The weekend we got new carpet

Oh Hi September!  Not sure how that blog break happened again, but it did.  The weekend of Ella's dance camp, we also got new carpets installed.  That was something!!  It was a lot of boxing up stuff and moving it out to the garage or into the basement. And the install took the entire Saturday - the ENTIRE day.  I didn't plan for us to be blocked out of the house the entire day.  The installers worked simultaneously upstairs and downstairs, so the rooms AND BATHROOMS were blocked all day.  Made for an interesting day!!

Some pictures of the before....

The pictures were not capturing how brown the old carpets were, but I promise

they were really brown!!

Also, our bathrooms became storage closets for installation day! LOL!

Now the after pictures....

We love it and makes the home so much brighter!

Dance Camp!

So, if you know Ms. Ella, then you know that she loves dance. LOVES DANCE. She has been dancing in the Just for Kix program this past year and will continue for the upcoming season as well. We heard that JFK offers dance camps during the summer and Ella was all about it.  So, we signed her up to go this summer and it the 3 day camp wrapped up on Saturday afternoon.  She had a great time, but I will say my momma heart was a bit sad when she told me she didn't meet any new friends and ate lunch by herself the first 2 days of camp (I joined her for the 3rd day because - SAD!) Despite not going to camp with a friend, there were other familiar faces around, including her season coach, so I think that helped.  Just wished she would have had a buddy around.  Maybe next summer!

The theme for the camp this year was Hooray for Hollywood, so all of the routines included songs referencing stardom / Hollywood.  Each day had its own theme that the dancers could participate in.

Day 1 - Show us your hometown spirit

Day 2 - Glamour Day

Day 3 - Camp shirt day (also recital day)

(random picture - not sure why I elected to take it in the parking lot! HA!)

During camp, she learned three (3) dance routines: jazz, high kick and lyrical.  She didn't care for lyrical, which makes sense because she doesn't like ballet either and keeps telling me she likes jazzy music. HA! I hope her upcoming dance season goes well!  She's super excited to be dancing with some friends from last year and also some school friends. 

The last weeks of summer are upon us - how is that even possible?!?!

Jay's Birthday!!

We wound up July 2017 with a little gathering on the 29th to start celebrating Jay's big birthday (4-0!). We met with some family and friends in Chaska for drinks and dinner.  It happened to be River City Days in Chaska, their little hometown celebration, so there was lots going on.  

We checked out Firemen's Park....

And took pictures (and another failed selfie!) at the "World's Largest Mustache"

- WHO KNEW THIS EVEN EXISTED??!?

Jay was gifted some fun age related gifts, including this bottle of whiskey. Ancient Age - HA!

Some pictures from his actual birthday (the 31st)...

We got him gift card to his favorite establishment The Home Depot (really!) and also 40 Lottery Tickets for fun!  But sadly, he didn't win big.  Bummer!

July~All the "National" Days!

Have you been keeping track of all the "National _____ Day" days that have been happening in July?  I feel like there have been a LOT of them.  We've tried to celebrate when we know of them:

Happy National Mac & Cheese Day on Friday, July 14:

Happy National Ice Cream Day on Sunday, July 16:

And Happy National Hot Dog Day on Wednesday, July 19:

(p.s. no time to stop and smile at the camera -- apparently she was "starving") LOL!

Off to search for some new "national ____" days to celebrate!

July~High School Reunion

Also in July was my 20 year (WHAT?!) high school reunion!! We headed back to Worthington for the events.  Ella lost a tooth at Grandma Deb's on Friday night, so the tooth fairy made a trip there!  (she lost the top left incisor)

While in town for the reunion, we were able to watch Chase play some baseball!

Took a tour of the high school to see what's changed in the past years....

And the main event was Saturday night - snapped some pictures before we left!

 

The reunion was in a barn!  I snapped this random poor quality picture on my phone on the way back from the restrooms (thankfully they were working toilets!!) TMI probably, but I was concerned about this. 

It was a great time and fun to connect with friends and have some laughs! I didn't take enough pictures, there was just too much other stuff going on and honestly, kind of awkward to get photos with people you haven't seen in a long time, but I did get pics with the inner circle of friends!  :)

Meanwhile, Ms. Ella was THRILLED to spend the evening solo with Grandma Deb!

4th of July!

Oh hello ~ it's been a few weeks! Here's a look at some of our summer happenings in July:

Fourth of July.  We stayed in town this year, so we tried to do some stuff to keep busy.  We spent time at the pool at Lifetime, watched fireworks on the 3rd at Canterbury Park in Shakopee and then laid low on the 4th hanging out at home and watching fireworks on TV. LOL!  Ella made a sweet star spangled visor to wear with some star shades at daycare, so she sported those most of the weekend!

We ate red, white and blue popsicles!

Baked up a batch of homemade brownies and we decorated them in a

patriotic ode to the American Flag...

Oh, and I made the best no-bake pie!  DELICIOUS!  Vanilla wafer crust, vanilla pudding prepared and mixed with a can of strawberry pie filling, topped with whipped cream and berries! 

A huge hit at our house!

Again, in the visor and shades and now wearing the official 4th of July attire!

I also got a cut and color which was super fun - new salon, new stylist but turned out great!

Fireworks on the 3rd were redneck style with chairs in the back of the truck. 

Ella thought this was pretty cool!

 LOL on our attempts at the family selfie!

4th of July - I wanted a good picture with the flag....

but, didn't really get one

Sparkler anyone?

HA!