Happy 30th Birthday, Corey!

We got together this evening to celebrate Corey's 30th birthday, although the actual day isn't until June 2nd. Yikes! We now have 2 kids in their 30's. That's crazy!

Corey chose Punch Pizza in Highland Park for his birthday dinner, with ice cream afterwards at Izzy's - yum! He and Heidi also celebrated their 5th anniversary on Friday. Congratulations on both big events!

Kyle, as usual, wins the prize for finding the craziest card - something about a wedge??

I don't know where he shops, but he comes up with some doozies! I laughed for about 5 minutes after opening his Mother's Day card.

Memorial Day Weekend

Finally...off to Como Park for a picnic and the Zoo! We've been waiting for a good weekend all spring, and Sunday was the day. Joyce and Paul met us there, along with Jenna, Kyle, Chuck, Phebe, and me, so we had quite a crew.

We decided to picnic first, since everyone was starving hungry. While waiting for her hotdog, Phebe met a little friend - see the little inch worm on her finger? She was fascinated by the little guy!
I was a little concerned about finding a picnic spot with a grill on a busy holiday weekend, so I discovered a great invention at Target - Barbie 2 Go! For $5.99, this little disposable grill came completely equipped with char-coal (already soaked with starter fluid), grate, tongs, and spatula. All we needed was one match, and 10 minutes later, we were ready to grill! Worked great!

After eating (and soaking the still-hot charcoal in pop before tossing in the garbage), we made our way over to the zoo. Phebe found some animals to feed.

The flamingos were beautiful!

Phebe wanted to see the mountain lion, and she got a great bird's-eye view from Kyle's shoulders.

The sea lions were fun to watch, too.

Kyle remembered climbing on this tortoise when he was Phebe's age.

Of course, Joyce and I couldn't resist joining her.

The almost-100 year old carousel was fun, too!

After checking out the conservatory, we made our way back to the cars. Parking was interesting since there were tons of people there!

Phebe got out the sidewalk chalk on Sunday night, and Kyle got busy and made her a HUGE hopscotch game.

She demonstrated her skills...

and then Kyle took a turn, too.

Not bad for an old man!

The weather was gorgeous on Monday morning, so we walked down the hill for the annual Memorial Day parade. The parade is short and sweet as it winds its way to the Colonel Colville statue in the cemetery for the service.

It was a beautiful day for the service - the high school band played, President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address (see him at the podium??), and the sun was shining on all of the people remembering the many soldiers who have died in service to our country.

Jenna and Andy joined us in the afternoon to grill steak (on a regular size grill this time) and hang out for awhile. Then back to school for another 8 days before....summer vacation!

Underwater World

We had big plans last Saturday to go to the zoo, but it was so cold and windy that we opted for an inside activity instead. Since the winter jackets are all put away, Kyle, Phebe, and I met up with Corey and Maddox at Mall of America for an Underwater World tour.

We started our adventure with lunch at Twin City Grill - yum!

Then it was off to see all the interesting creatures in the world's largest underground aquarium.

I decided to get in a little "alone" shopping, so Kyle and Corey took the two kids.

The path starts in the north woods, featuring lake and river fish and animals from northern Minnesota. Then, it heads down the Mississippi and ends up in the Gulf, with lots of tropical fish.

Since I didn't take the pictures, I don't have much commentary. I think they pretty much speak for themselves!

Phebe and Maddox were fascinated with all the creatures.

I think they must have arrived in the Louisiana bayou!

"Look at that!"

There are sections where the you walk through a tunnel with water all around. Seeing the sting rays from underneath is really cool!

"Wow!"

Maddox was the only one who had been there before, but he was barely one at the time so I don't think he remembered much.

Do you think this sea horse is pregnant??

We're going to try again for a zoo trip this weekend. The weather is supposed to be perfect tomorrow!

Mother's Day

I spent Mother's Day this year at the Twins game with Jenna, Andy, Kyle, Phebe, and Chuck. The rest of the crew joined us later at Jenna and Andy's for hamburgers and brats. The Twins lost, but no one really cared - it was just fun to hang out and relax!

Phebe made this great sign to hold up, but since we were in the "cheap seats" in the upper deck, it never quite made it on the jumbo screen. We all thought it was pretty good, though.
The binoculars came in handy for checking out the players (I think that's what she's looking at) .



We hadn't been to a Twins game in years, ever since Chuck decided to boycott baseball during the player's strike in the early 90's. I had to get a picture of him just to prove that he really was there!


I love the background in this picture - Maddox is always smiling! I love my corsage, too, compliments of Phebe, who thinks dandelions are the best. She is amazed at how many pretty flowers there are in the springtime in Minnesota! :-)

Present time - thanks everyone, for all the nice cards and goodies!

We had to get a few mother/kids pictures.

And a mother/kids/grandkids picture.


And a daughter-in-law/mother-in-law picture!

You guys are the best! Thanks for a great day!

Boogie!

Last weekend, we went to the annual "Boogie to Beat Breast Cancer," a dance and silent auction to raise funds for Heidi's 3-Day team. The kids had a GREAT time dancing. I don't think Phebe sat down the whole time we were there!

Our favorite local band, The Loose Cannons, played all their good oldies, plus a few new tunes.

Both Maddox and Phebe seem to have lost their shoes somewhere. Barefoot dancing is the best! A good time was had by all, and hopefully, a lot of money was raised as well.