This Girl...

Yes this is an old pick from the 4th of July, but I forgot to take a pic with her and I last night.  This kid is something else, I tell ya!

Last night was supposed to be "Mom and Emma" night.  We were going to go to Barnes and Noble (her FAVE place to be) and browse books and do some other shopping.  Brad was taking the other 2 and some friends tubing.  Unfortunately Brad had the van keys with him, so shopping did not happen...

She was so bummed, tears streamed down her face.  I told her that she could pick a movie to watch and that we would do some baking.

We made a new recipe, Carrot Banana Bread (from Mels Kitchen Cafe) which was delicious!  We also whipped up a batch of peach and banana smoothies.

We watched Titanic and ate popcorn, it was such a fun night with her!  She told me that it was more fun than going shopping:)  LOVE that kid!

The Last Little Bit of Summer...

I love summer, but I am so ready to get back into a routine!  I cannot wait for sleepy kids at night, hearing about their schooldays instead of hearing how someone (who shall remain nameless) didn't share barbie clothes or GASP! made them read and work in their workbook.  Oh the horror of being a kid...

We've enjoyed a few end of the summer outings....Brad and I went with another couple to Lord Fletcher's on Lake Minnetonka.  It was a ton of fun, and we enjoyed watching the half million dollar boats docking.  Next time we'll have to bring our Tracker boat and show em who's boss...

We enjoyed a lone evening at the beach..

Another fun weekend with cousins and some boating!

Looking forward to one more lake weekend before ruining the lives of my children and sending them back to school...

Running Group

Since I began running a few years ago, I've always wanted people to run with.  I was a new runner, not overly motivated and I figured having a person to run with could whoop my arse when I wanted to quit.  Sometimes I had good efforts to run, but often times the beer won...My girlfriend had been a runner for a few years before I got started, so it was nice to go running with her a few times.  However, now she has had to quit because of bad knees...boo.  I had been wanting to get a group of runners together to meet once or twice a week to run and socialize.

While working a golf tournament a few months back, Brad's cousin and I were working together and she mentioned starting a running group!  I was thrilled.  Although I wondered if the beer was talking at first...but the next day she sent me a text and we went to work!  Kristi came up with the name "St. Joe 5k Anyway", people could walk, run or bike.  I created a group on Facebook and invited everyone and their dog.

 

Our first night we had 14 people, Kristi mapped a route and off we went!  There was about 5 of us that ran, and the rest walked.  Afterwards we went to our local watering hole The LaPlayette and enjoyed a nice cold beer.

 

Since then we've had up to 16 people come, and even had a family night at our local park where the kids could either walk/run with us or play on the playground.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this crew, and love how many new people I have met!

Not sure how long we'll continue, with winter looming in the distance, but I'm so happy (and proud) with how this has turned out!

Salmon

Brad was busy "working" last week on Lake Michigan and brought home an 11 pound rainbow trout and a 21 pound king salmon!  As much as I want to love salmon, I've never much cared for it.  However, now we have 8 packs of salmon steaks in our freezer, so its time to find a good recipe!

 

I combined a couple recipes that I found and it turned out quite good!  Brad and Rachel loved it, the other two, not so much. I also whipped up some couscous that I had in the cupboard, and some roasted broccoli and parsnips.  I've never had parsnips before and they were delicious!  They taste like a milder sweet potato fry.  And because I knew that the younger wouldn't touch the salmon if it was the last thing on earth, I made scalloped potatoes with ham.

Salmon Steaks

2- 1 1/2 inch thick salmon steaks

1/3 c. maple syrup

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2-4 cloves of garlic, minced

salt/pepper

Combine ingredients in saucepan and heat until boiling, remove from heat and cool completely.  Place steaks in a gallon Ziploc bag and pour marinade over steaks.  Marinade at least one hour and can marinade overnight.

Take steaks our and place in a baking dish, bake at 350 until salmon is opaque all the way through and flaky.

*Next time I will double the marinade so it was more saucy in the pan, and let it marinade overnight!

The Little Mermaid

Last week Emma got to be in a summer theater camp through G.R.E.A.T Theater in St. Cloud.  The camp is Monday-Friday from 9-4 and then on Friday they have their performance at 3:00.  It is AMAZING to see how much these kids learn in a week, and how confident they are!

This year she performed in "The Little Mermaid Jr" and was Attina, one of Ariel's sister's.  She didn't have much of a speaking part, but sang in 4 songs and had short solo pieces for each.

 

She did SO good!  I was amazed at how well she sings...I mean, I know she can sing, but she nailed her parts!  She is thinking she might want to do a main stage play, we'll have to see as that is quite the time commitment...

 

This was her crew, and she has already said how much she misses all her friends!

 

Good job Emma, we are all SO proud of you!

Lately...

This summer has flown by, I cannot believe that in a few short weeks the girls will be back in school...makes me sad...kind of.  I love my children dearly, and have honestly (no really) enjoyed having them home.  My house gets (kind of) cleaned, I get help with laundry, and we've gotten to do some fun things.  However, the bickering is getting old, getting asked 47,000 times a week if we can go shopping (by all 3, mind you.  Not sure how one person who HATES shopping gives birth to 3 who love it...), and I swear if Rachel shows me one more damn Coach purse on Ebay that she wants to buy, I might just snap. 

In spite of that, we have thoroughly enjoyed summer, especially our new boat.  Lots of nights taking the girls and cousins tubing on the lake.

 

 I am sure my chiropractor will love seeing how out of whack my girls are after a summer of getting knocked around in the tube, haha!

We had tons of fun at our friends 40th birthday party.  The theme was 80's.  Um hello, it's totally my fave decade.  The 20's come in a close second...I think I was originally from the 20's, just sayin...

Brad dressed up as our friend Craig, who was the 1988 homecoming king, hilarious!  I was the lady from Flashdance.

All the pretty ladies dressed up, LOVE these gals!

One of Alayna's lists.  This girl cracks me up!  Chredmeal....classic...

And lastly, having fun at the Schroeder family reunion at the farm.  The kiddos played a game of softball, so fun to watch!