Free Weekend!

A free weekend? What's that? As July wraps up, I'm realizing Summer is coming to an end. I hate to be a "Debbie Downer" but let's be honest people, next week is August! It's been a busy couple months and when I looked at the calendar last week - I was shocked to see Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all open. Not one thing planned. Finally a weekend to relax!

The thought of an open weekend inspired me to find something fun to do. By Friday afternoon I had texted Mitch a list of possible weekend activities. I got a text back saying, "our free weekend just got busy." I couldn't help myself, the weather was supposed to be beautiful and I refused to stay inside. 

Our Saturday morning started off with waffles and an art project. Harper and I bought these bird houses a few weekends ago and I promised her we'd paint them. She woke up on a painting mission! We set up shop at the kitchen table and enjoyed waffles in the process. With a little help from Mitch, the bird houses were complete by the end of breakfast. She was excited to show off her masterpieces. 

After a fun artsy morning at home, my Mom and I headed to Minneapolis to check out a new treasure hunting store. Amanda told me about The Cottage House and after checking out their website and Facebook page I couldn't wait to go. Since the store is only open two weekends a month - I knew we had to jump on the opportunity. I was shocked by the insanely low prices, fun furniture and decorating items. Like our Junket trip, the Pinterest ideas were endless. I found plenty of items I wanted to scoop up, only problem is - I have nowhere to put them in our house. I ended up leaving with a new chair for a Harper, a jewelry holder and a fun rustic crate. I know we'll be back, sooner than later!

Our treasure hunt was a success and afterwards I met Mitch and Harper at Lake Calhoun for a fun afternoon. Paul, Kody and Bennett reached out to see if we wanted to meet up. It's always great seeing them! We wandered around the lake and made our way to Burger Jones for lunch. Harper was thrilled to see so many puppies walking around and we even caught a log-rolling event. It was the perfect afternoon with the Donahue's!

Sunday was declared a lake day. It's nearly August and we haven't been on the boat once - that's just unacceptable. Lord Fletcher's was calling our name for lunch, so we met my parents, Austin and Sarah on the wharf. Afterwards it was boat time! I was a little skeptical about bringing Harper on the boat. Water activities haven't been our specialty this summer and anytime we've worn a life jacket it usually resulted in screams.

We boarded the boat without issues but she was already saying, "oh no, the waves are going to scare me!" We were all doing our best to reassure her we'd be just fine and the waves wouldn't be a problem. Distraction was key. I pointed out every buoy and every boat that passed us. There were a few shrieks at first, but since Lake Minnetonka is still a no wake zone we couldn't go too fast to freak her out. After taking a short ride, we found a nice calm cove and anchored. Harper couldn't wait to get her tootsies in the water and nearly jumped in when she saw my Mom on the raft. She had a blast splashing around and even had her first fishing experience. As my Dad reeled in their bass, Harper was right by his side ready to help. When he was removing it from the hook, Harper was busy poking it and trying to look in it's mouth. We snapped a few photos (my Dad was giddy about this photo opp) and tossed the fishy back. Harper turned around and said, "that was so cool!" I think my Dad's heart melted. She even muttered the words, "we need to stay here all day!" Maybe she'll be a water baby after all! It was an awesome day out on the water and hopefully we can sneak a few more in before the end of summer.

 

In the midst of all our weekend fun, Mitch completed Baby E's nursery sign. We had this concept in our mind and I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. It was a cheap DIY project and thanks again to my wonderful husband for taking my idea and making it happen. We're still keeping the name a secret until lil' guy arrives - but for you name guessers, now you have the first initial! 

Finally, last week Kristen gave us two teaser photos from our family shoot. They turned out awesome, and I can't wait to see the rest! Below are the sneak peek photos!

Until next time…

The Helleen's