Brian was gone all last week in Iowa for work. Adam and I made it through the week OK.

He got home on Friday evening right as I was on my way out the door to go work a 12 hour night shift. I was so happy he was home and so bummed I had to leave!  I made it through my shift, then slept for a while on Saturday.  After I got up we went over to Brian’s sister’s home for their going away party. They are moving to Virginia in a couple weeks! Boo!! We got all the Aanderud grand kids together to take some pictures before the party. Here are a few. Adam wasn’t super excited about doing pictures at first, but once he was on the swing, he had a blast!

I had to work for another 4 hours on Saturday after the party. I was bummed to have to leave.

We woke up this morning and as usual, hit the Pancake House! Yum!! After breakfast, we walked to the park and played for a quite a while. We walked home and had lunch. We convinced Adam to take a nap a little earlier than usual so we could go to the lake! He was so excited to go to the lake that he went right to sleep. He woke up 2 hours later, walked out of his room and announced, “I took a good nap! Now we can go to the lake!” So off we went. We went to Lake Minnetonka regional park. We had never been there before, but we really liked it! They have a man made lake with lots of beach space. The water is also chlorinated, so there are no weeds or fish to contend with. That’s my kind of lake!

Brian and Adam played in the sand and we all swam around for a good couple hours. We hit the road and grabbed some Jimmy John’s sandwiches on the way home. We continued to enjoy the gorgeous day by eating our sandwiches on the deck. Brian was planning to go fishing with a couple buddies, so Adam and I hung out outside while Brian got his fishing gear ready. Adam played with the bullheads and I tried to keep my sandwich down! He loves grabbing them and I think they’re nasty! Brian also had a big carp in with the bullheads, so Adam grabbed him with both hands too! Yuck!

Now Brian is off fishing, Adam’s asleep and I’m refusing to fold the laundry. It was a beautiful day weather-wise and a wonderful day with my 2 favorite guys!!

I just have to write this down before I go to bed….

Adam and I were out running errands and I have no problem bribing him to make him behave better. We went to Target first. He got a free cookie from the bakery and promised to be a good boy. However, as soon as he was done he immediately stood up in the cart and started being naughty. I quickly finished up in the store and got him to the car.

Next, we went to Costco. If you’ve never been there, they sell a ginormous cup of frozen yogurt for $1.45. Adam knows he can have ‘ice cream’ if he’s a good boy in Costco. So as we pulled into our parking spot, here is how our conversation went:

Adam: Can we have ice cream, Mom?

Me: You have to be a really good boy while we’re in the store. No running around; No screaming; No standing up in the cart. If you are nice to your mom, we can have ice cream. Can you be a nice boy?!

Adam: I AM!!!! Chrrriiiiiissssttt!

He used the word in an appropriate situation and it was so clear what he said! After I chuckled to myself (luckily, he sits behind my seat in the car) I told him that is not a nice word and it’s not OK to use it. He didn’t say anything in response, but he was thinking….

Hope you got a good laugh out of this one! I know I did!!

Have a good night!

So here I am being a slacker again. I figure tonight I’ll kill 2 birds with one stone! Let me apologize right off the bat for the 12 photos that are to follow!

Last weekend, Adam went to hang out with Grandma Dora and Fred. Brandon and Ellie were there for the weekend too, so they all had a blast together! Brian and I had a productive weekend at home. We had purchased 2 mature trees a couple weeks ago, and they were installed last weekend.

It was quite a production! The spade truck arrived at 8AM.

He dug a huge hole for the first tree. It was probably an 8 foot diameter:

I went to a bridal shower for a friend in Minneapolis. When I returned home, the first tree was in place and Brian had it staked down:

Shortly thereafter, the truck arrived with the 2nd tree. I got to watch the whole process for the second tree. It was pretty cool!!

He backed down into the yard:

After getting into place, he raised up the tree with the spade, then lowered it into the hole.

After the second one was in place, Brian got it staked in. It was a good thing too! We had storms that night!

Sunday, we spent putting in the edging, then putting down fabric and mulch. It was a ton of work and it was so hot and humid out! We are so happy to have these trees. The yards in our neighborhood are lacking any mature trees. These are each about 25 feet tall! We have envious neighbors.

Here are the trees after the mulch is in place:

Tonight, we finally had our first bon fire in our yard this summer. It was gorgeous night to be outside! Adam had fun watching the fire and then we made s’mores. The Aanderuds take great pride in their marshmallow roasting skills. I feel like I am almost good enough to live up to their standards! 😉

Here are a couple cute pics from the fire & s’more making:

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I’m planning to get in lots of time with my boys. Brian has to head to Iowa on Monday and he will be gone all week.

It’s official! Our contract is ratified and we can quit worrying about a strike for another 3 years! Yay!! The nurses overwhelmingly (97%) voted to accept the contract offer. Sweet!

We finished up our holiday weekend (I know, it’s already the 9th and I’m being slow again!). It was wonderful to see my brother and his family! My parents had a nice gathering of our family and Brian’s at their home on the lake. It was nice warm weather and we were able to enjoy the boat and each other’s company.

Here are a few snapshots!

Brian has been gone all week on travel for work. I have been here working and hanging out with Adam. Tonight, Adam went to Grandma & Fred’s for the weekend and Brian is on his way home. A weekend without the little man will be nice, but weird! I’m definitely looking forward to sleeping past 5:30! He’s been quite the early riser lately.

Have a great weekend!

Just a quick entry to say how insanely ecstatic I am that MNA and the hospitals have reached a tentative agreement to settle our contract, so no strike!!! The strike was supposed to start this upcoming Tuesday, and I was dreading it. I did not like the contract the hospital was offering, so I (along with most of my coworkers) was ready to walk and I couldn’t believe the hospital was just going to let us!

I was at work when we received word the strike had been averted! It was such an amazing moment. No one could believe it was actually true and we were doing happy dances, high fiving, and hugging each other! It still didn’t seem real, even when we saw it on the news. Apparently there were some secret negotiations going on that no one knew about.

It has been a couple days since the announcement and I am still giddy! We all still have to vote on Tuesday whether or not to approve the contract. But hopefully, people will realize this is the best we’re going to get right now and to just approve it so we can all get on with our lives!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend! We’re in the middle of it, so I’m sure I will post an update later on to tell about all our activities.