Who knew a box could be so much fun...

I love being a mom and watching my kids play and find the the simplest things most fun. They play so well together. Here is an example of how much fun and love they have for one another.

Trip South..rather than North..

A few weeks ago we had our first road trip going south as a family. We went to visit a dear friend of mine who lives in Iowa. She is one of the most incredible ladies I have ever had the privilege of not only meeting but learning from when I did my student placement at UMD. I was placed in her first grade class in Hermantown ( near Duluth) She taught for 51 years..( yup..that is not a typo....51 years) She taught first grade in the same classroom for 43 of those years!! I learned so much from her and we have a very special relationship. About a month ago I received a letter from her telling me she was in rest home and was dying of lung cancer( never smoked a day in her life!) It was already in stage 4 when they found it and she didn't want to endure any more chemo as her short experience with it was awful. They gave her 2-6 months to live in January. My heart just broke as I read the letter, and I knew I wanted to go and see her. So the family packed up and hit the road. It was an awesome experience, although she can not move as quickly as before, she is still as smart as whip. We talked about the kids we had the year I was teaching with her. They had just graduated and she had all their pictures up on her bulletin board and could tell me about all them of them and what they were doing and where they were going to school. Amazing woman..lived her life for the first graders she had and continued to do so by giving scholarships every year to former students. She is an inspiration to me and it was a wonderful visit. She loved seeing Kali, Cody, and Andy as well.

After our visit we went and stayed at hotel as a family. We have never done this before and boy was Kali pumped. We ordered pizza and ate in the room, swam in the pool, watched TV, and attempted to let Kali and Cody sleep together because they really wanted to. Well, after having them giggle and talk for over an hour, which was super funny and cute, we put Cody in the pack-n-play and they both went to bed. On the way home we stopped to visit Andy's college roommate in southern Minnesota. It was a great trip and I am just so glad we went.


Being silly in the hotel room!

Kali's Full Day of Exercise

The other day I took Kali to the doctor for her 4 year check-up. We found out she is a very healthy 4 year old girl who didn't even cry when she got her shot! The doctor asked if she got an hour of physical activity every day. I kind of laughed and said, " Yes!! She gets a lot!"

So on Monday this is what she did:

We had friends over in the morning where she played on the trampoline, ran through the sprinkler, played in the pool, playset, and sandbox. We then went to the big pool in our neighborhood and swam.

After quiet time ( not much of a napper anymore) her and I rode our bikes to the library and then stopped for a treat at the Dairy Queen. She was such a trooper. This is about a two mile bike ride or more and she did AWESOME!!

Following dinner she went and jumped some more on the trampoline and then had swimming lessons.

Needless to say yes..she gets more than an hour of exercise a day...and she was wiped out at bedtime. She went to bed around 8:00 last night and we woke her up around 9:00 AM this morning!

Here are a couple of pictures of her at swimming lessons.

A Free, Relaxing Weekend

This weekend my husband decided to take the kids to Ely on Friday afternoon..which left me home alone. I have not been alone in my own house for a night since Kali was born more than four years ago. It was heavenly...let me just give you a recap of my weekend:

Friday: I went to the pool by myself and read my book. Oh... the peace and quiet.
Then my good friend Kaci and I went out for drinks and appetizer and I came home and watched a movie.

Saturday: I went running and my friend Leigh picked me up and went to Nissawa to see my friends Stacie and Jenny for the night. We shopped and went for dinner.

Sunday: Came home to an empty house ( not even a dog!!) and ate lunch and went back to the pool again and finished my book. After being at the pool..I went for 45 minute bike ride and came home and got ready to see my family!

They will be home in 30 minutes and I can't wait to see them..but it has been wonderful to have some girl time and some alone time. Just yet another reason why I love my husband so much!
Hope you had a great weekend!

9 Years

Today my husband and I are celebrating 9 years of marriage. Somedays it seems like so long ago I was in a pretty white dress and he was looking so handsome in his black tuxedo and other days it feels like yesterday.

Nine years, 2 kids, and load of wonderful memories later I couldn't be happier. I can honestly say I married my best friend. We were best friends in high school and college and continue to be today. There isn't another person I would rather spend a whole day with than him. He is incredible. He listens to me, respects me, honors me, and loves me just as he said 9 years ago as we said our vows.

I truly am blessed.

Happy 9th Anniversary Andy! I love you!

Wicked Storm

So we just had a pretty wicked storm pass through here tonight. We had some friends over during it. Here are a few awesome pictures of the kids outside after when the HUGE Rainbow came out.

We couldn't get the rainbow in the whole picture!




Left to Right- Cody, Marek, and Kali

Good Friends

A few of my college friends and I try to get together often so we can see each other and our kids can play together. It is fun to see them play together.

After playing outside on the trampoline, playset, and pool we ate dinner and then put our pjs on and watched a Dora!

Left to Right- Addie,(Kaci's) Owen,(Leigh's) and Cody all age 2 will be in the same grade in school and Katelyn (Leigh's) and Kali both 4 will be in the same class.

Kaci's new baby boy Kellan wasn't in the picture..he was busy being held by his mom!!

My Daughter, The Fish...

I think Kali might be fish. She loves the water..warm or cold, she doesn't care. When we were at the lake she spent every second she could in it, since we have been home she asks constantly if we can go to the big pool in our neighborhood. At the big pool she can jump in by herself into the deep end (with her life jacket on) and swim around alone. So for her birthday, when she got a big blow up pool from Nana and Papa she was thrilled. See for yourself...






And this water is straight from the hose....COLD!!

Trip Up North

We just got back from a week trip up in Ely. We really enjoyed ourselves. Here a few highlights of our trip:

The kids got a surprise about half-way there, we bought them a DVD player for the car..they loved it!

Kali also thought it would be funny to put her helmet on in the car while Cody slept.

We celebrated the 4th of July with a parade with tons of candy. They were throwing full-size candy bars. After the parade, we went to the park where we played various kids games. Kali also ran in her first race. She would have won in her flip flops, if a few kids wouldn't have started early! She also got to stay up late to watch her first firework show.

The next day we celebrated her 4th birthday by swimming and having a BBQ and cake with family. She had a great day. I honestly can't believe she is already 4.

Kali went on her first fishing trip in the boat with daddy to Miners Lake and caught her first fish. She was pretty pumped up.

We spent a lot of time swimming at Grandma's and going on boat rides on the pontoon which Kali and Cody both got to drive. Kali also loved playing in the new sprinkler at Nana and Papa's.

Kali and Cody also got to go the Bear Center and see real bears. They thought this was pretty cool!

It was great trip!