Emma's First Day of Kindergarten :)

I can't believe it's here already! We sent our sweet little Emma off to her first day of Kindergarten today. We covered quite a mix of emotions today, but mostly we were just proud of Emma and so happy for her to be starting something new. She has been so excited and ready for school for the past couple weeks, so it wasn't so terribly hard to send her to her first day. And I know she is in great hand at Bethel Lutheran School with Mrs. Knuth.

I took today off work so I could be around and help get Emma ready and send her off to school. I woke Emma up at around 6:45 am, and she just hopped right out of bed. That little girl was ready to get ready and go to school. Together, we picked out her outfit for her first day, and then I made her eat a good breakfast before we left.

I also got to wake up Elliott this morning and get him ready. He was super excited to see me (since I am never home in the morning during the week). Together, we picked out his outfit as well, and he was pretty excited to get to daycare. His world is going to be shaken a little when he has to start at a new daycare in 2 weeks, but I'm hoping he will adjust pretty quickly. But today, I walked him into daycare, and he pretty much ran in ahead of me, ran to his room, gave me a requested kiss, and he was off. He's becoming such a big boy as well, and just loves being independent and doing his own thing.

After breakfast we all rode together and dropped off Elliott at daycare, and then drove over to Bethel to drop Emma off at school. We walked Emma into school, and then she went to sit in her desk with her classmates. She looked so happy. We all went to an opening chapel service for the first day of school, and then it was time for mom and dad to leave.

There were no tears, but it was crazy to leave her at school for the day. I don't know where the last 5 years have gone, but it's been quite the adventure and I am so proud of our little girl. She is going to do great things!!

Summer Vacation 2017.

This past week flew by in a hurry, especially since we were on vacation all week long. I am in definite need of a vacation from my vacation right now.

We spent last weekend around home, catching up on some things and just spending some time with the kids. Emma and I went to the Emoji Movie, which she thought was hilarious. It was ok, but definitely not the best movie I have ever seen, but I enjoyed our Emma and Mommy date.

Last Sunday, we had a family get together at Ron's house in Parker. Jill and Peg were home for a summer visit, so we had a gathering to get people together and visit. We also had our traditional beanbag tournament for entertainment. It was a great day. In the evening, we headed to the fairgrounds for a free BBQ at the fairgrounds. The kids had a great time playing with everyone else, but they were super tired by the time we left.

Monday was the first official day of the Turner County Fair, so we spent most of the day out there. We got out there at around 1pm, and we stayed until about 10:30pm. It was quite the day. We walked the entire fairgrounds, got our share of free junk, had the kids perform in the Turner Teeny Tiny Rodeo, and then we watched a Rodeo after that. It was a beautiful day for the fair! The kids also enjoyed some more fair rides, fair food, and of course seeing all the animals. We also visited with a lot of family, and spent some time playing bingo. The kids really did a great job all day at the fair, but they were so incredibly tired on the way home, they both passed out and we threw them right in bed when we got home.

On Tuesday, we packed up and headed for Minnesota. We took our time getting to my parent's house. We stopped and ate lunch in Windom, and also played on the playground for a while. We also stopped at Ramsey Park on our way home and played on some playgrounds and watched the waterfalls. The kids really enjoyed that! We also had some excitement there. Apparently, before we got there a person jumped off the falls, and the ambulances, firetrucks, and police were there to try and help the person out, so we couldn't go to the falls right away. I'm not sure how all that turned out, but hopefully ok.

We made it to my parent's house by supper time, and enjoyed a nice steak supper and let the kids burn some energy off outside. They weren't took hard to put to bed that night.

Wednesday was our day to head to the cities. John, Ryan, and I headed to the Twin Cities at around 10:30 am. We walked through the Mall of America, checked into our Hotel, and then went and checked out Surly Brewery. After all that, we headed to the Target Field for the Twins Game. Unfortunately, after sitting there for an hour, the game got rained out. So, we hung out at some bars downtown and found some supper. It was a pretty fun day, even though our game got cancelled.

On Thursday, Ryan flew out to St. Louis for work, so John and I went to the noon Twin's game, and then headed for the campground. The Twins did not have a great game, they lost 9-3, and struck out 19 times in 9 innings. It was pretty sad, but we had a great time there!

We ended up at the campsite at around supper time, and ended up having a very nice campfire that night. The kids were a little tricky to get to bed in the camper, but once they were out they slept very well. We enjoyed relaxing and drinking beer around the campfire for a couple hours, it was great.

Friday started off as a rainy, dreary day. So, we packed up and headed to Willmar for a while. We checked out the county museum, which was actually pretty interesting, and then brought the kids to a brand new park in Willmar. The park was huge, and awesome, and the kids had a great time there.

After a couple hours of bumming in town, we headed back to the campsite, since the rain finally subsided. We spent some time just playing outside and enjoying the weather. We made some Pizzas on the grill for supper, put the kids to bed, and then enjoyed our last fire of our trip.

Yesterday was the nicest day of the weekend, it was sunny and warmer, and a perfect day for camping. Rachel, Elena, and Ryan joined us at the Lake yesterday, and it was really nice to see everyone.

