{ spring has sprung }

Or so at least we thought that spring had sprung. This has been one spring for the record books. Last week on April 23rd we had this.

And then last weekend we were doing this.

It's making us all feel a little crazy, even Stella.

It is safe to say that Oliver and Stella were absolutely giddy when they were able to get outside in 70 degree temps.

Only in Minnesota would a toddler do this when the sun is shining for the first time in 7 months (notice that there is still a snow pile in the shade)!

We made the most of it and spent all of the nice days at the park or outside on the block riding trikes.

It's too bad today it is back to 30/40 degree temps and we came oh so close to getting 6-9 inches of snow dumped on us. Mother Nature, you win! 

{ bowling }

Want to know what it is like to take five 2.5 year olds bowling?

A little bit crazy (trying to make sure no balls were dropped on toes) and hectic (trying to make sure they didn't run down the lanes) but a whole lot of fun!

I recently found out Pinstripes in Edina does mom/tot bowling on the weekdays from 10-noon for $5/child. We decided to check it out and the kids loved it. After all, what isn't there to love about pushing a ball down a ramp.

Actually, they were WAY more amused by the fact that after it went down the lane, it would automatically come back up the chute and roll onto the rack.

Overall a successful morning outing to kill a few hours!

{ wordless wednesday: hair did }

{ wordless wednesday: rollin' }

{ gopher 5k }

Last Saturday morning we trekked down to TCF Bank Stadium for a reason other than a football game - Goldy's Run. Chad and his team at Target decided to run the 5k and we thought it would be fun for the four of us to head down there for the 5k and the kid's race after.

In the weeks leading up to the run, I had been asking Chop if he planned to run a few times. Well, that didn't ever happen. In fact, at 10:30 pm the night before the race he pulled his running pants off the top shelf in the closet and laid them on the bed. He proceeded to literally "dust" them off.

Unfortunately, as you can probably tell in the photos, it was a chilly morning which isn't ideal for running or for 2.5 year olds. I was the lucky one that got to push all 70 pounds of said 2.5 year olds. Fortunately, they didn't try to get out and remained calm during the run (the lollipops probably had something to do with that!).

It was a packed race with not much space to get around people and pushing a double stroller made that even trickier. Chop and I separated a couple of minutes into the run but he managed to finish with 9:30/mile pace. Not too shabby for someone that dusted off his pants the night before!

We told Stella that we were going to be chasing Goldy during the run so that they could pull his tail when we got to the end. The run ended in the stadium and as soon as we finished, she roamed through the crowd looking for him. We finally found him and do you think she pulled his tail? Nope, she did this:

The kid's run start time was a full hour after the finish of the race and with the cold temps, there was no way we were sticking around. Maybe next year........Go Gophers!

{ mini yogi }

We hit up a free tot yoga class at Athleta a few weeks ago and it turns out Stella is a wanna-be yogi!

Oliver, on the other hand, participated in the first downward dog of the class and then was over it.

Stella followed along for the full 30 minutes and gave her best effort at yogi squat, tree pose, and balance.

Must be a girl thing as "girl" friends Audrey and McKenna both loved the class as well.

After being on the mat, we then let them roam Mall of America and even test out a few of the rides.

A good way to spend yet another cold, spring morning. Namaste!

{ easter 2013 }

With the surprise party that we hosted on Easter "eve", we were tied down to being in Minneapolis for Easter this year. And it was a quieter Easter with all of Chop's family in WI and my brothers here being out of town (and to much warmer destinations might I add - FL and CA!).

The Easter bunny delivered baskets of goodies during the night and Oliver and Stella woke to find them on Sunday. Books, bike horns, and new water bottles topped the list.

Later that morning, we put on our Sunday best and Grandma and Grandpa C joined us to head out for brunch.

The highlight of this meal for Oliver (and the best laugh for everyone), was his taste testing of Grandpa's beer.

You be the judge on what he thought of it.....

He did think he was pretty funny though.

