Pooltime 180

Drew pulled a 180 on us for his swim lessons this past week.  If you didn't read how our first attempt went.. you have to read how miserable it was - here.  Well this past Monday for his third class (he slept through his second class last week after flying home from Minnesota), it was like an entirely different child!


He actually jumped into the teacher's arms when it was his turn (sorry it's blurry - I had to snap shots from behind a window on my phone)

There weren't any tears this time and after about 5-10 minutes Dave was able to leave the poolside and watch from behind the windows.

Drew did fantastic and earned his first sticker - which is one step closer to graduating from the preschool class.

Don't get me wrong - we have a LONG way to go, but it's major progress!  We think we'll sign him up for classes now regularly, it's a great activity for him.

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

On Saturday morning Drew was in the bathroom... well watching me go.  (Anyone with young kids knows there's no such thing as privacy).  That's when we had this - shall we say "interesting" conversation.

Drew:  Do you have an ookiepook? (Drew's term for his male parts)
Me: I don't know, do I have an ookiepook? 
Drew: No, you pee out of your butt.

That's one way to look at it I guess...

For the record, I didn't correct him.  I didn't know how to respond to that one.

Birthday Party - For Grammy

On Friday night we headed over to Aunt Connie's house for a belated birthday party for Grammy and her cousin Lori (yes that makes her my cousin too) who came to California to celebrate her 50th.

L-R: Grammy, Kady, Lori

It was an awesome dinner - as it always is when Aunt Connie and Uncle Doug do the cooking, but of course there was dessert.

Look at all of those candles!!  On one side, there were five - for Lori turning 50.  The other side there were seven... for Grammy turning... errr.... uh.... 45? HAHA

It's always nice seeing family from out of town - especially when you haven't seen them in more than 20 years.

Wine Tasting Continues

You can't have a kid free day, be in Napa, and do the Wine Train without hitting a few more wineries afterward. 

During the orientation part of our Wine Train tour, we tasted a fantastic Pinot Grigio from a winery called Mason Cellars - which was new to us.  And we realized it was right around the corner from the train depot.  So we hit that up first - amazing.  Both the wines and the fact it was free tasting... in Napa.  (I didn't think there were any left).

Afterward we went to Chimney Rock - where we split a $20 tasting.  Great wines, but for a minimum of $60/bottle, it's a little out of our price range.

And the funny story at this winery... we tried and tried to pay for our overpriced tasting, but no one would take our money.  After waiting about 10-15 minutes we decided to take off (yes without paying... we tried doesn't that count) and hit up another winery.  Time was running out after all - the wineries all close at 5pm and it was 4:45.  Time was of the essence.

So then we went next door to Clos du Val and had a MUCH better experience!  Less snobby.

Here's a shot of that winery - their front door is magnificant, and all the ivy.  Very wine country-ish.

It was such a beautiful day - wonderful weather, good company and great wines.

All Aboard!

Wow - what more can I say about the Napa Wine Train, but WOW!

We finally used the gift certificate we got at Christmas - yes I know it's September, and Christmas is around the corner again - and Grammy and GrampC kept Drew overnight so Dave and I could enjoy the afternoon in Napa.  We did the Gourmet Lunch option - late serving.  Therefore we were able to take in the sights, enjoy a glass of wine before having our meal.  And boy did we take full advantage!

The above photo is the one taken by the good folks at the Wine Train and then I snapped a photo of it with my phone.

Walking to our car - we were in the caboose for the first part of our journey.

And then the festivities begin!

Very fancy hors d'oeuvres. 

And then we ventured outside - literally hanging onto the "caboose". 

Afterward we went up 7 cars (one shy of the front) and hit up the wine bar for some wine sampling.  My personal favorite the Green and Red Zin.

A short time later it was time later we headed back for the most amazing lunch - Dave had super tender pork tenderloin, and I had the special of the day - swordfish.  It was too good not to share - so we each had half of both.

