Wrapping up July.

We closed the chapter on a another softball season yesterday. We had our end-of-the-year tournament. We didn't really do very well, we went 1-3 in 4 games, but it was a fun season and I think we were all ready for it to be done and move on to other things this summer.

We started our day at 8:00 in the morning, and didn't leave the fields until a little after 2pm. It was a long day. We also had the kids out there all day since Jim and Barb were still on vacation. The kids did really well, and had fun riding their bikes and playing with the other kids. They were so worn out by the time we left. When we got home, we showered everyone up and then headed to Pastor's house for a grill out and some socializing. It was a beautiful evening to be outside with some friends.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Monday and Tuesday were spent playing softball. On Wednesday the kids made birthday cards for Rachel and Ryan and we mailed them out, the kids thought that was pretty cool.

On Friday, John had to shoot a wedding, so the kids and I had an evening to ourselves. We started off by going to Casey's grand opening on the west side of town and eating some good, cheap food and winning some door prizes. The kids thought it was great. They got pizza, slushies, donuts, and other treats. They were set.

After Caseys, we headed to Sertoma Park for some park time, and then we headed home for some Tom and Jerry before bedtime. The kids twisted my arm, and had a sleepover in the living room. They both slept on their Paw Patrol pillow beds, and it was pretty cute. They were super tired and it wasn't long until they were out cold.

Today, we couldn't get our lazy bums up early enough, so we had to skip church. We are planning to spent some time outside today, since it's supposed to be in the 70s again today. Maybe the bike trail? Then, we are meeting up with Jim and Barb for Pizza Ranch later today since they are finally home from vacation. The kids will be excited!

This next week is shaping up to be a little quieter than previous weeks. John is going out of town to meet a client, so the kids are spending a couple nights out at the Nelson farm since I have my softball tournament for women's league on Tuesday night. Then, just like that softball is done for the summer.

Hard to believe that August it almost here. Soon it will be fair time, and then before we know it, school. Yikes!!

Summer Days.

Well, another couple weeks of summer have drifted away, and they have sure been busy!! Softball is still keeping us busy two nights a week, which makes time really fly.

Last week, the kids had VBS all week. Both kids went everyday from 9am-3pm. Elliott was so tired at the end of the day. They stayed really busy all day long, and there were no naps for the week. Both kids really enjoyed VBS, and did really well. On Sunday, they got to sing some of the songs they learned in bible school, and it was adorable! They had 78 kids show up to VBS, which is awesome!!

Last Thursday, John and I worked a half day and then headed to Minneapolis for the Twins Game. We stopped at Ryan's on the way, and he drove us to the cities. It was SDSU night at Target Field, and it was a really fun night. There was a two hour rain delay to start the game, so we got to spend 2 hours drinking $9.50 beers at the bar. I don't even want to think about how much we spent on beer. But, the game was really fun to watch, and the Twins even won! It was close to midnight by the time the game was over. After the game, we headed to a bar for a little while with some college friends, and then scarfed a pizza at like 1am. It was fun, but we were so tired by the end of the night. We shared a hotel room with Ryan (since it was like $200 for one night).

The next day, we stopped at Bongaard's for some cheese. Then we headed to New Ulm and did the Shell's Brewery Tour. It was pretty fun, and we got to drink more beer. Then we went to Turn Halle for lunch, which is the oldest bar in Minnesota. It was pretty cool, and I had never been in there before so it was a fun experience. We finally made the long drive home and called it a day.

We collected our kids the next day, and it was nice to hang out with them again and hear all about their VBS week. The rest of the weekend was pretty low key and we just caught up on things around home.

This past week was another busy one. My parent's came town on Monday night, and got here just as our softball game was ending. We ate supper with them at the Pour House, and had a nice evening with them. The next day they kept the kids out of daycare and hung out with them all day. I think everyone had a fun day together. They stayed to watch my first softball game Tuesday night, and then they headed back home. It was a nice little visit.

This past weekend has been pretty fun. On Friday night, we just stayed home and played in the yard enjoying a beautiful summer day. We probably should have had a campfire, but the day just kind of got away from us.

On Saturday, due to some begging from the kids, we headed to Brookings to go to the Children's Museum. The kids had an absolute blast. They played really hard for a solid 3 hours, before we tore them away to go get lunch. We got lunch at Cubbies, and then they both slept really hard on the way home.

Today, we started off with church, and then both kids were crabby and kind of naughty so we had a family nap. Both kids and I napped in our big bed, while John shot some Senior Photos. The kids slept for a solid two hours, which was totally necessary. After naps, we headed to the pool to do some swimming. Then we went to McDonald's for happy meals and they got to play in a play place. It was a pretty good day for them.

After we got home, the kids rode bike for awhile, and now finally settled down for bed. Emma is super over tired and crabby, so that's fun. But, it has been a great summer so far, and I'm so sad that July is slowly winding down. Can't summer last forever?!

Summer Picnic 

SDSU Night at Target Field 

VBS Ice Cream Night

Hanging out with Reese 

Family Photo. 

Children's Museum 

Cubbies 

Emma helping Elliott on his bike 

Loving his bike 

4th of July Camping

I have been missing in action for a couple of weeks, because we have just spent the better part of the last couple of weeks camping in Yankton. We had a lot of fun camping in Yankton, but holy cow we were busy and it was a lot of work.

We spent the weekend before the 4th of July at Yankton. It was a lot of fun. We filled our days with bike rides on the bike trail, swimming, and even a boat ride. We also ate at Jo Dean's in Yankton, and just enjoyed some nice weather.

We all came back home on Monday and Tuesday to work and send kids to daycare. Wednesday was 4th of July, so we went to the Lennox parade with Dyllan, Lizz, and Reese. It was a very nice parade, the kids got a lot of candy, but it was super hot and humid. It was so hot, that the kids stopped getting candy and went and stood in the shade. So, yeah it was super hot.

After the parade, we headed back to our campsite outside of Yankton. We spent the next four night at the Lewis and Clark recreation area. Most of our days were spent with multiple bike rides, at least one swimming trip a day, playgrounds, catching fireflies, campfires, lots of food, watching fireworks games, and whatever else the kids could think of to do.

Emma did really well on her bike. She loved the bike trail and could go quite a ways before her legs would get tired and she would need a break. She loved every second of it though, and I think we will be hitting up the Sioux Falls bike trails in no time.

Elliott also did really well, and he liked riding his trike on the bike trail. But, of course it was slow going and he couldn't handle all the hills very well, so it was a struggle at times. It will be so much easier once he can ride a bike.

The kids did really well camping. The 4 night in a camper were a little much. One night Elliott woke up screaming, and cried and screamed for 20 minutes straight, and then Emma started crying. That night sucked pretty bad. It was late nights, and early mornings, and uncomfortable beds, so there wasn't much sleeping going on.

We had a really fun time camping, but I am pretty camped out for the season. The kids are just so busy and want to do so much, there isn't much time for relaxing. I am sure we will camp in Minnesota at least once this summer, and other than that I think we will be done with camping.

Also, on the way home our awning fell off our camper and broke. So that was fun. I guess we will worry about that next summer.

Here are a bunch of photos from our camping excursion.

Supper with Mr. Incredible 

Camping. (Emma fell on the sidewalk and hurt her face)

Loving the boat ride 

Making Gloop

Emma's not feeling well. 

On the Bike Trail 

Parade Time 

They love their kitty and puppy bags grandma made 

Happy 4th of July!!

Catching Fireflies 

Beautiful Sunset 

Water guns!!

The Aquarium 

Feeding the fish 

A day at the beach 

Shooting Rockets