Stella preferred to color rather than partake in sampling.

After naps, we ventured outside to find Easter eggs. They were really into this year and had a great time looking for where they might find some.

They got to eat a healthy dose of jelly beans and chocolate on Sunday but have since pretty much forgotten about it. It is hiding in a cabinet and used for bribery as needed :)!

{ baby #3 }

How many of you did I fool with the title of this post?! Just having a little fun with you. Not pregnant.

The baby #3 I am referring to is this baby:

I got my first road bike back in 2008 when Chop and I were living in Bloomington, which has a huge bike community. I used it for my first triathlon and it was a decent bike for my first 5 years of biking. But it was heavy, didn't shift great, and wasn't very comfortable. I never thought I would be a bike nerd but the minute I walked into the bike shop to look at them, I was in awe. Beautiful bikes everywhere.

Backing up a little, last summer Chop said I could look for a new bike this spring. My plan was, and still is, to do a handful of triathlons since I have missed out on them for the last three summers due to pregnancy and then ankle and knee injuries.

Timing is everything. About two months ago I started having some hip pain. After visiting my PT for continuing rehab on my ankle and knee, it was decided I should go have it checked out by an ortho. After getting a MRI, it showed a tear to my hip labrum (cartilage around the hip joint). The permanent fix? Surgery. They would repair the tear as well as shave bone to correct the impingement that I have (which is possibly what caused the tear and what is a contributor to the pain I'm having from the tear). It is a "fairly" common issue - about 70% of people have a tear but most don't know it because they don't have pain from it. So, the short term fix? Go to PT every week (she "mobilizes" the joint, allowing it to move the way it should) and work on strengthening my glutes (goal is to have glutes doing the work instead of quads, hips, hamstrings, etc.). The point is not that these things would fix the tear, but that they will get me to be pain free. If pain continues after a few months of PT and strengthening, then surgery would be a route I would consider.....but not until next winter as it is a fairly major surgery that puts you on crutches for 3-4 weeks.

Back to the fun stuff........I have only been able to get the new bike out for a short 5 mile/20 minute spin last weekend. It was 50ish degrees and sunny......and WET! I gave up on dodging puddles and accepted the fact that I was going to be soaking wet. And I was.......pants, socks, shoes, back of shirt all soaked. I don't think the smile ever came off my face though because it was so much fun to ride. Nothing like a bike ride when there is still snow on the ground!

{ surprise! }

This past weekend we threw a surprise 40th birthday party for our friend Dan. I haven't ever been "in" on a surprise party but Deborah and I managed to plan and execute it without him knowing a thing. It helps that he doesn't tend to think much about details (but hey, what guy does right?!).

We hosted the party here at our house and the fake plan was that Deborah and Dan were coming over and we were going to walk to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Most of the food was catered in but I did volunteer to make the big birthday cake. I picked a chocolate angel food cake recipe that is the family recipe of my sister in law. I was terrified to make it, as I didn't want to mess it up! She can vouch for that based on the fact that I sent her multiples texts with questions/clarifications on the recipe.

There was a lot of seperating egg whites.

Followed by the trickiness of whipping the end whites until stiff (I had help watching to make sure I didn't whip them too much).

And then the most terrifying part, tipping the cake pan upside down on a wine bottle to cool. I thought it would fall out. It didn't. Whew.

The cake didn't disappoint and tasted amazing!

Back to the party.......he was VERY surprised.

Like speechless, mouth hanging open, complete shock.

Happy 40th Birthday, "Professa" Dan!

{ where are you spring? }

We are STILL waiting for spring to arrive. We had a few days last week that were "nice" to the point that we were able to get out without winter jackets and mittens. We ventured down to the creek in search of puddles.

 

And rocks, caves, sticks, and whatever else would provide entertainment and keep us in the fresh air.

The next day it was a tricycle ride down to the park at Lake Calhoun with their friend Lena.

Who says you can't have fun at the park with snow on the ground?!