Some of this and that JUNE...

Summer is flying by...

We've been baking. Rice Krispy Bars is baking?

We've seen some live theater. Bye Bye Birdie in Eden Prairie.

(Elle did spend most of the show facing us and turning her head to watch.)

{pre-theater- park time}

A new computer (it was time to say good-bye to our 7 year old laptop- multiple hard-drive crashes, zero battery life, sloooow everything) So we're feeling pretty fancy. (we ended up getting a different printer- even our previous printer was a piece.)

We celebrated Flag Day with friends.

We killed the TV and put up a HUGE map. (The TV in fact works I just rolled it away- the only thing I miss is the first 17 minutes of the Today show, and when the Vikes play again we can roll 'er back, and the kids really have no clue.)

I've been dreaming of giving Tommy and our house a map for years. But with the cost of laminating, corking, framing- YIKES. So randomly at IKEA we found it- a fraction of the cost- and much bigger. So far we've been loving the map and no TV. (It's in our bedroom so if a movie night is in order that's possible.)

Today we went to a TWINS game with the Ps- we took the train from Fridley and saw our boys beat the Dodgers (1-0) on Harmon Killebrew's 75th b-day. Overall the children did great- lots of snacks including trying cotton candy for the first time. (Kathryn has been dreaming about cotton candy for months.) Tommy moby'd Maddie and she was able to nap. Hopefully the Ps will want to continue this tradition and we go to a game again next year....

On the way home we had dinner at DQ. (It was quite the train drama- my kids didn't know about DQ! Too funny.)

We attempted some pre-game photos!

At Target Field

{I really love this picture even if only Ellen and Tommy are actively participating...)

Our summer schedule is: please sleep in, breakfast, "table-work" (coloring, workbooks, crafts, beads, play-do- basically quite "educational" activities while Madeline naps), out & about (grocery shopping, playgroup, story time, pools, concerts, parks, backyard, etc-it's almost overwhelming the amount of free and fun things to do around here in the summer), lunch - ideally a picnic, nap/rest (depending on the day Kathryn can have screen time- a video or computer and then she'll play with the doll house/read or help me with dinner or help Tommy with errands or projects), play outside, dinner, baths, please go to bed early.

I've also been a stickler with more chores for E & K: setting table (both), wiping table (both), folding cloth napkins (Kathryn), putting away dish cloths/ napkins (Eleanor), dusting (both), vacuuming (Kathryn), washing floors (both.) And a variety of other "can I help?" projects. HHhhhhMMmmmm. I sort of sound like the evil step-mother-- but they like it. I swear...

My BEST idea for the dinner table is the PLACEMAT. We've had next to zero drink spills in the past month. The placemats were like 50 cents and I just sharpied the place setting on it. Cups stay in the circles and no spills. I even presented my "invention" to our ECFE class. (I can't stand sippy cups and Tommy can't stand spills so this has been a marriage saver.) Seriously my BEST idea ever.

I realize Easter, spring break with cousins have still not been posted...soon gentle reader, soon.