We did the same with dessert - creme brule and tiramasu (which was the most unusual yet delicious version I've ever had).  Our waiter snapped this picture after we totally stuffed our faces.

Absolutely a wonderful trip!  Very sweet and romantic - and yet Dave we made friends with several other riders.  So when can we do this again?

Minnesota Wrap-up

I admit to being a blogging slacker this past week.  I'll improve next week I promise!  Now to finally give you the real pictures of our trip to Minnesota - and the entire scoop.

Last Thursday we landed in Minnesota - but not without a little drama on the first leg of our trip.  The turbulence was pretty bad and Drew screamed for the last 15 minutes and puked all over himself moments after reaching the gate.  That was fun. 

The rest of the trip was uneventful except for my hacking - caused by my allergy/sinus problems.  One of the ladies sitting next to me even asked "How sick are you"?  Dude really?  Where are you gonna go on this full flight - it's just allergies!! I promise.

The Lady on the Moon and her husband, otherwise known as longtime family friends Steve and Kathy picked us up at the airport and brought us home to chat and have dinner.  Kathy was so sweet she handed me a glass of wine, some claritin and said sit back and relax.  She was happily entertaining Drew - I think she's just waiting for when her own Granddaughter is old enough to do the same.

On Friday I felt so miserable after staying up coughing all night that I was one unhappy Mama.  I kind of flaked on a friend who came out to see us and do something during the day in hopes that some newly found drugs and a quick nap will help me make it through the evening.  So we showed up - albeit late - to meet her and her family for dinner and a Twins Game!

Some of our gang....
Front: Drew, Kacia, Ryan, Jodi

On Saturday, we did the family hop around the Twin Cities.  I was horrible taking pictures!! During the afternoon we went to see Uncle Mike and a few of my cousins and their kids (one of my cousins I haven't seen in 10 years, nor ever met his daughter).  Here's the only shot I took all of Saturday with Uncle Mike (my Mom's brother).

That evening we headed over to my Aunt Ardy's house to see that side of the family (she's my Grandma's sister) and saw all my cousins most I haven't seen in too many years to fathom!  I was too busy visiting to ever pull out my camera, but Drew was a fairly good kid that evening despite going on his 3rd day in a row with a nap no longer than 20 minutes.

Sunday we went to breakfast with Jodi and Lauren (photos are in the previous blog) and then that afternoon we met up with my longtime best friend Chrissy and her family.  We met up at a park in Bloomington and took the boys for a walk and some playground time.  Funny - I manged to snap a ton of shots this time (it helps when you're hanging with a fellow blogger ;))

 

 

Drew, Aaron, Mitchell, Jake (I think I've got the right order for the last two... I can't tell from behind)

 L-R: Chrissy, Matt, Mitchell, Jake (again I can't tell from behind but I think I have them in the right order), Drew, Dave

The boys were having a blast stick hunting and then throwing them into the creek.

Chrissy and I after dinner.

While this trip was awfully fast, and I was miserable with this allergy/sinus thing, I'm thrilled we went and we had an absolute great time.  Hopefully next trip we'll be able to stay out there longer than just a long weekend.

And I'm happy to report the flight home was very quiet and mellow.

What's up Charlie?

So things are pretty hectic and I haven't had a chance to update the blog. I got back late last night from an overnight trip to Houston. I went to the doctor today to get treatment for this 3 week long sinus infection and I write this from CVS.

So back to updates on the trip to Minnesota. On Sunday morning after waking up we joined Jodi and her daughter Lauren and her boyfriend for breakfast in Woodbury. I have to say we had the worlds best French Toast!

After a brief meltdown fe Drew we wrapped up breakfast and walked outside the strip mall where it is located and saw some familiar characters.




That's right. Drew's giving Charlie Brown a high five. There were several characters outside the restaurant. Dre had fun saying hi to all of the Peanuts gang.

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