Owfer, John, & Alson

This past week was great. We had family pictures on Monday - which went "okay."
Well actually, let me break it down.
Matt had to go to the commission meeting which last until 5:30ish. Pics were at 6. So for those of you that don't speak fluent Remynse house... here's what that means. Amanda has to pick up, prepare food, get food into children, change clothes into presentable photographable clothing choices, prepare herself, get kids into car, get snacks that will be used as decoys and smile prompts into car without children seeing, and get into the car by 5:50. For this to all go as planned, that would be a miracle.
It didn't.
Kids maybe ate some.
Clothes were changed - except mine.
Faces were cleaned and looked presentable - except mine.
I was only 8 minutes late and didn't get a ticket speeding.
AND I remembered the props that I wanted to bring.
Overall the 25 minute photoshoot was good. No problems aside from the fact that the children don't really smile. BUT that's just where we are at in life. Someday I'm hoping we can get that little girl to commit to a smile but just not now.

The rest of the week was lowkey. Until the weekend. We decided that Pinkertons had really been rockstars and have made quite a few trips to our house this summer and that it was our turn to return the favor. So we packed our bags (all of them) and headed to the Cities. For E the drive over was rough... she did not want to miss out on anything. So there was no nap. There was also some rain on the way over to which she sang different variations of "Rain, Rain, Go Away" and the lesser known hit, "Raining on Daddy's Pickup."

 

When we got there, we checked out their beautiful home that they've been in for a month and they had prepped a birthday party for Grady - which was sweet! AND who doesn't love a royal wedding inspired lemon and elderflower 2 layer cake, I was very glad that Grady requested it and more glad that Allison was willing to humor him!

After supper, we tried a bubble bath with the kids. So much giggling and laughing. They played so well even though constant supervision of the wildness that ensued was mandatory.

Oliver: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
EER stares at him.
EER slaps him in the face with a washcloth.

After teeth brushing, everyone headed to bed!

The next day was more playing.. playing at the park, playing in the backyard, playing in the house! Oliver and Eleanor played so well together. I think partly because he's okay with her being the boss - I'm not sure that's the best but at least they two of them have an understanding. Allison and I headed into town and did a little Momtime shopping together. We went to HomeGoods (spent a good portion of time in the children's books), Charming Charlie's, and ended at Trader Joe's - which is my new favorite foodie store.

It was hard to leave on Saturday. The kids had fun, we had fun talking with them - they are one of our best friends to visit with, compare kid and travel notes, and they were amazing hosts with great meals too.

MJR: Okay, we are back in North Dakota. Say Good-bye Minnesota!
EER: Goodbye Missesota, Goodbye Owfer, Goodbye John, Goodbye Alson. 
MJR: VERY good, Eleanor! 
EER: We go see Owfer? 
MJR: No, we just said goodbye.
EER: Goodbye Missesota.