a few parties and a marathon

it was a busy weekend! we spent friday evening with our next door neighbors ryan, becka, and carson (9 months). despite living 20 feet away from them, it had been way too long since we had actually hung out, so we ordered pizza luce and caught up at their house. it was a nice relaxing night. (well, as relaxing as can be with the little ones) after we parted ways so the kiddos could go to bed, thatcher headed out to see a movie with a friend and i relaxed on the couch and watched a (made for tv) christmas movie on netflix. yes, really. and now i'm excited for christmas :)

saturday morning we visited my parents, then we headed to our friends nate & missy's for their daughter mallory's first birthday party. it was a super cute mini mouse themed party and missy went all out on the decorations and food. 

we had lunch, cake, and watched mallory open her gifts. it's always fun to watch a one year old try to figure out the whole birthday thing :) 

azalea had lots of fun playing with the kids. she fell asleep on the drive home, which meant she refused to take a real nap when we got home. boooo. in the evening, we had another birthday party to attend. this one was a 30th birthday for my friend michelle from high school. my parents watched azalea at our house. the party was in a private room at ginger hop in northeast. we ate tons of yummy appetizers and hung out for a couple hours. it was a fun night! i didn't take any pictures, though. on our way back, we made a pit stop at the new izzy's ice cream along the river, near the guthrie. i had never had their ice cream, it was delicious! 

sunday morning, azalea and i met up with our friends kris and jon in lowry hill to watch the twin cities marathon. i don't think i've ever watched it before (that i can remember). it was a chilly morning (mid 40's), so we busted out hats and gloves for the first time this season. azalea loved watching all the runners go by. we were at mile 2, so they were all still in a big pack (20,000 of them!) it was really fun to watch. 

after all the racers went by, we headed to caribou for a warm drink. the afternoon was spent napping and playing at home. in the evening, we went to another party (i know). this one was an annual party hosted by one of thatcher's old urban studies professors at the u of m . it's a gathering of alum, current students, and faculty. we had dinner there and azalea played with the kids. then it was home to prepare for a new week!