The never ending birthday celebration AND ... Hopkins Homecoming

 

The last week was non stop birthday celebrations for Tom. AND...he deserved every minute of love and attention that he got!  Dinner out, Bonfire, Guys Weekend, Family Dinner, Vikings win, VMI win, Packers win ... all in all the perfect weekend to celebrate Tom. 

Tom is our main caregiver, cheerleader, supporter, chef and household CEO.  He's retired his chauffeur duties now that all the kids have their license but...I still prefer to have him drive when we go place (so he's my own personal Uber too). He is loved by the kids at school (and neighbor kids). The 1st one to offer help/meals when someone is struggling. He's my social director (and probably social director for 1/2 the neighborhood) and my own personal handy man. I am not sure how he does it all but I'm so grateful that he does! He also keeps me sane and is the most amazing partner in life. My best friend too. I could literally go on and on. I love you Tom!!  The kids adore you.  Maui idolizes you. The world needs you. XOXOX - T.

On top of all this love....It was also Hopkins Home Coming and due to COVID and new rules about students from out of district, it meant that Billy hosted homecoming with Tyra at our house. It was very sweet (& also their 3 month anniversary). He definitely had a vision and I hope I executed it well ;)

Figured we'd do a picture heavy blog to show just how fun the week was....

Kay went all out on Tom's gift, shopping is her superpower. All his gifts from her were perfect.

They both love Cabelas

Maui needed a bit of extra love 

The happy couple 

One of the last nights we could bike to a restaurant and eat outside. Revival. SO yummy, gorgeous sky too. 

Tom's high school friends also planned a guys cabin night out. Tom cooked (of course) jerk chicken red beans and rice and apple fennel salad. They ate too much, told stories and laughed till they passed out. 

SO...yummy

I was experimenting with photo shop 

The "fancy" plates 

Slow dance play list 

Dinner, candles, dessert = romance 

Billy and I even made her corsage (not sure it stayed in one piece but we tried) 

Too cute. 

Tom liked Billy's present too;)

Getting ready for the big night....(homecoming, not Tom's birthday) 

2 amazing weekends, 4 incredible friends and a concert of a lifetime

Tom and I did back to back mini vacations. North Shore with Allison and Larrie at their cabin in Silver Bay and then NYC for Springsteen on Broadway, Tom's belated but incredible 60th birthday gift.

The pictures tell the whole story but a bit of context.

Allie and Larrie build their cabin, over the course fo 20 years, themselves, they have an amazing view of Lake Superior and sit hit up on a cliff. We had an amazing time hiking, exploring the north shore, playing games, reading books and relaxing.  Their dog, Rex, even slept with us 2 of the nights!

The weather was cool and damp (rain/fog/drizzle) but the waves were big and it was perfect hiking weather.  Day 1 was a hike at Cascade River, followed by a walk along the breakfront in Grand Marais and then a tour of a dog sled team courtesy of a friend of a friend.  Dinner was Tom's cataplana and we were all happy at the end of the day. Day 2 was an "in over our head" 2 1/2 hour hike (that was thought was an hour), in the fog and with Allie barefoot. The views would/should have been amazing for how much we climbed up/down/lost the trail, etc.  But, our reward was amazing burgers at Trestle Inn and then a night of steak, cribbage board game and a fire.

We were home for 2 days, just enough time to do chores and then catch our flight to NYC. It was amazing!  The 1st day we walked over 11 miles and saw all the typical sites. Our hotel was literally 1 block from the theater so we were even able to see Bruce arrive for his show (the night before ours). We took Georgia to lunch, got to learn all about her time at NYU and then we were off to the show. It. Was.Epic. Words cant really describe how much of an artist/poet/story teller he is. His talent is amazing. He played guitar/piano fro 2 1/2 hours straight, no intermission, and Patty S sang 2 songs with him. He basically started with his 1st guitar and told the story of his life. Sad, joyful, tragic, blessed ....  NYC also happened to be hit with once in a century rain that night so the weather sirens kept going off but he kept playing, no one wanted to leave their seats!  Day 3 was more walking and a bike ride through Central Park. We tried to take the subway but it was flooded out from the night before.  We met good friends (from India and MPLS) for dinner and had an incredible evening of persian food and german beer. Believe me, it was the perfect combo.

Now we are home for the long Labor Day weekend. We need 3 days to get caught up on wash and chores.   

Definitely need to keep up the mini vacations.

T.

Got 1/2 way "there" on the subway and were kicked off as it got rerouted, ended up in Grenich Village and "witches" of waverly place

Day 1 hike

Watched Ced compete via live stream in NC. He made it into the 3rd round and got a lot of air time! 

Central Park 

The view of NYC from the castle in Central Park 

The boss

Oh yeah, the week were gone was also the 1st week of school - Kay's doing 1 grade para 

Our toliet in the hotel, NOT comfortable or made for a full grown person. 

Juniors for breakfast 2 days in a row, a classic 

Library from The Wiz 

Hike day 1 

We did it!! 

1st day of 3rd Class at VMI 

1st day 3rd grade para 

Day 2 hike 

Empire State of mind 

Grand Marais 

Epic

I LOVE big waves 

Spent more time in here than any other place in NY

Rain rain go away! 

Rockefeller Center 

Day 1 hike 

Times Square 

If you went inside, ANYWHERE, in NYC, you had to mask up and show proof of vaccination 

Grand Central Station 

Good friends (Tracy and Vidyha) 

1st day of Junior Year - Cole, Risser, Owen and Billy 

Tracy's happy place 

She did it, barefoot! 

Classic NYC pizza lunch

The castle in Central Park 

Sooraj, Vidhya and us 

The dogs! 

He was happier than he looked 

The Boss 

Rain wasn't going to stop us! 

SUPER good food 

Nature loves us 

They were representing everyone but NYU

The view from the top, day 2 hike

Tracy now has an idea to spend 3 week in NYC, recreating all her favorite movie scenes and then posting them on social media without context or comment and see if people can guess what she's up to...weird....