Great Grandpa Ray

My Grandpa Ray has had a difficult few weeks. He had a minor stroke on the 4th of July, which landed him in the hospital for a few days. The stroke was so minor that no surgery was needed and he was released a few days later.

A few days after being home he ended up back in the hospital. This time for clots. He noticed his toes were turning black and they were becoming more painful, so he went back to the hospital to find out he had multiple clots that needed to be removed from his legs. He was taken off his coumadin when he was in for his stroke, which led to the clots. Thankfully he's back on the coumadin (or Heperain for now) to reduce the chance of this happening again.  He's a tough guy and he'll rebound in time. He's still in the hospital (this time at the VA) and he's starting some rehab this week. There was concern of him losing his toes, but they have improved, so thankfully he'll get to keep those!

We were able to visit him on Sunday after we got back from Sugar Lake Lodge. The kids enjoyed seeing him, running around and pounding on the bird cage (poor birds). Bishop was very interested in Great Grandpa Ray's incision and he asked to look at it a bunch of times. Grandpa Ray was such a good sport, he showed it to him everytime. The two of them compared scars. Bishop wanted to sit on his lap, but Grandpa Ray is too sore, so he'll wait til he recovers to do that!

I've always loved hearing stories that my Grandpa Ray tells and he had another one this visit. Bishop was stung by a bee on Saturday night and of course that hurt A LOT! There were a lot of tears. This lead to Grandpa Ray's story of when my dad and Bob were younger....it was springtime and they were in their snowsuits and a bunch of bees got INSIDE their snowsuit and stung them multiple times. It ended in a trip to the ER.

Get well soon, Great Grandpa Ray! We love you so much!!

Sugar Lake Lodge 2013

We took our annual Bishop Family vacation in July this year! We decided to go when it was warm enough to play outside and be able to swim outside! Since we made this decision late in the game, our options were limited. We didn't want to drive TOO far, as we decided to make it a 2 night vacation this year. Due to availability we ended up at Sugar Lake Lodge and it was perfect for us!!

We arrived on Friday afternoon and we played in the sand for a bit and then went swimming. The pool was nice and warm...it was so nice and warm it was hard to get out of the water! We grilled burgers and hung out in our place the rest of the evening. We were right on the golf course, so Papa was able to practice some putting....along with some help! ;)

Working on his form! 

Uncle Luke built a bonfire and the kids roasted marshmellows and made smores as their dessert! The weather was absolutely beautiful all weekend--it had been VERY hot, but it cooled down with the highs in the 70s, which was perfect!

Making smores!

Saturday morning the guys went golfing, so the moms and the kids went to the park to play! The kids couldn't get enough of the swings!

Sweet Madelyn on the swings!

Nora and Bishop swinging!

Happy baby Jack swinging for the 1st time!

Baby Jack going down the slide with his mama for the 1st time!

The park was at a sports complex.....and the local 4H chapter was hosting a service event for kids. Bishop raced a minnow, the kids played ring toss, colored with chalk, played mini golf and got to dress up! For all of the events they participated in they got candy.....it was a big hit!

Madelyn and her mama!

 We hung out in the cabin and the kids napped for a bit and then it was back to the beach and the pool!

Luke, Nora, Papa and Madelyn walking to the beach

Nana and Papa with their girls! Madelyn, Nana, Nora and Papa!

Cheese!

Bishop had the time of his life! He loved finding shells and playing in the water!

This picture makes me smile! ;)

Happy Jack and Papa, resting in the shade!

The kids and Auntie, Uncle and Nana got a ride back to the cabin on the golf cart--they were all pretty excited for the ride!

Nana's chex mix is so yummy they brought it down to their level!

Madelyn and Nora LOVED riding in the stroller with Nana!

Papa and his girls!

They were very serious about helping pack up on Sunday morning!

 These were the best 2 pictures we got! It's hard with 10 people (and 4 under 4)!

It was a very fun weekend and one I was sad to see come to an end. Last year was challenging, but this year was FUN!! I can't wait for next summer!!

Bishop, the fish!

As I stated in a previous post (at least I think I did)....we were able to swim everyday in Colorado, which was a lot of fun and great for the kids to be exposed to the water.

The first day or two, Nora clung on for dear life, but she definitely loosened up and enjoyed the water as everyday went on!

While we were in CO Liana gave Bishop some helpful hints on how to swim without his noodle.

