Baby shower for beautiful Betty Lou + Girls Day

A baby shower for Betty Lou

Saturday, July 22nd

The Slinger girls reunited to throw a party to celebrate Betty Lou, the mom-to-be! We had an absolute blast decorating, baking, organizing and partying. Here are some pictures of the great day!

Betty Lou with her maternity sash, made by Laura and I.

Now, on to the creative and fun FOOD items! (Thank you, Pinterest!)

Mini-pancake bar

Baby carriage fruit bowl.

Baby carriage deviled eggs!

Homemade donuts

Strawberry shortcake cupcakes with baby animal candies.

More of the spread for food.

Grandma's punch bowl :)

   

Decorations and festivities ...

Animal print balloons!

Sign the baby book and Game #1: Guess the number (candy jar)  

Game #2: Guess the baby: pick the DATE, and the SEX - stamp the calendar.

Guests enjoying the decor and food

Game #3: Match the animals to their babies!
Game #4: Ohhh Baby, who am I? (match the guest to their baby picture)

Wrapped up the day with gift opening. Thank you all who attended - we had a great time preparing, decorating and celebrating Betty Lou and the baby coming soon!

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Girls Day

Sunday, July 23rd

After the festivities of the baby shower, we took Sunday to ourselves: Slinger Girls Day!

We first put our artistic abilities to work and made fun artwork together for our homes.

Our work stations! And, ready to work!

Laura Mae working on her project.

"The best things in life are the people we love, the places we've been and the memories we've made along the way" 

After our projects were complete, we cleaned up, put on our Sunday best and headed to Chanhassen Dinner Theatre for Grease!

Perfect end to a most lovely weekend together!

Go Greased Lightening!

Betty Lou and Laura Mae 

Mom and I with our Grease mugs!

Chocolate Cake for Two :) Delicious!

What an awesome weekend to celebrate the Slinger ladies: Betty Lou, mom-to-be; Elsie, grandma-to-be; and Laura and I, aunties-to-be! Can't wait to meet little "pancakes."

Oh, Canada! You're a beaut: Part III

Monday, June 26th - Thursday, July 6th, 2017

The first Heiken-Prokop extravaganza = British Columbia, Canada

Monday, July 3rd

To the mountains!
We rented a car to take along the famous Sea to Sky Highway, north of Vancouver toward Whistler.

Started the morning off with the Sea to Summit hike just outside Squamish, BC: 7.5 km with 918 m elevation gain. Lots of root-steps, rocks and tall trees of the Pacific NW! 

Trailhead for Sea to Summit hike

Near the start of the trail

Beautiful lookout of mountains, Howe Sound and Squamish

Hiking alongside Shannon Falls! Beautiful views!

Some steep and challenging sections - parts requiring fixed rope lines to assist, if needed.

At the top! The hike took us 2 hours and ~8 minutes!

Suspension bridge at the top.

On the suspension bridge - great job, Luke!

We opted for the gondola ride back down. Great, relaxing ride.

View of the Stawamus Chief and Squamish from the gondola.

We grabbed lunch in Squamish, then continued to the drive north toward Whistler. Quick stop at a waterfall.

Brandywine Falls.

 Made it to Whistler! Checked out the Whistler Mountain Bike Park and a great variety of caesars :)

Watchin' some hoppers rock the bike park at Whistler.

Caesars at Garibaldi Lift Co

Tried some brews at Coast Mountain brewery before amazing wood-fired pizza at Creekbread!

Tuesday, July 4th

We did not succeed in our quest for Beavertails, so we enjoyed some unique and fancy treats at Cartems donuterie.

Apple fritter and bourbon-maple + peanuts

Then, the Prokops spent their last day in Vancouver and the Heikens headed up to Squamish for some world-famous mountain bike trails!

Here are a few epic sights and spots from our 1.5 days of mind-blowing trails!
Rode almost 30 miles in 3 rides complete with a 2,951 ft climb.

Riding up to Half-Nelson.

Fun on bridges in the trees.

Cruising up the climb trail on Wednesday.

Hal at the top of the climb trail

Oh, Canada. You sure are beautiful!

Beers and well-deserved pizza at Backcountry Brewery in Squamish.

The "Chief" with a full moon on our last night in BC.

Cheers and last poutine of Canada at Copper Coil Still and Grill under the full moon of a beautiful night!

What an adventure :)
Thanks to the Prokops for sharing such an unforgettable trip with us! What a way to begin the summer.

Oh, Canada! You're a beaut: Part II

Monday, June 26th - Thursday, July 6th, 2017

The first Heiken-Prokop extravaganza = British Columbia, Canada

Saturday, July 1st

It's CANADA DAY!
Excellent, full day of celebration, beer, laughs, dancing and adventure. No need for much commentary, just enjoy.

Canada Day outfit.

Oysters and caesars at Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House. 

Olympic flame near the waterfront and Canada Place. Huge celebration!

Piece of the Vancouver skyline from the waterfront.

Lana and Mary near one of the main stages.

Railway bar for $3 beers before 3:00 pm! - oh, and lunch.

Quick-ish stop at Malone's! Parties everywhere!

Dinner and festivities at Blarney Stone in Gastown... Happy Canada Day! 150!

Cheers to Canada!

Great band at Blarney Stone!

Yes, that is a giant penis on the dance floor. There was a bachelorette party running around Blarney Stone all night with it!

Sunday, July 2nd
We took it a bit easier today. Delicious breakfast at Tuc, then took a water taxi to Granville Island. We cruised around Granville Island on a beautiful day! The public market was amazing as well as the variety in food and shopping!

 Breakfast at Tuc was complete with a round of (arguably the best) caesars. Sam ordered oh-so-good chicken and waffles!

Our water taxi (via Aquabus) cruise over to Granville Island.

View of Granville Island from the Aquabus. Perfect day!

Pierogies, sauerkraut, caramelized onions and sausage for Mary's lunch.

 After quite a bit of action, we opted to buy supplies for dinner at the public market. Fresh shrimp, pasta, french bread, an amazing assortment of fruit accompanied by super-uber fresh salad fixings.

Dinner at the apartment tonight.

Great relaxing evening in with card playing, G&T's and ice cream+fresh fruit!

Tomorrow... to the MOUNTAINS!