Olbrich Gardens Picnic for 3

On Friday iz, bodes, and I went for a picnic at the gardens. It was a beautiful afternoon. 

We spent a few hours walking around and snapping pictures, eating snacks, and enjoying the wonderful weather and beautiful surroundings.

 (also close monitoring by mom to make sure bodie didn't fall into any of the water pools- lol).

I'm still trying to figure out how to take good pics outdoors- but here are a few from the afternoon. 

Izzy also enjoyed taking pictures of the flowers with my iphone camera!

one of my favorite areas in the gardens

bird on bench

"look mom"
spotting pennies in the pool

my favorite color

love this duck

kids loved these cactus

min cactus we called "cupcake cactus"

light purple and green

2 cuties

loved this guy-
 the girl duck near their pond slept while he flew off and back
several times to other areas of the garden

smiling for a picture

one of my favorite trees

blue bells

red

iz takin' pictures

the WI sky delivered, again

enjoying the little things

hugs

a double cheese!

watching iphone videos early morning

little fashionista, picks out her own outfits

playin' construction with bo

Weekend

Finally got my phone blog app working again! I feel like at any given time I'm in a struggle with one electronic device - but I'm not complaining- I love all the options in documenting our lives and staying connected.

I went out Saturday with some moms in the neighborhood and had a great time. We went thrift shopping, walking at the arboretum, then to Jolly Bobs for mojitos and snacks- yummy!
It's always nice to have a break and get away for a bit, and feels very easy to only be responsible for yourself ;-). When I returned home the kids were ready for some wrestling and bedtime.

I also went running this weekend and we splurged on a single jog stroller for me to use when iz is at school. It's hard to believe I started this blog all those years ago to document my training for the half marathon. I'm now in the hunt for a Madison or St Paul half to try to convince Mel to do for a sister run! ;-)






Enjoying the warmer weather- bike rides, walks, park time.

Love seeing bikes of all sizes around the house.


Enjoying the spring flowers!

The perfect color (for me) of flowers right outside our house.
The kids love to pick little bouquets and they remind me of the tiny pink rosebud bouquets my mom used to pick for us.
Isnt it funny the certain memories that stick with you over the years? oh yes those little pink rosebuds and warm water bottles for our feet at night- covered with a pillow case for just the perfect temperature. (thanks mom). Enjoying the small things.







Graham brought home this little scoot bike for the kids to ride this weekend- iz had a blast.



Also started a few iBooks that I want to continue once I find them at the library. Our book club just picked "the magician's assistant".

Hoping I can find that along with "mommy wars" and "a million miles in a hundred years" at the library. Ah yes, trips to the library to fill up our green basket with books- another favorite childhood memory.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week- I'm fixin' for some more early morning alone time, running with bodes, and enjoying the sunshine with my kiddos.

Happy Monday!









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Easter 2012

We had a fabulous Easter weekend at Aunt Mel, Uncle C, and baby oli's house in St. Paul, MN!

We love living so close and inviting ourselves over for weekend get togethers. ;-)

Ready for the easter egg hunt
pic by aunt mel

We really enjoyed the trip to the local zoo and lunch after!

Another highlight was a trip to Mall of America. Last year, Iz went on one ride and cried the whole time, so we wondered if she would be interested this year. Well....she LOVED them! And bodes....forget about it- he also LOVED them! We had so much fun watching their little excited faces on the kiddie rides. Another highlight was g and my "date" on the adult roller coaster. For those 3 minutes we felt just like kids again- thanks babe, i love you.

iz on the carousel

bodes on the carousel

trying to capture pic of bodie with his hands up on roller coaster- failed-
but got g in green coat- lol

favorite non-ride at the mall

waiting for blues clues ride to start

g and bo on blue

 On Sunday we enjoyed the zoo, then some time back at the house for some Easter adventures. Painting eggs= one of my favorites. The kids had a blast and uncle C joined in the fun, and helped with all the set up- thanks Uncle C! We had a small egg hunt in the back yard and the kids loved it. Bodie following in his mom's footsteps -eating all his candy immediately. Biz showing some more self control, like her aunt mel, saving some of her eggs for later (with encouragement, =)).

sparkle eggs!

ready to find some eggs!

the preparation

 We LOVE to spend time with baby oli, and pretty much the kids and I fight over who will get to hold him or play with him at any given time. ;-) 

baby signing time

bodes on the hunt

surprisingly not getting messy, ;-)

iz lovin the egg decorating

candy time

Loving sister time, complete with mocha's and cake! 

 Easter 2012 was a blast!

family pic, so perfect for us