Thursday, July 5, 2018

Happy 4th of July!

We had a fun day celebrating the birthday of our country yesterday. We got all dressed up in our patriotic outfits and had our friends Corey and Cherie Kimball over for a barbecue lunch. We then headed over to Papa and Nana's house to set off some fireworks in their driveway. The kids loved them! We had a yummy dinner with Papa and Nana and then went back home to get ready to go see the fireworks in Blaine. It was a spectacular show and it was a joy to hear the kids cheering for the fireworks! Happy 4th of July!



All ready for fireworks! It was an amazing display!


 Last Friday when it was 100 degrees out I told the kids how I remembered sleeping in my parents room on the floor with my siblings when it was super hot out. At that time we only had an air conditioner in their bedroom, so we would all go in there to sleep before we got central air later on. We woke up Saturday morning and our air conditioner went out! We knew it was going to go out soon and that we were going to have to get it replaced. The only problem is that it happened right before a holiday week and we found out we are going to need to wait a week to have it replaced! When it has been cooler at night we have been fine putting box fans in the windows to have a breeze. Last night was really hot, so we put in Karen's old air conditioner in our bedroom window and had the kids sleep on our floor. They loved it!




We had fun strawberry picking with our friends Steve, Karin, and their daughter Elizabeth!



The boys have loved catching turtles, frogs, snakes, you name it!


Fun at Spring Brooke Nature Center


Pool Fun!


Greta likes Play-Doh


The kids had fun marching around the library and singing patriotic songs to people at the library for Story Time this past Tuesday morning.


Cooling off in the green pool.






More fun at Spring Brooke


Greta and I enjoyed a morning walk while the boys were at VBS.




Here are some more pictures from hiking at Henry Cowell that I forgot to include before!


Inside the large tree!



Last Saturday Papa took the boys and I to the Science Museum while Nana stayed back with Greta. We had a great time and the boys liked building Lego Towers in the Towers of Tomorrow Exhibit the best.



Their awesome towers!


Handsome haircuts!



Working on some summer school work to keep skills fresh.


Eli and Asa loved VBS week!






What a refreshing breakfast out with my dear friends Anna and Angela! I am thankful for kindred spirits. 


The other Saturday I met my friend Anna and her kids at Spring Brooke Nature Center to play while our husbands were photographing weddings for the day. We had a fun hike complete with spotting many baby toads along the way.




Love this picture of our kids! They love each other!


Sunday, June 24, 2018

California Vacation!

We had an amazing vacation in California visiting family and going on adventures to the beach. It was a great time as a family for us and the easiest time for us flying with kids! The kids did awesome on both plane rides, there and back home. We all loved spending time with Greta Nana, Aunt Kristi, Uncle David, Cousin Lauren, Cousin Becky, Uncle Peter and Aunt Lori, Uncle Paul, Aunt Annette, Uncle Kris, and Cousin Karl. We went to the San Francisco Zoo, Natural Bridges beach, Capitola beach, Shark Fin beach, Panther beach, Wilder Ranch State Park, Point Lobos, Pacific Grove, Henry Cowell State Park, and Happy Hollows Park and Zoo. We enjoyed splashing in the huge ocean waves and searching for crabs and starfish in the many tide pools. We are thankful for a beautiful time together!


All ready for our plane ride to CA!


The kids in our rental car excited to go to the San Francisco Zoo and then Great Nana's house!



The kids loved the zoo, the koala bears were our favorite!


Fun times at Happy Hollows!






Time with Great Nana is the best!









Kristi and I in our matching jean jackets at the beach!


Red woods!


Eli especially liked all of the banana slugs at Henry Cowell State Park.



Nana gave Greta her first haircut.



Beach time!!




A sure sign of a day well spent at the beach!




Four generations of women! I love this photo!


Hiking along the coast is our favorite.




The kids loved having Great Nana read to them.


Point Lobos one of the most beautiful places on earth.




One of our family pictures from our photo shoot that Zach Niles took for us! More to come soon! I think this will be our Christmas card picture this year. Love it!


Asa loved Uncle Peter!!


All of the girls together!


Papa reading to the kids.



Fun times with Becky!





Greta's favorite ballerina dress. She wanted to wear this dress the entire time! It does spin really well and she loved to put on shows for Greta Nana.








The private beach we came across, Panther beach!




























We got a picture of each child on the tricycle!




Shark Fin Beach







We had our kitchen cabinets painted white while we were gone, we love it! So much brighter!














I love this mug that my sisters gave me for my last birthday. I needed it yesterday morning as the kids took awhile to get back on MN time. Everyone is feeling more rested today! What a great trip!