Kid's Concert at Harriet Island Pavillion

Today we went with our Moms Group to a Kid's Concert at Lake Harriet Park Pavilion. Will Hale looks obnoxious, but he puts on a great show for kids and his guitar player is super talented! It's loud, but it doesn't hurt your ears, if you know what I mean.

This is our third concert at the pavilion this summer. Owen was finally willing to get out of his seat. This also was the best concert so far. Not only was the music good, but the Will Hale and the Tadpole Parade really engaged the kids.

They even handed out inflatable guitars so the kids could rock along with them. We liked them so much, we bought their CD!

Owen Y. really knows how to jam out on a guitar. Check out that tongue!

Ya-ya drove over this morning to join us and Nina and Henry were there, too. Evan sat back for a few songs and got some individual attention from Ya-ya.
The band told the kids with guitars to give their guitars to somebody who didn't have one. Now was Evan's chance.

He sort of had the right idea.
After the concert, we played in the park with Henry and his cousin Kyle.

Evan had a blast swinging from these monkey bars that were just low enough for him.

The Famous Eastsiders

I signed Owen up for T-ball this year. I can't say that he loves it. There's a lot of standing around in T-ball. Most of the kids have no idea what's going on. The coaches and parents are great. They shout instructions and positive motivational feedback at them constantly.

There is a team of 4 year olds called The Famous Eastsiders and the 5 & 6 year olds are called the Tigers. The two teams aren't too competitive. They scratch each other's backs... or noses. But, at the end of practice, Owen always wants to know who won. There's really no way of telling, so Jim always tells him they tied. Owen is starting to catch on to him.

After they stand out in the field, they stand along the fence. Sometimes they cheer for each other, but mostly they just pick tallgrass and practice a skill they will perfect by their teenage years: hanging out.

Jim usually comes home early on Tuesdays to take Owen to practice. Evan is usually still napping. Today I got him up so he and I could watch Owen play.

To me, the most important thing at this age is that he has fun and learns about sportsmanship. So far, so good. The parent vs. kids game is in two weeks. No. I won't be playing, but I will be cheering on The Famous Eastsiders.

Bubblefest

We went to Bubblefest today with the Moms from our Meetup Group. See all the girls having fun with bubbles?




Owen has never been good at blowing bubbles and Evan can't even puff out his cheeks. So, even though we brought bubbles, I could not get them to participate in this awesome event.

They much rather do something rambunctious, like this.

Or this. They are pretending they are bears.
(I did make Evan put his shoes on right after I shot this. He took them off in the sand.)

Afterwards we were going to go to Izze's Ice Cream for a refreshing treat. The boys and I were loading into the car when I heard my friend, Kerry, yell my name across the park. Her car wouldn't start. Luckily Jackie had some jumper cables. Between the three of us, we got them hooked up, but to our relief, a lady across the street sent her husband out to help us. We didn't get it started, so we waited about 30 minutes for Kerry's husband to get there. As we sat chatting, he went over to the car, got in, turned the key and started it right up! Unbelievable! Kerry swears she knows how to start a car.

What Happens While I Make Dinner?

Tonight, after naps, I needed to do laundry and make dinner. Jim was working late. Owen perched himself on top of the pillows and blankets with a pile of books. As he finished one, he'd toss it down to Evan. This is what the room looked like when I went down to make dinner.

This is what it looked like when I came up about 30 minutes later. How can I even be mad?

Wolf Pups

Guess what our neighboring property owner saw a quarter mile from our property? Yep. Wolf pups. 4 or 5 of them. He took this picture with his still camera! Do you know what that means? That means that the den is on or near our property. Of course the boys are totally excited, especially with our recent trip to see Peter and the Wolf.

Here's one from his trail camera.

This one is from his trail camera, too. There are no tufts on those ears. That's a Bobcat!

A Baby Shower for Anna

Anna is not only Jim's cousin, but she's my best friend as well. I can't tell you how excited we are that she is due only seven days after me. Four and a half hears ago, we all stood in this very spot and took a similar picture at my baby shower for Owen. This time, Clare, Gina and I were throwing the shower for Anna.

My other best friend, Nina, threw me a work shower all those years ago and each guest painted a onesie. Those onesies are about to be donned upon my third child. Since Anna's baby will be little in the winter, I figured she'd appreciate some personalized onesies in various sizes to layer the baby in.

The little kids were the first to dive into the paints. I requested that a grown up help each of the kids, in hopes that they would still turn out nice. I helped Evan with his, but was a bit distracted with running the table. As he was putting his stamp onto his onesie, I looked down and saw that it said "Buggy" upside down.

We did eventually get the grown ups to participate. Even Anna's Dad and brothers joined in. I wish I had a photo of their creations. I believe Louie's was a joystick (do they still call them that?) and Will's had an alien on the moon with a Star Trek beaming device on the chest. I believe most of my onesies had whales and sailboats on them.

