Leveled...

Once upon a time there was a Mom who wanted to relive a beautiful childhood memory with her family. She thought about it all day, imagining every last little detail perfectly in her mind even down to visions of walking hand in hand with her handsome husband and her children blissfully skipping down the sidewalk in front of them excitedly racing towards the playground that she, herself, had played at as a little girl.

She counted down the minutes to 5 o'clock. As soon as her husband logged off his computer they'd be off, smiles and anticipation already packed and ready to go.

The clock ticked 5 PM and though the anticipation and excitement was packed- that, unfortunately, was all that was ready to go. Her dog needed to be fed and let out, her kids needed to be corralled from racing around the house and the babies diaper bag was lacking the essentials. Still... her glorious plans would not be hampered!

Her family managed to get buckled safely in the van and (eventually) they were on their way.

(Yes, that's the family right up above. Not, of course, buckling themselves into the van- but at the daughters piano recital the week before.)

Though delayed, she was still hopeful! They would soon arrive at the pizza place by the beautiful lake her Daddy had taken her to countless times during summers of her childhood. They'd eat pizza, drink pop from a bottomless pitcher and then walk just as she'd planned (parents holding hands, kids skipping with glee) along the shore until they reached the playground where they'd swing their kids and watch them slide until the sun sprayed golden across the water.

The drive seemed to take forever. Everyone was hungry. Tired. Crabby. She tried desperately to subdue everyone with mantras of "2 more minutes" for the last 12 minutes of the trip.  

As the family rounded the corner anticipation was built up- "we're almost there, guys!"

And then...

They WERE THERE!

The pizza place, however, was not.
It had been leveled!
There was nothing there but flat, black freshly laid rock.

Images of pizza and pop and everyone (in slow motion) throwing their heads back laughing at each others silly stories over dinner were being replaced by the real sounds of kids whining, the baby's hungry cries growing louder and the Dad's frustration at the crowded streets (The Mom might have even heard a few "moron!" (s) muttered under the Dad's breath as they tried to navigate their way through jammed traffic and oblivious pedestrians crossing the road).

Where would they eat? More importantly- WHEN would they eat? The Mom (so adept at planning) had made no Plan B. Dad turned the corner and kept driving, the kids kept complaining and the baby kept crying.

The family continued on down the road. The Mom was sure the night was ruined. She told the Dad he might as well drive back home. If home had been closer than 30 minutes away, perhaps that's what he would have done.

But they ended up at another pizza place - (15 miles) down the road and the Mom found a coupon to boot. Said pizza place even had outdoor seating... things were looking up.

Family ate and left and remembered a fabulous park just down the street from the pizza place.

Turns out, kids were skipping after all!

Heads were throwing back with childhood delight.

Mom's vision of her babies in swings were coming to pass. Different swing- same delightful giggle. Music to her ears...
 

They were having fun.

FUN!

So they weren't at the park at the lake. But they did make it to a park. And the kids were happy and swinging. And the parents even did hold hands, when their hands weren't busy holding their babies.

Though the Mom had thought her plans- like the pizza place building- had been completely leveled, it turns out the new journey they ended up on was just as good...

... if not better.

And the Mom was reminded, once again, that it's not about how well your "plans" turn out - it's how you play the hand you're dealt.

And that even when we think our plans - all these glorious plans we love to make- have been leveled... there is beauty, joy and unique treasure to be found in places we never, originally, "planned" to look.

Because it's way more fun...

As I stood in my bathroom this morning brushing my hair, baby wrapped around my legs trying to pull himself up, I listened to the kids race up and down the hallway just outside my bedroom door. As I was thinking about all the items I needed to cross off my "to do" list a text came through on my cell phone that was sitting on the bathroom counter.

The text from my friend read, "Do u wanna go to the zoo today?"

It did not say, "Should you go to the zoo today?" - it said- do you want to go to the zoo today.

Let me see... "to do list" or fun? "too do list" or fun? 

What to do, what to do??

Well, one look out the windows at the blue skies and sunshine and the answer was obvious- GO TO THE ZOO!

So, off to the zoo we went.

Sigh.

I never tire of watching the joy on these kids faces when they first meet up. And the funny thing is, we live 1.2 miles away (and probably only 500 meters, as the crow flies). These kids see each other All.The.Time

As typical, the "friends" pair off. Each one has their mate...

But they love each other.

And they are, after all, kids.

