Minnesota Zoo and Twins Game

A couple weeks after we got home from the cabin, we headed North again!  This time we stopped in Minneapolis though. :)  We left on a Monday afternoon and headed to The Cities.  We checked into our hotel, and then grabbed some dinner and then got settled in for the night.  Tuesday morning we got up and headed to the Minnesota Zoo.  We enjoyed a fun morning seeing all of the different animals at the zoo.  Another cool thing at the zoo this year was the Big Bugs exhibit.  They had huge life-sized bugs that moved, shot out smoke or made noises.  Kyler thought the bugs were really cool, but Norah wasn't so sure. :)  One disappointing thing about the zoo was that there were no giraffes this year.  Norah was really looking forward to seeing the giraffes, but when we got to the zoo, their exhibit wasn't even on the map anymore. :(  After the zoo, we headed back towards our hotel to get some lunch and take naps.  When the kids got up from their naps, we changed our clothes and got ready to go out to dinner.  Just as the kids were getting up from their naps, my parents pulled into the parking lot of the hotel.  They had come down from the cabin to hang out with us on Tuesday night and Wednesday.  We all got ready to go to dinner and then headed out!  We were meeting one of my good friends from high school and her husband who live in the Minneapolis area.  It was so fun to see my friend Lindsay and her husband.  We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with them, as well as my parents.  It was really nice to catch up with them and spend the evening together.  After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for the night.

On Wednesday, we got up and ate breakfast, checked out of the hotel and then loaded up to head to Target Field for the Minnesota Twins game.  This was of course one of the main reasons we planned this trip! ;)  We got to the stadium pretty early so that Kyler and Erik could watch batting practice and try to catch a ball and get an autograph, but no such luck! :(  The game started at 12:00, and it was a beautiful day for it.  Our seats were shaded and on the isle (Erik did this on purpose of course!), so it was perfect.  They even had a mom's nursing room so I could go feed Grace!  Kyler loved the game, and sat and watched the whole time, and Norah did pretty good, but needed to get up and down a few times. :)  It was awesome to have my parents at the game with us to help out with the kids.  We actually made it to the end of the game, as it went pretty fast and was over by about 3:00.  After the game, we loaded up in the van and dropped my parent's off back at the hotel.  Then we headed home!  (With a short stop at the outlet mall of course) :)  This is the second year we have done this trip, and it has been such a fun little tradition, I'm sure it's going to continue next year!  Here are some pictures from our trip!

Checking out the otters

They were swimming around right in front!

Grace checking out the otters

One of the big bears

The leopard

Tiger

Kyler and Norah by the Tiger

Camels

Entrance to Big Bug Exhibit

Big Bee :)

Our little butterflies :)

Penguins!

Grace and the penguins :)

All done at the zoo!

Thanks for a fun morning!

The golden glove :)

Kyler at the game

Trying to get autographs :)

Great stadium!

Grace at her first Twins game!

Norah and Grandma waiting for the game to start

9 Months Old!

Grace turned 9 months old on July 17th!  At her 9 month appointment Grace weighed 17 lbs 10 oz and was 28 inches long.  On July 5th, Grace's first tooth finally popped through!  It was her bottom front right one.  I feel like it has taken SO LONG for this tooth to finally come through. :)  Grace got up on all fours a couple times this past month, once when we were up at the cabin, but only for a minute, then she has been back down to her belly.  Her mode of transportation has been scooting herself on her back by digging her heels in and pushing herself head first around the room.  Then she will roll back over to her belly once she reaches her desired destination and play with whatever she wants to look at. :)  She is still working on getting down to her belly from a sitting position.  She can do it, but it isn't very graceful yet. :)  I will also still put the boppy behind her when she's sitting because occasionally she will decided to just lean backwards and our floor has hardwood, so I don't want her to bonk her head.  Grace does well with eating whatever I have given her.  We have just stuck to fruits and veggies for now.  The only thing she really doesn't like is peas.

9 Months Old!

Getting so big!

Still loves the jumperoo, she will jump in your lap for hours!

Crazy hair! :)

Hanging with Grandpa at the lake!

So hard to get her to smile for a picture!

Hi Mom!

