A staggeringly busy, but fun, weekend was had by all. We kicked it off with Friday cocktails—Rob Roys (scotch, red vermouth, and bitters) and a nice piece of Brie de Meaux, which was slathered on Lesley Stowe's Rainforest Crisps (the hazelnut and cranberry variety).
The boys had their first fall soccer game on Saturday morning. Since we'd all had such a great time doing Blackhawks this summer—and by all, I do mean kids and parents—I talked the Warches and the Hamiltons into signing up for Groveland Rec soccer. It's a great location for us as we can mosy up the hill, and I love seeing other families spill out of our neighborhood. Needless to say, our united requests for soccer buddies were denied. Theo is a little stressed out about not knowing anyone on his team, and Sydney's pretty bummed out. Simon is somewhat indifferent and made two new friends on his team by INTRODUCING HIMSELF. I am so very proud of him. I made the rounds, watching a little soccer and chatting with parents. Despite the situation with the kids being on separate teams—which may be a bigger drag for the parents—the boys had a great time. And so did I. Winston made all the goals on his team. One of the kid's from Win's team last fall is on his team again, as are Sheila F's daughters (Sheila, a high school friend of my sister, lives in my neighborhood).
After soccer, we stopped by Regina's Candies. The boys didn't know this place existed, even after three years of living down the hill from the shop. We have to drive by it every day—I would have to be completely insane to have let them know any sooner. Simon figured it out when we walked by on Thursday, following their soccer meetings. He doesn't seem to be angry at the lie of omission—though I'm sure he's keeping it buried for his therapist to discover later in life—and plans to rot all his beautiful new permanent teeth on purchases made here. Just wait until I tip off Dr. O'Kane.
Then, I drove to Osseo, in the northwest corner of the metro, to visit my childhood friend Ann. She and her husband, Ken, were hosting a yard party, taking advantage of Osseo's annual carnival. They're on the parade route. The boys had a blast scooping up candy tossed from parade participants. Friend Jen S. (formerly Jenny E.—I think we were all Jennys at some point), also a friend from my hometown, was there with her husband and two beautiful children.
It was so good to see these two old friends—it had been way too long. Really criminally too long. Both are doing very well. We've made plans to see more of each other, which I hope we do. I'm the first to admit that life has a way of getting out of control. Or maybe we get into these grooves that are hard to get out of. I'm not talking about ruts either, because if I've learned anything with a career, a husband, and children, it's that routine works.
On Sunday, John and I took the boys to the Farmers Market where we hit Golden's for breakfast bagels—and, oh, the garden-ripe tomatoes and red onions were amazing on this. We picked up more tomatoes (I'd be surprised if we see any next week), broccoli, green beans (the last batch was fantastic), corn, and otherworldly brussel sprouts on the stalk. Then we made the rounds so the boys could say hello to the Bison guy.
We dropped Winston at Anders' house, then had a shopping spree with Simon. First stop: Target for a few essentials and a trip down the Ben 10 aisle. I'm proud of Simon. He didn't see the alien he wanted to buy, and allowance be damned, he walked out of the store without purchasing anything. He's really getting very mature at window shopping. Maybe he can teach his mother a lesson. Next stop: Patagonia, where John bought a corduroy blazer (very Paper Chase with suede elbow patches) and a kick-ass pair of shoes. He is so ready for NoCal. Final stop: The Comic Shoppe where Simon picked up a Pokeman booster pack and I bought a Nancy Drew graphic novel, which I can't wait to read, but will have to wait until I find the issue that precedes it. Naturally I didn't notice before I made my purchase that the book was part two of three.
Later in the day we hit the library and went visiting the Cohen-Murphys. And, John and I skipped yet another annual Alley Cat party to see Rush at the Xcel. More on that later—Blogger is about to boot me. And I'm rambling. I hate rambling.
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