Shades of Sherwood

Our family crashed the Jung's camping trip at Shades of Sherwood in SE MN for a quick weekend escape from the hustle and bustle back home in the metro.  

For two and a half days all we did was bounce from the pool to the inflatables pond to the lazy river to our campsite (for food, fire and refreshments).  

Speaking of inflatables, the moms cut away Saturday morning for their own excursion and showed the rest of us up by competing in the Insane Inflatable Obstacle 5k in Rochester, MN.  Nice work, ladies!

Hall Lake

Most of the rest of the incredibly hot & humid Tri weekend was spent on Hall Lake; boating, swimming or playing on Nana's lily pad, "Lola".

Triathletes

Linds and I have been "competing" in the Fairmont Triathlon on and off for the last six or seven years, as a great way to kick off the summer on (and in) the lakes, reconnect with (my) old high school friends and enjoy, and enjoy a nostalgic weekend in my old stomping grounds.  

The highlight this year was watching E & S join in the tradition... completing their first "mini" triathlon (50 yard swim, 3 mile bike, 1/4 mile run).  Mom and Dad couldn't be more proud (S for being among the youngest to compete, and E for holding back during the swim to help her nervous little sis').

Summer ball

The girls both opted in to summer baseball.  No more tees.  No more whiffle.  Pitched balls, catcher gear, uniforms and the whole nine.  While far more painfully slow than big league ball, its exponentially more adorable.  

Sawyer seems to enjoy the sport; helped by having Dad as coach... and a few besties on her team (Kiana and Chelsea).  Her sweet spot is in the field, where she loves chasing down grounders, especially those that are hit to a teammates position (the fly ball, however... forget about it).

Evs could take it or leave it (check out that look on her face in the dugout photo above).  Her experience is certainly handicapped by being the youngest player, and only girl... but, she's finding her way, developing quite an arm and loves the challenge trying to catch a long ball.

The graduate

S graduated from Primrose (pre-school) in style, cap and gown and all.  Each kid received a diploma and an individual award.  Sawyer's was "Best Sharer", a skill we'd love to see at home to believe.

"Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting, so... get on your way", read the back drop (Dr. Seuss).

Pictured, L-R: Jack (Sawyer's on-and-off BF, the twin brother of her other on-and-off BF, Will), S, Caden, Sydney, and Maya Looby

School's out

There goes another school year.  Bring on summer vacation!!!

Field Trip

E wrapped up first grade with a class trip to the Minnesota Zoo, with Mom as a chaperone.  The animals seemed to be putting on a show, getting more up close and personal than usual exhibit by exhibit.  

And, the kids... they're growing up way too fast.  The second photo looks as much like a selfie of a bunch of junior high kids as it looks like little E and her first grade buddies.  With a somewhat misty eye as I was writing this post, I called Evie over and said, "you're getting too big too fast, my girl".  She laughed and replied, "Daaad, it's just because I'm standing on a giant block".  

If only.

Pictured, L-R: Brendan, E, Jake, Ashwika, Wyatt (bunny ears guy) and Isabella 

Edina Art Fair

Joe & Tisha invited the gang over to their 'hood for the Edina Art Fair.  The kids danced, painted, constructed (a firetruck with their fire fighter grandpa) and ate their way up and down 50th and France.

Summer hours

My two favorite things about Mills... the truly great people I get to work with daily, and those half-day Fridays from June to August.  Linds and I kick off the season with a microbrew crawl every year.  This year's first stop was Omni, Maple Grove's first tap room, for a pint... and, appropriately, a 1:1 battle of the Logo board game.

Griff's a fan of half-day Fridays too, as he usually co-pilots (literally) the afternoons with us.

Moms dig the long ball

E & S (and Evan) working on their baseball skills in the cul-de-sac with the mathlete, Momma Bear.