{ fall ramblings }

It seems as though fall has arrived and is here to stay. The cool crisp air, changing of colors and last, but not least, football, are all welcome.

So far, the month of September has been filled with.......

Biking.
I will run in the cold weather but fully admit that I am a fair weather biker when it comes to road biking, as well as pulling O and S in the Burley. There is something about the cold air when you are going 18+ miles an hour that I don't care for!

Oliver and Stella attempt every so often to ride their Strider balance bikes. They are a little on the young side for them right now but hopefully the introduction this year will help them next summer.

School.
Well, not technically school for O and S but September has brought the return of scheduled activities during the week. It was great to have freedom in the summer but the routine and activities to look forward to is nice for all of us. We are signed up for classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings through Minneapolis Parks and Rec and we are once again doing Friday Morning Out. It is a win-win for everyone on Friday mornings.......I get 3 hours to myself and Oliver and Stella get to go to "class" and play for 3 hours. They love their teacher, Miss Jane, and there are several kids in their class from last year.

Crafting. 

I have hunkered down and am determined to start working on and finishing (finishing being the key word there) some craft projects around the house. Chop headed to the lake with some guys two weekends ago so I was left flying solo here for the weekend. A few other friends came over on Friday night for a Pinterest craft night. We picked a project, shopped for supplies, stocked ourselves with snacks and a bottle of wine, and got to crafting.

This particular craft was a paper wreath made from book pages. It seemed simple and quick. It was only one of those two and we were far from finished after a few hours of working on it. After countless tearing out of book pages, hot glue sticks, and burned fingertips, the finished project looks like this. Well worth the effort in the end.

Baking.
The cooler temps have made turning on the oven and firing up the mixer more appealing. Of course I have eager helpers in the house this fall.

iPhones.

This was my big "oops" last week. It was a good thing the new iPhone 5 was set to be released just 5 days later. Some scotch tape kept it together and working just long enough until I got my hands on the new phone. Like some, I didn't get in line at 2:00am and wait hours but instead walked into the Apple store at 4:30 in the afternoon and got one right away. We did have to wrangle and manage two wild two year olds in an Apple store. In case you were wondering, I might have taken the waiting in line alone :). I'm by no means a techie and have yet to even figure out how to use "Siri" but I am definitely enjoying the much nicer camera on the phone since that continues to be the handiest form of taking pictures.

Haircuts.
Stella got herself a new 'do last week. Mighty cute if I must say so myself.

Football.
Weekends are now filled with it......Gophers in person and Packers on the tv. Life is good for a certain someone in this house, especially with the Gophers being 4-0. This past weekend was the night game of the year and it was a beautiful, cool evening. A big thanks to G & G Christensen for babysitting so we could enjoy a few hours at the tailgate and the game!

We're also working hard to groom two Gopher fans in the house. Chop's proud dad moment last week occurred when Oliver, without being prompted, was running around in the living room and yelled "Go Gophers!".

Family.
A cute pic of all the cousins at Sunday brunch last weekend. I think it was the first time we had an official kid and adult table!

{ green monsters }

Green monster smoothies are a favorite of mine. Oliver and Stella don't seem to mind them either.

This my go-to, favorite smoothie recipe:
Ingredients:
1 frozen sliced banana
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup 0% Vanilla Chobani Greek yogurt
1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (or other kind of milk)
4 cups baby spinach (or more, or less)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

It is super easy to modify the recipe and you really can't go wrong with throwing just about any fruit, frozen fruit, orange juice, flavored yogurt, etc. into the mix.

{ august rewind }

August came to an end and I realized I had a few weeks of catching up to do. And it seems I've gotten quite lazy with getting the camera out so iPhone pictures and Instagram will have to suffice. Here are a few things that rounded the last few weeks of August for us:

A trip to the zoo with cousin Owen and Auntie E to see the dinosaur exhibit before it ended. It was actually quite impressive with very realistic, moving dinosaurs throughout the exhibit. It was a hit with Owen, liked by Oliver, and Stella is still undecided. We heard a lot of "no, no dinosaurs" while walking through it. Which also explains why she isn't sitting on this one.

The last weekend of the month I completed my first triathlon in THREE years! It was a perfect morning for a race - a little humid and overcast. I was lucky enough to have a friend from my running group participating in it so we were able to help keep each other company all morning. And a long morning it was......I was up at around 4:30am, hit the road around 5:15am, arrived in transition/set-up around 6:00am, and my wave didn't go until 8:20am. My training in the few weeks before the race wasn't great and I went into the race with the goal to finish feeling good. But after seeing only a few swimmers from my age category out of the water before me, I realized that I might actually have a chance to compete for time. And thanks to a much nicer borrowed road bike from my brother Kyle, I  was able to keep up on the bike and my run was strong with a 7:37 pace. I finished in 1:18 and took 4th place in my age group. Looking forward to next summer and seeing what I can do with proper training!

Chop was a brave soul and ventured to watch the race with Oliver and Stella. I can honestly say that I had the easier challenge that morning!

We continue to go for a lot of walks in the BOB and Oliver and Stella's favorite way to do that is with ice cream in hand. Love being only two blocks from the Malt Shop for this reason!

A new park opened up near the Lake Harriet bandshell and though the playground equipment is better suited for older kids, Oliver and Stella discovered the water pump/sand area on a visit. They loved digging sand, pouring water, jumping in sand puddles, and covering themselves in sand. Owen took a trip there with us one morning and the three of them had a blast!

In our house it can't technically be called "back to school" shopping but with cooler weather ahead Oliver and Stella's wardrobes are being updated with some cool weather digs. They discovered these in a bag and thought it was really fun to wear them around the house.

We headed to the Lodge for Labor Day and a long four day weekend. We ended up with great weather and sunshine. Our friends the Delaneys came up for a night, though I neglected to take any pictures of the two sets of twins together.

Other highlights of the weekend included Oliver catching his very first bass. Never underestimate the power of a CARS fishing pole and a rubber worm.

The usual boat rides - this particular one was a "dessert" cruise.

And heading to Hayward, WI to go on a Wilderness Walk. Picture wild animals (bears, bobcats, wolves, tigers) in cages but not really the kind of reinforcement you would find at a true zoo (more rural Wisconsin). And then there were just random animals running around. Nothing dangerous, just chickens, peacocks, deer, etc.

Though the highlight for them might have been the 25 cent rides. That or the suckers they got when they turned in their ticket at the end. Too close to call.

This day trip wouldn't have been complete without a visit to Vanderhydes. This little attraction dates back years ago when our family vacationed in Shell Lake and for some reason went to Vanderhydes. It is a mix between a bar and a convenience store, where you can find years expired food and beverage, local townies having a beer, and bikini clad posters everywhere. Classy WI joint.

It was tempting but we managed to get out without buying a t-shirt.

Chop's request for our final breakfast at the Lodge was homemade donuts. Growing up, these were a classic. Oliver and Stella approved.....mainly by licking the sugar off the donut. Num!

Good-bye summer and hello fall!