Fun and Full Weekend

This ended up being a very fun filled weekend.  Every evening we try to 'debrief' with Tryg and talk about what we did that day...highlights, who he got to see, etc.  Most times, it's pretty boring, with the highlight being some food related treat --watermelon, freezes, etc.  Yeah, I know.  It's pretty sad.  However, this weekend Erik joked that Tryg has had as much adventure in the last two days as he had in his whole childhood.  Ok, obviously that's a bit extreme, but it was a fun weekend.

On Friday we watched the Olympics Opening Ceremony.  Am I a bad person if I say I didn't really love them?  I feel like I am supposed to say they were amazing, but I really wasn't feeling it.  Just saying.  Anyway, Tryg didn't last too long either and he went to bed.  Erik and I enjoyed some popcorn mixed with Doritos (don't judge until you try it!) while watching to the end.

Saturday started with all of us sleeping in until almost 9am!  I LOOVE it when Tryg sleeps in!  It's FANTASTIC!!  We then went to the Slice of Shoreview Parade.  It was Tryg's first parade and he had a blast.  He's favorite parts were the firetrucks and the clowns.  He also loved getting LOADS of candy!  We have a bowl jam packed with candy and still a half a bag full that didn't fit in the bowl.  It's like Halloween, except they bring the candy to you!  I think we'll try to go again next year! :)

 After nap time (while I painted a bench and Erik cleaned the kitchen and living room)

we went to the main portion of Slice of Shoreview.  The highlight there was the petting zoo.  It's not everyday you can say you fed goats and a camel and saw two kangaroos!  Tryg even fed the animals right out of his hand.  I thought for sure he would freak out having them lick his hand like that but he was a champ!  (side note: how are those animals not just completely overfed and just sick from all the food they get in a day!??)

 On Sunday morning we went to church and met some new people.  We still feel very new at the church and the busy summer has not helped.  It was nice to stay late and talk with people after church today.  One of the regular attenders is an old co-worker of mine.  It's great to connect with familiar faces as well.

After church we spent the whole afternoon at Wabun Park for my cousin's daughter's Birthday Party.  She's just one month younger than Tryg.  Wabun Park is fabulous!  I would definitely recommend it -especially for people with small kids.  They have a free shallow pool with water fountains shooting up and all over.  Tryg had an absolute blast and could not get enough of it.  

He also got to experience his first pinata.  I've never really thought of pinatas from the mind of a two year old before today, but I'm sure it was pretty confusing to see a cute little pink pony being beat with a stick while a bunch of kids just starred at it.  It probably didn't help that they were not actually able to break the pinata open and ended up having the Birthday Girl's Grandpa tear it open and dump out the candy :-)  Anyway, the party was a hit and Tryg was out cold within minutes of leaving the park.  

Happy Birthday Helea!  Thanks for having us at your party!

Then tonight we had Carly over for dinner and cooked steak and corn on the grill (and veggie dogs for Carly).  After dinner we went on a walk through Acorn park with a stop at the playground to top it off.  Doug also met us at the playground.

We finished the weekend with bath time and three story books read by Carly and Doug.  Tryg had a weekend full of fun things and some of his favorite people.  Now, I just can't figure out while he's still awake in his crib and jabbering away.  What do we need to do to tire this little guy out!! :)

Family Picnic

On Tuesday evening we had a Molin/Linder Family Picnic in Stillwater.  The highlight was getting to see everyone....but especially Erik's cousin, Dan and his family who live in Spain.  The last time we saw them was three years ago!  Tryg got to meet them for the first time.  Their youngest, Julia, loved walking around with Tryg and playing with him.  She's going to make a great baby sitter some day.  

We enjoyed the time catching up with family and seeing fantastic views of the river.  The kids loved the park with the swings and slides....and, of course, the cookies!  Thanks everyone for a great evening!

Carly's Birthday Surprise!

Yesterday (Sunday -I wrote this on Monday evening) we were able to surprise our friend, Carly, with her "Birthday gift."  She is hard to surprise and even harder to shop for :)  So, this year, we took her on 'an adventure' instead.  First, we convinced her that we were going to help her and Doug on yard work for the day {which we really do want to do sometime soon}.  However, once she got there, we handed her her Birthday gift.  It was a box full of road trip snacks and a note that told her to choose her own adventure as her Birthday Surprise.  At first, she said, "What if we can't wait until a road trip to eat the snacks?"  That's when I said..."That's the thing, the road trip is today!"  Let's just say, she was definitely surprised and it was worth it!

For our adventure we went on the Great Rivers Winery Tour in MN and WI.  We enjoyed driving down the boarder and seeing views of the river, trains, farms and wineries.  Who knew there are so many wineries up here in the mid-west!  The small towns we drove through were loaded with character.  We stopped at a place called The Homemade Cafe for lunch.  It sure lived up to it's name.  Fantastic homemade food and fun old school pie shoppe atmosphere.

We ended up going to three wineries.  My job was to manage the boy {who did really well for being trapped in a car for about 12 hours} since I don't really like wine -I liked the hard ciders a little, but I'm much more into sweet fruity drinks.  This is what the boy did while Erik, Carly and Doug did some tasting.

