minnehaha falls

last sunday we headed to minneapolis to check out the minnehaha falls park. it was a beautiful day for some hiking and a few other surprises. the falls were in full flow.

this is obviously down below the falls
here are the girls on part of the trail(s) that meanders by the river. very cool.

here we are looking down at the falls

drew and the girls

one of my favorite random pictures from the day, just posing by a fun V shaped tree

after our hike down below, we rented this double surrey and rode around the park for an hour. this was lots of laughs and a first for all of us!

friday fun

drew has class every day except on fridays and sundays, so we usually try to "do" something all together as a family on those days. two weeks ago we ventured to the como zoo. to start, drew had band practice in the morning in dassel. so, the girls and i visited a couple of new playgrounds and tried out their new bakery with a sweet breakfast!

balloon flip-flops, this was a project we did a couple days prior. each of the girls has their own pair. super cute, easy, and water-proof.

then off to the como zoo to visit a few of our favorite animals.

check out chaya's face! it was around this time when chaya was hot and bothered and i quote, "move, you're popping my bubble". however, in this pic, it looks like chaya is popping gibson's bubble! we all got a huge chuckle!

gibson's favorite animal, the monkey!

then a couple of rides to finish up at como town.

finally, we just HAD to stop at drew's favorite guitar store, which is conveniently located next to snuffy's malt shop. yumm, a perfect end to a perfect day!

music, bbq, water, and more

fourth of july weekend consisted of us hitting the beach a couple of times, grillin' and chillin' with family, music, homemade ice-cream, movies, fireworks, and more. unfortunately, i didn't have the camera with for all of it, so here are just a few snapshots.

square one band played at the bay club in annandale on saturday night. since it started early enough, the whole family went for dinner and of course the outstanding music. a little sticky weather, but otherwise tons of fun.
the little girls getting their groove on with these funky glasses

kenya just chillaxin'

our other attempt at water fun was a double-length slip-n-slide, pretty fun until the rain poured down.