{ uncle jeremy }

A few weekends ago we had our favorite California visitor come and stay with us - Uncle Jeremy! He was flying in to go to a show that he produced the music for and luckily we were in town for the beginning of his stay before heading to Lake Geneva.

Chop had an all day golf tournament on Saturday so the timing was great - Jeremy went with us to the Edina pool and we were able to hit up the slides for the first time since there were two of us to ride with Oliver and Stella. Then we went out for dinner and frozen yogurt. O and S absolutely adored having him around as you can see from the pictures. They were sad to see him go!

That Sunday he accompanied me to hold my hand (okay, not really that part) while I got a new accessory - a nose ring! I had been thinking about it for awhile and finally decided to go for it. Can you tell we are siblings?

{ 4 year check-up }

Once again, for documentation purpose I have to do a post with 4 year stats! This year was the quickest and least interesting well-check we have had yet......which is a good thing. It means that we don't have a thousand questions about why they won't sleep, what they should be eating, and how to potty train them.

This is how they measured up......

Oliver:
Weight: 41.2 lbs (85%)
Height: 41 5/8 inches (78%)

Stella:
Weight: 37 lbs (66%)
Height: 40 7/8 inches (74%)

The most interesting thing that came out of the office visit was that Dr. Bodine predicted that Oliver would be between 6'2" - 6'6" when he was done growing. Better sign him up for basketball!

And a favorite quote of mine from Oliver this week:
Me: "Why did you hit Stella?"
Oliver: "Because I wanted to play with her Calico Critters."
Me: "What should you have done instead of hitting her?"
Oliver: "I should have said please can I play Calico Critters with you? But I accidentally forgot to say that and hit her instead. Accidents happen, mommy." 

I snapped this picture of them this week on the way to camp. I think it truly captures how fast they are growing up. Sniff, sniff!

{ epic launch time }

{ four & flying high }

We officially have FOUR year olds. Wow! This is one of the first years I can say that i want to hit the pause button. While the last years were good, they were also full of of a lot of other feelings: fun, tiring, happy, wild, sad, exciting, lonely, hilarious, rewarding, exhausting, surprising. 

But this year we're in a good spot. It is fun to go on adventures as a family, I can take them alone to the pool to swim, it isn't so much work to pack up and travel. This has been a super fun age and we're trying hard to soak it up!

Hopefully Oliver and Stella don't think all year's birthdays will be like this one though. Their day was packed with: flying to Denver, a mini indoor amusement park, and hours of swimming at the hotel.

Rewind a little to why we were flying to Denver on their birthday. My grandma (their great grandma) Crystal recently passed away and her funeral was the day after their birthday. We debated on whether just I would go to the funeral or we would all go. In the end, we obviously decided that we would all make the trip to CO for the service.

They woke up to balloons on their doors (from the "birthday fairy") and if it weren't for that, I think they might have forgotten since their focus was on flying. After a quick pic to document turning 4, we were off to the airport.

They were of course excited to use their own luggage and insisted in being independent.

They were sure to tell everyone on our flight that it was their birthday and they were no longer three year olds.

The flight was smooth thanks to electronic devices :)

Grandpa C met us at the airport and from there we grabbed a quick bite for lunch and then headed to an indoor amusement park that grandma had scoped out. Carousel, teacups, swings galore - they loved it!

From there we headed back to the hotel to swim. It was over 90 degrees and the intense CO sun made it perfect outdoor swimming conditions.

They were exhausted from a full day so we hung out at the hotel and just grabbed cupcakes from a nearby store.

Happy birthday to two of the most awesome four year olds!

Grandma Crystal's funeral and burial followed the next day. It was a lovely service and while I wish it were under different circumstances, it was nice to see my Denver aunts, uncles, cousins and other family.

We had prepared Oliver and Stella for the funeral for a week or so leading up to it. They were full of questions and we answered them openly and honestly. They understood that grandma crystal's heart got tired and stopped working and that she had died and was in heaven with God. Both were a little sad the day of and I think it was hard for them to see people they loved sad. But I'm super proud of how well they did throughout the day given the circumstances.

We are now on our flight home as I write this and I think all of us will be ready for a nap when we get back to the house!

{ 4th birthday bash }

A true sign that Oliver and Stella are growing up? It was their pick on what friends they wanted to invite to their birthday party this year. In years past, it was more of a party for all of us and a good excuse to get friends together. But this year I wanted to keep it small and we had a handful of boys and girls at the party.

