Spring Fever

Like usual, things have been busy around here. But, I think spring may finally be here and we have had some beautiful evenings and have been spending a lot of time outside.

Last weekend, we spent Saturday out at the Greenhouses with the kids, and they absolutely loved it. They both rode on the 4-wheelers, rode bike, fed chickens, and just ran around like crazy kids on the farm. We successfully wore them out. They slept very well that evening.

Sunday involved church, Sunday school and bible study, church council meetings, naps, and some softball practice. Softball season is here!! I love playing softball, and I am actually playing on two softball leagues this year. I think it will be really fun, but very busy and time consuming. It was pretty crazy having 9 kids under the age of 7 at softball practice. There seemed to always be a kid crying or getting in the way. It was pretty amusing. Hopefully we got all the kinks out, and we are ready for our double header tomorrow night.

This past week flew by like crazy. Between my call shifts, and John having some activities going on it was sort of a hustle and bustle sort of week. On Friday, Rachel was in town and spent the day with us. We spent time playing at home, and then took the kids out on the town. We went out to eat at Johnny Carino's and then we went to Sertoma Park for a couple of hours. The kids really enjoyed themselves, but they really wore us out as well. Elliott has so much fun, but he needs to be watched constantly and he is always getting into something he shouldn't be.

After the park, we went back home again to play outside and enjoy the beautiful day. The rest of the weekend was spent at work for me. I had an ok weekend, but spent 21 hours of it at work, so I'm happy my weekend is over with. John had a good time with the kids though. They went to his parents' farm on Saturday and the kids had a blast again just playing the day away. Today, John took the kids to the zoo. I guess they were really good and had a really good time. They also went to Hy Vee and Ace Hardware, so they were busy little beavers all day.

That's pretty much all the excitement that's been going on around here. Emma is protesting her bedtime right now and rolling around in her bed and kicking the wall. Grrr. Wouldn't it be nice if 3 year old could just lay down and go to bed?

Elliott's been super adorable lately. He is starting to talk more, and he can say "ball" "cracker" "more" "memma" "dada" "mum mum" "hi" "bye" "bubbles" "uh-oh" and I know there's a few more but I can't think of them right now. It's really cute. And he can understand a lot more than he can say. He also loves being read to right now. His favorite book is "Llama llama Halloween" and I think we have read it to him a hundred times. He just sits there all nice and listens, and gets mad if we stop before he wants us to. It's so fun to watch him learn and absorb so much information.

Well, I better go switch the laundry over and finish up a couple of housekeeping things before I go to bed. I am home with the kids tomorrow, and then we have a softball double header, so some good sleep would be awesome for tonight.

Spring evening in the park

Loves to swing 

Fun on the farm 

Playing so nice 

Haircut, before and after 

At the zoo. 

Holly Bruns' Wedding

The weather is finally starting to warm up, and it's feeling more like spring around here. However, we can't seem to get rid of the wind lately. It's been really windy, and I'm kind of over it.

Last weekend, we headed to Minnesota again for my friend Holly's wedding. John actually shot the wedding, so he put in a full day and worked his butt off all day. I felt like I was at the wedding by myself since John was working, but that was ok. It was nice to catch up with so many friends, and drink lots of beer. Holly made a beautiful bride, and it was a fun day.

The reception was held at Jackpot, and after the wedding dance was over, and after plenty of beer, John and I walked around the casino floor for a while. We didn't head to bed until 2:30am, and we were very tired. This momma doesn't stay up that late, and I was shot.

Sunday was a recovery day. We got to sleep in a little, since we spent the night at Jackpot. After some food and coffee, we headed back to my parent's house to get the kids and head back home. Emma and Elliott seemed to have really missed us, and it was really cute.

This past week has been pretty brutal. It has just been really busy at work, and I had a couple nights of call that kept me awake, and I am just kind of over this week. Emma had a rough week as well. She puked and was up most of the night Tuesday night, and she has just been really clingy to me ever since. She cries that she doesn't want to go to daycare and that she just wants me. It's kind of cute, but it also is a major guilt trip when I need to catch up on sleep, or when I actually need to go to work. I hope it's just a short-lived stage, and that she gets over it, because it's stressful when she isn't happy.

Otherwise not much is new here. Eli is loving life and doing really well lately. He's been sleeping great, staying relatively healthy, and just been super happy lately. He especially loves to be outdoors, and continues to find a new word or two here and there.

Today is a recovery day for me, I didn't get home until 5:00am, and I was shot from this crazy week. So, I have my coffee, my feet up, and some Grey's Anatomy to entertain me. Not much is planned for this weekend. We are getting new neighbors. The Jensen's from church are moving into a house down the street, so we are going to help move them/help babysit kids on Saturday. Then, Sunday we have some softball practice (yay!). Other than that, I think we are going to just lay low, and enjoy the weekend.

Cheers to a peaceful weekend, with some Game of Thrones hopefully :)

Michelle and I at the wedding 

Drunk at a casino

Messy, happy Elliott

So cute

Such a mommy's girl

Holly's Wedding 

Easter in Minnesota 2016

This past weekend, John and I loaded up the kids and headed to Mankato for the weekend. We headed out pretty early on Saturday morning, and got to Mankato around 11:00am. The kids were wonderful for the ride, which we were very thankful for. We had some Chipotle for lunch, and then we headed to Rachel's house. 

After getting settled into Rachel's house, we headed out to the Mankato Children's Museum. It was really fun, and there were many activities to keep both kids very entertained. They played their little hearts out. We were there for a good 2 hours, which was enough for all of us. The kids napped on the way back to Rachel's house. Ryan joined us in the evening, and we grilled out for supper and then put 2 very tired kiddos to bed. 

After the kids were asleep, we all enjoyed some well-deserved beers, and played a few rounds of cards against humanity. We all stayed up too late, but we had a lot of fun and it was nice to have some sibling bonding time. 

On Sunday, we celebrated Easter with my dad's side of the family. Everyone on my dad's side of the family was there, so a miracle happened and we got a family photo of everyone. I don't know if any of them actually turned out, but it was nice we actually got around to taking one. We also got a picture of the four of us, which we haven't done in almost a year, so it was a little overdue. 

Sunday was really fun. I really do enjoy family time, and it was nice to see everyone and visit with them. The weather was pretty nice. It was 65 degrees out, but really, really windy. The kids had a blast. Emma followed Jenna around everywhere and really had fun with her, but she talked to everybody and had a good time. Elliott wasn't too shy either. He ran around, ate a lot of food, and had fun with everybody. 

We even walked to a park and let the kids burn off some energy on a playground for a while. Everyone seemed to get a long and have a good time. 

The ride home was long. We didn't leave until 4:30pm, so we didn't get home until 7. Ugh. The ride went pretty smoothly. Emma slept for most of it, and Eli was good until about the last 20 miles, when he lost his patience and complained the rest of the way home. 

This week has been pretty uneventful, but it has flown by. Eli and I are battling colds, so I have been trying to get some extra rest. We are heading to Minnesota this weekend again for Holly Bruns' wedding. John is shooting it, and we are staying at Jackpot Saturday night, so it should be pretty fun. But it's going to be fast, and busy, and we will be pretty tired by Monday morning. But mom and dad are watching the kids on Saturday, so we have a kid-free night! Yay!

Here's to a busy weekend!!!

Children's Museum

Eli and Uncle Ryan

Emma and Jenna

Eli doesn't know what to think

Great-Grandma is feeding him the good stuff

my family.