Skylar's Special Day

It's become the tradition to have a special day with Chase and Skylar before school starts. Two weeks ago the kids and I got the opportunity to spend some time alone with Skylar. It used to be that we would do our nails and shop, but this year she wanted to to a waterpark.

We decided to Bunker Hills Waterpark in Coon Rapids. It was a very cool place with a wide variety of water fun. They did have a wave pool, which I was nervous about with 3 kids and only myself, but luckily since the weather hasn't been as nice as one would typically hope for in late August, the pool was really cold so the kids weren't interested in it. Skylar and Teague took off to the big kid things and Lola and I stuck closer to the little kid things. I can really tell Lola is getting sick of being the "little kid" really quickly!

After that Sky wanted to try out the new Chuck E. Cheese in St. Cloud. The kids took a little nap on the way to St. Cloud and we enjoyed some incredible pizza.  The kids had a good time, what more can you ask for?!  Then we went home, played and had a nice bonfire.

All in all, a great and special day with a super special girl! I want to enjoy the time she wants to spend with us now, because she is a pre-teen and likely won't find it quite as "cool" to do things like that with us soon!

Stevens County Fair

The Stevens County Fair is truly a summer staple for us! Nothing like breaking out your newest school clothes (who cares if it is 90 degrees and you're wearing long sleeves and new jeans - you look COOL!), hanging on the midway with friends, going to Billy D and the Crystals...wait, nevermind, that was 15+ years ago! Living away from Morris now for a number of years and attending a few other fairs has made me realize how much nicer the Stevens County fair is in comparison. They have a great variety of entertainment, food, and things to look at...including the people. Ahem, anyway, it's always fun to watch the joy in your kid's eyes, it doesn't take long before the rides are the main source of entertainment. The petting zoo and farm animals are always a hit, and of course "wristband night" where they can ride all the rides they want from 6-10pm. Whew! Teague has older cousins, so he's been introduced to the big rides waaaaaay early. Poor Lola is on her own with the "baby" rides. At least for this year!

On our way to Morris, pit stop in Starbuck because someone wouldn't leave their seatbelt on and opted for a timeout.

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Birthday Fun!

On August 8th we got to spend the day with Chase on his special day, his 9th birthday! Teague and Chase love dinosaurs and since the MN Zoo has a dinosaur set up, just for this summer, it seemed like a perfect idea! The boys, and the rest of us (Ryan, Lola, and I), enjoyed it too! Chase then got to decide where to eat and choose the Rainforest Cafe. Such a fun day with such a spectacular and amazing boy. We love you "Chasey Babes"!

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Family Trip "Up Nort"

I should have my MN Residency card taken away or something. I have not yet in my adult life taken in the beauty (they say it's beautiful anyway) of Duluth or seen the headwaters of the Mississippi at Itaska State Park. So after planning for the past 7 months my cousin Jenny loaned us (Mohr's, Bayer's and us) their cabin in Park Rapids for the long weekend. The weather was a bit cool, but not too cool to eat too much, let the kids swim, have campfires, see the headwaters and other cool Itaska stuff, and fight play with our cousins.  On top of it all we also got to celebrate Chase turning 9!  Cool stuff.

Summer Happenings!

We've had a great summer thus far. Below are a few pictures of all of the fun stuff we've been up to: graduation parties, swimming alone, swimming with friends and family, swimming with and without our clothes and swimming and swimming, camping with friends, going to Vacation Bible School, going for bike rides, shopping, working (not too much of that, though), playing in the yard, bossing each other around...etc, etc. It's been a GREAT summer!