A Little Getaway (With some BIG happenings)

So VBS wrapped up Friday. (More on that later in a different post.) 

The next day M had her final swim lesson in the morning.

Yay for progress! I love watching her swim! 

Then we went home, she changed clothes, and we hopped in the car because we were going to Indianapolis! This was C's belated birthday trip as you'll soon see, he called a lot of the shots. 

We had a pit stop along the way, making both of their dreams come true with Krispy Kreme Donuts. We don't have them nearby, so it's really a treat. 

I don't really know about this employee, but he pretty much insisted on taking a picture with them too so... there he was. 

We got to our hotel and beat Husband there by about 10 minutes. He was taking the shuttle from the airport. He flew from Denver to join us. (More on that later in a different post.)

After we relaxed a while, we decided to go find some dinner since we just had donuts for "lunch." 

To no one's shock... we ended up at Outback.  He was thrilled. 

And I'm not going to lie... I was too. 

After dinner, we went back to the hotel. Three went out to swim. One stayed in and cleaned out her email inbox which sounds dumb but was rather satisfying. 

Then we were early to bed. 

Sunday morning, we woke up and headed out for Mass at the Cathedral. 

It's the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul and we were there on the Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul. 

It was a nice Mass. 

Then we ate croissants in the car because we were heading into the matinee showing of Wicked! You might be saying to yourself... Madeline, didn't you go see Wicked last year out of town? For C's birthday? Yes. Yes we did. And we had Outback on that trip too. 

Well, we saw the show. And then in November, we saw the movie. And the kids wanted to see it again "With better seats," So I delivered. 

M has been talking about this $$$weat$shirt for the last year and I made her earn enough money to pay for "half" of it. **It was a little less than half but she's cute. I also bought it big so she can wear it for a long while is the hope. 

We really enjoyed the show, as we knew we would. We did NOT enjoy the many small girls who had only seen the movie and then proceeded to try and sing along in the first act. WOW. The audience's behavior was something else. 

Then we went back to change into more casual clothes and went out for local pizza. 

And then we came back, and 3 went swimming and one sat on a lounge chair. 

Later, after showers and some time to relax, we went out to Waffle House. This is another thing that is not by us at all. But the kids like the Jonas Brothers song (as do I), so we had planned to go for months on this trip. Seriously. 

And... apparently, Waffle House is carry-out only from 8:30 pm-6:00 am. For context: it was 8:41. And clearly light out. 

But what could we do? So we took some waffles to go and went back to the hotel to eat. 

Monday (yesterday) morning we were up bright and early and we headed out to the Indianapolis Zoo. 

We were the first ones there. And truly, the first family in the gate.

Why Indianapolis? Because of the Walruses!! Of course. Last year, it was the Penguins and Wicked. This year... it was a Wicked Walrus trip! 

We stopped to see the Chimpanzees. They were just walking onto the exhibit so it was really neat! 

We then cruised through Oceans quick to say hello to the penguins of course. 

But then we headed straight to the walrus exhibit to say hello to Ginger and Aku. The exhibit was closed for a while as the zoo fixed it up. It looked exactly the same to me as the last time we were in Indy but whatever.  I was glad that this wall sculpture thing was still there, though! 

Good morning Ginger! It's nice to see you! 

Aku was really loving his red enrichment ball. And we really enjoyed watching him play with it. 

After a good long while, we ventured off to other parts of the zoo. 

It was a real nice time. But then after lunch... came the main main event. The very special, behind-the-scenes tour with the Walrus. This took months of planning, knowing people and emails. It also helps that one Mr. C wrote a letter to Erika the walrus trainer and Pakak (may he rest in peace) in 2019. 

C was so excited/nervous he was almost crying. I don't honestly have the words to describe the experience so I am just going to let the pictures talk. 

Erika was there and so was Aku. Who was rescued from the Alaska Sea Life Center where Pakak and Mitik and Uki were rescued too. 

We got to feed Aku. And meet Erika. And Aku gave us kisses on our hands. And it was THE MOST amazing experience. 

After, we still had more zoo to cover. And we were riding the "I met a walrus" high. 

We went back to the dolphin show because I wouldn't let M sit in the splash zone pre-walrus. 

And then before we left, we said goodbye to our friends. 

And C got a little teary saying goodbye because Aku vocalized right when he said goodbye, and he is convinced that he said goodbye back. I mean, he probably did. 

It was a very special and fun weekend. 

And look out. Because Wicked is going to be in Omaha next summer, and they have a pretty great zoo, too. And Google tells me they also have an Outback. 😉

VBS is Finished

 Here's a collage overview of the last two weeks of my life. 

Please know there will be a real update when I come up for air. 

Pictures: 

1. A thematic sign in the decor. 
2. Husband rocking his VBS shirt on VBS shirt day but from the middle of absolute nowhere WY. (More on that soon.)
3. Me and the kids on VBS shirt day. 
4. Me and my preschool director. 
5. The True North Logo.
6. The kids doing the Power Shuffle during the glow stick dance party. 
7. Most of the 150 participants and 100 or so volunteers. 

June Keeps Trucking

My stress level is at 100. 

A long time ago, multiple parishes in the area banded together to offer a Totus Tuus locally, which we had never done before. And now most of the other parishes have backed out. 

On top of that, I still have VBS to worry about. It's okay. One day at a time. One day at a time. 