One of the days we went swimming there was a 3 year old boy who grew up near the ocean and he was jumping in the water without being caught and he'd swim around without help. The very next day Bishop started doing all the things the other boy did.

Last Sunday (7/14/13) we went to the YMCA to go swimming and Bishop started swimming ALL ON HIS OWN!! It was very exciting and he was so excited to do it all by himself!

Cousins!

A couple of weeks ago when Luke was out of town one night the kids and I went to visit Madelyn, Jack, Auntie Shelly and Uncle Ryan. It was such a fun night--these cousins love their time together!!

Weee!!!

All giggles!

Eating Lucky Charms in the back of Auntie's car

Happy Jack eating baby food!! :)

Bath time is more fun with Madelyn!

Ring around the Rosy with Uncle Ryan!

Home from Colorado

We made it to Nana and Papa's on our way home from Coloardo. We got there around 11pm and spent a few hours there in the morning. The kids were so excited to see nana and papa and we were excited to have a little help! ;)

Eating donuts at Nana and Papa's!

 When we got home we set up the sprinkler and filled our small baby pool and the kids had a blast playing outside while I unpacked and did some laundry! You could tell they were happy to be home!

Putting his head right in!

Such a little ham!

Drying off!

Twins Game and Grandma and Grandpa

This post is really old, but I thought these pictures of Grandpa and Grandma walking with Nora were so cute!  Back in June our friends, Nina and Jesse hooked us up with tickets to a Twins game, so we enjoyed a night out while the kids enjoyed their time with Grandpa and Grandma! 

Colorado 2013

We took our annual trip to Estes Park, CO last week. We left on Friday at noon and drove 16 hours to get there. We stopped in Kearney, NE and got there around 10pm on Friday night. We got up and played in the water park in the morning and then drove the rest of the way to Estes Park on Saturday. We arrived in Estes Park around 5pm on Saturday!

Ready to go to the water park!

Nora wasn't quite as eager to go down the slides as her big brother!

Let's go again, Daddy! Let's go again!

Saturday night we attempted to go grocery shopping, which was one of the biggest mistakes we made all week. Let's just say...Saturday and Sunday were very stressful days and it was apparent that we had too much time in the car and that all of our sleeping schedules were a little off. Thankfully everyday got easier and better. On Sunday I was about ready to book us all a one way ticket home, but I'm glad I didn't follow through with that! It was just hard managing both kids, especially now that Nora is mobile and tries to keep up with Bishop!

Sunday morning I took the kids to the little playground on the riverwalk, while Luke finished our grocery shopping.

 

Playing music on our walk down the river walk!

That's the smile I like to see! :)

They both wanted to ride, so this was their compromise!

We drove up to the Alluvial Fan to hike around for a bit. This was great for Bishop, as he was able to go exploring and hiking! It started to rain while we were hiking, so we cut our hike short, but that was ok, it was nice to get out for a bit!

Sunday night the Hennum's made it to Estes Park to camp. They camped inside Rocky Mountain National Park and we met them for dinner downtown Estes Park on Sunday night! The kids were so excited to see each other! We had dinner and then played on the playground for awhile!

Monday we hiked up to Gem Lake with the Hennum's. It's not that long of a hike, but there's a pretty steep elevation gain (1,000 feet), so it's considered a moderate-severe hike. Bishop hiked the entire way and didn't complain once!

After the hike the Hennum's came back to our place to swim and we grilled out and hung out. The kids were EXHAUSTED after such a fun day...Nora was asleep by 6:30pm and Bishop followed at 7pm!

Hanging out with mommy in the morning!

Bishop and Maia holding hands, hiking!

Maia, Bishop and Siena by Paul Bunyon's Boot!

The older kids!

The Hennum's and the Froehle's at Gem Lake!

Siena wanted to carry Nora--this lasted a few minutes until she dropped the bag (with Nora in it)! Nora thought it was pretty funny!

On Tuesday we lined up horse back riding! This was Bishop's first time on a horse and he was SO excited!! Nora was too young to go, so we hiked around and met the riders 1/2 way to take some pictures.

Bishop had quite the experience with his horse, Domino. Domino is considered a "gentle giant". He's one of the biggest horses they have, but the most gentle. The guide was introducing us to Domino and she told Bishop he really likes to be pet on his nose....so Bishop was petting his nose when Domino let out a big SNEEZE!! He got black dirt/sneeze all over Bishop's face, stomach and even on Luke and I! Bishop didn't even flinch! During their ride Domino fell down on his front feet--and Luke had to hold on tight so Bishop wouldn't go down too. All of this was exhuasting for Bishop, as he fell asleep on their way back!

