We Love Wednesdays

We had a fabulous long Memorial Weekend!  It was the perfect balance of relaxing, being active, fun, and time with friends and family.  Most of our favs were from the long weekend:)

Last Soccer Game
Luke had his last soccer game of the season last week.  He got the chance to play on a team with neighbors and good friends, Evan and Eli.  It was fun for us parents to watch them play together too:)  The final game of the season, they got to play another neighbor's team...I guess that's small town living for ya!  It's great getting to know more faces and names around town.    

Warming up.  Luke's in the neon shorts

Light blue (Evan, Eli, Luke) played red (Jayden)
and neon green (Erik) had his last game the same night

Petersen Neighborhood friends;
first, fourth, fifth, and sixth
grades represented

Bike Ride
So, I rode a bike for the first time in probably 15 years...and I survived!  The good news: it came back to me (just like they say) and Luke's bike is big enough for me to ride (since I don't have my own).  It was a good workout, but very different from my typical walking/jogging.  I was surprised that the only thing sore the next day was my butt, and that was just from the seat.  I'll need to get a softer one if I plan to ride more often.  A few things I was reminded of while riding: keep mouth closed because bugs enter easily and even a minor bump in the rode feels much worse on a bike seat.  

Friday with Nora
Nora and I had a lovely Friday together:)  She picked our lunch location: Pizza Ranch.  Then, Nora tagged along to my hair appointment.  I knew it would be about an hour, so we packed a bag with her markers, a workbook, and snack.  She settled in right away working on her book and I didn't hear a peep from her the entire time.  When my appointment was done, one of the barbers gave Nora a dollar and told her what a good girl she was.  It was very sweet:)  She was so proud of that dollar!   We had already planned on a trip to Hobby Lobby, so she was all set to spend her dollar on a treat.  She found a watermelon (her current favorite candy/gum flavor) ring pop and her day was made!  

Busy working at the salon

Excited for her sucker!

Sucker time!

Med City Marathon
Each Memorial Weekend, Rochester hosts the Med City Marathon which includes several events for all ages.  This year, Nora ran in the Toddler Trot for 3-5 year olds.  Nora was very excited to go, got nervous once we got there, got lots of positive reinforcement from Daddy (his strong suit), and finally ran the race!   

Warming up with Daddy

Ready to run!

Nora picked her outfit for the run

Like a boss!

Proud girl with her medal

Dates
Brent and I got two date nights last weekend!  One just us and the other a double date.  What a treat!  Friday night, Papa and Gma asked the kids to join them for a cousin sleepover, so Brent and I took a hike at Chester Woods Park on a beautiful night and watched a movie at home.  Sunday night, we met our friends, Peter and Bethany, for dinner at 300 First and dessert at Forager while Luke and Nora hung with the other grandparents for the evening.

Hiking
Memorial weekend was very nice weather for hiking. Brent and I also got out Monday morning for a hike in Stewartville.  There are several grass/dirt paths through the trees at Bear Cave Park.  It was a pretty windy day so the trees were a helpful windbreak.   

We encountered a friend

Beautiful wild flowers blooming

Time w/ Family and Friends
I already mentioned we got to do dinner with our friends, but we also got to see lots of family over the weekend.  The kids had their cousin sleepover Friday night and we had my sister and fam over Sunday afternoon.  Piper adores her older cousins and Parker is just the cutest thing around.  We love our time with them!  One of my favorite memories from the day was when Piper arrived.  She came marching very intently into the kitchen, threw her sunglasses aside, and hugged Luke with all of her might.  So stinkin cute!
After lunch, Nora was feeling tired, so she curled up in her bed.  Piper found her and snuggled up too!  We brought Parker in to join the party:)  

Piper and Nora

Nora, Piper, and Parker

Rocket Project
The last science assignment of the year for Luke was to build a bottle rocket that they would launch at school to see whose rocket went the furthest.  Brent and Luke crafted the rocket below.  Unfortunately, it was very windy this week so Luke said his rocket didn't fly the greatest.  One kid who had the farthest flying rocket had the top of his weighted...great engineering for the wind!  

You have to look closely,
but this side says "NASA"

This side has a rocket logo
they found online

The tip/head
(I don't know rocket terminology)
has a block M on it

Michigan Rocket!

We Love Wednesdays

I missed a week of Wednesdays, so I have a lot to share.

Cherry Blossoms
A couple weeks ago, the cherry/crab apple blossoms were in full bloom! One of my favorite parts of spring:)  Nora, Mom, Murphy (the pup), and I took a stroll down Memorial Parkway that is lined with cherry trees.  It was a beautiful day and the aroma was amazing!