So here's a little bit of what happened this week. We made a "Don't Mix It!" Have you seen those reels? 

Cinnamon Toast Crunch. 2 Cans of Peach Pie Filling. One box of white cake mix. DON'T MIX IT! 

One and a half sticks of butter sliced thin. 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Better than Peach Cobbler.

YAAAAAS. 

It really was quite good. 

On Tuesday, I took an online felt embroidery class. Sparkling Sea Monsters. 

It was fun but the lady went so fast, and I wasn't remotely done when the class ended. I ended up recording parts on my phone to go back and watch when I was ready. Here's my work in progress. 

I didn't actually take a finished product pic, but I was fairly happy with how it turned out. 

Our whole family went to see the Addams Family last night. We had a good time. 

Since I was reviewing, we weren't near the other seats I bought so Husband and M sat apart from us but it was just fine all around. 

And that's about what I know. Happy Weekend! 

Musings on Monday

It is late on Monday night as I write this. I have been meaning to get on here and write all day, but... we are in crazy Vacation Bible School and Totus Tuus season. That means I have been super busy, and I just keep making sure that I take life one day at a time and keep the checklists going. 

Anyway. Last week was also a bit of a blue without too much to show for it. One of those busy nothing weeks of summer. The kids really enjoyed a week of free-range summer-ing before some of the next weeks of lots to do. 

C and I went to a show.

We liked it! And it was fun to hang with my guy a bit. 

The next day C had a dentist appointment. He was a champ! (And that is a freaking miracle because I was truly worried about it.)

M cleaned her room!!!! This may not sound like much but trust me when I say it totally is! And before you ask... I have no idea where she sleeps with so many pillows and stuffies. 

Saturday was a busy day for us! We started off picking strawberries. 

We planned the strawberries since we were already heading north and wanted to be sure to get it in this year. We didn't pick as many as usual, a peck and a half total. No jam this year but that's just fine. I am glad we got to go! 

The patch is about 45 minutes north, and we left the house in order to be there close to opening at 8:00. And we still got there to a totally packed lot! 

We then journeyed further north to Husband's hometown. We got to have his very favorite pizza in the world for lunch. 

Then we ran a few errands and got some Whippy Dip too. Because when you go home, you should get your favorite things, I think. 

We had a quick change in the car/empty-out-of-sight parking lot. Then the main reason we went home. And I took exactly one picture. Shame on me. See that little baby I am holding?

Well that girl went and got herself graduated from high school. She's our niece. She was in fact, not my niece at all when I held her in this picture. I was just the girlfriend tagging along to the family wedding. Good thing it worked out huh? I would definitely not be crop-out-able! 

It was a great grad party and we saw a lot of relative and that was really delightful. We drove home that same night and we got home super late but it was totally worth it. 

Sunday came, and we headed to Mass. M and I have been trying out different hair videos. This one looked cute. But did not actually hold up well. 

This is a funny pic I sent to my mom because we just discovered that her/my/my brother's cat, who is 19 really likes the Friskies cat soup. And now we see ads for it everywhere. 

But seriously. This cat has never in her life liked a cat treat and has always been really picky about her food so for her to not only like the cat soup but beg for it is kind of novel. Fun to be surprised by a 19 year old cat in a good way. 

Anyway, because we were gone on Saturday, we were bare bones in the grocery department. So husband grilled up some chicken thighs and make a spinach strawberry salad and we called it good enough. 

Please note, in no way is this a fancy picture or plating. But I had been lamenting to my parents that we had to figure out a dinner option and they wondered what we came up with. 

It was tasty. 

Then it was time for the Tony Awards. I LOVED these magnificent giant sequins on Cynthia's dress. 

Like all award shows... I thought it was meh. But I always appreciate the live performances. And the Hamilton 10-year reunion was awesome. 

And now we are here. I have to tell you, last night into all of today has been quite cool. Topping off at only 73 degrees today. AND I LOVE every second of it. It's the perfect weather in my opinion! 

And that's what I know. It's not much. 

A Long Weekend

Well, the last day of school happened. It went well. 

It was a 2-hour early out, and we went home right away, packed the car, and headed to Minnesota. 

The drive wasn't that interesting.

But we did see some interesting vehicles. **If this is your idea of awesome, would you please explain it to me? All I can think of is WHY?! 

Saturday was my cousin's wedding. He's married now! 

Husband and I had a nice time. We took our "we went to a wedding together" selfie. We have definitely been to our share of weddings together. 

Sunday, we went to Ikea. We yet again, took a picture on the exact same bed that we think we should get for M. If, after 4 years, we still like it, it's probably time to get it right? Alas. We don't have a vehicle big enough to transport it. 

After dinner, we all went bowling! That was so much fun! It was a really nice facility. 

It was a super fun time! And see that guy behind C?

He was a HOOT. He was on a date with a lady friend. We gathered it was about their 5th date because they knew each other, but he was still trying very hard to impress her. He is a golf trainer. Husband and I heard all about it. (He wasn't talking to us, just to his lady friend, but he was loud.) 

He also brought a massage gun into the bowling alley to relax his shoulder between turns. And a stretch band, too. I don't know why. 

He was trying to show off, and he almost fell over each time he bowled. It was comical. 

I wish the couple well. And thank them for the memories. 

Yesterday we drove home, and I went to a board meeting. I didn't take any pictures of that. :) 

Happy Tuesday!