Fishing with Uncle Steve

Uncle Steve was kind enough to let us tag along on one of his evening fishing trips to Vadnais Lake. The boys and Jenna were not in a very patient mood so we didn't last long enough to see any fish reeled in.

Jenna's Family Birthday Party

Jenna also had a family birthday party that weekend where we celebrated with everyone on our side of the family. We finally got to see Aunt Linda, Uncle Steve, and cousins Stevie and Aaron. Jenna got an electric scooter for her birthday which everyone enjoyed riding on. The boys also got some presents because Aunt Cathie felt bad that she missed their birthdays this year which was totally unnecessary but they loved it.

Mall of America

One of Nick's favorite days was when we went to the Mall of America and went to Nickolodean Universe to ride the rides for Jenna's kids birthday party. Jenna had 8 little friends that we took to the Mall with us and rode rides all day. Nick rode everything including the giant coasters and all the crazy spinny rides that made him nearly lose his lunch. He asked to go back many time while we were still in Minnesota. Aidan on the other hand we may have ruined theme parks for the rest of his life as we took him on a spinny coaster first and he was so terrified he wouldn't ride anything but the little kid rides the rest of the day. We tried the super lame coaster later thinking he would see how fun they can be and he cried the whole time and only stopped when his Grandma took him to Lego Land to buy something. So hopefully in a few years when he is bigger he will forget how much we traumatized him and go on cool rides at a theme park again.  

The Irish Fair

We had a great time at the Irish Fair while we were home. The boys said it was one of their favorite things they did. We heard great music and got the boys played mini-golf, learned to hurl(a sport which is like a combination of cricket, baseball, and lacrosse), played on the great playground at Harriet Island, and tried Irish candy and soda. They both got cute Irish shirts and Aidan got this cool sword and shield which he presented to hit everyone with. As much fun as we had I just kept thinking this would be so much better with my husband and no kids and a drink in hand but there is always next year.

The Climbing Tree

My parents have this great big maple tree in their front yard that the boys now call the climbing tree because they are big enough to climb it now without any help. I loved to climb in that tree as a kid too. Of course Aidan gave us a scare when he tried to get down all by himself and managed to knock the wind out of himself. It scared the crap out of me as I watched it happen. He literally went right through my arms as I was standing there. I had horrible visions of taking a kid home in a body brace but after some love and a popsicle he was just fine and wanted to do it again. These boys are going to give me grey hair sooner then later.

Having fun at Cousin Jenna's House

The boys had a blast staying with their cousin Jenna. She not only has a trampoline but a pool which kept them entertained. It was rather cool the week we were there so they were freezing in the pool and would run to the trampoline to try to bounce and warm up and kept going back and forth for hours. They also loved playing games especially super mario bros on the wii with their cousin. We will miss seeing Jenna and Auntie Cathie.

Traveling to Minnesota

We spent 3 weeks of August in Minnesota and had a blast. I took almost 500 photos over the 3 weeks so I am going to try to edit out my favorites and post as many as I can over the next few days so that Jeremy can see what we have been up to. We miss you all already. Here are a few of the boys at Reagan airport before we left, on the plane and then finally in Minneapolis after we arrived. They were actually very good travelers this time so I can't complain. Even though it was a little bit of a pain to stop in Milwaukee it broke up the trip nicely making for 2 shorter flights.