Brent’s 5 Month Milestone
May 16 was Brent’s five month milestone after his Achilles repair surgery.  Five months means no more restrictions on activity!  Now, I have to take a moment to brag on my guy.  I was SO impressed with how he dealt with this injury and recovery.  He was patient in the bed rest/restrictions, diligent in following the recovery protocol and physical therapy, and continued to be the most involved dad and husband that he could with his limitations.  I am quite sure I would not have handled the situation with such patience.  But, he's is at the end of his recovery protocol and has been easing his way back into walking and running for exercise.  He made it!  

Friday
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  I am so blessed to have Fridays home with Nora (and Luke when he’s not in school)!

• Lunch

Last Friday, I had plans to meet a friend/former coworker, Diane, for lunch.  It worked out perfectly that Brent could take lunch at the same time so he took Nora on a date to Panera.  She thought it was pretty special!  I was also very blessed by the one-on-one time with my friend.  She is a couple decades ahead of me in life, we share the same faith, and she knows me well from working together for eight years.  We talked work and life and it was so nice to hear her perspective on how life has changed for her and her family with each decade of her life.  I am so grateful for the women that go ahead of me in life who share their wisdom:)

  

• Library

After our lunch date, Nora and I met another friend, Laura, at the library.  She and I are the same age and both in the middle of mothering the two children we have each been blessed with.  It was great catching up in person (though we connect online often) and supporting one another through the places we currently find ourselves as moms.  I am grateful for the women I mother alongside in each stage of motherhood:)

• Birthday Celebration

Friday evening, Brent and I got to head out to dinner to celebrate a friend, Erika's, birthday!  (Friday was an awesome day!)  It was a great night of relaxing, chatting, eating very good food, and celebrating a wonderful person!

Shower Day
Saturday my mom, sister, and I had a ladies’ day trip to a baby shower for our cousin who is expecting her first child, a little girl.  We got to see more family at the shower and it was lots of fun sharing in the excitement of another baby joining the family.

Grandma, me, Tina, Bridget, Mom
Yes, Tina is the pregnant one,
though you can hardly tell in this pic!

Everyday Fun
Life isn’t all about the plans we have…actually, most of life happens in the time between planned events.  Even though I’m a planner, I love the moments in between when "regular life" happens.  This past week, I noticed how Luke and Nora have been playing together.  As siblings go, I’d say they’re pretty easy.  They rarely fight (though sassy words can be heard thrown around between them).  With their age gap and different personalities, they don’t always find the same things entertaining.  This week though, I noticed a lot of time together, playing, snuggling, and wrestling (the fun kind).  It melts this momma’s heart!

Snuggles watching their new favorite show on Netflix

Brent and I enjoy being active and our kids know that’s a part of our daily life.  Nora often joins us on walks and at-home workouts.   The other day, she started out on some exercises with me then came up with a fun idea: a picnic with her play kitchen food.  She started making her plans, which included “dress up” clothes for each of us to wear for the picnic.  Daddy got a crown, I got a sword, and Nora dressed as a cowgirl.

Real dad's wear crowns while working out:)

Ready for the picnic!

The other day I finally decided to tackle the pile of ironing.  I brought the ironing board downstairs so I could watch a movie with the fam while I ironed.  Nora decided she wanted to join me with her own play ironing board and iron, so she took off her dress and started ironing it:)  The even better part was when she said "Next I'm going to iron my underwear!"

Hard to see in this pic, but Nora is on the far right wearing just her pants:)
As you can see, I prefer ironing while fully clothed.

Mother's Day

I love days set aside to honor and acknowledge people in my life.  It's easy to overlook and take for granted how very blessed I am.  Today, we honor mothers.  It's so intriguing to me how so many of us have the same role as mom, but live it out so uniquely.  Today, I think of just a few of the moms that I call family...

Mom
My mom is very dedicated to caring for her family.  She worked full time yet always made us her priority the moment she came home: making dinner, listening as we talked about our days, keeping the house in order, and taking the extra time for a walk to the park after dinner, even though I'm sure there were days she would have rather went straight to bed.  Mom is soft spoken and unassuming, but she has certainly made a huge impact in our family.

Grandma and her girls:)

My Sister

My sister became a mom nearly three years ago and she has knocked it out of the park!  She's hard working, tenacious, and full of spunk.  Just the perfect mom for her feisty and beyond adorable kiddos.  Having two kids within two years is not for the faint of heart, but Bridget has done it with ease and joy.

Bridget and Parker

Grandma Green
My best memories with Grandma were doing the things we loved together: shopping, playing games, laughing, and going to annual outings like the Freeborn County Fair and Rochesterfest.   She has an amazing laugh (which Brent says I start sounding like when I laugh really hard:)) and she knows how to have a good time.  She's faced her share of hardships, but she is faithful, steady, and determined.

