We had a good weekend. Starting off with Friday, I could tell by mid morning that the kids really wanted to do something out of the routine. I suggested a walk on one of the hiking trails near the lake. Accalia and Cole jumped at the suggestion and immediately went about packing their backpacks with snacks, water and a couple small toys to keep them company. Accalia carried this bird guide with her, and Cole carried this plant identification brochure with him. We discovered that, as a combined force, we pretty much suck at identifying plants. We had plenty of fun with the other things we could identify, though. I think the biggest thrill for the kids was discovering that the path we were walking on was covered with snails. I told them we'll have to see what sort of environment snails need to live and then remember to bring containers along next time in order to bring some home.

Yesterday was, of course the Weird Al concert at the Corn Palace in Mitchell. Cory was so excited, and it turned out to be a lot of fun for all of us. I was a little unsure of how Ella would do for the two hours, but she pretty much sat in my lap the entire time when she wasn't trying to dance or play peek a boo with the man sitting behind us. Cory and I couldn't figure out why there were senior citizens filling the row right in front of us. We thought maybe they were confused about which concert they were at, but they all seemed to be expecting the show and even enjoyed themselves. Guess the appeal of Weird Al covers many ages.

Before the concert, we stopped to visit Mark and Shannon for a bit. The kids rarely see those cousins - usually at Christmas and if we go up to Mitchell - so they had fun, especially jumping on the trampoline in the backyard. We were back in Yankton at about 11 p.m., so it didn't end up being a very late night.

Today has been a fairly quiet day - just catching up on laundry and dishes. Cory did a little grocery shopping, and the kids and I went to the sporting goods store to take advantage of a great sale of soccer cleats for Accalia. She's so excited about soccer starting, and she'll have her first practices this week.

Tomorrow Cory is taking a couple hours off in the morning so I can go to the eye doctor. My appointment is at 7:40 a.m. Ugh. I'm hoping all of the kids will just sleep while I'm gone, but I don't know about Ella since she fell asleep around 7 p.m. due to no napping today.

Other than that, it looks like a pretty typical week. We're heading to Mankato for Labor Day weekend and will do a little celebrating of Cole's 5th birthday (Sept. 3) while we're there. We'll also get to see Heather and her new little girl!