And kids who love each other don't worry about bills and work and "to do" lists.

They just hold hands and giggle and allow themselves to bask in their delight at seeing their best friend... for the 3rd time in a week. It's just as exciting as when they saw them last time.

And as if seeing the "olders" meet up with their best friends doesn't melt my heart enough, one look at this lil guy will do the trick...

No, he's not mine. At least not in the "I carried you in my womb for 9 months and delivered you" way. But he's mine in other ways- like I just love that little guy with all my heart. I think he might be easiest baby I have ever known. Including the 4 I did, actually, "carry in my womb for 9 months and deliver."

And that little cutie up above, belongs with my little cutie down below. See? I told you. They each have their mates. These guys don't hold hands yet- but they do stare at each other and smile and I'm pretty sure that in their eyes they're exchanging knowing plans for all they have in store for their future adventures together.

But the trip was not just about my kids holding hands with their best friends skipping along. We did have some educational experiences thrown in there.

Like, for example, when we went to the bird show. It's really a neat show. I'm surprised that out of the 387 times I've visited the zoo in the last 3 years I've been to the bird show just once. And that was today.

Bird shows are cool. Especially when you get up close and personal with an owl and learn some interesting owl facts. I'm not sure the kids actually learned any owl facts, because they were too distracted just watching him, but I'll pretend they learned a lot about owls today so I can check off my "educational experience" box for the afternoon.

And speaking of learning- I, myself, was super surprised to learn that while my kids will brush a goats hair till the cows come home, curiously, they're terrified to feed a goat some goat food pellets for which their mother shelled out .50 for 5 nuggets. And if my math is correct (which it darn well better be considering the easy equation and that I am, after all, a teacher)- I'd say that's some pretty expensive goat chow. But I digress.

Goat grooming does, after all, appear to be reasonably more enjoyable than letting a goat slobber all over while they inhale a .10 cent pellets from your hand.

Even baby Christian had fun watching the goats for about 6 seconds - in which I was lucky to snap this picture.

And then he cried.

The kids were even lucky to enjoy something they don't get to have very often. Pop! Yes, we all shared it. And yes, I drank most of it. But for them to get unlimited swigs off of moms coke was seriously big time for them.

I'm glad I got that text this morning. And I'm proud of myself for throwing my "to do" list to the wind. Spending a beautiful afternoon at the zoo with awesome friends is way more fun than paying bills and organizing junk that will just get messed up soon enough, anyway.

... my "to do" list can wait.

It will be still be there tomorrow.

I don't know about you, but I think I've seen (and eaten) enough turkey to last me until- well- next Thanksgiving. So, instead of posting pictures of turkey and people eating it, I think instead I'll talk about what else we did this weekend.

Those of you who know me, know that I am most definitely an outdoor person. Think of the word that's the opposite of love.... that's how I feel about winter. So, as long as we're still able to be outside without seeing our breath, you are sure to see our family squeezing every last moment we can out of fall.

And there is no better place to do that than at my Dad's house (aka "Papa").

I used to try to try to tell him that I had a better backyard because we live on a pond. But then our pond dried up. So much for that. We had the pond- but he's always got the view.

And not only does he have an amazing view of the river valley, but all sorts of interesting wildlife frequent his yard as well. Wild turkeys, deer, bald eagles soaring over the valley. Okay- so I never really thought our yard could compare in "coolness" to his, but it was fun to try to compete. Now if you saw our "view" you'd laugh. A dried up mud hole with a few weeds poking through here and there. But I digress...

Not only does Dad have the view- but he's also got the toys.

 Not toys as in, "miniture Escalade's that kids sit their lazy butts in, push the battery operated "go" button and tool around the yard in".... no... toys as in "you need to use your own strength to make it go" kind of toys.

He's got ropes to climb on.

Ropes to swing on.

Swings made out of rope to soar in.

I can't forget the zip line. Yes, I said- ZIP LINE. He actually has a zip line hooked up in his yard. It's fun. I've tried it. As a matter of fact, I think sometimes the adults have as much fun (if not more) than the kids do on it. You should hear us elderly's squeel with delight... "weeeeeeee!!!" Too bad I didn't take a picture of it. Maybe next time.

And if you're not in the mood to be playing with or on some sort of rope, there's a bucket full of footballs, softballs, sticky mitt catch balls... you name it.

The kids have a blast when we come to Papa's.

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to play outside. When the weather is too brisk, some have to stay inside and watch longingly from behind the glass...

