Yesterday, the girls had their open house at school.  This is the day when they can bring in all of their school supplies and meet their teacher.  They were both so excited to go and of course, Megan is at the age where she wants to look good, so she spent the morning picking out the right outfit for this occasion and asking me if it looked okay.  Kelly threw on a pair of shorts &  a shirt five minutes before we left. 

With me going to workshops all week and the girls meeting their teachers, the reality of going back to school has now come to us.  I will cherish my last four days of vacation.

The Minnesota State Fair is back in town and as always, we Solberg’s were in attendance.  It was a hot, steamy summer day today but that didn’t stop the girls from trying their best at all of the games out in the Midway.  While we were handing the “Carnies” tickets to play, they were kind enough to hand out the stuffed animals.  Anytime one of the girls won a game, they’d give the other girl a prize as well.  Very nice.  I on the other hand, didn’t have as much luck.  I did a dumb thing….I went on a ride.  I was trying to be the “cool” mom going on a ride with my daughter.  I chose a ride that I could handle as a child but found out afterward, not such a good idea.  Most of you know me and know that I get dizzy just being in a rocking chair, so going on the “Scrambler” really messed me up.  I spent the next two hours in a ‘walking coma’ (that’s how Nate described it).   After my head & stomach stopped spinning, I was back with the family having fun again and engaging in conversations and even eating.  The best memory of the fair this year had to be Megan & Kelly climbing the rock wall.  They both were like monkey’s scaling right to the top and ringing the bell with ease.  Nate & I just looked at each other and said, “Wow, did you know they could do that?”  They certainly don’t get that from their mom.

Kelly & I spent five hours today cleaning her room.   I couldn’t believe how much stuff we found laying around and smashed into every nook and cranny.  By the time we finished, we had filled an entire trash bag of “garbage” and five grocery bags of donations.  The rest of her “treasures” got to stay.   It was hard for her to part with a few stuffed animals, but she managed to get them into the bag and I quickly hauled them off to our local thrift store before she could change her mind.  Her room looks fabulous, clean and livable once again.  She’s very happy with the results, as am I.  But, I’m exhausted!

Today we spent the afternoon at Burnsville’s Art & Jazzfest listening to cool bands play jazz music, swing and even some blues.  The girls wore their swimsuits and kept cool by playing in the many fountains surrounding the outdoor park.   Greg  & Kimberly drove out and joined us on this sunny day as well.  After a couple of hours of listening to the music, we walked around to the art tents to see what local artists were showing on display.  We saw lots of jewelry, paintings and even some pottery.  It was a great way to spend a Saturday in August!

Today was such a nice relaxing Friday.  I took the girls over to a nearby park, known to us as the “Castle Park” because of it’s design.  We met our friends, Dawn & Michael there.  Dawn & I have been taking the kids here since they were about four years old.  They’re finally old enough where we don’t have to be watching them every minute so we can just relax and do some “mom chatting” over at the picnic table.  Thanks for a fun day Dawn!

I took the girls to our local pool yesterday because it was SUPPOSE to be sunny and 81 degrees!  We were there for about an hour when I hear Megan yell, “Mom, look!”  I turned around to see the biggest, darkest, nasty clouds just about over us.  I had no idea this was even coming.  So then the life-guards blow the whistles and tell everyone to get out of the pool.  They weren’t telling us whether or not they were closing so we didn’t know what to do.  Then this little girl comes walking over to her mom who was next to us and says, “Some kid just puked in the pool!”   Ewww….after my kids heard that, they wanted nothing to do with going back in.  Can’t blame them there.  So we went home and they had friends over.

Yesterday, we spent a beautiful day at the Chanhassen Arboretum.  The flowers out there were a spectacular sight and very fragrant.  The girls had their noses into nearly every rose they could reach, telling us, “Oh, smell this one!”  As always, I had my camera along and couldn’t help snapping photo’s of these colorful gardens.  It’s such an inspiring trip when we go out there and see all these blooms everywhere.  We always take home some ideas that we can hopefully include in our own backyard.

Today I went out to get our mail and when I returned to open my door, I noticed a creature hanging around the bottom of our door.  What a summer we’re having.  I’m not sure what it is about our front entryway that is so attractive to non-human species. 

I was working in the yard today, okay I was watering my plants, but anyway….I had to pull one of our bins out from under the stairs and I found a big surprise waiting for me.  There was a big bee-hive under this bin and they built the hive under-ground!  I have never seen this before so I got really scared and threw the bin back on top and put a watering can in front of that.  I really had no reason for this, except that I was scared.  I disturbed the hive, and as in the movies, we all know what happens next.  Bees surrounding me and I’d be covered and screaming for help.  So I waited for my brave husband to come home from work and take care of the situation.  He got out the wasp spray and killed them dead!  My hero once again.

Today we headed out to the Apple Valley Aquatic Center (aka: water- park).  The day started out very grey and cloudy but we decided to go ahead and take our chances on any bad weather and if it rains…well, we’re in our swimsuits, so who cares!  Then about two hours later, the sun came out and so did the heat and we were so happy to be surrounded by water.  There weren’t many people there today, so the kids didn’t have to wait in any lines for any of the big slides.  They were loving it!