Siena looks like a natural!

Tim and Maia on their horse!

Giddy Up! 

 

Yee Haw!!

Nora and I waiting to see the riders!

Tim, Maia, Luke, Bishop and Liana getting ready to ride

 

Exhausted after the adventures with Domino!

Bishop, Maia, Nora and Siena riding a bull!

Luke wasn't feeling well after the ride, he had a serious sinus infection, so he went to Urgent Care and we planned to meet up with the Hennum's at their campsite for dinner that night.  When we got there it had just started raining--and then it started hailing, so we all took cover sitting on the back of our cars (under the liftgate). The weather in the mountains changes so quickly--and it was sunny 5 minutes later. We were able to grill out and play at their campsite. The kids had a blast!

The Hennum's came up with a new way to roast marshmallow's--with resees peanut butter cups--they are delicious!!!

Siena is SO good to Nora. They are so sweet together and always so happy!

We stayed at Fawn Valley Inn and this was our 3rd year in a row staying there. We had 2 bathrooms, so we made one of the bathrooms Nora's bedroom! It seemed to work out well and then Bishop slept on the floor in our room!

Nigh Nigh!

Our last hike with the Hennum's was to Ouzel Falls. We've done this hike a few times and it's on the way to bluebird lake, where Luke and I got engaged 6 years ago! 

 Bishop got some rides....on Tim's shoulders and in dad's backpack, so I hiked with Nora for quite aways.

My beautiful goddaughter, Maia, and her beautiful sister, Siena!

The girls (we're just missing Nora)!

Nora and her godmother, Liana

It was a sad day, as the Hennum's were continuing their journey through Colorado. We stopped for icecream with them and then said our goodbyes!

This Elk was RIGHT outside our cabin! He hung out eating for awhile while Nora yelled HI! HI! HI!

Happy 4th of July Everyone! On Thursday we celebrated the 4th of July in Estes Park. We went out to breakfast at Luke's favorite place in Allenspark. We then drove up to the pass and hiked around for a bit. Thursday was more of a challenging day. You could tell we all missed the Hennum's and the kids didn't nap as long as they usually do.  We went out for dinner that night and then went back to our place--we were all exhausted! We skipped the fireworks, as they didn't start until 9:30pm. They are nationally known to be some of the best and Luke and I saw them 6 years ago when we got engaged in Estes Park. Hopefully some day when the kids are a little older we'll be able to check them out!

Hiking around at the top of the pass in Rocky Mountain National Park

Bishop wasn't listening very well at this point--it was quite the stressful situation being up on top of these rocks!

While we were in CO we swam everyday! Bishop became quite the little fish. He took some good notes from Liana, Siena and Maia and by the end of the week he was swimming with his face in the water (with NO noodle) and he'd jump in and not need to be caught. The best part was he wasn't afraid when he'd be swimming on his own!

 Friday was our last day in Colorado! We had a much better day and it was a great day to end on! We hiked up to Cub Lake, which was about 5 miles round trip. We saw a lot of wildlife on this hike, which was fun! We saw a herd of elk running in the distance, a couple Marmots, ducks, bunnies and a group of people riding on horses.....and of course the usual, butterflies, ladybugs and chipmunks (or chickmunks as Bishop calls them)!

Hiking with my buddy, Bishop!

Bishop did an awesome job on this hike!! He hiked the majority of the way and when he was tired, he rode in the backpack and then fell asleep! 

Bishop at Cub Lake

The Froehle's at Cub Lake

Nora LOVED sitting on logs like a big girl!

My boys!

All hiked out!

We stopped for a treat after our hike. Luke, Nora and I got icecream and Bishop chose Cotton Candy. He thought about it for the entire hike and was pretty excited to finally eat it! He is so good to his sister, as he shared his cotton candy with her. She'd never had it before...at first she was a little skeptical on the texture, but it didn't take her long to figure out this was something she wanted more of!! ;)

What an awesome week we had. It was full of many new memories and lots of good, quality family time! I asked Bishop what his favorite memory of the week was and he said "SWIMMING"! I asked him if there was anything that made him sad about the week and he said "not getting chocolate milk"(this was from our grocery shopping experience on Saturday night, Bishop did eventually get chocolate milk later on)! :) While we had our challenging moments, it was a trip we will never forget! The mountains are my favorite place in the world! Until next year........