Fall Activities

Well, it's almost the end of September and this is only my 4th blog post for the month. Whoops. Time has gotten away from me once again. We have been very busy this month-time is flying by!!!

My parents and brother came for a visit a couple weekends ago. The weather was really cold and crummy, so we weren't able to do much but hang out at home. But it was nice to see them, and Emma sure loved all the attention. We did find one afternoon to go play in the park.

Last weekend was a busy one. Friday night we went to the Denny Sanford Premier Center open house. It was pretty cool to walk around and look at the huge brand-new building. Emma had a good time running around the entire building.

On Saturday, we went to the apple orchard for Apple Fest. It was hot and sunny out, but we had a great day. Emma did some inflatable rides, a train ride, and then rode a pony. She was in heaven. We also shared some delicious apple pie and bought some honey crisp apples. After the apple orchard, we went with Jim and Barb to a state park by Canton, SD and played on some playgrounds and saw the sights. It was a great Saturday.

I had Monday off from work, so Emma and I had a day together. We went to the zoo and then we painted some pumpkins. It sure was messy, but it was also really fun :)

This weekend, John had to shoot a wedding, so I made an impromptu trip to Minnesota to spend some time with family. Friday night mainly consisted of getting to Minnesota by myself with a 2 year old (which was sort of a challenge), eating supper, and then getting unpacked and ready for bed.

Yesterday was a very busy day. Mom, Rachel, Emma, and I decided to head to the cities to go to the Como Zoo. We also stopped along the way at the States biggest candy store with the world's largest selection of pop. I couldn't believe how busy the place was! The zoo was really fun. It was sorta hot and crowded, but we all had fun seeing the animals. Emma also went on some rides, which she really enjoyed!

We also stopped in Gaylord since Grandma Mary was having a garage sale since she moved into an apartment a few weeks ago. It was nice to see Grandma and some aunts and uncles for a little while.

Today was a fun day on the farm before coming back home again. We went to church in the morning, and then Emma had fun playing with Zander, riding in the Ranger, and just running around the farm in general.

We left around 2pm. Emma did much better on the way home than she did on the the way to Minnesota. She slept some, read some books, and watched Minnie Mouse on her new portable DVD player thanks to Grandma and Grandpa. Now, if she would only get over her cruddy cough she has had for the last 3 weeks.

We made it home at around 5pm, and it was really nice to see John. We had missed him all weekend. Right now, Emma is peacefully sleeping, I'm catching up on some TV shows, and enjoying the quiet time.

It was a really fun weekend trip to Minnesota, but it was super busy, and I am kinda exhausted from it all. I am SO not ready for another week of work, but bring it on I guess.

Hope everyone enjoyed the fabulous weather we have been having, sounds like things are about to get a little chilly.

Enjoy the photos :)

Playing with daddy

Napping in the park

Park day

The Denny Sanford Premier Center

Apple orchard

Pony ride

Hanging out with Uncle Jeff

Selfie at the zoo

Feeding the goats

Painting pumpkins 

Dressed up for Crazy Day at daycare

Hanging out with Great-Grandma Mary

Como Zoo Fun 

Rides!

Play Date

This last Monday-which was already 4 days ago-jeepers!, Emma's cousin Abby came over so we could babysit her while her mom Marie had a white-coat ceremony to attend for nursing school. 

I was a little nervous about how Emma would do with another toddler on her turf, but she handled it really well, and the two of them played very well together. 

It was pretty cute. We started out playing outside in the sandbox, then with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, a bike ride, and ate some hotdogs for supper. 

There were a few minor meltdowns when the two of them would fight over the same toy, but it never lasted long and overall they did very well together. 

The rest of the week has flown by in a flash. It's been cold, windy, and rainy the last few days, and Emma has been fighting us pretty good at bedtime lately, so that is starting to become a battle. I think she is just testing us, and right now she is winning! Grrr. But I am hoping it is just a phase, and pretty soon bedtime will go back to normal.

Otherwise, my parents and brother are coming to town tonight to spend the weekend, so Emma will enjoy that :) Just gotta get though an 8 hour day of work, and then bring on the weekend :)

Emma photo shoot

Another week has flown by in the Nelson home. Not too much is new around here. We brought Emma to Tuthill Park and did a fun little photo shoot with her. Emma did really well with it, and it was really fun to get some new pictures. It's nice being married to a photographer :)

We have also been spending these last few beautiful evening in the park, soaking up the nice weather while we can. And Emma just LOVES climbing up and down playgrounds, going down the slides, and swinging.

Emma's latest thing has been to ask where someone went as soon as they leave the room. If John leaves a room, she goes "where daddy go?" and then as soon as he reappears "there he is!" And then she proceeds to do the same with herself. It's pretty funny-and adorable.

I worked this last weekend, so Emma had fun with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson one day and then her and daddy had a great day yesterday together. Today is a catch up day at home, and then later Marie is bringing Abby (and possibly Anna) over for us to watch. So, there will be 3 toddlers tearing up my house for a while. Oh-boy!

So-here's hoping I survive this evening!!

Labor Day Festivities

Well, September is here. Happy Labor Day everyone!

It's been a pretty low-key day over here, but it's been enjoyable none-the-less. It started with none of us getting out of bed until 8:00am which was amazing! Then we had a nice breakfast, and after that we headed out to the zoo.

It was such a perfect day to go exploring at the zoo. It was sunny, not windy, and about 70 degrees. Absolutely beautiful. We took our time looking at the animals, Emma fed some goats, and we rode the carousel 3 times. Emma had a blast.

We ate lunch at Valentino's because Emma kept telling us how "hun-ry" she was. She scarfed down quite a pile of spaghetti- I think somebody is starting to feel better :)

Emma fought her afternoon nap, so I spent a good 2 hours cleaning my car-which involved vacuuming, shampooing, and then washing and waxing the outside. It also involved vacuuming up about 7 million cheerios and other snacks that Emma has left behind. It look beautiful now, but this momma is kinda pooped.

John and Emma had fun playing with water, gardening, and side-walk chalking while I was working away. Emma finally went down for a nap around 3:30pm, so we will see how long she sleep. This should mess her up for bedtime tonight...

Our evening plans are to bring supper out to Lake Vermillion and have a picnic with Jim and Barb. There is also a nice playground set for Emma to play on. It will be a great way to spend some more time outdoors on this beautiful Labor Day!

Emma and John checking out the turtles 

Feeding goats