Jeff and Samantha's Wedding

 This last weekend was a busy, and hot one. It was finally the wedding weekend! We kept busy, but had a really fun weekend. 

On Friday evening, we had the rehearsal supper in Parker. Barb made fajitas, which were really good. We all enjoyed some good food, and then we checked out the decorations and the venue and just enjoyed seeing everything. 

Then, we did actually practice for the ceremony. Emma and Elliott practiced walking the dogs down the aisle, which went pretty well. It was super hot outside (like 95 degrees and humid), so we kept it pretty short and  called it a night. 

On Saturday, we headed out to Parker around 1:00pm. Emma got her hair done, and then we just spent some time at the venue while the bridesmaids got dressed/ready, and then while pictures were going on. 

At 4:30pm the ceremony started. It was extremely hot outside. Like, sweat your butt off as soon as you go outside. But, it was beautiful out there, and it was a sweet ceremony, with personal vows and everything. 

After the ceremony, we took extended family photos, and then the bridal party went to the house for a while before they came back for the Grand March. We had a nice supper of pulled pork sandwiches (which Jeff made) and cheesy potatoes, fruit, and cupcakes. 

Then, there were toasts, first dances, and finally it was dancing time with Dueling Pianos. It was a really fun night, and I did a lot of dancing with extended relatives and caught up with family who lives out of town. 

At 11:00pm, the danced ended, and I took two tired kids home. We had a good time, but we were all pooped by the end of the night. 

Congrats to the newlyweds!

Emma Turns 10

 Emma is 10! She had her official birthday 11 days ago, and I still can't believe she is 10. Where does the time go?

On Emma's birthday, we went to Jeff and Samantha's wedding shower at Ron's house. The kids had a lot of fun playing with the other kids, and we had a nice brisket meal and then a big cake to celebrate Emma. Everyone also sang Happy Birthday to Emma, and seemed to enjoy herself. 

I did do a couple extra special things for Emma for her birthday. The night before her birthday, I filled her room with balloons, and put streamers in her doorway, and then put some decorations in the kitchen. I made her a "Happy 10th Birthday" banner and then wrote 10 things I loved about her all over the windows. It was pretty special. 

For her birthday, we got her a ukulele, cheetah backpack, crocs, some fidgets, and a few other odds and ends. She got a mani/pedi from Grandma and Grandpa Nelson, and horse riding lessons. She seemed to enjoy her gifts and her celebrations.

Emma's current likes:

-Anything tie-dye, cats, drawing, painting, playing with the neighbor girls. swimming, summertime, summer care, reading, staying up too late, playing softball, watching you tube, and having moving nights

Emma's Dislikes

-This list is actually pretty short. She doesn't like her brother tagging along, being asked to do chores, getting scolded, having her Ipad taken away, or when her parents are trying to be too silly 

Overall, Emma had a good birthday celebration. She is pumped to be 10. Next up, we are going to dye the tips of her hair pink. She is super excited for that. 

Camping at Newton Hills/Emma's Birthday Party

 This past weekend was busy, a little crazy, but a lot of fun. Emma had her birthday party with her friends, and we went camping at Newton Hills for it. Emma had been counting down this weekend for a long time. 

On Friday after work, John drove separate to go and get the camper and bring it to Newton Hills. So, I was tasked with picking up all the girls and getting them out to the campsite. After work, I headed home to pack up, and get the bike rack. We rounded up all the girls, and then we headed for Newton Hills. The girls were really excited, and they had to see the camper right away. Then, they went off on their bikes to explore and play at some of the playgrounds. 

We had hot dogs, fruit, chips, and cookie cake for supper (per Emma) and then Emma opened her gifts and enjoyed her friend time. The girls watched Sing 2 in the evening, and then they all slept in the tent for the night. Marie and Todd happened to be camping at Newton Hills too, so John and I went and enjoyed their campfire, while the girls (and Abby) watched the movie. 

The tent went pretty well, until it started raining at 4:00am. Then all the girls came running into the camper. We got them settled in again, and everyone thankfully slept for another couple of hours. 

Saturday the girls kept really busy. We took them to the Lookout tower, and they played some sand volleyball. We also tie-dyed some shirts, which was an adventure. The girls did pretty well with it, but it was very messy. We had pancakes, bacon, and eggs for breakfast and then made some snow cones in the afternoon, which all the girls really enjoyed. 

The day ended up getting up to the mid 80s, so we also let the girls play with some water balloons, which they really had fun with. We still have our sling shot, so they really enjoyed shooting water balloons for a lot of the afternoon. At 3:30 pm, there was rock painting at the campground, so all the girls went and did that, and then we brought them all home. Emma had a great time with her friends, and she is already planning her party for next year. 

After we got back from dropping off all the girls, Jim and Barb came to visit us at the campsite. We had burgers for supper, visited for a while, and then they headed home. John and I enjoyed a long walk while the kids watched a movie, and then we were all tired and called it a night. 

Today, we went for a nice hike on The Woodland Trail at Newton Hills. It was a beautiful hike, but it was pretty muddy from all the rain we got over the weekend. We had some quesadillas for lunch, and then we started packing up. The kids and I headed home while John brought the camper back to the farm. We spent the rest of the day doing laundry, mowing the lawn, planting perennials, and just catching up on everything. 

