The End of August...

...was been filled with fun, family, and friends!

The fun began Wednesday, August 25 when our nephew, Mekhi, came to stay with us. After a nice long nap, the boys we ready to go. We had dinner outside at Five Guys (new to Rochester), headed to the park, made cookies, and the boys watched Scooby Doo all before bed.

Even when they're sleeping, they are drawn to each other:)

Thursday, we headed to the MOPS park date and ended up spending two hours at Soldiers Field. It was a perfect day, but I finally had to remind myself that the boys could use a nap and we should get going. We made a quick stop at the store and the boys picked out a snack: Mekhi picked gummy worms and Luke picked pistachios (he said he wanted something crunchy:)). After naps, we made homemade chicken fingers for dinner. I don't make them often because they are messy, but they're worth it every time, especially when I make extras for left overs! The boys hung out with Brent most of the night while I got out for a run/walk. Mekhi thought he wanted to come with me, but we weren't sure if he was up for being in the stroller for an hour. So, the Brent brought the boys for a walk, which turned into a "run" for Luke and Mekhi by their own choosing:)

Friday, headed to the Stewartville pool after an early lunch to meet Audra, Annie, and Ethan. Troy even got to join us a little later after he was done with work. This was my first time getting to the Stewartville pool and I loved it! Brent and I went down the water slides a couple times each and I got to try out my new suit. All in all, a very nice afternoon at the pool. Apparently we wore everyone out because I was the only one awake on the way home...Brent, Luke, and Mekhi were all out cold on the ride home:) We made it home with time to empty the wet suits and towels into the wash and get ready to head to the MOPS Family Night!

A couple lovely ladies on our steering team, Sabrina and Krista, planned a great night at the Cradic farm. The boys enjoyed face painting, chasing chickens and kittens, playing yard games, and eating hotdogs, cotton candy, and popcorn. This was all before they settled into the barn for the magic show and movie, Charlotte's Web. So much fun! Thankfully the boys stayed awake on the ride home so they could have baths after their day of swimming and playing on the farm.

Mekhi, Luke, and Ethan pretending to be tigers at the zoo on the rocks at Cradic's.

Saturday...whew...are you getting tired yet? I admit, I was toast by 9:30pm on Friday night:) On to Saturday, we spent the day in Faribault watching daddies (Brent, Troy, and Greg) and papa play softball in the annual church softball state tournament. We enjoyed yet another day outside picnicking, playing at the park, playing soccer, chatting, and lounging (guess which activities I did more of;)). We left the tournament before it was done today because Audra had two extra tickets for the Sesame Street Live Show at the Mayo Civic Center. After the show, Luke and I walked to Dos Amigos for a dinner date together on the patio. The perfect ending to a fun-filled day.

From left: Troy, Ethan, Brent, Luke, and Papa at the tournament.

Sunday we were off to more fun -- a ride on my uncle's houseboat on the Mississippi! Luke was really looking forward to the day and we had nice warm weather for a day on the water. Luke and I drove to Wabasha with my mom since Brent was busy with his fantasy football draft for the day. We met up with Jeff and Julie, Great Grandma and Grandpa, and my other uncle, Larry. We had a nice ride from Wabasha to Lake Pepin and back, during which Luke got to drive the boat with Jeff:)

Once we were back to the marina, Luke, mom, and I explored the Parkside beach and park and the fountain behind the National Eagle Center. We ended the day with Chinese for dinner and dessert in honor of Julie and Larry's birthdays.

Luke and Grandma behind the National Eagle Center.

Check out the more pics from August by clicking the link on the left.