Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Look at my creation!

Last night I went with some friends to a bead store and we each made a bracelet. This was my first attempt at jewelry making and it was really quite fun. I'm happy with how my bracelet turned out, here is my creation...

Lake Day

Saturday we spent a fun filled day at the lake with our friends. We had beautiful weather and the kids had a blast swimming, splashing and playing with their friends.
Here's the whole group (minus Brooks, he was supervising from the boat)
Leyton, Saylor, Ashlyn, Megan, Lydia, Daisy, Julia, Aidyn, Eli, Nolan and Mason (behind Nolan)

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Camping Trip

We just got back from our annual family camping trip and we had a blast! It's so fun to let the kids just run and explore without worrying about them non-stop. They chased squirrels, tried to catch fireflies, collected acorns, gathered sticks for the campfire...lots of great outdoor fun.
Here are our campers after we got the tent set up. Watching us was so exhausting that the kids just had to have a root beer and relax.

After dinner we went for a walk on the boardwalk. The kids collected cat tails and watched frogs jumping through the water. There are holes in the boardwalk so they had to stop and investigate.

When we got back to the campsite we got the campfire going and started making s'mores. The kids were in heaven and would have eaten them all night. (I can totally understand!)

We had a pretty good nights sleep in the tent. It did start thundering & lightening around 6:00am and then rained for about 1/2 hour. Nolan laughed and thought it was fun. Aidyn was a bit hysterical. She and I ended up in the car for awhile because she was so scared.

All in all we had a lot of fun. The kids said they love camping and want to go for longer next summer. Sounds like fun!

Brodie's visit

This past Wednesday we got to spend some time with Brodie. Aidyn and Nolan entertained him the whole time he was here. He even got a ride in the Lego wagon!
Aidyn read him a few books. I think he was more interested in eating the books, but he seemed to enjoy the stories too. It was lots of fun seeing him and getting to play a little bit.

Sleepy All-Star

The Sunday after we got back from ND, Grandma Janice & Grandpa Horace came to visit. We all went to the Twins game and had a great time watching the game. On the way home we had one very sleepy little ball player.

Visiting Gma & Gpa

Last week we got to spend some time with Grandma Sharon & Grandpa Jerry. The golf cart got a workout while we were there. Here are Grandma & Grandpa enjoying a lovely evening on the ND prairie.
Justin giving Nolan & McKayla a ride around the yard. Even Bailey got to ride a couple times. (In between her rabbit hunting excursions.)
Nolan & G'pa also got to play a lot of baseball while we were there. I think Nolan would have had him out there playing 24/7 if possible!

It was a very fun week, the kids always have a blast while we're there. They got to go the park a couple times and Uncle Ty took them out for ice cream one night too. Oh to be a kid!!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The many styles of Sean

While we were visiting, Kaitlyn (with a little assistance from Aidyn) styled Sean's hair into several lovely coifs. Now you get to pick your favorite.


#1 The Nerd

#2 The Punk Seducer

#3 Seantonio Banderas

#4 Spike

#5 The Low Down

So, let's hear it, what's your favorite??

More Fun

During our visit, I took Kaitlyn & Sean bowling. Truth be told, we are all terrible bowlers. However, Kaitlyn & Sean are excellent at doing the wave while I tried to bowl. Here is an action shot of their shenanigans. One night, the kids all snuggled up in front of the TV and watched a movie together.
Kaitlyn did Nolan's hair for him. She is so talented.

We also went to check out the church where Jeff & I got married. When we got married 10 years ago, Kaitlyn & Sean were our flower girl & ring bearer. They were the same age that my kids are right now, so it was fun to see my kids at that church.

Aidyn took this last picture. She did a pretty darn good job!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Family Fun

We've been gone for the last week and have had lots of fun visiting family. The first weekend we were gone we spent time with my brother Troy and his family. They took us to Scheels to ride the ferris wheel, but first I had a proud parent/alumni moment when Aidyn and Nolan wanted their picture taken by the mighty Bison.
Aidyn & Kaitlyn on the ferris wheel.
Troy, who doesn't like ferris wheels, got to ride with wiggly Nolan.
Now, this is not the best picture of Sean & I together, but I had to include it simply because of the ferris wheel operator off to the bottom right. He just cracked me up in this picture!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Story for the day

This week we are spending time visiting my parents. Yesterday, my mom was making garlic bread for lunch.
Aidyn said "I love garlic bread, I could eat that whole thing!"
Mom told her "You wouldn't want to do that. That would make you fat."
Very seriously and very innocently Aidyn asked "Was that what Grandpa was eating when he got fat?"

Mom and I about split a gut laughing! And of course we had to tell dad about it (several times!) He just laughed too.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

She's Here!!!

Isn't she a beauty?!?!?!

T-Ball

Another season of t-ball is in the books. Monday night was the last game. Here is our star with her new medal.

Aidyn's team had a few of her friends on it. Here she is with Lydia, Daisy & Julia.
The little brothers sat by 'patiently' and watched their sisters play. Next summer it will be their turn. Brooks, Mason & Nolan

Monday, July 07, 2008

Bye-bye bush

Notice: My before & after picture taking skills are a bit lacking so you'll have to use you imagination a little...

See that lilac bush in front of our house? (the bush to the right of the door) I've been contemplating taking it out for 3 years. Every year it grows around 2-3 feet and every fall I cut it back 2-3 feet. Last fall I cut A LOT off and then this spring, yep, you guessed it, it grew back like crazy!
This spring it was pushed up against the wall to the right, hanging WAY over the sidewalk to the left, hanging onto the porch in the back and up to the gutters above it. It completely blocked the view of our front door, you could only see the far left of the door. Well, I'd had it with that bush. So I grabbed the clippers and the ax and cut it down. Here is what remained.
(Now this doesn't do it justice because if you look back to that first picture, you will see that it was filled in with rocks underneath. Jeff and I worked for 2 nights digging and hauling all those darn rocks out.)
So after we got all the rocks out, we had to dig the stump out. Saturday morning we dug & chopped & cut & pulled and VIOLA! Out came the stump!
Here it is before (minus the gigantic spring growth).
Here it is after!
It's almost like it never existed. I'm going to plant some perennials in that spot this fall and add some color to the front of our house. And now you can see our front door!

Twins Game

We took the kids to the Twins game yesterday afternoon and watched them sweep the Indians. Both kids were really good and actually sat and watched the game!




After the game, we got to go down on the field and the kids ran the bases. I don't have any great action shots of it because they ran too fast! They said they enjoyed the base running and the cotton candy the most, imagine that!