The three wineries we saw were all very different but nice.  I think we wish we would have hit some more stops but time got away from us.  We were enjoying the slow pace and the views.

 

We had dinner at Muddy Waters in Prescott, WI which was a great place overlooking the river.  

We enjoyed the day.  We had full tummies and were very tired by the time we got home.  We'd recommend the tour to you!

http://www.greatriverroadwinetrail.org/maps/trailmap.html

Cars with Toddlers

***Disclaimer:  I'm pretty ashamed of this post, but it was so shocking to me, I had to share.***

So for the past year, almost every time Erik got into my car, he said, "It smells like a daycare in here."  Well, last week it hit an all time low.  As I was going to Alex's Birthday Party with Tryg, I grabbed the diaper bag, saw an old sippy in the side pocket and threw it on the floor to replace it with a new fresh sippy full of water.  Well, it seems that sippy was full of milk (at least, at one time, it was milk anyway).  I have no idea how long it was in my car, but it created the worst smell EVER!  It was leaking out of the sippy and it got on the carpet of the car floor.  Some got on my hand too and my hand still smelled after washing it.  I cannot explain to you how bad this sippy was and how much it made my car smell.  I understand that rotten milk is bad...but this one seems way worse than any rotten milk experiences I have had before.  

As a result, it was time to clean out my car....the first step was taking everything out.  Well, I was SHOCKED at how much stuff {junk} accumulates in cars when toddlers occupy them much of the time.  

We {mainly Erik} were then able to vacuum out the car and wash the windows.  

Then we ran it through the car wash at the gas station...of course, it rained less than 12 hours later. :)

***Don't Judge*** :)

Our new nephew, Levi Russel

Today we got to meet our new nephew, Levi Russel Mickelson!  My sister, Jana was scheduled for a c-section on Friday but it seems that Levi wanted to create his own birth date instead of having one appointed to him.  She went into labor late Monday night and went to the hospital Tuesday morning.  They did a c-section and he was born at 12:22.  He's a BIG BOY just like his brother!  10lbs 5oz and 22 inches long.  Just like his mom, when she was born, he's all cheeks. :)

He also looks so much like his big brother, Kaleb did when he was born!

This is Kaleb.

This is Levi.

Tryg LOVED meeting his new cousin!  He could not get enough of Levi and also loved seeing Kya and Kaleb too.  It is so fun to watch him get older and recognize his cousins and have a blast around them.  They live far enough away that he only sees them once every month or two.  So, I'm glad he knows them and gets SO excited when he sees them.  Now he has boy cousins 2 years older and 2 years younger than him. 

Tryg just loves babies (as you can see) but we did have to remind him to be gentle. :)  

Welcome to the world little man.  We're happy to have you in our family!  Congrats Jana and Jeremy!!

Three Siblings

Tryg wanted to join his cousins!

Happy 4th Everyone!

I (Mindy) took the whole week off and it was great (Erik took off Wed-Fri)!  Tryg and I were able to see friends, Kirk & Sarah and their boys while they were in town from Morocco.  We had lunch with them and were able to chat while our boys played.  Ollie was so patient with Tryg.  I enjoy talks with Sarah.  She is someone who I know cares and will be praying for me and our family.  It is nice to talk about our dreams, goals, set-backs and possibilities.  There is always room for growth but it fun to remember how we got where we are.


On Tuesday evening, we all left for the Molin cabin.  It was fantastic to have five straight days for great weather and time on the lake.  Erik's sister, Rachel and her husband, Billy came to town from Montana.  It was wonderful to see them and spend time with them on the water.  Since it was SO hot, the water was very refreshing!  Tryg LOVED the water -especially jumping to Daddy from the edge of the dock.  He didn't like putting his life jacket on, but once we did, he would leave it on for hours as he'd go back and forth from the water.  He and his cousin, Calvin, liked helping drive the boat too.  Erik's cousin, Courtney, has a son, Calvin, who is just 6 months older than Tryg.  They came up overnight on Wednesday.  Although it's not always easy sharing toys, the the boys shared many hugs and some animal crackers too.  

Uncle Billy

Courtney, Calvin, Tryg and Rachel.

He fell asleep before we got 300ft from the dock.  Out like a light.

Tryg LOVED seeing the deer.  We saw 5 one evening on the way back to the cabin.  That is very rare.

Roasted marshmallow in a controlled environment without mosquitoes.
 (it was roasted on a fire outside though)

This is what happens when you leave the luggage next to the boy in the back seat.

We also enjoyed seeing Dale and Hannah and their girls who were here from Pittsburgh.  Steph came from DC as well and we had a little pizza party on the deck Sunday night.  These days parties seem to run pretty short as kids have early bedtimes but it is always nice to see old friends.  And it was made very evident that Dale has not changed a bit...in fact, he now has a 5 year old female version of himself too!  Little Lindy is so her father's daughter.  So fun and full of energy!  We got to meet Miss Ruby for the first time as well.  Tryg loved giving hugs to Ruby!  He's such a sensitive boy :)

We loved getting together with so many friends and family from near and far.  I hope you had a great holiday as well!