Alexandria trip

We decided to take a weekend trip out of town after school started since we never went anywhere over the summer.  We drove to Alexandria and stayed at a hotel with an indoor water park.  We all had a great time and it was nice to get away.  

Dinner at the resort.  The biggest pile of food, including a ton of veggies, on the kids menu.

View from our room

Nate crashed out in bed

In the jacuzzi

Xander flying top speed down the water slide

Nathan and Chris relaxing on the tube

Nate was so tired and ready for a nap that he climbed on the bed and went to sleep.  He had been naked and the best i could do was position a diaper around him and hope for the best.

While Chris and Nate napped, Xander and I went outside to check out the rest of the resort

blowing some dandilions

There was a lot more to do there than I knew about or we had time for.  We had fun in the water park, but it would have been nice to explore the area more.  I think Xander was wishing we had one more day so he could look for shells and do some other things outside.

After going out for dinner at a local pizza buffet, we headed back to the room for popcorn and movies in bed.  The boys were far too tired to make it through even half the movie.

Xander loves popcorn and could eat a whole bag on his own, but as always, the boys shared very well.

Another leisurely float on the tube

The boys dried off, dressed and ready to hit the road.  Our first little road trip with the boys was lots of fun and the boys did great!

Xander's first day of preschool

Here are some photos of Xander's first day back at preschool. He really loves his teachers this year and would go everyday if he could.

Getting excited as he walks in front of the building
He was so excited when he saw the sign on the way to his classroom His own hook for his stuff
Checking out the sand in the sensory table
Moved on the the play dough. If you look in the background, there is Nathan playing with the kitchen stuff.

August photos

Visit to the MN Zoo with great grandpa Ernie

Cuddle time with a good book

The boys playing with their pirate ship

End of the summer playdate at Sophia's house

They are playing doctor (:0) and Xander is a good little patient

Fun at Chuck E Cheese

Doing a puzzle while listening to his therapy music

This is how Nates eat oatmeal when they are too tired to use a spoon

Nate trying to figure out what part of Winston to tug on first

Rock on

Nate reading to daddy

I think the pool might just have a small hole in it. This could be a problem, but Xander makes the best of it for now.

Kitchen Complete!

Woohoo! It is done and it looks awesome. Looks so good that I don't want to put anything back in the kitchen. So clean and new looking! The only things that are not brand new are the appliances. Chris ripped everything everything out and put it back together with very little problems. I am super impressed with how he tackled any issues that came up and found ways to resolve them on his own (including a spraying water plumbing problem!) Not a relaxing month, but I hope in the end, he thinks it was worth all of his hard work.

Elm Creek Park

One of our favorite places to go swimming is Elm Creek in Maple Grove. The boys have a great time in the water and digging in the sand.

More swimming lessons

Those expensive swimming lessons are starting to pay off. After many weeks of squirming around and not wanting to put his face in the water, I finally convinced him that it would be worth it to stop being stubborn and start cooperating. The promise of a Dilly Bar seemed to do the trick!

He doesn't look happy, but he was actually pretty proud of himself!

Plugging along

Piles of stuff everywhere

Notice the pizza box on the stove. It

The floor is down and looks great!

Paint dilemma - the perfect color looked less than perfect on the wall. We ended up going in a completely different direction.

More work on the kitchen, which is now in complete chaos. But now there is at least some light at the end of the tunnel. We are starting to see it come together and can't wait for it be done so we can get our lives back to normal.

The Splash Pad

We went to the Splash Pad in St. Louis Park to cool off a bit. It has always been hit or miss on whether Xander likes going there and I had no idea how it would be taking both boys by myself. They did pretty good, actually got wet and had some fun.

4th of July

3 very tired boys

Nate, chillin' in his stroller

On the 4th of July, we went to a park in Roseville to listen to music and try to relax a bit. With all that is going on around the house, everyone is a bit pooped. We surely didn't make it to anywhere fireworks and we really looked like we all needed a nice long nap!

More demolition

out with the old

in with the new!

new flooring being installed

All I can say is that I am ready to have my kitchen back and clutter free for a change. We are getting there, but still have lots of little jobs to finish up. I hope to have more photos to post soon, along with all three months worth that I am behind on. When you see how nice the kitchen looks, you will all understand just how impressed I am with my husband. I knew he was very talented and handy, but this was quite the project to take on and he has done an awesome job! You rock, Chris!