4th of July at the Cabin

Wow, it's been a while!  Need to do a little catch up on the blog!  We spent the week of July 4th up at my parent's cabin in northern Minnesota.  We left on Sunday, June 29th as soon as Erik got home from church.  We arrived up at the cabin about 8:30 that evening.  We only had to stop once, which was great considering Grace was 8 months old.  As soon as we got everyone in and settled for the night, we headed to bed.  The first couple days, Monday and Tuesday, were cool and windy.  You didn't even want to go down to the beach because it was too cold.  Also, in June, the water on the lake was the highest that they have seen in many, many years.  This high water caused the dock to be torn apart and washed up on shore.  So, we had a few things to accomplish before we could enjoy the beach and boats! :)  We helped Grandma with a few projects around the yard since we couldn't go to the beach and hung out inside for those first two days.

Grace gets her 1st bath in the sink!

Hanging with Dad

Helping Grandma work

All the dock up on shore….when my parents left at the beginning of June it was all in the water.

All the dock and the high water

Wednesday the weather was a bit better, and the kids were able to go down and play on the beach-exactly what they had been waiting for!!  Also, on Wednesday, while the kids napped in the afternoon, Erik, my mom, and I started the process of putting the dock back in the water.  I'm sure it was quite the site to watch us carry those pieces in, hook them together and tighten the bolts.  We were able to get about 5 pieces in the water and then decided we needed to wait until my dad arrived to help more.  (He was coming later that evening).  Thursday was the best day yet!  The sun was out and the wind was low so the water was calm.  The kids spent lots of time at the beach and we took the paddle boat out for the first ride of the season.  Also, while the kids were sleeping, the neighbors, Jim and Dick came over and helped Erik and my dad put the rest of the dock back in.  As soon as the kids got up, we took the boat out so that Erik and I could ski.  It's a good thing we did too, because there weren't any other days where the water was calm enough to ski.  My brother, Ben, also arrived late Thursday night. 

Kyler and Norah, 5 and 3 :)

What they have been WAITING for!

Miss Grace with Daddy

Kyler, Norah, and I on the paddle boat

Water fun!

More water fun!

Grace's toes in the lake!

Checking it out….

Hmmmmm...

Fishing off the dock with Grandpa

July 4th was Friday and we enjoyed a yummy "breakfast at the pot" down at the neighbors.  This is an annual tradition, and one I always look forward too because of all the wonderful food everyone brings. :)  After breakfast, we had our annual photo shoot with the kids in their red, white, and blue attire.  When pictures were over, the kids were off to change into their swimsuits and head back to the beach.  It's fun to see them get more comfortable around the water each year.  One of the first years Kyler could walk, he would hardly go out into the water without holding your hand.  Now he is jumping off the tube and off the dock, running along the beach and sitting out in the water.  Of course, Norah isn't far behind and also enjoyed jumping and running in the water too. :)

Breakfast!

Norah enjoying her food

Grace's first breakfast at the pot :)

Sand time after breakfast

"Chair" picture :)

Miss Norah

Miss Grace

Mr. Kyler

Hanging with Grandpa

Running on the beach

Saturday we did some work in the morning and then played at the beach some more.  Kyler is fascinated with bugs, frogs, etc. right now, so he had fun catching all sorts of things in theses nets my mom had.  Saturday night we went out to dinner in town to celebrate Erik and I's anniversary that was July 1st, 8 years and counting!  It's always nice to take a few family photos before we go. :)

Hauling trees that were cut down

Kyler with his frog

Grace and Erik

Jumping off the tube

Hmmm, what is this stuff…..

Attempt at picture with all three kids :)

Family picture

Our family

Mom and Dad with grandkids

Sunday and Monday were a bit windy and not that great for skiing or tubing.  However, Kyler really wanted to go fishing, and the wind didn't stop him from doing that!  Grandpa and Ben took Kyler fishing, and then Erik went along too a bit later.  Kyler was so excited to show off his catch!  Norah enjoyed some painting while Kyler went fishing, something to keep her occupied instead of dwelling on the fact that she wasn't fishing too. :) :)

Out fishing

Reeling in his catch

Grace playing

Painting with Grandma

Showing off his fish :)

Captain Kyler :)

Tuesday we packed up and headed home!  Although the weather wasn't what we had hoped for, we had a great time relaxing up North over the 4th.  It's always fun up at the cabin, and very hard to leave!!