Go Gophers!

I was lucky enough to take my boys to a Gopher Game again this year.  My mother in law has season tickets and Frankie couldn't go to this game so I jumped at the opportunity to take both my boys to a football game (something I love doing)!  It was fun to watch the game with Colton who is playing football this year and it really starting to understand the game.  It was fun to watch him watch the Gophers run the same plays he has been practicing, like the Quarterback Sneak!  I was nervous that it would be impossible to get Mason to sit through a 3 hour football game but I had nothing to worry about... he did awesome!  He was watching and cheering and dancing every time there was a commercial break when the band played music to entertain us.  Of course the pizza, bucket of mini donuts and snow cones also helped to keep him entertained.   Here are a few pictures from my annual Gopher Game with my boys!

Composition in the Field

My friend Lisa and I took another photography class last night and I learned some new things that I had reviewed in previous classes but the information just didn't really sink in until now.  The biggest thing we seemed to work on this class was adjusting shutter speed and playing with depth of field!  This was an on location class at the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis.  I had never been to this area of town before but I can tell you that I will be going back (with my camera in hand of course)!   I can't seem to get enough photography information - already looking for another class for us to take (even if some of it is review as long as I learn a couple new "tricks" or how to use a new setting each time then I feel the class is totally worth it).  Lisa and I are also going to try to schedule some photography adventures in the near future where we get up early and head to a location with our cameras and just see what can of awesome images we can capture.    Here are few pictures I took at the class last night as well as a couple others I have taken in the past few weeks, I posted a couple of side by sides which show just how much you change the look of an image by just changing a few settings on the camera (I have done no editing on any of these images)!

 This night shot of bridge and Minneapolis is by far my favorite picture from the night!

Summer Flashback

This past summer was filled with so much fun that I didn't have enough free time to blog about it all but there are two weekends that I must document cause they were so much fun!

4th of July Weekend

We spent the long weekend at the lake with my parents.  Frankie was actually able to get the weekend off and join us at the lake (something he hadn't done in almost 3 years).  My friend Angela also joined us for the weekend, just like she has done the past several years.  The weekend included the 4th of July Bike Parade around the campground, lots of amazing food, Bean Bag Tournament which Frankie and I won, Greased Watermelon Football, Bingo, wildlife, outdoor movie, 3 o'clock smore time, frozen drinks, swimming,delicious food, being pulled on tubes behind the pontoon, naps, playground time and of course lots of laughs! I had a hard time deciding which pictures to share so here are just a few :)

Girls Weekend 2013

My girlfriends and I kept our tradition going and enjoyed our annual girls weekend in July.  There were 8 of us who rented an awesome house in Somerset, WI.  It was a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house with an indoor hot tub settled on a secluded lot on the St Croix river.  It had an amazing wrap around deck with lots of outdoor sitting areas, a dock with a little motor boat for us to use, a fire pit (which we never used but kept saying we were going to), a merry go round in the front yard and the best part... a huge in ground pool which we had all to ourselves.  It was the perfect house for our girls weekend and this was the first year that all 8 of us were able to attend so we made sure to enjoy every minute of it.  Also we had a surprise guest join us for the weekend... Karen Carrot didn't take long catching up and joining in on the fun, hoping her and Kate Grape can both make it next year!  It was great to leave the kids and husbands behind for a couple days (Thursday - Sunday) and just catch up with the craziness in everyone's life!  This year we also decided to make East Side - West Side shirts as we are spread out all over MN as well as Iowa and Chicago and we have always joked about which side of the cities is better.   We spent time reading, swimming, lounging, boating, eating, playing games and even made a trip into Stillwater for some for of the largest ice cream cones ever!  I also had my photography obsessed buddy with me for the weekend so we took some time to sneak away and photograph our beautiful surroundings (as well as be personal photographers for the rest of the girls)!  We had so many belly laughs and it was a much needed escape with some of the best girlfriends I could ever hope for!  A couple things to remember about this weekend.... Tigers Rule, there are 5 Woofs in the Who Let the Dogs out song, Tigers attack when the lights go out, Sandy will take you for rides in his convertible for a "price", CC has a sister named BB,  Carousel Horse likes to get in on the action, White girls can Jump! I love you girls and I am already counting down the months to Girls Weekend 2014!

 

Holding on to Summer

With the temps still in the 90's a week into September we felt like we could waste a minute of these summer temperatures!  Friday night after work I picked up the boys from daycare, we packed a quick picnic, threw on our swimsuits, picked up Auntie Marissa and we headed to Carver Beach.  We played in the water, built sand castles, caught dragon flies, enjoyed our picnic dinner and played at the playground!  It was an awesome evening and really made me realize that these hot summer nights will be quickly coming to an end as Fall is knocking on our doorstep.  Here are a few pictures of us enjoying one of our last "summer nights". 

First Day of Second Grade

Colton is officially a Second Grander!  I still can't believe how fast my baby is growing up, I remember when he was a baby and people would say enjoy every moment because he will be in school before you know it and here we are!  He is excited to be back in school however he doesn't understand why the school year is so long and summer is so short (he is a smart one)!  His first day went great, minus the fact that he forgot his teachers name as soon as he got to school and then got lost and couldn't find his classroom.  Thankfully a friend was there dropping off her daughter and she was able to help Colton figure out where he was supposed to be... crazy kid!  I am looking forward to watching Colton grow throughout the school year and hopefully watch him learn and explore and become an awesome reader as that is his weak spot right now.  We have already set a challenge for him too... if he gets 100% on a spelling test we get to go to Waterpark of America for a fun filled day!  Hoping that helps him to slow down and focus as he tends to rush through things and makes silly mistakes.   Here is to a great year in the second grade.  We love you Colton and are so proud of the little man that you have become!

State Fair 2013

We had planned to go to the fair on Monday but with a heat index prediction of 105 we knew that just wasnt a good idea so we decided to head to Como Pool instead and skip the State Fair this year.  Well as the week went on both Frankie and I mentioned how we have not missed a State Fair together in the last 12 years and couldn't believe that we were going to break the streak.  Eventually we decided that just was not an option.  We headed out to the fair on Friday night with both boys and my sister!  This was Mason's first trip to the Great MN Get Together and I am pretty sure he loved it! We didnt get to the fair until 7pm which is totally different than what we usually do (which was arrive at 8am or so).  Many of the booths were closed by the time we got to them but we still had a great time just walking around, seeing all the animals, going on rides and of course eating!!  We enjoying some Fresh French Fries, Icees, Minneapple Pie with Cinnamon Ice cream, Alligator on a Stick, Tater Twisters, Cheese Curds, Shaved Ice and ended our night with a bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies!  We had a great time at the Fair and are happy that we did not break the streak - Frankie and I have attended 14 straight State Fairs!  My only wish is that I would have brought my own camera with as the ones I took on my sisters camera all seem to be a little blurry but at least I have a couple from Mason's First State Fair!