Great Holiday Weekend!

We enjoyed a positively perfect weekend over the 4th of July holiday. We truly were the "4 Lamberts" and I completely enjoyed every minute surrounded by Bill, Ryan and Anna. With Bill's work schedule as a Fire Fighter/Paramedic on 24-hour shifts, full weekends as family only come about once every 4-5 weeks so having a long weekend with Bill home was a true treat.

We started out Thursday night by having dinner at a neat bar/restaurant called "The Lookout" here in Maple Grove. It sits high atop a hill and looks out towards the East of the city. Great menu of burgers, steaks, ribs etc. and all reasonably priced. We opted for outside seating as they have a play area for the kids that allowed us to still have dinner as a family but also lots of time for Bill and I to talk and catch up - BONUS! :-)

On Friday Anna and I did a bit of shopping (she is so much like her mom - always up for a little "retail therapy") and then bought grilling food - burgers and dogs - for dinner. While the kids and Bill swam (for the first time this year!) in our pool I attempted to inflate all of our swim devices - all the while enduring smart remarks from Bill. I am sad to report that it appears my lung capacity has decreased from last year because I sure had better luck blowing those darn things up last summer. Think that is possible - to lose lung capacity? After a yummy dinner Bill and Ryan headed to the basement for some WII competition and Anna and I headed to my bedroom for a nap. Boy was that nice - I NEVER get naps. After our fun and relaxation we packed up the cooler with snacks and headed to Edina to watch the fireworks. We were well-doused in bug repellent but the mosquitoes were relentless. None the less we had a fabulous time and the fireworks display did not disappoint. Ryan and Anna literally beamed through the 30-minute display and giggled through the finale'. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Saturday was spent running a few errands in relation to home improvement projects. The kids were clamoring to swim with temps soaring to near 90. Bill and I had other plans - a surprise outing to the Twins vs Cleveland baseball game at our beloved Metrodome. We concocted a story about that we had to go down to the Metrodome to catch a tour bus to go and view the 35W bridge progress. The kids weren't thrilled. Upon arrival at the Dome we told them the bus trip got canceled and then we whipped out the Twins tickets. Ear to ear grins replaced the grumbling. This was Anna's first official game. We had pretty decent seats in the second level just to the left of home plate so had a fine view. Unfortunately Anna's attention span for baseball was short lived and she was already asking to go home in the third inning. We held out until the 7th inning stretch with the Twins in the lead. We tuned in the game on the radio for the ride home and celebrated their win in our car.

Sunday was to be a lazy day but my Target trip took longer than planned. Still we were able to swim as a family late in the afternoon and that was a great ending to the weekend.

I am having fun with iPhoto these days so put together another little video for you on the fun of the weekend. Hope you enjoy!