Happy 4th Birthday Neal!

We had the best weekend in Roseville celebrating cousin Neal's 4th birthday! First up - a giant sleepover in a hotel room hosted by Auntie and Uncle. So fun!

Of course we got situated with dinosaur play right away!

We had to hit the pool - here is the Instagram pic of our crew in their swim gear.

Here is the reality...

Parenting Pro Tip - Have older siblings swim with the babies so you don't need to take a dip in the cold water. LOL!

Leo isn't a very big fan of swimming but he sure loves being poolside.

Two cute and cozy cousins - this was the last day that they will both be 3 year olds together. 

We had a pizza picnic outside.

We did have a slight mishap of an unopened yogurt tube falling over the side of the balcony and landing on the umbrella of a patio set below ... oops! 

You better believe that we planned a movie night.

While the kids enjoyed popcorn and Netflix, I worked on a puzzle. Nerd alert! Haha!

Clearly everyone settled down for the evening right after the movie. Insert eye roll here! Bring on the wrestling matches.

The book of choice on this night was the Dinosaur Encyclopedia. 

The boys found their favorites on every page.

We spent the next day celebrating Mr. Neal!

We had lunch in Brian and Amelia's backyard. Love that these boys are always sporting dino shirts - T Rex and Mosasaurus for the win!

Happy Birthday kiddo! 

After cake we headed to Como Town for some amusement park rides. 

These lucky kids were ready to hit the rides.

First up was the train - starting things nice and slow. ;)

Auntie got to take a ride with the birthday boy.

Also got to share a carnival ride with this sweetheart. 

Nothing better than cruising in a yellow car...

...unless you can ride with your cousins too! 

Everyone got a chance to hop in the bumper cars. Just look at Lucy's face! LOL

The big kids couldn't wait to do the zip line. 

These two love a roller coaster.

And any ride that makes their tummies drop! ;)

Kiddie rides are more my style. ;)

 What a wonderful weekend! We love you Neal and hope that you have a great year. 

Life Lately: Early June

Here are some snapshots from life in early June. We visited the temporary library site - can not wait for the remodeled permanent location to open up this fall! Leo always makes a beeline for the toys/play area. 

Leo has been working to master the scissors at school. He is his most recent coloring/cutting/gluing masterpiece. 

Love taking Ranger to the dog park, especially on a beautiful June day. :)

I made my way back to Crandon for work for the first time in years. Wow - what a joy to see my co-workers in real life! How wonderful to have an office space and look out the window at the beautiful Northwoods. What a gift to find old photos in my desk! It is the little things! :)

I found my appointment calendar in my desk drawer, literally cracked open to March 2020. It was like running across a time capsule. Such a bittersweet moment to realize how much had changed in the past 2+ years.

Back in Eau Claire, Dan and the crew headed to softball! :)

They took a nice walk to Grammy and Grandpa's House.

Look at this big wood pile that they saw along the way. Love the leg kick! Hah!

While I was in striking distance from Rhinelander, I had to stop by Golden Harvest. Love that place! I knew that the boys would love to see the dinos for sale. I often wonder who actually buys these critters and puts them in their yard ... 

Roman had a long-anticipated treat in June - He was headed to the new Jurassic move with his Dad. We gave him a special wake up call with dinos + the Jurassic theme music. 

I popped into Hobby Lobby on a beautiful June day and saw that they already had Fall decor ready to display. Ai yi yi. 

While Dan and Roman spent the evening at Jurassic - the L's and I had a special night planned as well. Our first stop was Cancun. 

Leo especially loves this place. Cheese quesadilla for the win! ;)

Here is a snapshot from across town. One very excited boy!

Lucy, Leo & I had tickets to the Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Pablo Center. It was a beautiful set! The show was great but a bit too long/intense for our little guy so we ended up bailing at Intermission. 

Excited to be out of theater and ready to run!

The kids love playing in the fountains and seeing the sculptures downtown.

We ended the night with ice cream. So much fun. :)