Minneapolis

Friday, July 26th:
The boys, my mom, and I flew out to Minneapolis for a long weekend visit at the end of July.

We had a couple hour delay waiting for our flight to MN. The boys hung in there pretty well. Thank goodness for plenty of snacks and my iPad and their Leap Pad:

Aiden zonked out shortly after we took off. Pretty typical for him to sleep on planes:

 Reid stayed awake the entire time which is pretty typical for him:

I snuck in a little knitting. Still hoping to get my shawl done before it turns cold. I'm almost halfway done. Here's a link to the pattern, in case you're interested.

Both were awake for landing. The pressure bothered Reid's ears a little bit. I told him he could suck his thumb to try to relieve the pressure. He got very mad at me and sternly reminded me that the "doctor" (dentist) told them not to suck their thumbs anymore. Eric and I were just talking about their thumb-sucking this morning. Since our visit to the dentist, it appears that both of them have quit, which I really can't believe. Quitting was so hard for me to do.

Reid helping David make up the hide-away bed in his office:

Eva wanted in on the action:

Eva and Aiden playing with David's Bobcat models:

Saturday, July 27th:

Even though the boys shunned their homemade beach robes, Eva seemed to like hers:

Watching Curious George on my iPad:

We visited a trampoline facility, which the boys loved. Reid was especially a jumping machine and never stopped the entire hour:

My cousin Julie is living with David and Kelsey this summer while she works a summer internship:

There was a zone in a different area for smaller kids, but that was a lot more chaotic than the main area where we hung out:

Jumping Julie:

Eva was lukewarm about jumping and spent some time with Grandma on the sidelines:

Yours truly:

You bet they took a great nap that afternoon:

Music time:

I brought along the title and keys so we could sell my car to Julie's boyfriend, Kris. We affectionately refer to him as a "hipster", because we're boring and old and he and Julie are not. He's starting seminary in St. Paul this fall.

You may recall that Eric drove the grocery-getter up to Minneapolis in October, 2010 so he could have an airport car while based in Minneapolis. During the same trip, my mom, the boys, and I flew up to Sioux Falls to meet up with Eric and my dad so the boys (and Eric!) could meet my Grandma Ringkob for the first time. My dad drove our support vehicle with all of the boys' goods. Took quite the effort to travel with two babies. Since Eric is no longer based in Minneapolis and the car is due for an emissions test IN COLORADO, the timing was perfect to sell it.

David posted this picture of The Hipster and his sweet ride this week. They had to install a new battery, but it sounds like the grocery-getter is about to enjoy a 3rd life. (First driven by my mom, then me.) Appropriately enough, Kris is working part-time at a grocery store. Perfect fit!

Reid loved playing Kelsey's guitar:

Julie brought out her ukulele too!

Eva and Aiden:

Kris, Eva, and Aiden:

I tried to get Aiden's attention for a picture about ten times. He finally turned around and gave me this look. I left him alone after that. (On a related note, one of the boys' favorite things to say to us when we're trying to get them to stop playing is to buzz by and say "We're too busy!" and then run off again. Minding your parents is over-rated.)

Sunday, July 28th:

While David, Kelsey, Eva, and Grandma went to church I took the boys to an indoor play area. Reid really enjoyed shooting baskets:

Aiden liked cruising around:

There was a gigantic climbing structure which a think was 3-4 stories tall. I joined the boys to begin with, but then sat out for a little while to let my knees recover.
Reid is about halfway up this picture:

Aiden's head is peeking out from the second to top level:

Reid is now on the top level:

The dilemma with going to a place like this is trying to get your children to leave. It took me a looooong time to locate my climbers. Luckily, they tend to stay together:

That evening we ate a picnic supper near the Lake Harriet band shell:

Aiden and Eva are playing in the sand/water while Kelsey and Julie look on:

Reid is on the far side running around while David (white shirt) is looking on:

I met up with one of my college friends, Alyssa, who also has twins! She had the smart idea of having them pose on the climbing web. Helped to keep them wrangled together:

So good to catch up with Alyssa! Mamas of twins- we get each other because having twins is definitely a completely different ballgame than having a singleton.

Hard to beat the cuteness of a cousin bath-time pic:

Reading time:

Helping Auntie Kelsey make cookies. She always makes the most delicious meals when we visit:

   

Monday, July 29th:
More music time- Reid on the guitar; Aiden on the bell:

We made a quick trip to a neat children's bookstore in Linden Hills. It's filled with lots of creatures too.
Lizard:

Rats in a cage below thick Plexiglas:

A hen:

Reid liked a little chair that was just the right size for him:

There was a little kid door built into the big main door:

Adios, Brother. Thanks for a great time, David, Kelsey, and Eva!

Even longer delay on the way home:

Finally, Hector the Otter arrived from Denver:

Honk shoo:

Grandma enjoyed an empty row so she moved over to the window seat. And probably wanted to distance herself from being associated with us as both boys threw HUGE fits right before we got on the plane. Their patience was had after having to wait so long for our plane to arrive. I finally had to grab both of them in my arms and drag them on the plane, as Grandma had boarded too far ahead to help. I successfully avoided eye contact with any of the other passengers after that. I'm really hoping traveling without Eric can be kept to a minimum in the future. Uff-da!

