Birthdays, park outings, and other spring stuff.

Life clicks away at a pace I can only keep up with by looking back on my photos from the last few weeks. I'm so thankful for this blog and how it helps me to reflect on how much fun (and chaos) we currently have in our life. We are officially overbooked, but Im gradually taking the kids out of some of the commitments in order to have a fun and spontaneous summer. I plan to whittle it down to just taekwondo and piano for the summer and then add in summer camps when the kids want them. 7 more weeks- who's counting ;).

We started March with Maggie and my birthday- 39! I can hardly believe 40 is next. I honestly feel 27 most of the time. We celebrated with our own families on the actual day and then went out with our siblings the following night. We had so much fun!

The week after our birthday, Sioux Falls had torrential rains and flooding. Between a very cold winter and an early downpour, the ground was still frozen and covered in snow resulting in water with no where to go. It was a circus getting around town, many roads were closed, including the busiest intersection in SD. It was an event I won't soon forget.

Dave was on vacation for a week in March and we used the opportunity to talk to Sully's class about our careers. Dave and I dressed the part and talked all about how doctors and nurses work together to take care of patients. We had so many questions from the kids, it was a really fun experience. We had anticipated it being a 20 minute gig and it ended up lasting an hour. Sully was bashful but proud to have us there. Sra Langle asked us many questions in spanish and the kids had to translate for us.

Our very own Greta girl is an official professional shoe tier. Whenever I need to work on school work with Sully, Dave takes Greta to work on her letters and shoe tying, and Im happy to report, it clicked. She is so excited and when she did her own shoes yesterday, her first response was 'mom, I did it, and I can't wait to show Miss Heather tomorrow.' And she did just that and Miss Heather made her the official shoe tier of preschool and Greta said she tied three kids' shoes. Most of the kids wear velcro, so I'm not sure how much of this to believe, but either way, she is proud and thrilled.

Finally, we started this week with an emotional goodbye to Allie, one of our like-family babysitters who is moving to Colorado to be with her boyfriend. I didn't let it sink in until she arrived on Monday that it was her last with us and then I couldn't compose myself. We sent her with a pair of pizza jammies, just like the ones the rest of us have, so when she wears them, she can remember our family.

Celebrating my birthday.

Sibling party. 

Celebrating Kate's birthday with the RDs. 

New shoes all around! 

Our flooded driveways.

Greta's drawing of Mt Rushmore. 

Camo belts with a stripe! 

Dave and I at Sonia Sotomayor Elementary. 

They all still fit together - barely.

Park fun.

Concentration. 

Celebration! 

Isaac's birthday party.

Pizza jammies for Allie. 

Piper's latest obsession.

Windy City getaway.

Dave and I cashed in on a kid weekend swap with Maggie and Jeff. We had Isaac and Anna over for a weekend in late December and after reviewing calendars and schedules, only ONE weekend worked for all of us, and lucky for me, it was the weekend before our 39th birthday.

We didn't have plans or an agenda, and after looking around at ideas, we landed on Chicago. A quick one hop from here and so so much to do, and see, and eat, and drink...

We arrived on Friday afternoon and immediately found a restaurant for happy hour apps and wine. It was a great way to get the travel anxiety worked out and a great pre shopping activity. After dinner, we stopped into a couple of stores before making our way back to freshen up for a late dinner reservation at Etta.

I woke up early on Saturday morning and could not sleep. I tossed and turned, feeling antsy I asked Dave what was on our agenda that day. He said "nothing, and the shops don't even open until 10, so we should just go back to sleep." and just like that, it was 9:30 and I was just waking up. We got coffees, wandered, shopped, lunched, and shopped some more before freshening up for an amazing meal at Blackbird, followed by 'Dear Evan Hansen' and then a bottle of wine at Cindy's.

Sunday was another sleep in followed by a slow casual breakfast at a spot just around the corner from where we stayed. Oh, by the way, we stayed at our friend's apartment in downtown Chicago. It was a generous and kind gesture and we loved every second about feeling like official Chicagoans. We definitely got a feel for our surroundings and will forever love the Barkers for being so kind to us.

