Coronado Getaway

Dave had an opportunity purchase one of his partner’s vacation which happened to include Dave’s only holiday (Labor Day) this year. It didn’t take us long to decide to get down to Coronado with the extended weekend off of school. It was pretty seamless, we did have bit of a delay out of Denver, but the kids did just fine in spite of making it an ipad free weekend, were in the sweet spot. 

Our highlights included swimming, a long walk to the dog beach, golf for Sully and Dave, bike rentals, an adventure into San Diego for an outdoor market in the Gas Lamp District followed by a Rabbit Cafe surprise for Piper. The Hilton in this area had recently undergone a renovation and themed its restaurant after the original name of its location, Rabbit Town. It is safe to say her mind was blown. We had dinner at sunset at the Sun Decker and ice cream at least three times. 

I love the kids’ connection to Coronado. We love to jog their memories of events from the past and always walk them to our wedding spot right in front of the Del, they love to hear the story and then look at photos after. Coronado is familiar and easy and so fun. We love creating new memories each time we lucky enough to go. Until next time! 

Old fashioned entertainment. 

Piper, looking so grown up. 

Grocery haul with our carry ons. 

Coffee break. 

Dave and Sully at the Coronado Golf Club. 

The girls and I near Tidelands Park. 

Dog beach fun.

I captured the best photobomb. 

Unexpected joy. 

What you cant hear is all of them using their 
annoying laughs to make me mad ;).

Bunny overload. 

Sunset at the Sun Decker. 

The girls with Katie Morgan, the ghost of the 
Del, this is as close as they would get, ha! 

The $10 browning double double deal, 
actually the most economical item on the menu! 

Summer 2023 Comes to a Screeching Halt. B2S!

Finally! We are back to school! Back to normalcy, back to routine, back to friends and classrooms and structure. The kids all have great teachers and fun friends in their classes. Its slightly bittersweet for me as this is my last year with all three at the same school and my last year before Sully is off to middle school. How did that happen? We are so thankful for our community and happy to embrace it again. Cheers to a great year ahead! 

Piper and Sra. Hernandez in 2nd grade! 

Sully and Srta. Triadu in 5th! 

Greta and Sra Gonzalez in 4th! 

My friend Brian caught this photo of 
the kids and I on the first morning. 
Proof of MOM! 

Okoboji!

Just when you think you have squeezed as much fun as possible out of a summer, an Okoboji weekend pops up on the calendar. This was, by far, one of our most anticipated weekends. 

Mag and Jeff got a new boat and we had heard all about it, how awesome and current and cool it was, we couldn’t wait to get to Okoboji to check it out for ourselves. Mag and I were able to get away on Friday morning to get the kids on the water at the Oliver cabin before the rest of the crew showed up. They had so much fun swimming and jet skiing and playing on the water trampoline. 

We made our way to check in at the hotel around 4 and then grabbed an easy dinner before the kids went to Arnold’s Park for rides and more fun. They were on their own and Dave, Mag, and I sat on a patio soaking in the evening scenes. Before I knew it, Anna was calling to report Sully vomiting on the ride, oh no! They were trying to catch the ride attendant’s attention but he had earbuds in, so Sully had to let it go then and there. It didn’t stop them, they came back for some clean shorts and were back to the park for more fun. We finished the night in the hotel room where we played games and watched fireworks before Mag and family went back. 

Saturday was perfect, 98 degrees and hot. The only place to be was on the water. Lucky for us, that was all we had on our calendar. We swam, tubed (everyone in tubing attendance was tossed off, even Mag and I, wtf) , attempted wake surfing, stopped for snacks, and finally made our way back to the Olivers for night swimming. At one point, Sully said to Maggie, I think Okoboji is Heaven on Earth. We all had so much fun and are thankful for the day spent with the Olivers. 

Preparing for a 100 degree day. 

Cousin crew. 

Full day of fun. 

Sunset cruise. 

