Monthly Archives: January 2024

January is rolling along and we’re in a good routine with work, school, basketball for Xander, and swimming for Augustus. The boys had the last 2 Mondays off school- last week, MLK day and this week, I don’t actually know. Last Monday they spent the day with Grandma Debbie. They went to a nearby ninja gym and then swimming at her pool.

The rest of the week was pretty normal. On Friday afternoon, Xander rode the bus home with his friend Mateo for a playdate. He was very excited to ride the bus and had a fabulous time playing at his buddy’s house. Xander and Mateo were actually at Kinderberry Hill together, so we’ve known them for many years. I am super happy they are becoming good friends this year because he is a sweet kid and I really like his parents.

On Saturday, we met up the Mayberry and Wilson families to go ice skating. The boys are getting pretty good at it and it was fun to see them get more and more confident on skates!

This week, another Monday of no school. I took both boys to the dentist and then they spent the afternoon with Grandma Debbie at the Shoreview Community Center. These kids are busy all the time!

On Wednesday, I got to go with Augustus and his class to Woodlake Nature Center for a field trip. We took a mile long hike, stopping to play in the cattails, climb on fallen trees, look at animal prints, cross a bridge, and play some games. It was a very nice weather day and fun to be outside. With just moments of the hike left, we nearly lost the entire class to starvation and we went from having fun and enjoying ourselves, to every single kid DYING for snack time. Luckily, we managed to get back to the building, have a snack, and everyone was as good as new once they had some crackers.

On Thursday, I was back to school, this time to help out in Xander’s class. They were put into small groups to go on “expeditions” around the school. Xander’s group was assigned to Gussie’s classroom. One kid had to draw things in the room. One kid was the photographer. Xander was the reporter, so he got to interview Gussie’s teacher. I was the chaperone who got to go with on the expedition. Leading up to Thursday, Xander was SO excited. His group did a really nice job and it was fun to see them all take their jobs seriously.

On Saturday, Xander had his first basketball game of the season. They didn’t win, but he’s getting better with each week and it’s fun to watch him.

On Saturday afternoon, the boys and I went to Snake Discovery to pet some reptiles. Earlier in the week, Xander came home and said he wanted to get a pet snake. Step one was to make a list of questions for him to ask his Environmental Ed teacher (who has a snake). Ball python was the recommendation. Did you know they live 30 years?! I asked Xander if this snake would be going to college with him and he said, “yeah, then I’ll always have a friend!” I didn’t say that if he brought a snake to college, that might end of up being the ONLY friend he has.

We took a field trip to Twin Cities Reptile, which is… quite a store! There seems to be a connection between snake ownership and face tattoos… We learned more about owning a snake- the number one advice being, “make peace with the fact that you will get bit.” Especially baby snakes are real bite-y. Ugh. Baby snakes eat mice, and as the grow, they eat bigger and bigger mice until they eat rats. You can buy mice and rats frozen. Nate was HORRIFIED. I don’t necessarily think it’s that different than having ground beef or chicken breast in your freezer…

So on Saturday, we went to see snakes close up. We got to pet a lot of creatures, and learned more about pet ownership. Like many things, Xander gets very excited and then moves on. I am hoping this is one of those things. Because I am not sure we are ready for a slithery friend who eats rats and bites.

Today we met Grandma Debbie and Cindy to see the play, “Dragons Love Tacos” which was a very cute musical adaptation of the book by the same name. After all that talk/songs about tacos, I was dying for a taco and made Nate take us to Taco Bell. The boys had never been, but they were impressed. It was a lovely afternoon taco snack.

We’ve got a pretty regular week ahead. I can’t believe that January is ending this week!

Happy New Year!

I started the year off having some technical difficulties with my blog, so happy January 14!

Rewinding all the way to New Years, Nate and I rand in 2024 with our neighbors at Kelly and Silas’s annual New Years bash. When we we young, we had new years plans for a few years in a row and then we both sorta decided there was no point to fighting crowds or risking our lives on the road late at night. But now that we can walk 3 doors down, I am back to loving a good party. And Kelly and Silas know how to throw one! There was tons of food, lots of fun people, and we all were challenged to dress like our favorite drink. I LOVE A THEME.

