uptown bike race, helping hands, father's day

friday night thatcher and azalea and i met up with my parents, some friend of theirs, and my aunt shari at the nature valley grand prix bike race in uptown. i love going to this every year, it's always a good time. the pro bikers go around a course about 30 times at super high speeds. we've taken azalea the last couple years, but this was the first year she was really into it. she cheered and clapped every time they whizzed by. we got such a kick out of watching her. after the women's race, we grabbed some dinner at davanni's and then headed home, so azalea could get to bed. 

saturday thatcher was gone all day at a political convention, but azalea and i kept busy! in the morning, we drove out to excelsior to our friend sara's to help her organize all of her baby clothes for her baby girl who is due in august. i might be a little ocd, but i love sorting and organizing baby clothes, so when she mentioned needing help, i was all over it :) plus she paid us in delicious croissants! win-win! after that, we headed home and azalea took a nap (i may have too). in the afternoon, we drove down to burnsville (lots of driving this day) to a house warming party for our friends emily, brian, and their daughter sydney (2). it was fun to see their new house and azalea had a blast playing with all toys and kids. it also doubled as our dinner, so that was nice! 

sunday was father's day and it was a busy one! we had my family and thatcher's family over for lunch. we grilled burgers and hot dogs and enjoyed sitting out on the patio. it was a gorgeous day! i took a couple of pictures of the group, but my camera ate them apparently. boo! 

i can't tell you how grateful i am to get to spend another father's day with my dad. 7 months ago i didn't know if that would be the case. my dad is doing wonderfully, as far as he/we can tell, (his next scan is tuesday) and we are so very thankful for every day we have with him. i hope he will be here for many father's days to come! 

after azalea's a nap, i took her to the wading pool at the park by our house for the first time this year. she's been talking about "the pool" nonstop for the last few months, so imagine my surprise when she totally froze up and refused to go in. luckily after 15 minutes or so, i convinced her to go in and she warmed up to the idea from there. soon she was splashing and running around. funny girl! 

my mom decided at the last minute (aka saturday) to host a bbq dinner at their house for father's day for my extended family, so we spent the evening over there. we had chicken and ribs (sooooo much food between lunch and dinner). 

not long after we got there, dark clouds formed and the winds picked up and it started to rain, so we re-located the party to the garage. so classy! :) it was a fun night hanging out with every one. 

finally here are pictures of thatcher and azalea from the last 3 father's days. she is so lucky to have him as her dad, and i am so lucky to have him as my fellow toddler wrangler :)