Friends are nice

So I logged onto Blogger today to write a blog post about fall and put up all of my crunchy leaves photos, when I noticed that I had started this hiking post and had never finished and so, here we are! We have to keep things in order around here folks, and so fall pictures will be coming next week.

Way back forever ago, all the way back in September! We had my best pal, her husband, and their two little sweetie girls over for an extended weekend. Let me tell you, going from having one toddler in the house to three was quite the entertaining change! The days were filled with hikes and adventures, coffee shops, day trips to Duluth, working out little girl conflicts with great patience, eating snacks, kissing ouchies, and taking pictures of our cute kids. The nights were filled with trying new sleeping arrangements each night, good music, delicious drinks, excellent conversation, and a few games of Settlers of Catan thrown in there for good measure.

Here's a few pictures of a morning trip that we took to Jay Cooke State Park! It was a beautiful weekend weather-wise, so we got lots of that good-for-the-soul outdoor time in.

And now we miss our friends. Come back!

I just love that my best friend has little girls because now our kids will automatically without any choice of their own be best friends and isn't it just great how life works out sometimes?

Weekend happy times!

I have some photos to share from our Labor Day family getaway a couple of weekends ago. And is it crazy to anyone else how long ago Labor Day weekend already was?

My family on my mom's side escapes up to a lovely resort on a lake at the end of each summer, with the activities generally including relaxing, playing games, eating far more than our share of delicious food, watching old nineties music videos, pontooning, talking about things that matter, talking about things that probably don't matter, licking ice cream cones, you get the general idea.

Our family has rallied around and supported each other in new and important ways within the past few years. I couldn't be more in love with them all.

Look at me, so lovey dovey!

This dude I'm particularly in love with. Ooo la la!

And now. I give you the big kahuna of surprised face pictures. The great bambino of surprised face pictures! I don't think I will ever find another picture that I enjoy looking at more than this one. The end bye bye.

Other Labor Day weekends previously documented here and here!

Ren Fest

I went to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival last weekend with my mom, brother, sister, and some friends. We go together every year and are always looking forward to it, this year being no different! It rained the first half of the day so things were admittedly a bit glum for a few moments...especially when the rain resistance of my jacket finally breathed it's last and I felt drops of water start streaming down my scalp, neck and back. But we carried on! Warming up with some hot mead we stuck to it, and eventually the rain stopped and it got dry enough to snap some pictures and air ourselves out.

If you are wondering if you are the type of person who might enjoy a renaissance festival, then ask yourself this list of questions:

Do you like people watching? The ren fest is some of the best kind of people watching there is.
What's more, do you like people watching especially those who have dressed up in elaborate costumes?
Or perhaps you like to dress up in elaborate costumes yourself?
Do you like giant pickles?
When someone wearing a horned helmet starts talking to you as if they are from the days of yore do you laugh and ask to take their picture instead of feel annoyed?
Do you like watching small men stand on a ladder that is balanced on a rope that is on fire? While juggling?
Do you enjoy wandering around in shops looking at pottery, art, jewelry, and interesting trinkets?
Do you like watching hilarious shows and skits?

Do you wish you were eating a turkey drumstick as large as your forearm right now?

If you answered no to most of these questions, then it's best if you don't go Minnesota Ren-Festing.

But if you answered yes then I think it's obvious what you need to do.

Huzzah! Drink Hail! Thee, thou and whilst! And all that stuff.

Labor Day Vacay

Here's a few photos from our little family vacation over Labor Day weekend! We go up to a resort with the extended family on my mom's side every year and all stay in a big cabin and play games and eat great food and walk to the beach and eat ice cream and overall have a most excellent time. The weather over Labor Day always seems to be a hit or miss (and often it's a miss) but this time it was warm and sunny and beautiful. Paisley got plenty of attention and also got plenty messy at the beach and at the playground. (Which was like a dustbowl? Of playground equipment and tonka trucks and very, very dusty children, Paisley being amongst the dustiest of them all!)Also, look! A little week old Paisley with her brand new parents who are slightly terrified and incredibly sleep deprived from 2012, and a big one year + one week old Paisley and her slightly seasoned parents who are still somewhat sleep deprived (but only because they stay up late watching Inception instead of going to bed) from 2013. How fun. Plus Brian's wearing the same pair of shorts in both these photos, which is important to note.If you thought this post was a thrilling ride, then feel free to check out my Labor Day weekend post from 2011. Pre-baby, and pre-tan shorts! YOLO!

