30 and Counting ...

For the first (and probably only time) this past week, I was able to give Kyle a hard time for being an old man.  I know, I know, I'm older than Kyle (by only 6 months) but on June 16th, he celebrated his 30th birthday, so it was my responsibility to remind him how old and frail he has become.

He came home from his fishing trip the day before his birthday ... to a new sign marking his stall in the garage ... I didn't want him to forget where to park in his old age.  Welcome home, sweety!

Then we celebrated by ordering a pizza because we were too tired (and old) to go anywhere.  That's right ... even though we live out in farm country, we found a pizzeria that will deliver.  Thanks, Jimmy's!  A few presents followed ...

The big celebration kicked in over the weekend.  Last Saturday night, we had about 15 or so of our good friends over to help us celebrate.  Several friends brought their kids (told you we're old) and we ate pulled pork sandwiches, drank beer and played a bit of Euchre to end the night.  Everyone was gone by midnight because, again, we're old.  Thanks to all our friends for coming out ... we had a great time!

 

We rounded up most of Kyle's extended family and had a Birthday / Father's Day brunch on Sunday.  Here we are for a family style meal at Spasso.  The price wasn't too bad since Kyle got the senior discount.  ;)

After brunch, the family came over to see our new house.  Perfect opportunity for more birthday cake ...

Kyle took his grandparents for rides in the new Razr Side-by-Side ... yet another of Kyle's toys.  At least this one was free from Polaris. 

We also seized the opportunity to put some relatives to work in the garden.  (we may be old, but we're not stupid)  Thanks, Aunt Sue!  You can come back and work in the yard anytime.  ;)

Happy 30th Birthday to my Favorite Old Man! 

Looking forward to counting with you for many more years to come!

Jerseylicious

For the long Memorial Day weekend, our friends Mike and Dana flew in to visit from the great state of New Jersey.  I decided that's the way to enjoy Memorial Day - stay home and have friends come to you.  We focused on having a good time all weekend and showing our friends all that Minneapolis has to offer.  Other years we either travel (exhausing) or spend the time running errands and doing projects (also exhausting.)  We tossed around some Snooki jokes and a few "you betcha's" and ended up having an absolute blast exploring our new home state with the Repka's.

Turns out that "having a drink" is a great way to catch up and explore different areas of town ... so, here are a few group shots of the four of us ... drinking our way through Minneapolis. 

Rooftop bar of a swanky new place in Uptown ...

Patio on Lake Minnetonka ...

Bar in the 'burbs with live music ... (Kyle's favorite)

Dive bar by our house ... notice the caboose in the background ... classy ... (Tracie's favorite, so I must be classy as well)

And even at the movies ... we were seeing The Hangover Two so it was a requirement that we were drinking ... 

 

For the parents and adult readers ... keep in mind that there were THREE days in the weekend, so the drinks were responsibily spread out over the course of time.  For the friends and younger (but over 21 readers) ... you know you want to visit now - we'll show you a good time!
***

We even found time to catch the horse races at Canterbury Park.

Beautiful horses ...

 ... and cute asses.  Dana and I enjoyed the show.

We ended the weekend with a great home cooked meal and S'mores by the fire as we christened our fire pit.  It really felt like we were camping rather than hanging out in our own backyard - love it!

 

Paisley fell in love with our guests, as she tends to do.






"Mom, can't they stay?!"

You know the weekend is a success when one day later, you've already booked a second trip to hang out again.  Thanks for making the trip, Mike and Dana, and see you in Wisconsin in October!