Baseball!

We went with our good friends to our first Twins Game in the new stadium. Baseball outside! YEAH! It was a great game. They won so that made it even better!The kids in the golden glove!Lylah wanted a treat as soon as we got here!
Then Dayne wanted some cotton candy!

YEAH!!!

We were at the VERY top. I loved the view. As the sun was setting the city looked so beautiful!

Daddy and Lylah!

Mommy and Dayne!

The family enjoying the game!

A Fun Filled Day!

I love when we can have a day filled with fun activities with the kids where everyone gets along and has a great time. This year the kids and I went to the big parade out city puts on (Rich had to go to work) We took a picnic lunch and got a great spot in the shade!

The kids thought it took forever for the parade to start. But we were sitting near the end of the parade so it took a good 1/2 hr before it got to us. But they sure did wait patiently!

They were ready for all the candy they were going to get!

The fire trucks lead the parade and they were REALLY loud! The kids had to hold their ears!

How much candy are we gunna get??? How many stickers are we gunna get???

They had so much fun watching the parade!

The Vulcan's got them both (see the V on Lylah's cheek?)..

and so did all the people running for office! LOTS OF STICKERS!

Look at all our stickers!! Who should be vote for????

After the parade we went home and Rich joined us to see Toy Story 3 in 3D!

Lylah ended up falling sleep! But they LOVED IT!

The movie was over at dinner time so we got a sandwich's for Rich and I and a pizza for the kids and headed to the park by the city hall for dinner!

They wanted a photo by the fountain!

To end the day we went downtown to get ice cream cones from a popular ice cream shop! It was SOO yummy! We will for sure go back. It was worth the drive and wait in line!

They put a malted Milk Ball on the cones!
YUMMM! I loved my cone!! Well Lylah didn't eat all of hers so we got to try some of her ice cream. Rich and I had waffle cones. They make them fresh there and you can really tell. They were yummy!

We had a terrific day- from beginning to end!

Wonder what other fun things we will do this summer??

This is the life!

I get to live in the best of both worlds! I have a job that I love teaching (and I get to start a new position this fall - I am so excited) AND I get to have time off with my kids. Now life can't get better than that. Today was one of those days when I really love the life I have! We went to the new beach in town. It is not too far away and it has soft sand and a shallow beach. We arrive early to get a spot (some friends joined us later) It was so quiet and the kids just LOVED it. They right way played in the sand!

Working together! It was so awesome to see them create together!My little beach beauty!

This photo was done by request... He said.. Mom-- come take my photo by this thing. It will make a GREAT picture. Maybe someday he will be my assistant!
Look at the sand!
Heading to the water before it got to busy.

It didn't take long before the beach filled up with lots of people. But it was still fun. The kids had a blast and as we were leaving wanted to know when we would go back again. Lucky for them it is super close so we will be back again!

A day all about Dad!

This year the kids surprised Rich with a few Father's day gifts. After we worked hard in the yard most of the day (a blog post about that to follow) The kids gave Rich what they picked out for him! They have been wanting a fire pit so--- guess what they picked out for him.. a Fire Pit! We also got him a electric trimmer to trim bushes and the grass around the landscaping. You can see a little of the new landscaping we did is this photo of Rich and the kids and his gifts.
Building the fire!
Good job Rich! You did it. Now time for a S'mores

The kids like their marshmallows a little warmed up! Not too brown!

YUMMMM!!

We are looking forward to a lot more fires in the future!

First Bike Race!

We found out about the Nature Valley Bicycle Festival that was going on in the area. The festival was taking place in a few different cities so we decided to check it out- especially after we found out there was a kids bike race for free! The kids were able to ride one loop of the track the professionals were riding on. Dayne and Lylah were SO excited! It was going to be their first bike race. Well the first race they had ever done on their own! The got bibs to wear too! The race was pretty well organized with a few hundreds of kids. They went in age order- with the older kids going first and the younger kids going last. There goes Dayne!! He was concentrating!
Here comes Lylah!!

With Rich following behind.
We weren't sure if she would get nervous all by herself but she did great!

After the race all the kids got a medal for finishing! They were sooooooo excited to have their very own medal. They said they were like mommy now. I was so proud. They both said they wanted to do another race. Hummmm maybe the racing bug has gotten to them too!

Open up and say Ahhhhh

Lylah had her first visit to the dentist. It was... well ... I guess you can say entertaining. She wasn't to sure about this whole thing. I ended up having to sit right by her on the chair and hold her hand. But...... it let me get nice and close to take some photos. I had to use my phone to take them since I forgot the camera at home!! Lylah learned about the different tools the dentist would use.

Getting her teeth cleaned!

She held onto her new toothpaste and toothbrush for dear life!


Mr. Thirsty!

Time for floss!

Finally the dentist comes by to take a look. She said Lylah has big teeth! Now wonder they all don't seem to fit so well in her mouth. I hope her adult teeth come in better or the orthodontist will love us! One happy girl at the end. She even got her own floss and a balloon! Gotta love a trip to the dentist.... and lucky girl gets to do it again in 6 months... and 6 months after that... for the rest of her life!

A Beginning of Summer Tradition!

A tradition in our neighborhood is the Luau. We always look forward to it. We do a pig roast and have lots of great side dishes and entertainment. This year we were a hit in our matching outfits..YES.. I said MATCHING. Oh I know that is kinda sad isn't it.. but it was fun. My parents got them for us on one of their trips to Hawaii. They know about our annual Luau and thought it would be fun. We sure did look cute!!

My mom and dad where here this year so they joined us. Check out my dad-- no beard. He hasn't been without a beard since I was Lylah's age!Dayne and MorMorHandsome Dayne...Beautiful Lylah. They always have great entertainment with dancers and a Hawaiian musician.

The kids did a little dancing after they ate.

We love all the great events that happen in our neighborhood and try to get to them all!!