Fun at Bitterlake

As I've said before, we have had a marvelously beautiful summer this year. Recently, I took the kids to Bitterlake Park to burn off some energy and enjoy the morning sunshine.

We had the playground to ourselves, which is always a perk; it makes it much easier to keep track of the kids and know their whereabouts at any given moment. And, of course, as soon as we get to the play area, one kiddo heads 180 degrees from where the other one goes. These are the times I really do need eyes in the back of my head!

Both kids had a fantastic time playing and exploring the play equipment. They went up and down (and up and down) the slides, across the monkey bars, across the wobbly bridge, on the merry-go-round, and much more. I loved watching our kids play because this was one of the days they found a perfect balance between independent play and playing as a two-some.

Love how he wears his hat at a rakish angle ... he's so stylish!

Annika mastering the monkey bars

Conor after his journey down the twisty slide

Annika flying around the merry-go-round

Conor in jail ... OK, not really .... just at the top of the climbing structure

Annika swinging on the rings

I've realized that her feet weren't on the ground in any of these
pictures .... that's a pretty accurate representation of the day!

Someone had looped the swings around the upper bars, making the swings too
high for the kids to sit on; that didn't stop Conor from having his fun, though!

11 years and counting

On Saturday, Eric and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. It stuns me to think how much time has flown by since we said "I do" and how much our lives have changed over the past 11 years. I never anticipated finding so many new ways to fall in love with Eric, but seem to discover a new way just about every day.

To celebrate our day, we had eggs benedict for breakfast (oh yeah, baby!). It might not sound like much, but that is my absolute favorite breakfast and such a decadent dish. We even pulled out a bottle of champagne and made mimosas (with cranberry juice ... we didn't have any O.J.) To make breakfast even more special, I served the mimosas in the toasting flutes we used at our wedding reception. The kids wanted fancy glasses, too, so we let them use some apéritif glasses we had in the cupboard. We were quite the group of fine diners, let me tell you!

After breakfast, we bundled up and took a walk to the nearest Starbucks and enjoyed some beverages; shockingly, the kids said they were hungry, so split a chocolate doughnut as an extra treat. On the way home, we stopped by one of the kids' favorite playgrounds. Because it was a cold, rainy day, we had the entire place to ourselves. The kids had a great time burning off some excess doughnut-induced energy!

Conor enjoying his mid-morning refreshment

If her mouth wasn't full of doughnut, Annika would have said "YUM!"

 

 

Independence Day ala the Olsons

Our celebration of the U.S.A.'s birthday wasn't quite what we anticipated. On the 3rd, Eric and the kids picked me up after work so we could head over to my brother/sister-in-law's house for a fun family sleepover.... at least, that was the plan.

Mid-span on the I-90 bridge, Conor got sick (he'd been complaining about a tummy ache since Eric and the kids entered downtown). Fortunately, my mommy senses kicked in and I had a plastic bag at the ready, so my van didn't get trashed (woot). We offered to cancel the night, but Troy insisted we continue as planned and come up with a Plan B if the tummy troubles continued. Fortunately, all seemed to be fine. Conor was a bit lethargic, but no more getting sick.

We had a laid back evening at Troy/Staci's and enjoyed a yummy pizza dinner (as I'm sure the founding fathers would have done had pizza delivery been invented back in 1776!) and plenty of laughter.

The next morning, Conor was back to his normal self and happily played throughout the morning. He was feeling so good that we took a mini field trip to the playground in Troy/Staci's housing development. The kids had a blast! They played on the swings and play structures, went down the slides, and event spent time trying to master crossing the monkey bars. Unfortunately, that wiped out Annika and she started to go down hill a bit (uh oh); she wound up spending the rest of the morning in our niece Kat's bed watching "Tangled".

We spent time in the backyard marveling at the fact it wasn't raining on the 4th of July, had a lovely BBQ lunch, and then high-tailed it back home so everyone could take a much-needed nap and to flee before my brother's family was even more exposed to our family's potential tummy troubles.

After 3 of the 4 of us slept, we had a very traditional dinner of waffles and then showed the kids how the "pop-it" firecrackers and little American flags can make the 4th of July a party for all.

Eric pushing Annika on the swings

Cheese!

Conor having fun on the play structure

Annika whispering the reasons why she is glad Eric is her daddy

Annika whispering the reasons why she is glad I'm her mama
(She's a very breathy whisperer ... it tickles!!)

Annika zipping down the bumpy slide

Eric showing his patriotic side

Conor having a one-man flag parade

Annika wanted us to have a parade on the street, but settled for one on the deck
(I'm fairly certain she thinks we are slacker parents)