I decided on sparkling rosé because I figured I could find something pink and sparkly pretty easily. I went to my favorite second hand store and happened to mention the party theme. All of a sudden, all of the women who worked there (there were 4 of them!) and a few shoppers surrounded me. They started handing me things and started a dressing room for me, and everyone was invested. Oh my! I have never had a more intense shopping experience. Finally they all decided on a floor length skit, that DID really look like sparkling rosé, and while I am not really the floor length kinda gal, they were all so excited about it, I bought it.

It was SO fun to watch everyone walk in, drink in hand, and have them explain their outfit. I LOVE LOVE LOVE a theme. We ate one million snacks, enjoyed drinks (some on theme and some not), laughed, hung out, made 2024 predictions, and kissed at midnight. The boys and Grandma Debbie did their best to stay up til midnight, not quite making it, but they had a great night as well and were very tired the next day!

Last week, Xander quietly said to me, “I’m thinking about cutting my hair”. I stayed calm- I don’t care what he does with his hair- long, short, it doesn’t matter to me, but I was surprised. He has been growing his hair out for almost 2 years now. I asked what he was thinking for his hair and he said, “have you ever hear of a faux hawk?” And so a few days later, after he thought about it some more, we headed to the salon and shaved off his beautiful blond curls. He looks about 10 years older!

After a month of holiday fun, so much excitement, early mornings, traveling to St. Louis, winter break for the kids- I was READY for us to go back to our normal boring schedule. But no, no, January 3, I headed to Minneapolis for Youth in Government. This year, I ended up at the hotel a day early as we had an alumni event the night before the conference. It was well attended and a nice event. It was also sort of fun to check in early and be there before the madness began the next morning.

It was my 19th year at YIG! Holy cow. After a few weird years due to covid, we were finally back to normal. Last year, the Hilton was switching management and it was clear in their organization and customer service. This year, they were on point, and everything was so smooth. It was really nice to have check in go well, everyone smiling, and things go as they are supposed to go. It was good to see old friends, difficult to miss some who were missing, and overall, the same as always. The boys visited me last year and this year, Xander was determined to be there for 2 nights. I actually have to work while I am there, which I explained to him, but both boys were unhappy that they couldn’t just be there. Nate dropped them off on Friday night and he had a relaxing night to himself while we partied at the hotel.

When they arrived, we walked around, collecting snacks (which are everywhere) and then went to the pool. We ate dinner with the hotel directors, and then it was “YIG-fest” which is a bunch of blow up things, free cotton candy and popcorn, and many other activities. I brought the boys into the big room about 30 minutes early to “test out” all the blow ups before the big kids arrived. They jumped, bounced, and had a blast. They were eager to “show the big kids how it’s done” and hung with them for about 45 minutes.

At about 7:45, they were eating cotton candy (for reference, that is typically the time we put them to bed) and running around like crazy people. Xander LOVED sitting at the hotel director’s desk and definitely has a future in management. Gussie joined in with the teenagers- I wish I had a video of one kid looking him up and down, confused, saying, “I thought you had to be in 8th grade to be in this program” and 100% accepting it when I said, “he’s a genius, he’s 6 but in 8th grade”. He is so confident and so comfortable whenever he goes. Xander, meanwhile, was pretty interested in the fact that I kept telling kids they had to have their name tags on (a strict rule at the conference). He was ready to be promoted and given the ability to stop them. Sometimes he is so much like me it’s amazing.

We eventually made it back to the hotel room where they both passed out. The next morning, we had breakfast in the hotel, collected more snacks, and Nate picked them up around lunch time. I spent all day Saturday and Sunday morning at the conference and then headed home for a normal Sunday afternoon.

The boys spent Sunday at Grandma Debbie’s house- she got a new dishwasher and had a giant box that was perfect for a fort. They were very busy, fort making, swimming, and all the things they do with Grandma. I was grateful to be able to get home, grocery shop and get back to normal while they were having fun.

I have only 3 photos from this entire week. It was a NORMAL, 5 day week of work and school. REGULAR SCHEDULE. I was so happy to be back to our routine. The boys went to school. Nate and I went to work. Gussie had swim team. Xander started basketball. The weather was pretty cold, so after school, the boys spent a lot of time playing inside. Everything was very normal and boring.

This weekend, our calendar was EMPTY. I can’t express how excited I was to have NOTHING on the calendar. We had family movie night. We did family clean up (the playroom needed all 4 of us!). The boys played with Sam and Abby. It was SUPER cold weather outside, so we stayed inside, drank cocoa, ate lots of snacks, and hung out. It was fabulous. Welcome to 2024.