Champlin splash pad is now open!

The week of Gia and my birthday we drive past the site of Champlin splash pad and saw that it was officially open! So one day after VBS we got a picnic lunch and checked it out!!

We loved it and hope to go back many times! I love that it's free and so close we can bike to it! Yay! Happy summer!

Drive-in movie

Vali-Hi drive in near Lake Elmo

For several years now we haven't wanted to try a drive in movie. I know the bad things like the movies don't get started until dusk which is close to 10pm. But we still wanted to try it! Did you know the gates open at something like 7pm and there is a line?! People back up grills and blankets and footballs and the make a whole night if it! Then they show 3 movies, the first one not starting until 10pm! We almost made it to midnight but had 3 overtired kids who won't give up! It was very fun! Glad we did it and know we know how to proceed differently! 

How to train your dragon 2 from the back of our Volvo! 

 Guessing who loves popcorn?! Who knew? I guess we do now!

picture blog of 7-4-14 fun!

Setting: Pequot Lakes and Merrifield bay : the Grabin 

Celebrating Gia bday with grandma and grandpa Akerson.

 Sleeping in the camper. All the kids had a mysterious 48 hour fever. Gracie got sick a couple times, too. 

Going to fun sisters with Carleen and Claire Rager

Pequot 4th of July parade after the fireman's pancake feed! 

Golf cart ride with grandpa!

The Grabin!

On the gull chain boating with Uncle Joe and Aunt Elizabeth, Cousins and grandma and pa. Gia loved her legs in the water!

No trips up north is complete without a trip to the Chocolate Ox! We biked from the Grabin with uncle Brandon!

 Our ride home sunset on Sunday! We soaked up every minute of our 4 day weekend! We went up early Thursday and stopped in Kimball to get a apple cider press as a gift for grandpa and ma Akerson!

 

Intorducing Max # 9 for the glory prek team

Max is playing soccer again this year. We can see such huge improvements from him! He is lucky to have the assistant coach from last year as a coach this year. There are a few of the same players, too! This is a great sport for him because he loves to run around. He really has some wheels. His second game it had been pouring rain for a few hours and only 6 kids showed up! No chance for sub's so he got to play the whole game. He was goalie the first half. He was really trying! He let a few in but he never gave up!

Gracie's summer T- Ball and Soccer ( minus the soccer)

Robb once told me whatever Max gets to do we need to make sure Gracie and Gia need the option to do. Not only that reason but because she wanted to we signed her up for a summer t -ball and soccer class.

We had a one week break for VBS and totally missed the one day of soccer. She loved VBS. Good thing, too because soccer was what she really wanted to play. Next year all soccer, all the way!

She did really well. The middle class she was very shy and overwhelmed but other than that day she really liked her class. I even got to see a few people we had taken ECFE with previously. 

Georgia Isabel Akerson is 1

Sunday, June 22nd, 2014

My baby.. she is one. 1. This is pure craziness. Most days I can remember that day a year ago so vividly. How can it be a year already?

But the truth is she has been growing and learning so much that she has to be that old.

It was my weekend to work and I requested to have an absent day. That phone call at 4:55 was espeically sweet this morning. I get to spend the day with my baby. Since I was supposed to work there really wasn't any BIG plans. Just a day together. Of course, a cake. We took a trip to target, what birthdays not complete with out a visit there?! Her brother and sister picked out a Minnie Mouse as big as she is and a large bouncy ball purple in color!

At 1, our baby, is so sweet. She is funny and snuggly. She's all over. Up and down stairs, into cupboards and up ladders. Whatever her siblings are doing she thinks she can go along. She loves them, sometimes than others. She is really starting to understand what we are saying and is doing a little bit of signing. Mostly just the sign for all done.

She is "petite" weighing in at just 20lbs! I know that this is not really so little but compared to Max and Grace it is significant. She handled her 3 shots well at her appointment and of course headed home with a stuffed Ty animal from the clinic gift shop. Her chosen puppy is named rootbeer. We will call him 'Rooty'. And most likely Max will adopt him into his pack.

As of July 15th, Gia sprouted her 4th tooth. That makes 4 teeth in the last 4 weeks! 

Max lost a tooth!

We went to the denist in March, I think. The hygenist told me Max's bottom teeth were loose. Last week he got super excited and said that his tooth was very wiggly. I kept making jokes for him to pull it or when we separated for him to not loss it while we were apart.

So what to you know.. the little stinker had a sleep over sunday at his cousins house and Monday with lunch his tooth fell out! Yay! What a fun milestone!

1st teeth!

4 days before the big 1st birthday the first tooth popped through! She always makes it exciting! So fun to see her with a tooth, FINALLY!

Robb's first fathers day with 3 Kids!!

Robbs first fathers day as a daddy if 3! We started the day off with Max and I going to get Robb's favorite breakfast.. Mcdonald. We also got our favorite family treat... DONUTS! We got home to eat our food and give our gifts. During the week the kids and I ran over to camp Arbor lakes to create ties for Robb. They have a cute kids camp set up in the middle or the shoppes and the days activity was a blank white tie and fabric markers to let their imaginations soar!

A few weeks earlier Max had hear Robb say he wanted a new towel so he took it upon himself to grab a towel out of his closet and find an mailing bag that he packaged the towel in and then decorated it with stickers. he told me about it and that spured an idea! I ordered everyone big comfy towels with their names embroidered on. Max wanted Robb's to say Robb not dad. So that's what it said. Max and Robb's were twins both extra large navy towels with red lettering. I thought that was very keen listening Max did and very sweet to do what he had heard. he even kept it a secret! I love that kid.

We spent a fun afternoon with Robb then headed down to my aunt Cheryls for a BBQ and to see my dad. Thats the Book tradition. It was lovely per usual.

Me at 35!

Today is my birthday. Woot woot! Traditionally It's been anything from a day I call my own parents to remind them it's my birthday to a day of fantastic celebration! I used to hate it being in the summer because I felt like school year birthdays were more fun. I'm loving it now! Yesterday, my great husband planned a paddleboarding outing on the Mississippi for us but that got cancelled with all the rain due to come! This is something I've wanted to try the last year or two. Last year I was very pregnant and then recovering from a c-section. This year I was pumped for it.  Turned out to be a beautiful night until far later than predicted so we punted and headed to lake Calhoun! We rollerblades the lakes AND found a paddleboard rentals and took them for a spin! I loved it! We basically cruised from lake Calhoun into lake of the isles, around the little islands, gawking at the houses and then back.  The wind really picked up towards the end so it was a good work out. Then we finished roller blading walked to punch pizza ( yummy!) then over to yogurt lab! It was a fantastic night and I'm so thankful we proceeded to have fun even though our tour got cancelled! I miss that area! And I totally enjoyed being young ( kind of) and free on a date with my honey! Thanks for being up for whatever babe! Really enjoyed Mpls!

I still love reading books, running, walking, biking and baking. I guess somethings don't change. I've been recently into purging my house of as much as I can. The maternity gear.. the baby accountrements. I'm selling it, giving it away, donating.. serious purging. I loved my time child bearing and I'm excited to keep child rearing. I'd love to do some house renovations and feel like all the gear that goes with having a baby take up room. I look forward to the house renovations. Making it ours and easier to live in.

I was trying to write this like an update I do with the kids during their milestones but I'm not that interesting!

Thanks for checking in! have a great day.