Kidstock and Grandpa and Grandma's

On Friday night we drove up to St John's for Kidstock! St John's always hosts a "Pinestock" festival for the college kids with bands that play outdoors. They had The Okee Dokee Brothers lined up for Kidstock to play outside, but the event was moved inside due to the chance of thunderstorms. It was still great, even though it was moved inside! The kids played in the canoe, with the hula hoops and in the tent. I don't think they sat and listened to the music for one minute...but I don't blame them...our car ride that would usually take 1 hour 15 minutes took over 2 hours, so they didn't want to sit still for anything!

A little over half way through the concert we were all escorted into the Men's Locker room, as there was a chance of severe thunderstorms. We were all split up (Grandma and Grandpa joined us too). Nora and I found Gma and Gpa first and Nora loved walking all around the locker room.....back and forth and back and forth to Gma...but it kept us busy and it was better than fighting a restless toddler! After awhile (it's hard to tell how long--maybe 20-30 minutes) we were "released" and we headed to Gma and Gpa's for the night.

It was a really fun night and hopefully it's something they'll do in the future and it'll be nice enough to be outside!

Practicing canoeing...with the tongue out of course!

Playing with the Hula Hoop!

Let's ride in the canoe together!

Watching the rain from the porch at Grandma and Grandpa's!

We stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's and the kids had a blast! It was wet and the mosquitoes were out in FULL force on Saturday morning, but that didn't stop us from going out and about!

Reading with Gma! They love when she reads to them!

Rich put in some concrete steps to replace some old railroad tie steps he had in. There was a man named Glen there on Saturday morning to help Rich remove the footings that had been placed for the concrete to be poured on Friday. Both kids really enjoyed watching Glen work!

The kids had their first visit to The Cold Spring Bakery and they weren't disappointed! None of us were for that fact! :)

Bishop even ran into one of his good buddies, Danny, while we were there. Danny was staying at his Grandma's and they had fun seeing each other at the bakery!

Bishop, Grandma and Nora

It was fun to be there when we could go out and explore a bit. We went for a walk and ran into Rich and Eileen's neighbors (Dave and Mike). We stopped by Dave's to try to see the ducks--the ducks weren't really cooperating, but we saw them from a far. Bishop also spotted a snake, which he thought was pretty cool....and he found a ducks egg on the driveway, so Dave let him keep it! Dave sells his ducks to The Butcher and the Boar, so this was a nice find by Bishop! Dave grows all sorts of trees and raises all different kinds of produce. He has peach trees, grape vines (he makes his own homemade wine) among all kinds of neat things! It's so fun to go there, for all of us!

Looking for the ducks at Dave's!

After Dave's we stopped at Mike and Kay's (Rich and Eileen's other neighbors) to visit with them! It was so fun to see them and to catch up a bit!

After that we had lunch and played at Grandpa and Grandma's for a little longer before heading for home!

Playing the mini piano 

Yee Haw!! Riding the horse together is FUN!

It was a fun time in Cold Spring and thankfully they escaped the storms and any damage. We drove home on Saturday afternoon and were thankful we escaped any damage and we had power! There are a lot of people who weren't as fortunate! We have seen MANY trees down in the area--one tree went down INTO Lake Harriet. We saw another tree completely fallen on a car on Dean Parkway. Lake Calhoun was hit HARD. It's so sad, and it's a lot of work for a lot of people! I hope the worst is behind us!

Bike Riding

This past week we took the kids out on their new bikes to bike around the neighborhood! They're both doing so well learning how to ride their new bikes! 

Nora can't quite reach the pedals, but she can go backwards! :)

Patiently waiting to go biking!

A little apprehensive going downhill

And of course, we're still digging for worms! ;)

I won't let him dig for worms in our grass (the backyard has been sodded twice in 3 years, and it looks great...and our front yard doesn't look so great so we're working on it.....so I let the kids dig in the bushes in the front and in our little garden in the back)! Ha!

Happy Birthday Mom/Nana!!!

Happy Birthday to the most loving and giving mother I know! Mom, I hope you've had a wonderful birthday! You deserve nothing but the absolute best! You have never expected ANYTHING and you deserve it more than anything!

