Ice cream man and a run

Today was a busy day! Sophia, Hal, and my parents came down to cheer me on as I ran my very first half-marathon today in Minneapolis. The run went awesome and I'm so lucky to have my cheering squad.

My fans!

After the race we came home and read the newspaper. Then we all had lunch together. We finished up lunch and then Sophia and I went to the park. We played for a while on the playground and in the sandbox. Sophia got to use her new sand toys which she was thrilled about. Then it was time to head home for a nap.

Sophia napped and I cleaned up around the house to get ready for the day tomorrow. Hal had gone out with his friends and then came home with pizza for dinner. While we were finishing up dinner, the ice cream truck came by. We both agreed it was time for Sophia to experience the ice cream man tonight for the first time.

Sophia eating her watermelon ice cream cup

It was pretty cute how excited she was to get inside and eat it. This week will be a busy week for the family. It's my last week of school, Sophia's last week at Corey's for the summer, and we have several extra events going on each night this week.

Happy Summer (5 days and counting)

Memorial Day Weekend

What a fantastic way to spend Memorial Weekend in MN other than going to the zoo and barbequing with all of your neighbors. On Saturday, Sophia and I got up and ran some errands with my mom while Hal worked on power washing the deck. After running errands, we came home for a quick lunch and then met our friends Rana, Petyon, and Gavin for a playdate at Little Kids Big City. The kids had a wonderful time playing together and Rana and I had some mommy time chatting together. Sophia just loves hanging out with them.

The kids going down the slide on the firetruck

Peyton and Sophia putting out the fire with the big hose

Just tall enough to reach in the cash register at the grocery store

After hanging out with the kids, we came home so Sophia could have a nap. Then I checked in with Hal and went on a big run. I hit over 30 miles this week with my run on Saturday. I could hardly believe it! After getting back from my run, I got in the shower and Hal finished up the porch. Then it was time to go out for dinner with my parents. We went to Great Waters in St. Paul to celebrate Sophia's birthday. After dinner, we stopped at the Dairy Queen for a treat. When we got home Sophia enjoyed her ice cream with sprinkles at her request.

Loving the ice cream

Then we came home and Sophia went to bed. Hal and I got invited over to the neighbors house for a bonfire and I had my first smore of the year. It was delicious.

Sunday we had Hal's parents over for breakfast. We all had a wonderful time hanging out together. Then we went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. The guys pulled up the old landscaping around the tree while we played bubbles and chalk. Then his parents left and Sophia and I went to Target to look for Cinderella. It is her latest obsession. Then we came home and had some lunch and Sophia took a nap. I again went on a run while Hal worked on the deck. Then we took showers and got ready for neghiborhood bbq.

Sophia and Mommy before the bbq

It was a great time hanging out with all of the food and the people. They had deep fried a couple of turkeys and had a keg. I played bags with a couple of the girls and the kids ran around and played ball. Then it was time to head inside and give Sophia a bath. After Sophia went to bed, we hung out with some other neighbors and then it was off to bed. We were super exhausted.

Today we got up and had some breakfast and then we headed out to Como Zoo. We had a great time seeing all of the animals. Little miss independent Sophia decided she wanted nothing to do with riding in the stroller today.

Sophia and Daddy checking out the animals

Checking out the giraffes with Mommy

We saw all of the animals that there were to see and then we decided to go on the rides. Sophia rode two different rides: the train and the tea cups. She loved going on both of them!

Riding the train

Going on the tea cups

It was about that time to come home for lunch after going on the rides. We all enjoyed lunch together and then Sophia went down for a nap. I ran some errands alone while Hal took a nap. Then I came home and napped too. Eventually we all got up and went to the bookstore.

Dinner was great tonight. We cooked on the grill. Then we got cleaned up and Sophia took a bath. Now I'm just finishing up my packing as I head to Wolf Ridge with school for the week tomorrow. I will miss Hal and Sophia very much!

Happy Birthday Sophia You're 2!

Today Sophia turned 2 years old. I can hardly believe how fast the last two years have passed. She has accomplshied so many new things and I know that there will be many to come. I feel so blesssed to be a mom. She is an amazing little girl. Happy Birthday Sophia! Daddy and I love you very much and are so proud of have such a wonderful daughter.

Sophia's new room

I have been forgetting to post pictures for quite some time now, but Sophia has been sleeping in her new big girl room for about two weeks. We finally got all of the painting done and put the rail on her bed after it came in. She just loves it! Here are a couple of pictures of our work:



Here's a good shot of the seahorse along with Sophia's artwork she made at Corey's house


Here's a good shot of the starfish, seaweed, and bubbles

A beautiful day in Stillwater!

Yesterday we got up and got ready to head down to Stillwater for the day. The weather was a nice sunny change from the cold day before. We started our day off at the Teddy Bear Park. Sophia had a great time playing around. This is the best park for kids!

