Bishop Family Vacation

We took our annual Bishop Family vacation this past weekend and we went to Arrowwood in Alexandria, MN this year! It was the perfect spot for our family--with lots of room in the cabin for the kids to play.....and plenty to do outside to keep everyone happy!

On Thursday afternoon I got a call from daycare that Nora had a fever. :( I took her in to the Dr right away to make sure she didn't have anything contagious. By the time I got there her temp was back to normal and the Dr checked her for strep (negative) and determined she was fine to go on vacation. Whew! The Bormann's woke up Friday morning and Jack had gotten sick in his crib overnight. Thankfully it was just a fluke, as he was acting fine and was fine all weekend. Never a dull moment! Nora had a great time--although I could tell she got tired and nighttime was tough for her as her fever would come back...she didn't nap and I know that didn't help, but she had fun and recovered within a few days!

Friday was a beautiful day, so we swam in the outdoor pool-it was perfect!! The kids had a blast--and Papa and Bishop had quite the water gun fight!

 It was family weekend and they had a number of activities for the kids--one was cookie decorating--so the big kids went and decorated their cookies (while Jack napped)!

There was a LOT of frog catching that occurred throughout the weekend. There were many ponds by our place with LOTS of frogs in them. We were here last year for the Froehle Family Reunion and 2 of Luke's cousins kids, Nate and Ben, took Bishop frog hunting...so he calls Arrowwood, Nate and Ben's! He would get so excited to catch a frog--and he told me many times that that's all he wanted to do and it's what made him happy. My dad, Luke and I all took turns taking him out--it's fun to see him get so excited!

Saturday was a little dreary--so we spent the morning playing inside our condo and playing at the waterpark.  We played some mini golf in the afternoon and the kids went on the zip line. We ended the day with another trip to the outdoor pool!

 

These 2 girls had so much fun together! 

Nora getting her nails painted for the first time by Auntie Shelly! 

Nora LOVES holding the frogs!

Bishop LOVED the waterslides and even went on the big ones with his dad!

Going down the waterslide with Madelyn!

Still not 100%-getting some love from nana

 Playing mini golf was quite the adventure with 4 kids, 4 and under. It was hard to keep track of your ball--and oftentimes it was picked up shortly after being hit! Bishop was distracted by the frogs, of course!

Our final morning of frog hunting--we caught 8!

This cracks me up! 

It was such a fun weekend and I love our family time so much! The girls had so much fun together--they just adored each other! Every year gets a little easier! Thanks mom and dad for such a fun weekend--we really appreciated it!

Visiting Great Grandma, SCFF and 15 year class reunion

This past weekend was the SCFF and a 15 year HS class reunion for me, so we headed down to Owatonna on Saturday morning. Our first stop was to visit Great Grandma Marlys! She seemed to be doing very well--she was excited to see us all and was very excited to get some hugs and kisses. She's been having some pain in her right arm and hand and after a Dr's appt last week it showed it's not broken, so the Dr thinks she may have had a mini stroke. She talked about it--it only hurts if you try to lift it--it made me sad to see her hurting (not much, but she was very protective of her hand) and it makes me even sadder that she can't use her right hand for her word finds that she loves so much!

Our next stop was the SCFF! We checked out the animals, the tractors, picked up a couple new toys, ate some great food and for the first time, went on some rides!

Nora picked out Dora!

Bishop LOVED his new sword!

 The kids had a blast riding rides together! I decided to buy tickets instead of getting a wrist band for the kids and as we were getting off the slide a boy handed me a ton of tickets he found on the ground! We weren't able to use them all, so I'm glad I didn't get the wrist band!

Nora wasn't quite so sure about the slide

Riding the tractor ride!

They both got to drive!

Riding the Safari Bus!

 Bishop took a couple throws at beer bottles--he hit one fair and square, but it didn't break. The bottles are stuck in pretty good--and I think it's really tough to break one. He had fun, but was bummed he didn't get a prize.

 Nora really wanted to go on the Dragon roller coaster and she wasn't tall enough to go on her own, so I went with. I'm so glad I did--she was terrified the entire ride!! There were a couple turns that were pretty jerky.

All smiles before the ride! :)

We were at the fair for 3 1/2 hours or so. It was a blast, but it was hot and humid and exhausting walking around. We went back to my parents to relax for awhile. Nora fell asleep on the way home and Bishop had some quiet time. Luke and I relaxed a bit before heading back out for my 15 year class reunion!

Rob Stewart organized the reunion at the bowling alley and it was very casual, but perfect for our class! There were probably around 50 classmates there with spouses and significant others. I had an absolute blast--seeing close friends as well as friends I haven't seen in years. It was fun to catch up and spend time together. It's also nice that Luke enjoys my friends so much so I never have to worry about him having a good time. Usually the only thing I have to worry about is getting him to leave! :) The reunion was from 5-8 at the bowling alley and afterwards quite a few of us went to the Beer Gardens at the fair to hang out.

SUCH good friends! it was so great seeing everyone!

Here we are--the OHS class of 1999!

 Sunday morning we had donuts (of course) and went to feed the ducks--and play at the park. My parents are the absolute best! I am so thankful for them....they watched the kids Saturday night so we could go out and enjoy our night and the kids absolutely adore them! Thanks for everything, mom and dad, I love you!

Playing at the park!

Kids at "school"

These 2 pictures are from the kids at "school" last week! 

Nora's old teacher, Ms. Kim, came back to the class for a couple of days and she couldn't have been happier. It's not uncommon for her to be clingy in the morning when I leave--but when Ms. Kim was there she looked at me and said (very seriously) "leave"! I love knowing my kids are happy while I'm not there!

On Friday Bishop and his best bud, Henry Kruger, wore the same shirt to school! They are both HUGE fans of Spider-Man! :)