P!NK

When the stars align, the stars align. While planning this unplanned week in Minnesota, I found out P!iNK was going to be playing at Target Field around the same time we would be returning from Northern Minnesota and since Dave had some Swiftie FOMO, I suggested we tack this on to our trip. Dave is never a hard sell with most of my ideas so the next thing we knew, we were heading back to downtown Minneapolis for P!NK. We stayed in a hotel with a prime location, but one that has unfortunately started showing it’s age in a pretty tough way. We made the most of it, with only little complaining (gross-gross-gross-gross ;)).

We had a spare afternoon so spent it at the Walker Art Museum playing mini golf on the rooftop, dining on delicious Mediteranean food and cocktails, and then exploring the sculpture garden. It was the perfect culmination of childhood and early adulthood memories for me as my mom used to take us there when we were kids and when I was fresh out of college, I lived at an apartment next-door to the museum. I loved it. 

We made our way back to the hotel to regroup for the concert and then meandered out to check out the boutiques with hopes of snagging a patio table at the Monte Carlo (success!!!). We had slow dinner, its worth mentioning that Piper order a 6oz filet that we had intended to share as a group because we knew there was no way she would finish it. Much to our surprise, she devoured it. We all got a kick out of it.

The concert was so fun. We all had a great time and P!NK is very entertaining as she incorporates acrobatics into her routine. We sang to the songs we knew and just enjoyed the experience together. The big win was the short and easy walk back to our hotel (just before the rain poured down. ;)

Oscar Meyer wiener sighting! 

Walker Art Museum

Rooftop Minigolf 

Plinko style. 

Cherry Spoon

P!NKed out! 

Ready for P!NK! 

Grandview Lodge

Dave had the week off after the Connelly family getaway, so we decided to get a little more out of it… I swear, Dave is doing everything in his power to make up for lost travels due to covid, I can barely keep up! 

I’d heard lots of great things about Grandview Lodge near Nisswa, MN, so inquired about availability, sort of on a whim. Lucky for us, they had a townhouse available for 3 nights, so we snatched it up. It was lovely. The resort has everything you could ask for, beaches, pools, golf, trails, etc. all while being a 10 minute drive from Nisswa, a charming little town. We loved the slowdown, I loved the hotel service. 

We enjoyed two days of beaches and swimming pools, candy shops and ice cream. We couldn't ask for more! 

Scoping out the lay of the land. 

The grounds are so beautiful. 

The kids loved this. 

My favorite trio. 

Connellys take on Mpls

We had the most fun with the entire Connelly family in Minneapolis for a quick weekend. In the past we have done longer getaways to Northern Minnesota but because of schedules and family dynamics, that was getting to be a challenge, so my parents opted for a shorter version in order to catch more people, and it worked! 

We arrived on Friday evening and met the group for a happy hour before an adult only family dinner to celebrate Shelley’s upcoming 50th and my dad’s upcoming 83rd. The kids hung and took care of each other. It was really fun to have the time and space to connect with everyone, although I had a hard time shutting it down at the end of the evening and was slow moving the following morning. 

We spent Saturday morning touring Sunny Acres and then went for lunch and a swim at Minnekhada while the guys golfed a terribly difficult 14 holes (Dave proudly reported a 72 after the first 9, even with a caddy, a first time experience for him;)). We followed up the fun with a patio party at my aunt Patty’s in downtown Minneapolis and then the Twins game. It was all so fun, the kids had a blast spending time with their cousins and watching the Twins clobber the Diamond Backs. There were so many home runs/firecrackers, the kids were blown away. We finished with a quick nightcap at the hotel bar and called it good. 

We were thankful for a great weekend and the time spent with each other. 

Connelly sibs and spouses.

Lunch swim. 

The golfers and the caddies. 

Connelly family fun. 

Shout out! 

Isaac, Owen, and Sully. 

My sweet side kick, growing up so fast. 

Twins win!