Lucky Girl!!

I not posting this to brag, but instead to stop and realize what a lucky girl I am!  A screenshot of my Delta account right now...It may not always be this way (especially once our boys want to ski out west with us - $$$!), but it's proof of how much our family loves to travel :)

Logan gets to go on the first trip, Ryder gets to go on the second trip and mom and dad get to go alone on the last two :)  We'll also add a trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa Sue (all 4 of us!) as soon as our checking account rebounds! Lol! So thankful (for family and jobs) that we can do these types of things!

Logan & Ryder's New Rooms

In our last house, I had spent a fair amount if time coming up with a room design before each kids' birth. Ryder had the baby jungle animal theme with his hand-painted tree and Logan had the blue and brown room with hand-made nursery linens made from ocean-themed fabric designed by my co-worker. Both super-special, both created with hours of love.

I love our new house, but all rooms are currently a shade if tan, so I'm anxious to put that love back into Ryder and Logan's rooms and make it feel like a homey space for them (and me when I'm in there for snuggles!)

Ryder's sports room is off to a good start with his new [Craigs List] Ikea bed, home-made bed curtain and hand-sketched / painted baseball wall.  It still needs more color and some photos on the walls, but we're getting there.

Logan's room has just been started. I'm so excited about it that I have to post a progress photo! His alpine mountain room is starting to take shape :) This is the wall behind his crib. You can see the outline of the main blue mtn range and the pines on each side & bottom.

Super-Mamas!

Today's playdate was also a freezer-meal-making date! Fun and productive! 

Great idea mamas :)

The Billing Family Runs!

Last weekend Shawn and I ran the Twin Cities 10 mile and this weekend, Ryder ran the Autumn Woods 1K at Elm Creek!  He did great!!

He was so excited for the race and planned to run alone all week.  But seconds before the race began, he panicked about running alone.  Turned out ok because I was nervous to let him run alone, too!  We ran together and it was awesome!!

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10 mile crew:

Logan - 1 Year Print

Better late than never....

Chalkboard Fun

We are [I am] having so much fun with our playroom chalkboard! Now if only we could get Logan to stop eating chalk!!

This is a sketch of what I've drawn on Logan's wall behind his crib and will be painting...silouette mountains framed by pines with an alpine lake at the base...stay tuned...

Ryder & Daddy

I love so many things about this photo.  I love that it reminds me how much Ryder was missing his dad yesterday while he was at work. I love that it was a 'pause' in an always busy life. I love that it shows Ryder's haircut that he calls his Uncle Stephen hair (because of the gel). I love that it was like a 5 minute hug.  I love these two boys (and Logan) more than anything in the world!! 

Duluth - Day 2

The bathroom trick worked great and both kids slept in until 7:30am!  We grabbed muffins from the continental buffet for the kids and stuck them in the chariot for a run along the Canal Park boardwalk.  Perfect morning for a 3ish mile run.

We went back to the hotel for breakfast outside on the patio overlooking canal park.  This was perfect so Logan could wander a bit while we ate and the kids didn't have to be so quiet.  Plus, the view is awesome.

We followed breakfast with a hike at Hawk's Ridge.  Not only was it a great spot for a family-friendly hike, but they were also actively releasing birds! 

After the hike, Logan fell asleep in the car, so Shawn, Ryder and I were able to enjoy a leisure, peaceful lunch at Sir Bens. 

The drive home was the same - peaceful :) Between lunch and the drive, it felt like Shawn and I had a little date! We were actually able to have uninterrupted conversation!  Not our typical trip to Duluth with just the two of us, but we were so thankful we set aside the time for a family weekend in Duluth.