Lucy's Lens: Rose Garden

My parents gave Lucy a digital camera for her birthday, and she often brings it with her when we go places. It's fun to see her perspective, hope you enjoy it too!

Summer Weekend Warriors 6/29: Roses and Friends

This weekend Lucy and I made a trip to the Lyndale Park Rose Garden in Minneapolis. It was a completely gorgeous day and we very much enjoyed strolling through the gardens to see and smell the flowers, soak in the sunshine, and make new friends (like a florist setting up for a wedding, and a Deerhound named Babe). I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Sunday evening, our friends Jacquie and Erik came over for dinner. It was a wonderful evening of catching up, and a perfect night to sit on the deck. Lucy and Erik were best buds, and he even read her a book in Spanish (Erik is a Spanish teacher). They are wonderful friends who have been through a rough few months with such grace, and we were so happy to spend this evening with them.

This last photo taken through Lucy's Lens. :)

We crossed something off the Summer List! Rose Garden

Summer Weekend Warriors 2014

Today Lucy and I made our list of things we want to do this summer. Want to join us for any of these?

Lucy's Lens: Green Line and Father's Day

My parents gave Lucy a digital camera for her birthday, since she had been stealing my phone to take photos quite often. So this is our day riding the Green Line and our Father's Day breakfast at Fat Nat's, from "Lucy's Lens."

Ridin' the Green Line

This past Saturday (my birthday!) the Green Line, a new light rail transit line, opened between Minneapolis and St. Paul. All day rides were free, and there were parties/activities at several of the stations.

As part of my job, I worked a little bit on the planning of this line, but other people in my office were very involved in the design and construction over the past several years. It also runs right outside our office, so it's very exciting to finally see it up and running!

Although the day was pretty gloomy and rainy, Lucy and I decided to go "ride the line" anyway. We boarded at the station nearest my office and rode to the Stadium Village station at the University of Minnesota. This station party was sponsored by my company and was supposed to be kid-friendly with activities from the Minnesota Gophers and Vikings. Unfortunately, the rain and especially the high winds were causing a lot of problems for the tents, and soon after we arrived, they were issued instructions to pack it up because stronger winds were on the way. We hopped back on the train and rode to the Raymond and Snelling stations in St. Paul, which had similarly lackluster appeal due to the increasingly miserable weather. 

It was kind of a bummer that the weather wasn't cooperating with this grand opening, but it was pretty amazing riding the train anyway, and it was packed with plenty of people. We got wet, but we had fun!  Best of all, Lucy still talks about it. Well worth it to share this experience with my girl.

My Favorite Birthday Gift

Thoughts on 38

"How does it feel to be 38?"

This year I celebrate my 20-year high school reunion. I've been in my chosen field for nearly 14 years, and have recently definitely been feeling the age gap between myself and the "kids" we hire fresh out of school. I'm dealing with the trials and tribulations of raising a 5-year-old, and trying to understand a nearly 21-year-old. It seems that most days I'm more tired than I care to be. Most nights I prefer to stay in than go out. Hell, I don't even have any good clothes to "go out" in. My body does not recover as quickly from a workout or a few happy hour drinks.

Do these things make me feel "old"?

I'll admit that saying "38" makes me pause a little. Aside from just trying to remember how old I actually am, it's definitely on the "far side" of my thirties, inching ever closer to 40. But lord, if 38 is old we're all in trouble. I've got a long way to go, and I have to say I feel pretty comfortable with life at the moment. Plus, getting a start on child-bearing a little later in life and having a 5-year-old in the house forces me to stay young and get out of the house.

So - happy birthday to me! Let's save the adult diapers and senior discounts for 40, shall we? ;)

Reunited and it Feels So Good

A few months ago, I put on my favorite earrings before work in the morning - a sweet little pair of white gold hoops that Husband and Lucy gave me for my birthday 2 years ago.

Later that day, I was getting in my car to go to a meeting, looked in the rearview mirror, and noticed that one of those sweet little earrings was gone.

I did a quick comb through my car - nothing. At risk of being late for my meeting, I ran back into the building and looked all over my office, hoping to find it. Nothing. When I returned from my meeting, I checked everywhere I'd been in the building - hallways, conference rooms, different floors, the cafe downstairs. Nothing.

I held out hope that perhaps it had fallen off even before I made it to work, so I searched everywhere when I got home. You guessed it - nothing.

Even months later, I still held out hope of it turning up somewhere, but it wasn't looking good. Husband must've also been feeling skeptical, because he got me another pair to celebrate a promotion I got back in April (combined with an advance Mother's Day gift). They were nice and I wear them often...but they aren't the same.

Today I was having some trouble with the cords that run through the hole in my desk down to the outlet on the floor. I tugged on them a bit, but then had to get down on my hands and knees under my desk to free them up.

What do you think I saw?

One sweet little white gold hoop!

I know I looked there before. Maybe it was lodged in the tangle of cords. It's a miracle it didn't get vacuumed up in all these months.

Whatever the reason, I couldn't be happier! Happy Friday the 13th, and Happy (early) Birthday to Me!

8 Years and Counting

You sent me flowers at work. We celebrated by eating at Ike's and walking around Gray's Bay on Lake Minnetonka...with Lucy. One of these days we'll get to go out by ourselves. :)

Big Birthday Weekend

Wow, are we exhausted! We now have an appropriately celebrated five-year-old. Parties and house guests and sweets, oh my!

FRIDAY - Our gift to Lucy was a redecorate of her room. She was surprised!

By Birthday Girl request, dinner at Red Lobster. With cake as big as her head!

Then Grandma and Grandpa arrived, and we stayed up too late.
Couldn't even make it to the bed...

SATURDAY morning - Show Week at Little Gym! Videos here.

Showing off in the gym.

Cousins arrived! Playtime ensued.

Then, party time! Lego cake as requested.
(Target cake with addition of candy Lego bricks and figures made from a mold purchase on Amazon - way cool!)

All four cousins!

Uncle Jason is a jungle gym.

Another late bedtime. Guess which one is sleeping?

SUNDAY - church, then saying goodbye to our cousins.

Then off to a "friends" party at the nature center.

Lucy surprised us by choosing a snake to take out,
and absolutely zero reservations about holding it!

The whole gang. 

And then...home at around 5:00pm, where we all took naps.

The End.

Happy Birthday, Lucy!