Rundle Park

Had a family bbq this past sunday with James' Dad's family at Rundle Park.  We sure are getting spoiled this September with some pretty awesome weather.  I think it was something like 26 degrees that day?!  They have a wicked park there for the kids and our picnic location was prime!  My only complaint would be the over-abundance of pesky wasps swarming around.  They're relentlous this time of year!  Fortunatly, we all escaped with not one sting to speak of.

Tea Parties & Shopping!

Girls Day today!  Ava and I decided to go to the Ellerslie Greenhouse tea party along with my grandma and her husband this afternoon.  Ava, of course, was truly excited to be attending a real tea party!  We had iced tea, squares, scones, tarts... all good things tea party-ish.  And, for our listening enjoyment, they also had a really talented blue-grass band (Cabin Fever) playing live.  After browsing around, Ava and I took off to Dot's Fashion Warehouse for some late afternoon shopping.  Ava, my little fashionista, took great delight in giving me her cute, little opinion on what wardrobe colors I should choose!

Just Because

Had to post a picture of these beautiful roses my hubby surprised me with.  Lucky girl?  Yes, I am.

First Day at Kindergarten!

What a morning!  Ava and I just got back from dropping Aaron off at his first day of school.  I must say, he is quite a trooper.  He would have been just fine with me dropping him off but I insisted on getting him into the school, waiting with him for the bell, and yes-- peeking through the window, even after he had entered the classroom, to make sure he was okay.  I put on a brave front and shed not a single tear; just smothered him with hugs, kisses, a dozen 'Are you okay's?' (he was probably wondering the same about me, lol) and a million-'n'-one pictures.     

Professional Paraders

Here are a couple photos from this weekend's parade in St. paul.  The Lakeland Rodeo was in town so we thought we'd take a trip up from the lake to watch the parade Saturday morning.  The kids always really enjoy this sort of thing and it's not hard to see why...  the candy!!  Of course, we headed back out to the lake after it was all said and done.  The guys were busy starting on the trailer's addition, and myself-- busy getting some R&R while attacking my beloved daily crossword and enjoying a great cup of coffee.

Aaron's Beauty Parlour Experience

With Aaron starting Kindergarten next week, it was imperitive we have his overgrown goldie locks tended to at once.  Kirsten basically owns his head of hair, so it was only natural that we take a trip to her salon 'The Beauty Parlour', yesterday morning.  She's worked there now for over 3 months yet this was my first time visiting the salon (I know, shame on me).  It's a uniquely stylish place that could best be described as vintage glamourous!  It also happened to be Kirsten's birthday so it was an extra nice visit.

Aaron was too funny getting his hair done.  Between the scalp massage, shampoo and haircut; his facial expressions were priceless!  Large mirror+little boy=funny faces!  When given the option to take it all off or keep his luscious long locks.... as always, he chose to keep it long.  What can I say!  The boy loves his curls (and so do I)!!

The Value of a Quarter Century

She's my baby sister, bosom buddy and best friend.  And today she's 25 years old.  How crazy is that?!  Sisters for a quarter century now (sounds nutty, doesn't it?)!  I thank God for putting Kirsten in my life and in my children's lives, as well.  And here's where I really lay on the cheese (my apologies, but there's really no other way to express my feelings without sounding slightly corny-- but it's worth it!): she laughs with me, she cries with me, she sticks by me even when I rock the boat, she encourages me to strive for more, she's freakin' funny, her heart is one of the most generous I've known, she's sensitive to others' feelings, she witnessed the birth of my first born (against her will, but none the less... lol), she adores my kids and loves them unconditionally, she covers my roots, keeps me stylish (I'm a work in progress...) and she's always got my back.  I could go on and on.... and on, literally.  To sum it all up, she gets me and I get her.  I love her dearly and look forward to the great things that are going to happen in her life; blessed that I can be a part of them.

Happy Birthday, Kirst!