Update #1 - School Shopping / Twins Game

Hey! I have been away...for longer than I thought!  I am going to be doing a little catch up on the blogging updates to wrap up our summer 2014!

Weekend of August 15th, Ella and I headed to the new outlet mall in Eagan!  We were pumped to get some school shopping checked off the list.  We rode the metro transit bus from Apple Valley (which was free that weekend -score!) and Ella thought it was super cool to ride a bus like I ride to work every day.  

 Waiting for our bus!

 Here we go!  She was SOO excited!

The outlet mall was fun.  We only hit up a few stores because our time was limited, but we scored some great deals for back to school clothes and a pair of sneakers for Ella!

 Snack time - cookies!

Ella chose to have the balloon man (on site for the opening weekend) make her a giraffe.  She thought that was pretty spectacular too.  On the bus ride back to our car, Ella told me this was the best day ever.  

Love it!

That night, Jay and I had a date night (unheard of!)  :)  We had tickets on the Legends club level for a Twins game, and it was awesome!  If you ever go, I would totally recommend the Legends club seats.  Really sweet set up and the atmosphere was so different than the regular concourse levels.  We had a good time!

Weekending....

Well it's Monday again!  This past week got a little out of hand.  Jay tweaked his back BIG TIME!  He was out of commission for the 2nd half of the week with pain meds and muscle relaxers trying to get some back spasms under control.  Despite all of that happening, Kaila and Chase came up for a visit!  We had some fun adventures!

Friday night, we headed to Barnes & Noble for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle event! 

(Chase LOVES TMNT!)

 

 There was a storytime (notice how little the crowd is?) 

Strange because last weekend for the Frozen event was CRAZY!

 They got some ninja training!

 Even made their own turtle shells!

Super fun!

Saturday, we headed to the Dakota County Fair!

Riding the rides....

Being recycling super heroes!

Ella got her groove on at the Radio Disney dance party!

 

We totally had to take a picture with the Princesses at the DirectTV (or maybe Comcast?) exhibit!

And Ella's favorite wild animal at the wild exhibit was...wait for it...the baby deer!  HA!

It was a crazy weekend, but we had a lot of fun with Chase & Kaila in town!

Weekending....

We have been keeping busy the past few weekends trying to enjoy the summer and also get things done around the house.  A few pictures from our adventures!

 We gifted a "Dump Cart" to Jay for his birthday this year.  (This is what he wanted).  

After he got it put together, Ella got the inaugural ride

 Hot summer days mean special treats, like a SpongeBob popsicle!

 Ella will be a flower girl this fall in Jay's oldest sister's wedding.  

She tried on her flower girl dress and curtsied in true princess fashion.  :)

 We've been taking in the weekly puppet shows on Friday mornings.  

This past Friday was the final one for the season - boo!  The summer is flying by!

 Finding time to play at the park

 And ride our bikes!

Friday night, Barnes & Noble hosted a national Frozen night.  We attended the event at the Burnsville location and Anna and Elsa were there too!  Ella was SPEECHLESS.  She had a good time.  The princesses had storytime with the kids and then they all sang songs together from the movie -

 it was pretty awesome

Saturday we headed to the water park in Apple Valley to have some pool time!  We can't wait to go on vacation in a few weeks and REALLY have some fun at the water parks in Wisconsin Dells

Happy Summer!

House before and afters

Where does the time go?  We've been busy checking things off that big "To Do" list!

The Week of July 7th, Jay was out of town on a work trip and, (because this is how it goes) our daycare was closed that week.  So, Ella had a mini-vacation at Grandma Jolyn's!  Which meant, I was all alone at the new house.  I tackled a few things, including painting the outdoor lights.  They were forest green.  Ugly.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 

I used Rustoleum spray paint in a Bronzed Copper finish. They took a few coats, but I think the results look great, and much easier on our budget!  At some point we can replace the lights, but for now, I think the change looks great!

Also, a little fun fact for you.  Jay installed them upside down, leaving off a topper thingy-a-bobber for a much more modern lantern-style light.  Love it! 

When Jay returned, we tackled the ugly faded green shutters.  The results are pretty great in our opinion!  I don't think the pictures do them any justice, but trust me, it looks a million times better. 

BEFORE:

 (sorry, Jay had already removed the shutters from the lower window...)

AFTER:

 Million times better!

Now I just need to get the green storm door painted....

This weekend Jay worked on the landscaping.  There are still things to do, but he made some pretty great progress in the backyard.  There were 2 areas in the backyard with former garden plots.  We don't have any time to tackle a garden this year, so we're taking it out and putting sod in.  Jay rented a tiller.  Let's do this!

BEFORE:

 

AFTER (PART 1):

Big improvement!  Apparently the entire south Metro is re-sodding their lawns.  Jay had trouble getting sod on Saturday, went back Sunday and had the same problem.  So, there are still areas to cover with sod, so when we get it completely done, I'll have to update with another "after" picture of this area!

Ella Lately

So, I haven't been very good about getting posts up on the blog.  Some before and afters on the house projects are coming soon, so stay tuned!  But, I thought I'd share what Ella has been up to so far this summer!

The week of July 7th, she stayed with Grandma Jolyn because Jay was out of town, and our daycare was closed!  She had a great time seeing her cousins, playing at the park, helping Grandma and baking cookies!

She wrapped up Session 1 of Swimming Lessons a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately, she did not pass.  She's heading to another round of lessons starting next week, so I will keep my fingers crossed!!  She went off the diving board in the last session (with assistance) and loved it (even though the pictures look like she's terrified!)  HA!  She loves to swim, I just hope she can pass the tests this time!

She's been having a great time at Sara's this summer playing with the big kids and also being a great friend to the little ones!  Sara snapped this cute picture of Ella at the park last week!

I've tried to incorporate some fun activities!  

At-home pedicures!

Spontaneous trips for ice cream!

Playing with homeade silly putty ("Frozen" silly putty including the all-important glitter!) 

NOTE: Must wear Frozen shirt when playing with Frozen silly putty.  HA!

And playing in the pool!

 We have also made weekly trips to the puppet wagon shows in Rosemount, but I haven't gotten any pictures from those.  Ella has a great time at the shows!

This past Saturday was a bridal shower for Jay's oldest sister, Tara.  Here's Ella before she devoured the cupcake!  (And she kept telling me it was decorated with a wife.  Ha!  I think she means bride....)

We love summer!