Sophia going down the slide


Hanging with daddy in the spider web


Posing with mommy in front of the big teddy bear

After playing at the park for a couple of hours, we went downtown to the Rivertown Art Fair. Hal and I both agreed that it was much better last year, but we all still had a great time. Sophia enjoyed looking at all of the puppies running around.

Then it was time for lunch and ta-da, Sophia had her first ever big girl hot-dog in a bun!

I think that this was the highlight of her day!

We walked around the shops a bit more and then headed to a furniture store that we heard was closing. We looked for a while and found a dining room set and bedroom set that we loved so we bought both and got a fantastic deal!

Then we headed home so Sophia could have a nap. After her nap, we went over to celebrate Sophia's Auntie Sarah's birthday! We had a wonderful family dinner and Sophia had a great time playing with her cousin Abby.

All in all, the weekend was crazy, but I won't ever forget it!

Sophia's 2nd Birthday Party

Yesterday Sophia had her birthday party. She started off the day by getting up at 5:30. I could hardly believe she didn't go back to sleep. We went to Sams and got some of the food for the party. Then we came back home to have breakfast. After that Sophia and I went to get her balloons. They turned out really cute. Pink, black, and a huge Minnie Mouse. She totally loved them!

Then we headed back home and got the house cleaned up. Sophia played toys for a bit and then it was finally time for her to go to bed for a nap. While she napped we frosted cupcakes and the cake, got food ready, and I even got a 4 mile run in!

After I got back, we finished the last minute details and then all of the guests arrived. I could hardly believe all of the people that showed up. Sophia had a great time running all around with her guests.

We had a wonderful dinner and then Sophia blew her candle out on her cake. After eating her cupcake, she opened up her presents. We are so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends! Sophia got many wonderful gifts and just loved everything.

After all of the guests left, Hal and I got the house cleaned up and watched a movie. Then we headed off to bed. All in all, we had the most AMAZING DAY!! Here are a couple of pictures from the day, but the slide would only let me upload less than 50.

Gardening with Daddy

Yesterday Sophia set out with her own shovel to help her daddy garden. He is actually tearing up the old landscaping and put in new plants/flowers. We tell her that she is gardening. It was so cute to watch both of them out there with their shovels. She is so eager to help out with any project and just adores being outside.

My two babes out in the "garden"


Sophia and her shovel

Happy Mother's Day To You!

This morning Sophia and I got up bright and early to do the Race for the Cure with my mom. Sophia started off the day with one of many sayings throughout the day and said, "Happy Mother's Day To You Mommy!" It was probably the cutest thing I have ever heard.

We gathered our things and went to pick up Nana. She was glad to see us even though it was quit early for her. Then we met my friends at the walk. We had a great time and Sophia was of course the talk of the town!


After finishing the walk (by the way we walked 7 miles between all of the walking to and from the car and around the actual walk) we headed home. Then we ate some lunch and headed out to Lowes to pick out the patio furniture. That was the part of the present that Sophia gave me for Mother's Day. The other present was a new bead for my pandora bracelet. We were going to the zoo, but it ended up being too cold and not sunny at all.

We came home from shopping and Sophia went down for her nap. I got to work on making her birthday cake and Hal tried out our new tortilla press. We tried one each and they were fantastic!

Then Sophia got up and we headed out to dinner to the 5&8 Club for dinner. It was wonderful. Tonight we're getting geared up for probably the busiest week yet.

Happy Mother's Day To You!

Ballerina Pink Pjs

Tonight Sophia got to wear her new spring/summer jammies. Of course they're pink and they have ballerinas on them. She is absolutely in love with them!

A visitor from London

One of the parents of a student in my classroom has a company in London. So needless to say she does quite a bit of traveling. This time when she came back she brought a visitor from London. His name is Paddington Bear. Yes, Sophia got an official Paddington from London. She just loves him and carries him everywhere around the house.

Painted Toenails

Lately Sophia has been noticing my toenails and how they are pink. So today she decided she wanted hers to be pink too. So we both had our toenails painted after lunch today.

Playdate and Painting

Last night Sophia had yet another play date with her friends Peyton and Gavin. This week we went to a place in Woodbury called Color Me Mine. For those of you who know or have been to Paint Your Plate, it is the exact same thing.

All of the kids had a wonderful time painting. Sophia really didn't want to leave. Gavin made a car, Peyton made a flower jewelry box, and Sophia pick a butterfly jewelry box. For those of you who know my daughter very well, everything in her world is blue. So she picked to paint the inside of the butterfly yellow and the top of it is a light blue and dark blue. I hope that it turns out cute.

Here are a couple of pictures from last night:

Gavin posing with his paint project

Adorable little Peyton getting ready to paint

Sophia painting the inside of her jewelry box

After painting we headed home for books and milk. I had a great run this morning...5.5 miles. This morning Sophia was happy as a lark like normal. She was eager to go play with her friends at Corey's house. I will be glad when the day is done today. I'm taking my kids outside to play tag this afternoon because it looks gorgeous outside. They love it because I like to be "it" so I can chase them and get some energy burned off.

Happy Friday!