Better times back on the ground in Denver:

1st Day of Preschool

Today was the boys' first day of preschool at the preschool/daycare in our neighborhood. This summer we talked a little bit about going to preschool this year, but didn't dwell on it too much. As we talked about it a little more the past couple of weeks, I could tell the boys were thinking about it a lot. Sometimes they said they were excited and wanted to go RIGHT NOW! Other times they adamantly proclaimed that they were NOT GOING TO PRESCHOOL! This usually occurred when they were fussing about something completely unrelated and wanted to win the debate. Both boys were up a half dozen times last night, so I could tell the anticipation was a bit overwhelming. 

I'm pleased to say the first day went great!

I had them pose for pictures outside of our front door before we left. Of course, they first had to ring the doorbell.

It took a few takes, but we eventually figured out the sign-holding task:

Loading up the good ol' minivan:

At first they placed their new Lightening McQueen backpacks on the floor, but then they decided they better hold them in their laps. In their backpacks were a change of clothes and a light flannel blanket for nap time. I'm working on making them each a quilt for nap time, but they're not quite done yet.

I tried to get a few more pictures outside of the building, but they were ready to go inside.

I think the water fountain outside their classroom is going to see a lot of action from these two:

Once in their classroom, we were greeted by two adult helpers who supervise the kids before their teachers, Ms. Bernadette and Ms. Shannon arrive for the day. (Ms. Bernadette is on vacation this week, but we did meet her last week when we stopped by to drop off some papers.) This week, I'm letting the boys "sleep in", which means they're getting up around 7:00 or so. Next week when I officially start back to school, then I'll have to wake them up early enough to drop them off around 6:30. I wish it wasn't so early.

They put their back packs in these bins:

There's not enough room for their bins to fit in the cubby holes, because right now there are about 20 preschoolers. Ms. Shannon told me that the older preschoolers will be moving to the pre-kindergarten room at the end of August and there will only be about eight preschoolers left in their class.

This was the sign on their door. I didn't notice it until after I went to pick them up this afternoon because I was trying to not linger too long and get them upset by my leaving. How did they know I'm partial to stars? ;)

When I went to pick them up around 4:00 they were having a great time on the playground. They both full-out sprinted over to me when they spotted me and almost knocked me over with their double hugs. I wish I would have had my phone out to take a picture, but it will definitely be a neat image in mind for a long time to come.

Aiden showed me the sandbox and playset:

Reid went back to tossing the football and shooting hoops with Mr. Austin. Today was Mr. Austin's first day too and when he came over to introduce himself he told me he thoroughly enjoyed playing with both Aiden and Reid today and that he is a twin himself. I'm so glad Reid has someone to play sports with and I could tell Mr. Austin's words were completely genuine.

One last picture from the classroom. (I'll try to take some more tomorrow when I pick them up.) This is the parent info board which is just inside the classroom entrance. I think it's good for me to be reminded of how much teachers of younger students reach out to keep parents informed. Us high school teachers tend to tell the parents to buy their kid a graphing calculator in August and then bury our heads in grading until the end of May. No wonder we don't receive any of those cute teacher appreciation gifts featured on Pinterest.

After we arrived home, we FaceTime chatted with Daddy. They sort of talked about their day, but after quite a bit of rambling they started telling him about our trip to Minneapolis at the end of July. It made for some confusing story-telling.

Aiden then helped me make chocolate chip cookies for an after-school snack. They ended up being an after-supper snack, but were well-received just the same:

Reid arrived in the kitchen just in time to lick the spatula and then went back to playing in the living room. I had to cut him off after a couple of cookies, but I think he would have inhaled the whole batch if I had let him. In addition to eating like a teenager, he's apparently figured out how to lounge around like one too.

When I went to pick them up it took 30 minutes before I could finally get the boys to the van, so I'd say that was a pretty good indication that they were having a good time. Ms. Shannon said Aiden was the more shy-guy today. Of course that's not a surprise. He wanted me to hold him when we first entered the classroom while Reid was ready to jump right in. When Ms. Shannon said he could hold her hand if he needed to, he informed her that he only wanted to hold Mommy's hand. Definitely a mama's boy, which I honestly cherish. Ms. Shannon said neither one of them cried, they did great using the potty, and both took good naps during rest time. She said sometimes it's hard for kids to transition from in-home daycare to a daycare center, but they did a great job. I'm so glad it went well!

________________________________________________________

I posted the following on Facebook with some of their front door pictures:

First words this morning...

Aiden: This is preschool today, Mommy?

Mommy: Yep.

Reid: YAAAAAHHHH!!!

A little later...

Aiden: I'm going to be a little nervous today.

Reid: It's okay, Ainnie. I'm going to be there too. I'll take care of you.