Grandma and Grandpa and their granddaughters

Grandma Beckmann
My best memories with Grandma were just being together.  Grandma had a large family with many grandkids, but when we visited for the weekend she always had a fun little project planned to spend special time together.  She was an amazing cook and loved on many through the meals she prepared.  She always had time for each of us, even though she was also one of the hardest working women I've ever known.

Unfortunately I can't find a picture of Grandma and I...
I'll have to dig at Mom and Dad's house soon:)

Ruth
My mother-in-law Ruth had a special role as mom: raising three boys!  Her quiet and faithful spirit blessed and continues to bless the lives of her boys and their families through her prayers and love.  She has embraced her daughter-in-laws in the fold of her family and is devoted to us all.

Mother's Day 2017

We Love Wednesdays

Whew!  This has been a fun-filled week, and, to top it off, the weather has been beautiful!!!

Chanhassen
For Mother's Day this year, Bridget and I got mom tickets to see Grease at Chanhassen Dinner Theater.  We had a great night enjoying a good dinner and fun show!  I highly recommend the show, but truly everything I've see at Chanhassen has been great!  It's a fun treat every few years:)

Friday Afternoon
I got the chance to help out at Luke's school Friday afternoon for their Jump Rope for Heart event.  It was a school-wide event and thankfully a beautiful day so the kids rotated between two activities outside and one in the gym.  The afternoon wrapped up with a special jump roping demonstration by kids at the school.  It was a fun afternoon and always great to get a peek into Luke's school world.

After school, it was off to Friendship Place.  Again, since it was a beautiful day, we played games outside and had a picnic. Such a great time together!

While at Friendship Place, the director read Dragons Love Tacos to the kids in honor of Cinco de Mayo.  It got me thinking that it would be great to have tacos for dinner...but I knew Mexican restaurants would be busy and I hadn't taken any meat out of the freezer to thaw. It was just wishful thinking.  But...when I checked my cell as I left Friendship Place, I saw a text from Erika, our neighbor, asking if we wanted to come over for a Cinco de Mayo dinner.  Oh my goodness...YES!  My wish had come true!  We had some super yummy pork tacos with all the fixings!  And, what Cinco de Mayo would be complete without a margarita???  We topped off the night with a bonfire in the backyard.  It was perfect!  Thank you again, Erika!

S'more time!

Gooey goodness!

When I saw the pic on the right, it totally reminded
me of the pic on the left when Nora was a baby:)

Color Run
Saturday morning was the second annual Stewartville Color Run!  The event is a fundraiser for early childhood education to purchase larger equipment for the classrooms.  Luke and I ran the 5k and Brent and I helped out with the event too.  Again, we were blessed with a beautiful day and I was very impressed with the number of kids who ran/walked!  5k is pretty far, especially for preschool legs!

I was also blessed during the event by Nora's teacher telling me how much she thought of my dad.  She only knows him from picking Nora up from school, but she can see the joy grandpa-hood brings him and it was so sweet of her to share with me.  We are so very blessed by both sets of our parents and their involvement in our lives:)

Before the run in front of the beautiful back drop
that Troy made for the event!

After the run (Nora didn't run)...
clearly Luke got more color than me:)
Oh, and Luke beat me...again!

Golf
Luke had his first week of the Stewartville Golf Program.  He'll get weekly group lessons from coaches and high school players at Willow Creek Golf Course.  He's looking forward to learning more and hopefully getting in some golf time with Dad and Papa this year too.

Birthday Party
Our new neighborhood is FULL of families with young kids.  It's been great having so many kids close by and living on a quiet, dead-end street where the kids can play safely.  One of the little buddies across the street invited the neighborhood to his birthday party this past weekend.  It was a great chance to put some names with faces of both kids and a few parents.

Nora had a great time
at the pirate themed party!

Outside
The weather has been a common theme in this week's update:)  We've been outside as much as we can enjoying the sunshine, blooming plants and flowers, and shaking off the Minnesota winter.  Spring in the Picker house brings the landscaping itch for Brent and I.  We love adding perennials to our landscaping and we still have plenty of space to do it at the new house!

My first ever tulips!  All of the perennials planted
last year are coming back beautifully!

 

Love the color variation

Nora frolicking alongside Daddy:)

Working together!

Hard at work

New rhododendron plants!

Our bleeding heart plants aren't very big yet,
so the hearts are itty bitty:)

Love these ground phlox!

Team work!

Date with Luke
Yesterday I got an impromptu date with Luke!  He had an orthodontist appointment after school and Gma Ruth was kind enough to keep Nora late, so Luke and I grabbed dinner after the appointment.  Luke is busy and on the move, so grabbing some time together is a wonderful gift:)  I am having a hard time believing that he's finishing Elementary School this year and embarking on Middle School next year.  And, I know that as he gets older, his time with mom will be fewer and farther between.  I will savor what I can get:)