We took a nice morning boat ride around Diamond Lake, which the kids really enjoyed. We also fished a tiny bit with the kids, and then let them swim on the beach for a while. They loved that.
The rest of the day was spent visiting and playing, and then we had a delicious rib supper before we left. We left the lake at around 6pm, and got home a little after 9. The kids were so crabby and tired, but we all had a great trip. Nobody wanted to leave!

Today is out catchup day. I did about 5 loads of laundry, cleaned the house, and just relaxed a little. Right now, the kids are just enjoying some Paw Patrol, and just not doing much of anything. John just left to go buy a new lawn mower, ours decided to break while he was mowing lawn when we got back. We also need some groceries, and school starts on Wednesday, which is just crazy. I better get used to making and packing lunches I guess. But I am excited for Emma to start school, and she is still very excited as well.

P.S. Elliott wore underwear all weekend, and did not have a single accident. He is doing so well with potty training, I can hardly believe it. We still put him in a diaper overnight, but most of the time he wakes up dry, he is just being a rockstar!!

Puppies at the Fair 

Emma Fairing Hard 

Teeny Tiny Rodeo 

Emma and Peggy (and Elliott)

Pretty much explains the day

Ramsey Falls 

Twins Game 

Camping Life

County Museum 

Swimming 

Me and Elena 

Elena and Crazy Uncle John 

Pooped out kids 

Dirty, and loving it 

Sioux Empire Fair, 2017

Summer is sure winding down around here, Emma starts school two weeks from today. Eek!!

Another week has passed, and it's been another eventful one. This past Saturday, I was looking for an excuse to get out of the house with the kids, and I just happened to run across a Superhero Party that Dakota Vision was hosting. Basically all I had to do was bring some items for the food shelf, and we had a free event to attend.

John had some photos to work on, so I dressed Elliott up as the Flash, and Emma as Supergirl, and we headed out. The kids had such a good time. They got to play in bouncy houses, ride a train, eat lunch, make superhero masks, enjoy a photobooth, and meet some superheroes. We were at the event for the entire 3 hours it was going on, and both kids started crying when it was time to leave.

Elliott mostly played in the bouncy houses, and went down the slides like 100 times. He loved it, and could not get enough of it. Emma loved the train, and she rode it around and around for probably 30 times. Both kids were a little shy around the superheroes, but enjoyed interacting with them and getting their pictures taken. It was a great event, and both kids were pooped afterward. Eli had a 3 hours nap once we got home, and Emma had some quiet time.

After resting at home, we packed up the kids and brought them to Newton Hills, where Jim and Barb were camping for the weekend. We hung around and visited for a while, but since Jim and Barb were willing to keep the kids for the night in the camper, John and I decided to have a date night. We went out to eat at the Attic, and then just enjoyed a quiet evening at home and watched Game of Thrones. It was a nice night.

On Sunday, we enjoyed sleeping in, and then went to church without any kids, which was kind of awesome. After brunch at Granite City, we went grocery shopping without the kids as well. At around 3pm we headed out to the farm to pick up some very dirty, very tired kids who had a blast camping. It was definitely a bath night, and then an early bedtime for everyone.

Monday was school registration night for Emma. She was so excited to bring her school supplies in, find her desk, and talk with her new teacher. She is so very excited to start Kindergarten, it's adorable. I wish she wasn't growing up so fast, but I am so glad she is so excited and ready for school. After registration, we treated Emma out to Cold Stone Ice Cream. It was a great evening.

Yesterday, we decided to go to the Sioux Empire Fair. I got off work at around 1pm and was at the fair with the kids around 2:30pm. I bought the kids some wristbands, and they rode ride after ride after ride. Both kids had a blast with the rides. When it was just me with the kids, I had them both riding the little kiddie rides, and they both really enjoyed that. We did that for a solid 2 hours, until John arrived. Once he got there, we each took a kid, which was a little less stressful than having both of them.

Once Emma wasn't restricted to just the little kid rides, she had such a good time. She rode a roller coaster, a spinning boat, and basically anything that she was tall enough to go on. She is such a ride junkie. She is not afraid of anything, and she cannot get enough of the rides.

Once John and I were tired of shuffling the kids around on the rides, we pried then away and went and saw the animals. Elliott especially loved this. He loves to just look at the animals, and he pets any of the animals that he can. He loves animals.

We also let the kids do a train ride, walked through the Expo Building, and just generally walked around taking in the sights. We were at the fair until around 7:30pm, and then it started getting really crowded and the kids started getting really crabby, so we got the heck out of there. It was a great evening, the weather was beautiful, but we were all more than ready to head home for the night.

I really do enjoy fair season, and the Turner County Fair starts on Monday, so it will be another fun day of rides and other fair activities. Also, it kicks off our week of vacation, which I am more than ready for. :)

Superhero Party Train Rides 

Elliott unsure about the superheroes 

Batman and the Flash 

Supergirl and Captain America 

Fair Rides 

Emma enjoying the Rollercoaster