Anna's niece, Lilly, did paint a onesie with Grandma, but was stripped down halfway through because of the mess. Once her clothes came off, she was more interested in her tummy than the paints.

Painting onesies wasn't our only shower activity. We also played a game where each guest had to guess how much string it would take to wrap exactly around Anna's belly. This was Paul's honest to God guess.

Anna's brother Will and Connor's girlfriend, Erin, were the winners. They were so excited. As they were giggling over their luck, they both impulsively gave Jim the thumbs up. Will carried his prize bottle of wine around all night.

Gotta have a picture of the parents and sister to be.

Apparently you also have to have a cheesy self-portrait equipped with drama and nose flare.

And a cute gift opening shot.

The kids were shooed outside during gift opening. Mostly, I think, so the cake would not land all over the carpet.

And a profile shot of the expecting mamas.
Anna - 29 weeks, Erinn - 30 weeks, Jen - 37 weeks!

A combination of no naps and tons of sugar got the kids a bit riled up. I love this little video of them finishing up a round of Ring Around the Rosy. Abby is the tall one, then Owen, Rosy, Hank, Lilly, Ellie, Evan and Gina's little neighbor across the alley, who decided to let herself in the gate and join the shower, Harley.

Jim and I had to rush off to a benefit for his partner, Dr. Gerber. This is what was happening as we were leaving. MONKEY PILE ON BEN!!!

Congratulations Anna & Paul!
We are so very excited and happy for you!!!

Happy Birthday Action Jackson!

Owen and Evan's good friend, Jackson, just turned three. Jackson, who Evan nicknamed Action Jackson, is a friend we originally met in music class, then he was part of our Mommy Meetup group for a while, and then, he just became a part of our lives. We were invited to his spectacular pirate birthday party. From the moment we pulled up to the front door, not a detail was missed. Right out front on the sidewalk was a giant red X marking the spot, with a treasure map trail leading us to the door. Inside the kids were given these great masks, which I believe only my kids actually wore. Then we headed outdoors.

How fun is it to have a blow up bounce house in your own backyard? These guys were going at it like WWF. Of course Owen started it, being the oldest in the "house." The small giant that he is, he thought it would be a great idea to try and jump on the top of the walls. Pretty soon all three were doing it. It was hilarious. Each time they'd jump up, they'd bounce off, sending their bodies flying across the inflatable structure.

I was the only adult by the bounce house and as I'm standing there, I hear a booming voice behind me say, "Is there a birthday boy in the house?" I wheel around and see this guy standing right next to me grinning like a fool. He announces, "I'm Captain Awesome. I just delivered you some delicious pizza that I hope you'll enjoy. Have a Happy Birthday!" And just like that he was gone. Once I realized I wasn't having some sort of hallucination and that I wasn't reliving another scene from Parenthood, I called to him from across the yard, "Captain Awesome! Can I take your picture?" His response was a toothy grin and a thumbs up. Deb, you think of everything!

But that wasn't all that was going on in the backyard. They also had a giant, inflatable waterslide! It was a little cold and cloudy for the water, but not to worry. Before anyone could shiver, they were rushed out of the pool and dressed for an all ages Treasure Hunt.

And what better place to hunt for treasure than the Rose Gardens! The big kids read the clues and the neighborhood kids ran from location to location with a trail of kids, toddlers, parents and even babies kicking up their heals behind them.

The treasures, were actually in the backyard all along. And inside a huge pirate sack were many small treasure boxes, each filled with chocolate coins. I loved these little boxes because when the candy is gone, the imagination will begin. The older girls at the party will fill them with jewelry and the little boys at the party will fill them with pirate booty! Argh!

But that wasn't it! There was more loot to be found in this treasure chest piñata. Owen gave it a pretty good clock on his first try and it was down more quickly than most parties we've been to.
(Just teasing, Troy & Jackie)

Finally, it was time for cake. The cake was adorable and delicious. The kids were so cute sitting all around it singing to Jackson. They all helped him blow out his candles. Jackson has a lot of good friends. The boys and I cozied down on the floor with our cake and "Jackson Juice," which was Jones Soda with Jackson's picture printed on the front.

Abbey is BACK!

Abbey is back for a month! This will mark her longest visit so far. We had a great day today splashing in our pool. Anna & I just sat a visited while they entertained each other. We all had so much fun.

Owen was really proud of himself for jumping in and dunking his head. The first time was better, but of course I had no idea what he was doing and didn't record it.

After lunch on our deck, the three kids decided to collect cranberries from our tree and put them in a bucket. The most amazing thing, Owen tried one! Of course it was horrible, but he wasn't going to let Abbey be the only one to eat them. She actually gulped them down with a, "delicious!" Owen and Evan each took a bite and honestly admitted they were horribly sour, but Owen still tried another one. Now we just need to take Abbey on a walk through an orchard.

After they filled the buckets with cranberries, Abbey decided they should be washed with some water. Then, they decided they would make juice. Abbey came up with the "stomping" of the cranberries idea all on her own. Perhaps we have a future vineyard owner in our family.

