Summer Fun: Parks, Playdates and Other Fun PART 2

 Summer! It is going by way too fast. I posted a couple of pics similar to these about a month ago but couldn't resist putting more of these cute pics on the blog.

These two bond while Carter is playing tball. They even dress alike a lot of days:)

 Carter has tball two mornings a week. It's been a nice little structure to our summer. He plays while the boys watch or run around or go to the park. Then we all play at the park together. Often times we'll have friends join us too!

 More family bike rides. This has been a highlight of my summer. I hadn't rode on a bike since high school!  

 The guy that did our floors came to finish up the job. The boys sat right in front of him and watched. So cute!

 My friend Allie has three kids and the youngest, Caroline, was born this spring. The boys LOVE her!! 

 Backyard fun with some neighbor kids. 

 There was a free concert a couple of blocks from our house where they served cake and ice cream. One more reason we love Grand Forks! Crosby asked a lady to dance with him. Turns out it was Marilyn Hagerty who writes for the Grand Forks Herald and she mentioned him in an article she wrote!  

Mean faces! 

 I love that this still happens:) Summer is so tiring!! 

 One of my favorite pictures of summer so far. The boys enjoying each other. Ahhhhh!!!

 Another item checked off the Summer Bucket List-the boys finished their summer reading plan. They got a certificate and trophies. They were pretty proud! 

 We stopped at BK on our way home from the Cities and got the boys an Icee to split. They did remarkably well:) 

Lowes puts on these free workshops for kids every other Saturday. Tim has been taking the big boys to it and they've built some pretty cool things. They also got free workman aprons:)

All this FREE stuff in Grand Forks over the summer...makes me think they are trying to keep us here being that the winters are sooooo long and hard!

Crosby is Potty Trained!!

We had been dragging our feet on potty training Crosby...mostly because of all of our travel. He's been ready for a while-waking up dry, asking to try to go. And FINALLY we found a window of time to lay low for a couple of days and get after it. He was by far the easiest of the three to train. Probably because we waited longer and he had two older brothers cheering him on :)

 We used the baby potty the first couple of days. He did not want to miss out on play time outside so we just brought it with us to the backyard:) 

 Carter made him charts for #1 and #2. The first couple of days we gave Cros an M&M or some small treat. The boys got to have one two if they encouraged him and went with him.

 Big brothers showing Crosby the ropes:) 

Ta da! He did it! He has to go up on his tippy toes to reach but being that his big brothers use the big toilet, he needs to too:) Check that off the summer bucket list! And way to go Cros!!!

NYC Adventures

As I mentioned in my last post, my brother's band played on Letterman last week and my mom, sister and I got to go see him! I had never been to New York before and we packed as much as we could into the 55 hours we were there:)

Off we go! We had to get up REALLY early but thankfully there is coffee:) I'm pretty sure we started talking on the plane and didn't stop until we got back home! 

After grabbing lunch at a Japanese restaurant we walked the streets of Mid-Manhattan for hours. I loved seeing how similar the three of us are. We like lists, checking things off, walking fast, talking fast, and making fun out of it all!

Grand Central Station

 I was blown away but how huge this city is. Sky scrapers for miles. Beautiful architecture on every corner. So. Many. People! 

I have a hundred pictures of buildings but maybe more of Shannon and Mom taking pictures of buildings:) 

After a couple of hours we were wiped and decided to go to a very fancy hotel for a glass of wine to get off our feet. 

After dinner at Ruby Foos, a Thai/Sushi restaurant we headed to Broadway to see Newsies. Amazing!

 And we still had energy after all of that to catch a cab and meet Dave near his hotel!!

 Day 2 started at the 9/11 Memorial Museum. We spent a couple of hours there and could have stayed longer. It was such a beautiful tribute to those that lost their lives and to all the people that helped in the days and months following the attack. We were emotionally exhausted but so thankful we go see it.

A little more walking a sightseeing and a quick salad in a park. Then we rushed home to get ready for Letterman!!

 I already posted about the show but here is one more pick from right afterwards. Before the big dinner with the band, managers, etc. we got a little time with Dave at a pub by our restaurant.

Day 3 and our final day started at Central Park. We didn't really have an agenda this day, just a lunch reservation at the Boat House in the middle of the park. We walked for miles and hours just exploring this massive, beautiful park!

 And then enjoyed one of the nicest lunches I've ever had. Thanks Mom!!!!!!

 As our day quickly slipped away we decided to get one more thing in and went to the Top of the Rock (the 70th floor of the Rockefeller Center). What a view!! 

What a trip! Thank you so much Mom and Dad! 

NYC-Letterman

About a month ago, Trampled by Turtles played in Moorhead. Dave told me they were going to be on Letterman in 2 weeks and I immediately texted my mom and sister lamenting that we missed the boat AGAIN. My dad read my text (which I promise was not suggestive!) and called me up asking if I would like to fly to NYC with my mom and sister for a little girls trip! YES, PLEASE!!!!! A lot had to happen but everything came together and off we went:) I'll post more about our adventures but here was the main event...

 Dave on stage during rehearsal. We weren't there for this but enjoyed getting his texts with updates.

Make-up prep time! 

 We were told to arrive at the back door by 3:30 to get our VIP tickets. We got to see Dave before the show and walk around the Green Room and see some of the behind the scenes stuff. Very cool! Then we had to wait for an hour and hear all sorts of instruction on how NOT to behave in the theater:) And then finally, the show. They film it in the afternoon and air it later that evening. It was fun to see how many people it takes to put the show on and what all goes on during the commercial breaks. 

 After they were done we got to go backstage again and celebrate with the band in the Green Room (their waiting room). There were all sort of props in the closet so I had to ask Dave to something funny:)

Afterwards, the band invited us out to eat at an Anthony Bourdain restaurant, Les Halles. Oh my amazing. Probably my best meal ever. And it was so fun to be with Dave and the band celebrating this great moment in their career. Thank you Trampled By Turtles!!!

4th of July

We had a nice 4th of July weekend at the Carroll cabin. What a blessing to have family that will share their lake home with us:) Nana and Papa were there and had lots of fun stuff planned for the kids. Papa took the boys to a hobby farm, we went to the pool at Rutgers, took a boat ride, made camp fires, watched fireworks! Summer fun!

 Friday was so chilly but the boys wanted to swim so Tim took one for the team!

 Hanging out with my mom and dad!! 

 They love time in the sand:)  

 Cros and his Pops

 Nana and the big boys baked a 4th of July cake.

They still don't really get what we are celebrating! 

 Getting ready for fireworks. Rutgers puts on a great show. They sell food, have a DJ and dance floor, and then the fireworks. Good times!

Carter loves to dance:)

 

 This was Crosby's first fireworks. Papa picked us a spot about 50 yards from where the fireworks were taking off! The boys LOVED it....loud, bright, crazy.