But if you're really super cute, you're Mama just might feel sorry for you and bundle you up nice and bring you outside with the rest of the gang.

Now we're talking.

Ahhh, that's better!

I'm tired of pictures of my kids....

aren't you?

I'm gonna turn on my narcissistic funk and upload a picture of my adorable husband and I.

Okay- granted we were at Chuck E. Cheese (totally kid centric place), but STILL! This post is going to contain NO pictures of my kids. Actually, I'm not even going to mention them again.


Look at these little lovebirds...

I feel like maybe I should have Photoshopped away the dark bags under my eyes. But, then again, I am 38+ weeks pregnant, for goodness sake- and, well, that just wouldn't be authentic. And I'll about living an authentic life.

So- there you have it. Me and my man. Dark circles and all.

The End.

(See how short my posts are when I don't talk about my kids? Perhaps I should try this more often.)

Summertime Adventures

As much as I love to hate the MN winters, I have to admit that summertime can be absolutely splendid.
And when we are not all cooped up inside, there is actually quite a bit to get out and see and DO in this state!

Here's a little "window" into our world. All right, it's not actually a "window" - it's an outdoor sculpture at the Walker Art Museum. It's quite a large structure, actually. And I thought it was so neat because depending on where you stand, the sculpture frames different areas of the city. Here, it is framing our tallest building, the IDS.



Here are the kiddos and I standing in front of the famous "cherry on spoon" sculpture in the garden. Not sure if that's exactly the right name for it, but it fits, so I'll go with it...



Our visit was even more fun having Grandma along. Here they are discussing a sculpture that I was told looked like (to them) Moses staff at the burning bush. Wow! Did my kids really think of that on their own? Yeah- they did. And I think the tour guide was a little suspicious of me after that ;) I mean, how many 4 year old's come up with that interpretation after staring at a jumbled mess of bronze and wood? (It was Alex's interpretation, after all).



Perhaps the most fascinating part of the entire sculpture garden was the duckies in the pond in the center of the garden. My girls... they love their nature, that's for sure!

Weekend

This has truly been a beautiful weekend. The weather has been amazing! We've been able to spend a ton of time outside. On Saturday, we ventured over to a local park reserve area. The kids played on a giant playground (which proved to be a little too stressful for me, considering the number of other kids/families there! I could never find my kids!!). But after a while of chasing them around the playground- we walked by the beautiful lake where families were grilling, boating and people were fishing. It was the epitome of "Memorial Day Weekend!"

Here a few pictures of our Saturday.

Tuckered out Ariana...


Daddy & his kiddos...


Showing Ariana ducks on the lake...


Best Friends!

Happy Memorial Day!!

Angela

Mother's Day!

We don't have a ton of "traditions" in our home, but one that we DO have, and that I've been come especially fond of, is Mother's Day morning. For the last 7 years, Mike has made me a delicious breakfast of crepes, scrambled eggs & toast and brought me breakfast in bed. That's saying a lot, considering that he just doesn't cook.... other than that one morning a year!

After breakfast, we usually read the paper, get the kids ready and go for a hike. Though I'm normally a church goin' girl on Sunday morning's- it has become a tradition for us to go hiking because I really cherish and covet that time alone with just my children and my husband- but we also get together with my own mother and sister every Mother's Day afternoon, as well.

This year, we headed out to the Arboretum. Though it started out chilly- within an hour the sun came out and the weather turned glorious!

Here's a picture of my little family. Not bad, considering that it was taken the self timer of my DLSR! Perhaps not a perfect shot- but usually none are when you are trying to get 5 people in the same frame... all looking the same way and smiling!

The kids had a blast playing on (what we have come to call) the "Stick Park." It's a whole play area for kids to explore outdoors and the only things to play with or climb on are all made out of logs and wood. The kids LOVE it! Mike says- if we lived on 20 acres, he'd build us a stick park. That makes me laugh because he's not, what I'd call, a craftsman by any stretch of the imagination.

We also headed through the shrub maze. What a wonderful place for the kids to explore! You've gotta watch out for those big kids racing through - but all in all, it's the perfect game for the little ones...

I sure love being a Mommy. It's not always easy- but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Hope you enjoyed these pictures! This will likely be the only post you'll ever see with so many pictures of mwaaa in them... since I'm always the one behind the lens. But because it was, ahem, MOTHER'S DAY- I insisted!