- per her request.  She had a blast.  I think she looks forward to this weekend even more then Aaron and I do!  I know Asher's excitment will grow each year too which is just so fun to watch.  

Asher, Parker and her friend Starra playing on the playground

Wesley, Starra and Parker watching a marching band parade going through the crowd.  They rolled around in a wagon together one afternoon and loved it.      

Another random parade of green people

Every year this booth is here and every year it cracks me up! 

 This is how I found Parker at play care, watching a puppet show.  She also had a unicorn painted on her face.  She was there for two hours and I think she would've stayed for a lot longer if it was up to her!

She is in pink in the center

How many sign wranglers does it take to hang one sign?  Apparently three.

Aaron, Adam and Bill doing what they do.

At main stage on Saturday night the Everyone Orchestra performed.  It was fantastic!  We had backstage passes, which was awesome...then the video/camera guy noticed Asher and we started chatting and he asked if we wanted to climb up to the "bird's nest" and watch the show from up there.  Uhhh, lemme think about that- YES PLEASE!  It was awesome.

Watching from the bird's nest...Asher, Aaron, Parker and Frank the video guy.

 What can I say?  We picked up a couple different wigs this year!

 Awww...sleeping in.  I think it was 8:45am when I took this picture.  The earliest the kids woke up was 7am.  Considering it starts getting light out at 5:30am, I'll take it. 

 Parker got her face painted at her friend's birthday party.  She asked for a princess crown...standard. 

 Aaron got pulled up on stage during this act...it was fantastic and a perfect ending to the 2014 fair.