The heat is finally here too. Today was in the 90s, and so is much of the next week. We are going to have some hot softball games coming up. And we are into wedding week this week. So, we have a bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, and a wedding all coming up this week. It's going to be crazy!!

Setting up the tent 

Birthday wishes 

Uno time 

Snow cones 

Water balloons 

Tie Dye 

Slap Jack with dad 

Softball Emma 

Diamond Lake

 Summer is in full swing. Last weekend, John went to Jeff's bachelor party out at Platte, so the kids and I decided to make the journey to Diamond Lake and we camped with my parents. 

Elliott actually had Cloverbud Camp on Friday morning, so he went to that until around noon. Emma and I didn't have to work or go to summer care, so we packed, played some basketball, went for a walk, and then headed out to the farm to get Elliott. 

Then, we made the long drive to Diamond Lake, The kids did really well with the drive. They had their Ipads, and did a little reading and drawing as well. They also had snacks and drinks, so they were set. We made pretty good time, and made it to Diamond Lake around 5:00pm. We helped make a pizza and then grilled it, and it was really good. 

The kids spent some time down at the lake, playing on the beach. They tried to swim a little, but the temps were only in the low 70s, and the water was really cold. We had a nice fire, and some smores, and then called it a night. 

Saturday was a fun day. After a big breakfast, we all brought our bikes to the bike trail and did some biking. We probably went about 7 miles total. The kids did really well. Elliott complained a little, but overall he did really well. After biking, Elliott and Grandpa Jack spent some time at the campground, while Emma, Mom, and I went to Willmar to do some birthday shopping. 

Emma really wanted some roller blades, so we went to Dunham's Sports, and got her some really nice roller blades. We also shopped at a couple other spots, and hit up a couple garage sales. It was some nice lady time. When we got back, Emma spent some time practicing with her rollerblades. She got pretty good in a short amount of time. I was really proud of her. 

In the evening, we spent some more time at the beach, did a little more biking, and then had some burgers and hotdogs for supper. We visited around the fire for a while, and then we put some tired kids to bed. 

Sunday was another beautiful day of camping. The weather was about perfect, at 75 degrees and sunny, and not very windy. We ate another brunch of french toast, eggs, and sausage, and then we headed to Les and Edith's Lake home. They are family friends, and very friendly and generous people. They let the kids use their paddle boat for a while, which was really fun for them. Then, Elliott asked if we could take the Pontoon out, and they said yes. So, off we went. We tootled around Diamond Lake for a while on their pontoon. The kids really enjoyed it (so did I) and it was just a fun way to spend the afternoon. 

The kids also explored their lake cabin, and then got showered with treats. The kids got very spoiled and really enjoyed themselves. After all that, we packed up, and headed for home. John actually beat us home. We didn't get home until around 4:00pm, what a day we had. 

It was a great weekend of camping, and mom and dad really enjoyed us coming up there. The weather was great, everyone got along well, and we had some good family time. John also had fun at his bachelor party. 

It really feels like summer once we get to do some camping!!

Road trip to Diamond Lake 

Lake Time 

Busting rocks open

Night time bingo with Grandpa Jack 

Memorial Day Weekend

 I have fallen way behind on blogging, so I am going to try to catch up a little. Back on Memorial Day weekend (like 3 weeks ago), John and I dropped the ball on getting a camping spot, so we decided to head to the cities and watch some baseball. 

On Friday evening, we brought the kids out to Jim and Barb's house. We enjoyed a nice supper, some games on the porch with the kids, and then we left the kids there to spend a couple nights, and John and I headed back home. 

On Saturday, we packed up and headed to the cities. We took our time getting to St. Paul. We stopped and ate some lunch at a really good Mexican Restaurant in St. James. We were both really impressed. We checked into our hotel around 4:00pm, and then we walked around downtown St. Paul a little. We ate some pizza on our way to the St. Paul Saints game. 

We saw a pretty good baseball game. The weather was beautiful, we had really good seats, and we drank some good craft beer. We also had fun walking through the baseball museum at the ballpark, and just walking around CHS field taking in all the sights. And we got two Saints coozies, so that was fun! The Saints ended up losing, but we really enjoyed ourselves. We walked back to the hotel after the game, had a few drinks, and called it a night. 

On Sunday, we packed up, checked out, and then headed to Spy House Coffee House for a coffee before heading over to Minneapolis for the Twins Game. We also shopped at a Trader's Joe before the game. 

We loved going to the Twins game. It had been 3 years since we had visited Target Field. The ballpark is still really beautiful. We met Sue, the organist, at the baseball game. She even gave us some sheet music for Emma to play back at home. She was a really sweet lady and it was cool to see the organ and visit with her. We had some really good seats, and we enjoyed walking around and seeing all the new things at the ballpark. 

The Twins did end up winning, and we had another great day of baseball. We stopped and got some local beer on the way home, and then we stopped at Duffy's in Windom on the way home for supper. 

On Monday, we went and got the kids from the farm, and then we just enjoyed a nice, low-key day at home to rest of recover before starting another week. The kids begged to come along the next time we go, so we will see about that. 

We randomly had a motorcycle pulled over in front of our house

CHS Field 

Target Field, and my finger