This video cracks me up because Abbey is the only one who was big enough to actually jump into the pool. O & E get right up to the edge and bounce off the side. Owen eventually got the hang of it.

Evan spent most of the time finding different uses for his hoe. It's a good thing we don't have a lot of grass. There is plenty of bare ground to be found in our yard.

I call this photo Evan's "Ode to Sun." Doesn't he look like he just wants to embrace the warmth from the sun? When Evan got out of the pool he was shivering and his lips were blue. He was holding his arms out from his sides in the most awkward position. There is a video of Jim at about 4 or 5 years old where he is just out of the lake and doing the same exact thing. How is behavior like that hereditary?

Ice Storm in July?

This post was suppose to be about T-ball. Owen has T-ball on Tuesday nights. He has two days left. About 30 minutes before practice, the sky started to rumble and cloud up. We looked out the back door and within moments, it looked like this.

I convinced Owen to go up to the screen porch with me. He was reluctant, but once he was up there, he was thrilled and didn't want to leave. He has never seen hail before and was fascinated by it.

It was over as quickly as it started. Our yard looked like this. The Jim Letts National Forest took a bit of a beating and I don't think my tomatos liked it much, but it all melted within a half hour.

Hopefully next week we'll have a T-ball post. The kids are suppose to be playing the adults, but after today's cancellation, they might extend that a week.

Peter and the Wolf - 2009

Ya-ya came to the rescue this weekend. We had four tickets to see Peter and the Wolf at Orchestra Hall performed by the Minnesota Orchestra and Theater de la Juene Lune.
Jim needed to go to the property and have some time with nature and his friends, so Ya-ya drove all the way down to join us and we're so glad she did.

The boys have been listening to Peter and the Wolf book on CD all week. They absolutely love the story and the music, but the added aspect of theater was mesmerizing. Evan loved every moment of the day. He even enjoyed the classical Russian music performed before the play. We had a great view of the percussion section from the forth row. He especially loved the watching the Triangle player. Owen was eager for the play to start. Once it did, he stood up with a fixated stare throughout the whole performance. Luckily we were at the end of our row, so he wasn't blocking anybody's view.

The thing I like best about this performance is that all of the costumes are made out of ordinary household objects. The bird wears a ski mask with a blue comb on the top and a beak made from a cone. Her wings are made from blinds. Peter feeds her gummy worms. The cat has a wiffle ball cut in two for her cheeks and badminton birdies for her ears. The wolf wears a ragged fur coat and rides a miniature bike. His giant head is made out of cardboard with forks for teeth, but his eyes glow and he can breath smoke. Nice effects. All of the characters have brilliantly imaginative costumes and the kids don't bat an eye. It's like they are telling them, you can be a bird, too.

After the show we went out to find Peavey Plaza quite empty (compared to last year) but that was OK because it was a short line for our popcorn, cotton candy and Italian Sodas.

MN Zoo - New Woodland Adventure

The Minnesota Zoo recently added a new nature play area called Woodland Adventure. There are a couple really neat climbing structure, a splash pad for hot days, a giant nest, a bear cave, the largest mosquito you've ever seen, and...

a fishing boat, fully equipped with motor and poles. I could hardly get these two out of it.

We finally meandered towards the Grizzlies Bears. They were all sleeping, which bored Owen and scared Evan. We then found this nearby excavation site. How fun. Digging up your very own mammoth bones!

We finally made it around to the Africa exhibit. I was so excited because I heard you could feed the giraffes for $5. Unfortunately, the giraffes ate 10 minutes before we got there. We still had fun watching the goofy ostriches. Apparently this group of females has been laying non-fertile eggs. Interesting. But not as interesting as the way they walk.

Evan's favorite thing to do when we drop Owen off at preschool, is watch the turtles in the tank in the lobby. He was so happy to see turtles again today.

The Minnesota Zoo also has a Butterfly Garden this summer. Owen, who is in a stage where he doesn't want to go anywhere, did not want to go to the garden. He forgot how much he loved it last year at Como, but I didn't. They both really enjoyed it, as did all the other kids we were with.

Owen was very good at holding very still.

The last thing we did today was go to Discovery Bay. It was a nostalgic visit for me, but the dolphins are not the same as they were when we got married. Still, Evan really enjoyed them. He and Owen play Sea Shepherd, Titanic, Moby Dick, and pirates all day long, but he doesn't have much real life experience with ocean animals. He was fascinated with the dolphins today. They aren't doing dolphin shows now, but we were able to go up top and watch the dolphins play with balls and cavort in the water.

Owen's favorite part of Discovery Bay was the sharks tank. The four year olds stood on the ledge, with their faces pressed to the glass, waiting for the shark to circle around. Then Owen would yell, "Hey guys! Hey guys! Shark! Shark! The shark is coming!" Evan hung back a little. He's a little tentative about close encounters with large wild animals. Smart kid.