August?

How in the world is it already August? Didn't summer just begin? There are so many things we were going to do this summer and time is just not on our side!

So last week the girls had swim lessons at 4:30. It worked out that Steve was able to pick them up and then if he needed to jet back to work, I got there about 4:30 to watch and take them home. They did so good. Piper is finally learning how to swim and not just be comfortable going under and such. Presley is kicking ass. She had the main lady as her teacher two days and one day she said that Presley was going to be a professional backstroker (which is her best) and the other day she learned how to do the butterfly stroke in no time at all!

Friday night I went to my friend Sarah's house. We haven't seen each other in too long! We hung out and talked and drank and ate and laughed! Oh my, we have a very good time together! Her son, kept wanting to color me pictures of 'chocolate cake and tbone steak' b/c he had learned a song with that in it! Her brothers and sister in laws came over later and we had some more laughs. One of her brothers owns Black Cat Ice Cream in downtown DSM....if you haven't gone, you have to go. So good!!!
http://blackcaticecream.com/

Saturday we planned a sisters night out in Omaha. We had so much fun 3 yrs ago when we went and just on a whim decided we needed at least one night to have some more fun. We got to our hotel about 1:30 and before we had even had one drink, we were already crying from laughter.

We went to Billy Froggs first and they had a birthday wheel...well just so happens that Samantha's birthday was 2 days before! She got to spin and got......tequila. Just what we wanted as our first drink!

We sat on the patio for hours chatting and eating. Steve's cousin Kelsey lives in Omaha and was able to come meet us out. She fit right in with us and we had a lot of fun with her!

 This is what happens when you give your phone to your sister.

 and then she tries to take pictures of me and Samantha.....wow.

Eventually we made our way out for dinner. We went to Jams http://www.jamseats.com/ . We were able to get a patio table, the food was SO good! Our waiter was a little slow but overall I really enjoyed it!

 We left there and Holly gave this street vendor money to play My Girl....then she danced. 

 We left dinner and Kelsey left us. We headed over to another bar that she recommended.

They were closing and you could tell they just wanted to clean and get out of there....we didn't let them. At some point Holly was singing to them and got a couple of the waiters to beat box, it was so funny. Then it wasn't funny when I realized one of them was 17 yrs old and I was old enough to be his mother.
We were SO full from dinner, SO FULLLLLL...…..that we were spent! We headed back to the hotel room and were sleeping by 11:30! It was another successful sisters night and we will be doing it again! Thanks Kelsey for stepping in and being our sister for the night!

Adventureland

That Sunday we went to Adventureland with Sam, Scott and the boys. It was a little cloudy but the weather was actually really nice! Presley and Boston get along so well and of course everyone loves Jordan! :)

 One of the few rides I will ride!

 These two!!

 Too cool for school!

 Even Scott and Steve got in on the fun!

 We had a little lunch and then headed to the water park! This boy LOVES water!

 Boston refused to ride the little dragons but we convinced Presley into riding with Jordan!

 This was a new ride for us this year and the girls loved it!

We went to the new area, Bernie's Barnyard. It was really nice! Perfect for kids! Two little kids rides and lots of playground and running around space!

 Piper could not believe there was a ride with 'bacon' in the name!

They have a little store with arcade items and kids items available. Snacks, kids medicine and milk cups....plus there is only one entrance/exit, so limited possibility of kids escaping!

We were tired. But we needed dinner. I wanted El Mariachi but knew I was going to be outnumbered. However, the kids were so hungry they didn't care! Win for me! So we went there for dinner, had some more patio time and then we all crashed that night!

Back to Reality

The week we got back from vacation we had to jump right back in to normal life. Presley and two of her friends decided to do a Living History Farms day camp. This was out of Presley's 'norm' but she was excited. She likes that outdoor, history, hands on stuff! We are lucky that my mom was able to drop her off every day for us at 9 and then we picked her up at 4.

On the last day they had a parents open house where we could come and see the activities and crafts they had done throughout the week. It is so cute to see her with her friends!

Monday we still had gymnastics, Tuesday I had date night with Sarah out by the shed so we could catch up! The weather was perfect, she brought over ice cream and wine and we chatted for hours!!!!

Friday we had a babysitter! I figured that after 2 weeks with our kids we would want a little time away and we were trying out a new sitter, Natalie since Brittney has decided that she wants to go to college! :)
The weather was perfect patio weather! We decided to go to Barntown Brewery for dinner, then went next door to Global Brew. Samantha and Scott were out on the town too and were able to meet us on the patio at Mickey's on 86th St, which we haven't been to in year...but they have a good patio! We were there until the sun went down and then headed closer to home and went to The Boathouse.


We had a really good time! They stayed the night at our house for driving reasons, our babysitter did great and overall it was a fun night!

Saturday we hung out and then had neighbor Rachel's 4th birthday party, we stayed for a while, the girls played so well and then we headed home and decided to go to Latitude 41 to watch The Sheet play. Nephew Jordan his girlfriend Alli (Piper's favorite) joined us there. The weather was perfect and we saw so many people that we knew there! It was a fun evening!

Day 7 - Friday

Friday we got up and headed to town. It was the last day of our vacation and we promised the kids we would go walk around a little. Presley's face lit up at the candy store when we told her she could buy something!

 That afternoon Steve played his final game of bags and became the singles champ!!! Woohoo!

There were some casual games of volleyball played.

 Little Leia spent the day in her dress and the dirt, so adorable!

After dinner we had the 'award ceremonies' We have this license plate that has been handed down for YEARS to the next person turning 30! So it was Molly's turn to pass it onto Chris, who will be 30 in January.

Then there was another presentation that I was not aware of....to the person who is turning 40. Boooo.

I guess these items have been passed down for YEARS also, so my cousin Lee gave me the painting of our Grandma b/c I will be 40 in February!

 Steve won his trophy for the singles bean bag champ. He was very happy!

 The winning tournament team for the family Olympics 2018.

 The losing team. :(

After everything was over, we said goodbye to everyone and we headed about 1/2 way on our trip home.

Piper and Cameron

We headed out a bout 830 and drove about half way and stayed in St. Paul for the night. We slept in and finally made it home on Saturday the 21st at about 1:00. We got everything unpacked and put away, laundry started and were still able to enjoy most of the afternoon!
I decided I really wanted El Mariachi for dinner, shocking huh? Steve and the girls didn't want to go, so I enjoyed the patio and a book by myself!

So I have finally wrapped up most of our 2 weeks of vacation and I'm still two weeks behind on posting. UGH.