A Minneapolis Weekend

This past weekend I got to spend lots of time downtown, which is one of my very favorite places to spend time. On Friday night I headed to the Guthrie Theater to watch their production of Pride and Prejudice with my mom, sister, and grandma while baby girl got to stay home for a date with her daddy. We got to the Guthrie with plenty of time to sit out on their endless bridge and enjoy the river view. The sky was in a delightfully cloudy mood.

AND of course we enjoyed the show. I was more than enthralled because the guy who plays Pete Campbell? On Mad Men? (Vincent Kartheiser is his real name.) Was playing Mr. Darcy so I was just a tad star-struck to see him right there on stage in front of me. Now if you are a Mad Men fan and also a Pride and Prejudice fan as I am, you may be wondering how a Pete Campbell type can ever be believable as a Mr. Darcy, especially when you are accustomed to Mr. Darcy being of the Colin Firth variety. And what a daunting task it must be! To hold up to a Mr. Darcy of the Colin Firth variety! I wondered the same thing and am still wondering, after the fact. Let's just say that it was a much more Pete Campbell-y type of Darcy, which was different but not horrible, when you allow your mind to open up to new possibilities. Plus there was a brilliant kiss at the end between the leads which my Grandma didn't approve of since there is no kissing talked of in the book, but the rest of us agreed that we all WISH there was kissing in the book and so were glad to see it on the stage.

On Sunday the hubs and I had a couple friends over to watch Paisley and headed to a wedding. The reception was at the Nicollet Island Pavilion, which is one of those places that I always wanted to explore, but never remembered that I wanted to explore it when exploring opportunities came up. But now I have! And it was lovely, as was the wedding. I asked one of our friends there to take a pic of the hubs and I since we were all dressed up and somewhat matching, and my request was taken so seriously! We were directed to various spots where the lighting was just right, we were posed, and such lovely photos were taken. He even did some redo's when we discovered that my dress had been wrinkled in some weird spots. I was so thrilled that I hugged him, right there! The hubs and I don't get in too many photos together these days, which is a silly thing.

And we end with a lovely sunset view of my favorite bridge in Minneapolis, the Hennepin Bridge. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.

Father's Day Dress

I've been wanting to post some pictures from Father's Day, because Paisley is just so cute in her little dress and hat that she wore. Crafted by me own mum! We spent the afternoon at my grandma's house and ate good food, played shuffleboard (that is before the wind almost swept us away) chatted, played cards and other such fun stuff. Also, baby girl ate some grass.

Unfortunately the hubs had to work that afternoon and wasn't able to come with us to Grandma's. Fortunately we had a nice Father's Day morning at home though. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures of him with his little girl on Father's Day. Fortunately I hopped in some photos with her in the most fatherly way that I could, being the mother that I am.

In other news, the hubs and I have been watching far too many British films as of late and I feel like I am having the hardest of times refraining from writing my posts in British speak. Fawlty Towers (John Cleese! Shouting! Chaos!), The Wind in the Willows (an old claymation production from the 80's - found at a garage sale on DVD for a DOLLAR! incredible luck, and now I get to relive my childhood), and the BBC Pride and Prejudice (yes I DID convince the hubs to watch it, and the good news is that he liked it much better than he thought he would!)  

But now I find myself wanting to exclaim things like, "Chin up old boy!" and, "My head is very ill tonight!" and, "Oh, noble badger!"

"Badger" is one of the very best words to say in a British accent, in my most humble of opinions.