Monday, November 24, 2014

End of Summer Fun

Once we got back from TN, there were only a few weeks left of summer.  So in between getting ready for school (which requires a lot of shopping), we tried to get in all our last minute summer fun.  I am not sure I mentioned this, but we did manage to grow a garden this year.  We were unsure of how it would work out, but it actually did really well.  We don't have quite as much space for a garden as we did in our last house (smaller backyard and much more shade), but we did find a spot by the garage and although it was long and narrow, it worked out pretty well.  We grew 3 types of tomatoes and cucumbers, which were so yummy!  I love garden fresh tomatoes!!

 We couldn't get to family camping this summer - Matthew was just too little - so we picked a night to camp in our backyard.  Unfortunately, the night we had set aside to do it, they were predicting thunderstorms overnight.  So, we set up the fire pit, made knights in shining armor for dinner and of course s'mores (messy, but delicious)!  Then we called in a night and headed inside for bed.  Oh well, maybe next summer.

 Paul has been offering to have us come downtown and tour his new office building, so one sunny afternoon, I loaded up the kids and we took the train downtown.  It wouldn't have been bad at all, except when we got to the train station, I expected to go inside the station to buy the tickets.  Well, the train station was closed, which meant you had to buy the tickets on the train...in cash...which I didn't have.  I tried to look as pathetic as possible when the train came and asked the guy if we could buy the tickets with credit card or if we could get on the train and he looked annoyed, said no, and closed the train door!  So we watched the train pull away, knowing the next train would not come for another hour.  The kids and I debated about what to do (should we drive downtown, wait for the next train, or just forget the adventure for the day and try again another time).  Finally, we loaded back into the car, ran to the ATM, and headed back to the train station to catch the next train.  The kids were great on the train.  I had brought some snacks and coloring stuff as it's about 45 minutes downtown when you aren't on an express train.  A woman next to me with a 2 year old seemed rather impressed with how well my 4 children were behaving, but I assured her their ages were currently easier than a 2 year old!  Anyway, we finally made it downtown and Daddy met us at the station and walked us to his building.  He gave us the grand tour, which was very cool.  We met his coworkers and his boss, ate some free snacks, and visited the roof deck!
 We spent a good amount of time in the game room too.  Then we picked up a snack and headed back to the train station to go home.  It was a fun afternoon, even after the rocky start!
 And big news...Abbey lost her first tooth!  She lost it at the pool and was so excited!!
Getting ready to put it in the tooth pillow for the tooth fairy to come!!

We also went down to see our favorite museum, Museum of Science and Industry!  Matthew chilled in his stroller for most of it.
 We toured the submarine, which is my favorite exhibit!
 Abbey the astronaut!  We also saw the IMAX movie about butterflies, which was really interesting.
 Juliette riding the cow.
 Matthew chilling in his stroller.
 It was also the home opener for the Irish that day, so Matthew sported his ND onesie from Cousin Godfather Andrew!

You can't see the picture very well, but the kids are pointing to the exhibit about BP for Aunt Theresa!

 We tried to teach Juliette to ride a two wheeler bike, but she wasn't quite ready.  That's OK.  We will work on it again next summer.
 Happy baby playing in his toy!
 And we said a sad goodbye to Daddy's favorite place...Caribou Coffee :(

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