Playdates Galore

The end of the summer was filled with lots of playdates.  We finally got together with friends who we had promised to see sooner...but never got around to due to all of our busy schedules. 

Our 1st stop was down in Chanhassen to see Dakotah, Elijah and their Mom, Katy.  We met long ago when Lili and Dakotah were babies in the same room at New Horizons.  Over the years we became friends and ended up not only with little girls close in age, but also with little boys close in age.  It was a lot easier to get together when the Voskamps lived in St. Michael too, but it was also fun visiting them at their new house!  Our next visit will be even more exciting as we will have a chance to spend some time with Dakotah and Elijah's new little sister, Zayta!

Our next playdate was with the Brands.  Emersen, Delanie and their Mom, Stacie, came over one afternoon and joined us for some evening fun.  We spent lots of time outside, enjoyed some Caribou and ended with a quick pizza party.  The kids were SO incredibly cute together!  The Brands are another family we met through New Horizons and now Stacie is the center's Assistant Director.  This makes her even busier than before, but we finally scheduled our playdate and it actually stuck!

Since starting my new job at the end of May, I had not had a chance to see many of my old coworkers/friends.  The coworker I was closest to before I left, Steph, made it to our house for a BBQ one Saturday afternoon and brought her husband, Brian, and daughters, Audrey and Lex.  Audrey and Lili had such a good time playing together and as you can see, Will joined in the fun as well.  Despite every attempt to divert his attention, in the end he just wanted to do what his big sister and her new friend were doing.  

Our last playdate of the summer was VERY unexpected, but also very exciting!  Our friends from Seattle, the Lyttles, were on their way back to Seattle from Canada (long story) and stopped for an evening BBQ.  We hadn't seen Erin in several years and had never met any of her munchkins.  Carter, Henry and Valerie were a lot of fun and Lili and Will were so excited to have new friends to play with!  Everyone was a little shy at first, but it didn't take long for them to warm up and be on their merry way.  They spent a lot of time coloring and doing crafts at the kitchen table...then we all headed downstairs to 'cook' and 'grocery shop'.  It was SO great to see them!