Como Town

The boys and I headed to Como Town for the first time this season.  Ryan wasn't too fired up to go, he thought he was too old for most of the rides.  I think by the end of the day, he enjoyed it the most and wanted to stay the longest.  He could finally ride the drop zone, which he rode 9 times, 7 in a row while waiting for Carter to get through the long line for the pirate ride.  The boys also rode the zip line for the first time - they loved it!  It looked like a blast - I'd like to try it sometime! :)

Heading up the zip line for the first time.

The ride pulls you backwards up to the top and then drops you back down.

Coming down, fast!

Ryan on the drop zone for the first time because he met the height requirement of 54"

Loving life at Como Town today:

Chair

Since we put the lighted drawing table in the basement, we have been looking for just the right chair for it.  We looked at many furniture stores, not able to find what we were looking for.  Evan brought a chair home from work yesterday that he got from a salvage dealer he uses for work (for free) and I thought he must be kidding.  It was filthy, the wooden spindles were loose, the leather seat was torn, and the footrest was brass (think 90s).  It needed a lot of work.  He loved it and since it was for his drawing table, I guess the decision was his to make...

Evan is up north golfing this weekend and the boys and I had planned to spend the day at Como Park.  Mother Nature had other plans and it rained all.day.long.  Not a heavy rain, but enough to be a nuisance and keep us inside.  I thought I'd finish the chair and surprise Evan.  I took the seat off, gave the wood a good cleaning and glued the loose spindles down.  I spray painted the foot rest first with a nickel color and it looked awful.  I sanded it down and started over, this time with black.  Much better.  I used a leather repair kit which worked great on our couch last year, but did not work so well for the tear in the seat.  I ended up blending in electrical tape, which sounds so redneck, but I don't think you'd notice it at all, unless you were looking for it.  {We plan to recover the leather cushion at some point, but this will get us by until then.}  I put it back together and was pleased with the results.  Hopefully Evan will be when he sees it, too! :)

Chair before - it's tough to tell how filthy and in need of TLC it is in this picture:

Cushion before:  

Footrest before:

Chair after:

Cushion after:

Footrest after:

The newly finished work area:

Instagram

Time for another Instagram dump...

Carter and I played hooky from Ryan's lacrosse and Kyle's soccer to cool off in the sprinklers:

Dinner in the crock pot - roast, potatoes, and carrots - the house smelled delicious!

Carter and Griffin helping Caeden celebrate his 7th birthday at Zero Gravity:

Griffin spent the night at our house.  Carter's first ever sleepover:

Out cold by 9:00 p.m.  SUCCESS!

Carter had a bad headache (he gets these a lot in the heat).  He had an icepack and was fed dinner on the couch:

Evan had 4 Twins Champions Club tickets.  The boys were more than happy to go with him! :)

This is what my organ looks like these days.  I know I'll miss this someday... :)

We took the boys to the Bald Eagle Waterski Show.  They loved it! :)

Evan took this picture of me and the boys watching the show:

Champions Club

Evan and the boys had a once-in-a-lifetime experience today, getting to sit in the Champions Club seats at the Minnesota Twins game.  Although Evan and I have been lucky enough to sit in those seats before, none of the boys had.  They were so excited!

Evan and his boys heading to the game:

Going into the Champions Club (they have valet parking for all ticket holders):

When I asked the boys what the best part of the whole experience was, they replied "the food"!  They had bacon, hot dogs, nachos, and candy all.afternoon.long!

Down by the net:

In the super comfy seats (who wants to sit in stadium seats again after sitting in these)?

It was hot and sunny all afternoon.  Ryan had to take his shirt off! :)

Lacrosse

Ryan had his final lacrosse game of the season tonight.  It has been a tough season for the Bengals, but Ryan said he wanted to play again next year.  We'll have some work to do in the off-season to get him ready for next year.

Coming down the field to help his teammate in the face off:

Ryan is right in the thick of things:

Ryan doing the face off:

Throwing his weight around:

Handshakes for the opposing team:

Busy Day

We all had a busy day today, but Carter had the busiest.  We were at Bunker Beach for about 6 hours, and he had friends there he was running and playing with all.day.long!  Then he had his last baseball game for the season tonight.  He did a great job and it sure didn't take long for him to be sawing logs tonight at bedtime! :)

On the body slides at Bunker:

The obstacle course:

The wave pool:

Playing catcher:

He had a nice tag for an out tonight:

Handshakes:

Last team huddle for the River Bats:

Carter getting his medal:

One proud kiddo (with two proud parents!):

With his buddy, Caeden and his sister Avery:

What a great season for the River Bats.  It was so much fun to see them improve every game!!!  We are so proud of you, Carter! :)