happy birthday, daddy!

We had a great time celebrating Nate's 34th birthday last week! We were lucky he was able to take some vacation time - so we had a 5-day weekend, celebrating together. It was great!! Nate started his birthday off by getting up bright & early and golfing - and he had a great round of golf! The girls and I decorated the house, picked up the balloons, wrapped gifts...and got ready for the big day! We spent the afternoon at Como zoo. It was awesome. We had the best day together. We took the girls to the carousel for the first time - it's a super cool carousel (built in 1914!!!). Kennedi wasn't quite ready to ride a horse, but I held her and she was happy. Adelie loved the carousel ride. It was so great to be together on the carousel. I loved it. It's definitely one of our favorite spots now...so great. After the carousel, we headed to the zoo. It was a super hot day, but we had a great time seeing all the animals. We went to dinner at one of our favorite spots, and then went home for presents and ice-cream cake (Nate's request). It was a fantastic day - and we loved celebrating our favorite guy! Adelie loved singing 'happy birthday, happy birthday, daddy' all day long (actually, all week long!) - she knew it was his special birthday-week!!

birthday - camping & roller coaster rides!

We topped off the birthday festivities with a sweet camping trip. It was our first time using our tent (outside!), and was a success! Nate found the perfect camp spot for us - and we loved it. It was a perfect night, and the girls sure love camping! Adelie loves exploring outside. It was pretty cute seeing them all snuggled up on top of the sleeping bags. Once the girls were asleep, we lit up the fire & Nate and I had a delicious tinfoil meal, cooked over the bonfire - yum! I showed Nate my outdoors-y skills by saving our campfire. It was super fun just being together, camping.

The next day, Nate went golfing with a friend - oh, and we made a trip to the mall of america - we were planning on a quick shopping trip...but we ended up having a blast at the amusement park - Adelie went on her first "roller coaster" with daddy (she LOVED it!!) and her first rides - she rode the carousel twice, went on a couple fun rides with mom & dad, rode the hot air balloons, and finished with the ferris wheel. It was a blast. Of course we made a stop at the disney store (it's pretty sweet) and Nate snuck off and bought Adelie a darling new doll (her first doll!). She loves it. So sweet.

summer - photos

we have had an incredible summer so far. I try to take the girls to the pool every day - and it's been so great. I just love our pool days together. We totally have our routine set - and it's wonderful. Adelie is getting to be quite the swimmer - constantly trying new tricks in the water (flips, twirling, backflips....seriously!) and she loves doing jumps. I have to remember that she's only 2! She's fearless...and independent (which can be tricky at the pool), but we absolutely love our pool days together. When we're not at the pool, we're at home enjoying our new house - or playing at the park. It's been a great summer so far, and I just love my girls so much.

 

falling in love all over again.

My training for Twin Cities Marathon 2012 has officially begun! I am falling in love with running all over again!! I have absolutely loved my runs lately. I've always been a big fan of running with music - but I've been running without the ipod for the last 2 weeks, and it gives me a chance to really clear my head - to think about the girls...to have some peaceful "me" time. I love it. I've had some really great runs. We love our new home - and it's exciting finding new spots to run! So far, I'm just running a simple 2 mile loop - but it's great...slightly hilly, peaceful & beautiful!

My favorite moment of running last week was when I rounded the corner by our house, and there were Adelie and Nate waiting (Kennedi was asleep for the night). Adelie started running towards me...it made me so happy! I can only imagine how happy I'll be seeing her sweet face & Kennedi's sweet smile on marathon race-day! 

Oh! And I finally broke out my new Nike running shoes. Love them! They are so bright & they make me smile when I'm running. But, they're no joke. Super bright!!

ADELIE SWIMMING!!