Weekend Hangover

Ok, not technically a hangover, but definitely feeling the effects of a very busy weekend with several late bedtimes and not enough down time! What a wonderful weekend it was though.

We took our first boat trip out into Lake Minnetonka on Saturday morning. It was a pontoon boat with plenty of room and we did a little fishing, a little floating and a little exploring the lake. It was very quiet which was nice, although there was a fair old wind and the kids and I got absolutely SOAKED when a wave came over the front of the boat. They loved it otherwise though, and it was an unexpectedly successful first trip out. Now I am really excited for a summer of being out on the water.

Chris kindly purchased me my own fishing rod following this trip (much
as I liked using the Cars one)

Pretty stoked to discover the radio on board so she could
show off her moves

Maxing and relaxing...this kid was made for boating

I could spend the whole day just puttering around and looking at the
amazing houses surrounding the lake

But mom, WHY can't I pet the goose? 

The next part of our day involved a 5K "race" to raise money for a local chapter of Gigi's Playhouse. You can learn more about it here, basically they are organizations dedicated to raising awareness about Down syndrome, providing accurate information to the public and probably most significantly, providing educational support and various social opportunities to people with Ds and their families. My friend S has been involved with the fundraising to get a location opened in the Twin Cities and it's looking pretty good. The turnout for each of the fundraising events has FAR exceeded expectation which is really cool.

I was really excited to support this effort, but also to have the opportunity to connect with more families who are touched by Down syndrome in some way. I was a little disappointed at the beginning of the event not to see very many people with Ds...but then I realized that it meant there were a bunch of people out there interested in supporting this effort who may not have an immediate family member with Ds. That makes me feel good. Later on in the day there were many more families that brought children with Ds (no adults that I saw) including some absolutely adorable infants. I met a lot of really nice people and enjoyed the day from start to finish. If I had to guess, I'd say they raised a LOT of money too.

This might be the first photo of the two of us together in...years?

Boyz...Pacey and our favorite little A

It's a good thing she loved this paint job as much as she did. We were in
line fooooorrrrrreeeeevvvveeeerrrrrrrrrr

One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing a boy, maybe 10 or 11, walking around with a mohawk hairstyle and diamond stud earrings, clearly believing he was the business. I inwardly rolled my eyes a little, but then noticed that he was unusually friendly to the kids with Down syndrome, interacting with them, helping the little ones play games and asking their names. I had a chance to talk to him while we waited (and waited and waited) in line for face painting and it turns out that he has an older brother with Down syndrome. It was so awesome to see him at that event, comfortable in our community and going out of his way to connect. His brother is 21 and living on his own, another very cool thing to hear.

Anyway, awesome day, awesome weekend and as you might expect I am being punished mightily today for all that fun followed by a boring Monday.