Staying Busy

Joshua will soon be home after a week of training at Apple headquarters in California. I'm glad it was only one week this time, but we still did our best to stay busy and have fun to help pass the time. After dropping him off at the airport Sunday morning, Harper and I headed to Mankato to spend a couple days with family. My sister, brother-in-law and both brothers were in town, so we were especially glad to spend time with everyone together.

While Harper napped, my dad took down the recumbents so we could try out their "new" tandem. It wasn't as hard as I expected. I think my sister and I did better together than when Josh and I tried a recumbent tandem back when we were dating.

That afternoon we all went bowling. It wasn't Harper's first time at a bowling alley, but it was his first time participating. I thought it was going to be a bust after he pushed his first ball down the lane and got upset when the ball disappeared. He ended up being a pretty good sport and was too cute walking around in the mini bowling shoes.

My sister Kristen, Harper and me before saying goodbye.

While still in Mankato, our next stop was to Josh's grandma Nonny's house to wish her a happy 90th birthday and spend some time with her, Josh's dad, and his wife. Harper enjoyed giving Nonny flowers and a cupcake but then wanted to eat her cupcake. Harper was so giggly and of course didn't want to leave. After wrangling him into the car, we headed home to spend the rest of the week together. Speaking of birthdays, my Grandpa Asche also turned 90 this past weekend! I wish we could have celebrated with him too.

Wednesday I took Harper to the Como Zoo. It was a perfect day. The weather was so nice (40s, not windy), and there weren't any crowds. Harper prefers to walk on his own, so it was nice not worrying about crowds and him getting lost. Harper especially loved seeing the monkeys, gorillas, penguins, lions, and tiger. There was one penguin putting on a show swimming and splashing in the water that got Harper laughing pretty hard. Harper said he was a "silly penguin!"

After a lunch break, we went inside and toured the rainforest. Here we are with our rosy cheeks as we were dressed too warmly for the tropics.

Harper posing with his smile on demand. "Samm-o!"

Other things we've done this week include Bible study with my girlfriends, Ash Wednesday service, a play date with my friend Megan's two girls, and Mom's group at church. I've been trying my hardest to stay on top of my monthly project list, especially while Joshua is gone. So far I've crossed off two projects with two in the works and two more to go. I'd better get down to business and hurry up! 

It's been a fun, fast week. Just what I was hoping for. However, we're ready for Joshua to come home and can't wait to pick him up from the airport. Not too much longer now!