It was exactly what we needed. Space to explore and time to relax, new restaurants to try, wine to drink and an amazing musical that spoke to me on so many levels (if you have the chance to see it- go!). Dave and I agreed, it is so easy to get caught up in the business of day to day life and to feel disconnected and under constant stress, but at the end of day, we do love each other. Its so important to be able to reconnect and remember where it all started.

Ralph Lauren Restaurant happy hour. 

Dinner.

Windy City shopping. 

Blackbird. 

Birthday desserts. 

Dear Evan Hansen

Celebrating Amy.

I have some of the best neighbors in the city.  Pam, Jenny, Rebecca and I threw a top notch get together for Amy, one of my best friends who happens to be a neighbor and fellow school mom with kids very close in age to our family. Needless to say, our paths are continuously overlapping, which is actually great for me because she is the real deal as far as friends are concerned. Because she is so amazing, it was easy and fun to come up with ways to celebrate the arrival of her fourth baby. 

The morning was lovely, we had about 15 women (the best village) and basically just poured love and support on to Amy. It was a very special way to spend a Wednesday morning. 

To sweeten this blog entry, Amy delivered her baby today, a boy(!!!), much to my surprise, I was certain she was having a girl. We are so excited to have baby Anders in the neighborhood. 

The set up.

The decor (we were lucky to have a designer on the planning committee ;)).

Amy and I. 

The crew. 

The shower committee + Amy.
Rebecca, Amy, Pam, me, & Jenny. 

The daily grind.

Catching up on some normal daily grind business, through photos... enjoy!

This is how I'm greeted at the bus stop each day.

Sully's Valentine for Sra Langle- seriously melts my heart.

Sra Langle, Thank you for teaching us. 

Sr Fernandez, thank you for helping me with letters. Sully

Washington Pavilion fun. 

Radley Rex!

Piper's latest obsession, drawing happy faces. 

I attempted to cut Piper's hair- this is her getting it repaired. 

Cutest little bob. 

Greta's turn, she is looking so grown up. 

Beautiful Greta. 

Post haircut photo op. 

When all else fails, put them to bed together. 

I'm a sucker for sleeping/snuggle photos. 

Scottsdale spa weekend.

Planning a girls get away with my college girls for our 40th turned into a girls weekend for our 39th. After loads of location brainstorming, we landed on Scottsdale for a warm weekend of spa treatments. We also added a day to the trip, which was one of our better decisions. 

We arrived on Thursday, lucky to make it out of town as there was a blizzard in Sioux Falls about an hour after I departed. We made it in time for a quick walk to Trader Joes for snacks and wine and then settled in to the casita for snacks and beverages for the entire afternoon, followed by showers and dinner. 

Friday was a spa day. We checked into this amazing place in the morning and went to a ‘booty barre’ class before making our way to our bathrobes and relaxation spaces, and then treatments, and then lunch and beverages by the pool before returning to prepare for dinner in Old Town Scottsdale. 

We woke up on Saturday morning ready for adventure. We snacked for breakfast and then loaded up on water before ubering to Camelback mountain for a leisurely hike (or so we thought). It turned into a pretty rigorous 3 hour adventure with some climbing and slipping and sliding. We got by on turkey sticks and way too much water (for our post baby bladders) ;). We came home to warm up (it was chilly and breezy that day) and then prepped for dinner. 

We all returned to life and reality on Sunday with our hearts full and feeling recharged. 

It was a wonderful adventure, and my first experience at a spa, and will definitely not be my last. We had loads of laughs, wine, some tears, and chips and salsa, soooo many chips. Im so thankful that everyone puts forth the effort to connect and be together, this crew has so much history and glue keeping us all connected and I always crave actual face time. I can’t wait for our next one. 

Very fancy. 

Dinner on the first evening. 

Spa day. 

Pre dinner drinks. 

You say its your birthday!?

The beginning of Camelback- hard to believe we actually
thought we were close to the top! Hahahahaha

Meatstick point. 

We made it! 

Stacy, Maggie, Leanne, Jill, and me.