football jamboree

Last Saturday Aiden had his first football jamboree! Growing up in a all girl household this football business is brand new to me. What I knew is that we needed to be on the field 90 minutes before the first game for weigh in and warm up followed by 3 games back to back. And I thought hockey parents had it bad... Aiden and I set out and left Dale and Amelia home to work on the bathroom project until the start of the first game. Unfortunately, Dale had a minor flood in the upstairs bathroom that made him late. He arrived just in time to see Aiden walk off the field during his last game. Major bummer for him. Luckily, I had brought my camera and got a few pictures of our favorite footballer #18.

grilled summer vegetables and fruit

I found this recipe on Haggens fb page and used what I had on hand. The recipe called for Garlic Expressions salad dressing which I didn't have so I subbed a basil balsamic dressing instead.
1 pound of fresh green beans (or asparagus)
1 zucchini sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 nectarine (or peach) cut up
4 oz fresh mozzarella cubed
Combine vegetables in bowl and drizzle with vinaigrette.. Marinate 10 minutes and then place over medium heat in grill basket on BBQ. Turning vegetables every few minutes until cooked. Took around 10 minutes. Place vegetables back in bowl and toss with cheese and serve.

meal plan monday {on sunday}

I need to get a wee bit more organized before the start of school. More thoughtful meals and a well stocked pantry are a start...as well as some inspiration from Pinterest. I'll keep you posted if anything is worth repeating!

sunday: citrus grilled salmon, rice pilaf and oven roasted beets
monday: cajun chicken stuffed with pepper jack cheese and spinach, carrots and hummus, green salad
tuesday: greek zucchini fritters with tzatziki sauce, veggies and dip
wednesday: spaghetti and meatballs, salad and garlic bread
thursday: honey garlic pork chops, roasted cabbage with bacon, corn on the cob
friday: homemade pizza

danskin 2012

My very first triathlon and I loved it! I loved participating in this all women's sprint triathlon last week end in Seattle. My attitude towards this event had been participation more than competition (or comparison) and it made such a difference. Two of my favorite girls weren't with us this time but we also had some new faces that helped make this week end complete. It started with a 0.5 mile swim in Lake Washington which was 'surprisingly' warm. Then a great 12 mile bike ride that included riding across the I-90 floating bridge. Followed by what felt like the slowest 5k of my life but no one was passing me. My times were 21 min for the swim, 45 min for the bike and 29 for the run. With transition times I finished in 1:43. Next year my goal will be 1:39! Overall place 530/1544.

Sent from my iPhone

family time

Our visit to the Midwest was most importantly to visit and reconnect with family. It was wonderful to see how quick and close our children are with their cousins. Dale and I were able to spend a lot of time with his siblings, spouses and parents. There was even a 'mini' family reunion of about 70 people at his parents house. After 17 years I am still meeting more family members!

mississippi mayhem

Not really. When I found out we were going to Minneapolis this summer I did some research for fun family activites. A riverboat tour of the Mississippi River was suggested. I thought this would be a fun event for the family but it was really a 90 minute tour of a muddy brown river in 90 degree weather! At least we can all say we've been on a riverboat on the Mississippi River.

sea life aquarium

The Mall Of America also had a fabulous aquarium for us to explore. Almost the entire aquarium was a walk through tunnel which made walking through the shark tank very cool.

mall of america

We flew into Minneappolis to meet up with Dale's family. We stayed in the twin cities for a few days and explored all the fun family friendly attractions. First stop Mall of America....