And I actually got them to agree on a cute theme - fairies & pirates (I have to thank the Disney movie Pirate Fairies for that one!). I really wanted to do a lot more crafting and creating for the party than I did but I forced myself to hold back for the sake of time and money. I did find that it was super cheap to make tutus, fairy wands, and eye patches. And then lucked out in finding inexpensive pirate hats and fairy wings. It not only served as great decor/attire for the party but also as a take home for each of the party goers!

And thanks, as usual, to Pinterest for some fun activity ideas. A favorite: "walking the plank"!

And then onto painting fairy houses and coloring pirate masks. To say I was nervous about having 12 crafting toddlers was an understatement. But they actually did great and all participated!

And then I became storyteller and gave a lame talk about pirate treasure and fairy feathers being taken and hidden around the park.

They all fell for it and were off on the hunt! (where I neglected to take any photos)

And last, but certainly not least to them, cake time!

Oh, and did I mention that it was a drop off party? Now that was the scariest part but we all survived. And seriously, is there anything cuter than this?!

Of course I couldn't get the birthday boy to sit still for any pictures. And of course I could get the birthday girl to.

After some serious bribes I got him to agree to this. Totally worth the bribe.

Hooray for FOUR!

{ racing }

Whoop - I got to race this summer! Not quite the experience of last summer but I'll take it. The Solejourner running group once again formed relay teams for the Annandale Heart of the Lakes Tri. Back in Jnauary I was signed up to be the swimmer/biker for a team but as the race drew closer, it became clear I (er, my body) wasn't quite ready for it.

And I'm so glad I picked the bike as my "one" leg of the relay. I had an absolute blast on the road racing! I kept thinking "I actually used to swim before and run after" while on the bike. It was fun to be able to push myself on open roads where I didn't have to stop for traffic or stop signs. I was thrilled with averaging just over 20 mph and we went into the bike in 8th place and after I finished and we headed into the run we were in 3rd. Go team!

The whole group (which is much smaller than normal due to a lot of injuries) had a fun morning and I just keep thanking my lucky stars that I am a part of this group of strong, supportive, bad a$# women!

{ campers }

Oliver and Stella have had a few camps this summer but their most recent experiences were a little different because they each went to a camp of their choice. It was fun and exciting for them to be able to go without one another - Stella picked a princess camp and Oliver picked a pirate camp (each at a different Minneapolis park).

They each had one day that week where the other one was at camp while they weren't. I let them pick what they wanted to do for their solo mommy morning. No surprises for what Stella picked.

And not much of a surprise for Oliver either.

They get one more solo camp experience at the end of August - Stella at art camp and Oliver at sports camp!

{ year of weddings }

Over the last few years we have wished for friends to get married. You know, so we could have an excuse to get a babysitter, maybe even an overnight babysitter, get dressed up, hang out with friends, and dance/drink the night away.

Well that wish came true this year - times 5! It's once again a year of weddings. And because I've had people ask this, these are first marriages for all of them :).

First up was Chop's good friend from high school, Mike. The wedding was in Minneapolis but Grandpa & Grandma C graciously offered to take Oliver and Stella up to their place for the weekend so we didn't have to worry about them at all. Awesome! The weekend was filled with wedding festivities, kicking off with the rehearsal dinner on Friday night.

Saturday morning we each did something we love: I went on a two hour bike and Chop went out for breakfast. Ha! The wedding party guys got ready at our house and headed down to St. Anthony Main for pictures. My plans to sit by the pool all afternoon were ruined by the rain (as were the outdoor wedding plans) so instead I headed to the mall to get a complimentary makeup application. I should really do this more often!

Despite the somewhat rainy afternoon, the wedding still took place outdoors under a bridge. It was a lovely ceremony and the reception was at nearby Vic's. We had a super fun night on the dance floor and hanging out with friends. And paid for it the next day :)!

And judging by a picture we were texted, I would say that Oliver and Stella fared well during their time away!

The following weekend we had wedding number 2 for my friend Anne from high school. It was a Friday evening wedding at the Historic Hope Glen Farm in Cottage Grove. The venue was ah-mazing!! It was a beautiful setting with green space for the ceremony, a covered pavilion for the dinner, and a barn for the dance. The setting and details were magazine worthy! Another fun night as you can see from this picture.

Now we get a break until August and wedding number 3!