House Photos- I want to move in!

We might as well move in, it's pretty much done! They have to put in the grass, some vents and do final clean and inspection but the new house sure looks good. Tonight I changed Riley's diaper there and Eric took his 5:00 Monday teleconference there so it definately felt like home! The first photo is of the kitchen. Below is the fireplace in the family room.

This is upstairs looking down to the entry and then downstairs looking up to the hallway.

Sorry this is such a bad photo. It's Eric and Riley in the front of the house in the dining room. It looked better on the camera.

We had a nice weekend here. We went to check out the house Friday night, ran errands on Saturday and then went out to dinner with our old neighbors-- Bob and Loree. We had fun with them at Grizzlies and then went to DQ for dessert. On Sunday, I took Brooke to get her picture taken and Eric took Riley to the home show in Shakopee. They bonded over lunch at Taco Bell where Riley ate a WHOLE burrito. What a kid!

Looking forward to a lowkey week before the packing and moving begins again.
Take care!
Vicki

Floats and Funny Faces

One night last week, the kids tried root beer floats for the first time. The loved them! It was just a little fun thing to do!

After the floats, the kids tried on this disguise that we picked up at the Community Fest in Prior Lake. They both looked so funny with the glasses, nose and mustache! It just made us laugh.

Moving Right Along

The house is really coming along. Here are photos from this past week and weekend when we were there. The first shot is the outside.
The mantel is now on the fireplace. It looks so homey!
Below you will see Riley in a toilet. When we went there one night, the toilet was in the middle of the family room and of couse he just had to climb right in. Everywhere I go these days people comment that "he has a lot of energy" --but that's a whole 'nother blog!
These photos are of the kitchen. The appliances were all there the last time we were there and the floors and countertops are in but covered with cardboard. Moving day is Thursday, October 16th with the movers and then we'll finish up the following Saturday with all the boxes we've been storing. Can't wait. -Vicki

Ali's Kid Party

Today we went to Ali's Birthday party at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville. Everyone had a great time. First the kids swam at the pool. Then they got dressed and had pizza. Ali opened her presents from everyone and then we had some yummy cake. The kids had some gym time before we left. Below is a photo of Brooke on a purple scooter. It was Brooke and Riley's first scooter rides and they sure loved it. Before we left there was a little dance party and our kids found a new friend. See them dancing below. It was a fun party! Ali sure is growing up!

More House Photos

Here are the some of the latest photos fo the house. They have put in all the floors and they look beautiful but they are covered by cardboard to protect them so there weren't any great photos of them They have put the tile on the fire place so there are two photos of that and all the siding and shakes are up so the outside of the house looks great. I am counting the days until we move in!
-Vicki

Brooke's First Day of School

Here is Brooke outside of her Preschool- Small Wonders in Lakeville. Her first day was Tuesday, September 9th. She loved it! She did a great job and couldn't wait to go back on Thursday. On Tuesday afternoon, Brooke was coloring at the table and said, "I'm writing a note and it says- I miss school!" I took that as a sign that she really does like it. Riley and I have bonding time running errands while she is in class. This week we all begin our new ECFE class in Prior Lake. That will give Riley an opportunity to socialize with others and I love the parent talk times.

Zoo Race

Fun yet tough race on Saturday.

The course started in the Zoo parking lot and weaved to the far east entrance and then ran down the switch back ramp, followed the trail through the grizzly bear exhibit, followed the northern trail and around the farm then headed back past the Moose, Tiger and then across the wooden bridge back to cafeteria and then back up the switch back ramp. Lots of tight turns and never really running a straight line as you can tell by the winning time. If it was an easier course the winning times would be around sub 17 minutes.

I pushed Riley in the stroller and we started in the middle of the pack (324 runners) and moved our way up through the first 1/2 mile before getting into the zoo. I ran next to a girl (less than 4 feet tall) for almost 1.5 miles. She was 8 years old but ran fast. She dropped off by the time we hit the farm. It was weird not being able to see runners ahead of you with all the turns throughout the course. I did see about 7 other running strollers at the start and finish. At the finish, Riley and I sprinted against 3 other runners including a young boy (9 years). Since this was a chip timed race, we actually finished ahead of them since we started behind them and caught up. Our first mile was 7:40, second mile - 7:20, third mile - 7:10, last 0.1 mile: 42 seconds (just a guess). We finished in 19th place but 6th place in age group but with an average mile of 7:23.

I would definitely do it again especially since it had great food (powerbars, yogurt, potato chips, baseball cards, and much more).

Vicki will post pictures of the house this weekend. We did meet one neighbors yesterday, she said there were plenty of young kids in the neighborhood. Our closing date is October 10th.

Latest House Photos

The new house is really coming along. We ran out there tonight to take a look at things. Here Riley is checking out the kitchen. The cabinets are in!
They have begun putting up the siding on the back of the house.
Here is another shot of the kitchen, where I will spend most of my time. The photo below is of the hallway up stairs. Can't wait to move in!!

Labor Day Weekend

We spent Labor Day weekend at the cabin. Here are some fun photos. We had great weather and a fun time. First, we have Brooke driving the boat with Grandma Peggy. Both kids love to toot the horn.
Here we are swimming. Brooke was all smiles as she paddled away in her life jacket. The water was a tad chilly but refreshing as always!


Here are the kids enjoying a moment together by the campfire. It would be nice if they always got along so nicely. We had s'mores- a favorite of us all!
Before we left on Monday, Riley and Grandma caught a fish. Riley is becoming quite the fisherman. He loves getting the minnows out of the bucket for Daddy and Grandma to fish with. We started calling him "Minnow Boy" this weekend.

It's hard to believe another summer is coming to an end.
-Vicki