Your unconditional love, support, and sacrifice for our family is something I will never be able to thank you enough for! You made it look so easy and you never complained! Your family has always come first and I appreciate that more than you'll ever know! I'm trying my hardest to pass that on to my kids, but I honestly don't think anyone can do it as well as you did!

You taught me how to love, how to forgive, to always do the right thing and to smile, amongst a LONG list of many great things! Your smile is contagious....and if you're doing one thing it's either smiling or laughing! :)

It makes me so happy to see our kids so happy with you! The cuddles, love and hugs you give them makes them feel so loved and it's evident that they love their time with you!

Thank you for your LOVE!! I love you bigger than the sky!

A Puppet Show, Curious George, Standing on a table and Nana and Papa's

This past weekend was Bishop's turn to bring Curious George home with him for the weekend and for Bishop to share all of his adventures with George. We journaled about it and even sent some pictures to school for his teacher to share with his class.

Friday night the Retzer's came over, so George got to play with Bishop, Nora and Jack! They had a great time inside and outside!

Saturday morning we walked to the Farmer's Market to watch a puppet show and listen to story time! 

Nora learned how to get on the table and stand on it.....oh so proudly! The things she's already learned from her big brother!! ;) She would immediately stand on the table, smile and say CHEESE!

Puppet show at Fulton Famer's Market

Cheese!

After the puppet show we drove down to Owatonna to Nana and Papa's House. The kids spent the night with nana and papa while mom and dad went to Rock the Garden!!  We all had a great time! ;)

George went on a lot of adventures at nana and papa's....they dug for worms, fed the ducks and played at the park!

Bishop, George, Papa and Nora

Bishop, George and his worms

Feeding the ducks with George

Swinging with George

Happy Father's Day 2013

Happy Father's Day, Dad!!

Dad, you are the first man I ever loved and you are the absolute best example of unconditional love for your daughters and family! You are the calm that I need in my life and I appreciate all your advice, support and guidance throughout the years. You are the one that taught me how to ride my bike, how to shoot a basketball, and how to appreciate myself for who I am, among many other things. Thank you so much for accepting me for who I am and for encouraging me to never give up! Your hard work ethic is second to none and that is evident in your free throw shooting practice lately! ;) You have taught me the importance of taking care of myself and my body through exercise and not taking things TOO seriously. It makes me so happy to know how much our kids love you! You light up their lives and it's so fun to see them get so excited to see you and spend time with you! I love you bigger than the sky, dad!!

Happy Father's Day to my Father in law, Rich! Thanks for raising such a wonderful man and for teaching him the importance of family and how to be a father! The kids talk about Grandpa all the time and it means the world to me that you have such a special relationship with them! 

Happy Father's Day, Luke! You are an amazing father and I could never thank you enough for all you do for our family. You work hard, you NEVER give up, you always see the good in people and you love our kids like no one else could! You can always make our kids smile and giggle, no matter what the situation--you bring so much fun to our family and I love you for that! 

On Sunday we celebrated with a brunch at our house. The kids were in Owatonna on Saturday night so my parents brought them up on Sunday. We celebrated Father's Day and my Mom's birthday on Sunday and they stayed to help the kids dig for worms, put together Nora's trike and help Bishop learn to ride his new bike!

Nora loves her new bike helmet!

She loves her new trike!

After my parents left we took off for a long bike ride. This was Nora's first "ride" in the Chariot and she seemed to enjoy it! I think she would have enjoyed a longer nap than she got, but Bishop wanted someone to keep him company. We took the long way to Minnehaha Falls--we went downtown and then along West River Parkway......we got to SeSalt around 3:30 and got right in line for food. We waited for an hour+ to place our order and then another hour+ to get our food. By the time our food came the sky turned dark and it started getting windy. We shoveled our food in and took off on our bikes to bike the final 6+ miles home. We biked in the rain and wind, but made it home safely. Of course both kids fell asleep on the ride home! When we got home it was 7pm and it had stopped raining, but our power was out. The kids took a bath and then it was bedtime.

It was a VERY fun Father's Day and although my legs aren't quite in shape to hammer out 25 miles like Luke can, it was fun....and I'm getting a little closer to being even with him while he pulls 70lbs while he bikes! ;)

Froehle Tree and Worms!

When Luke and I went up to BlueFin Bay and Rich and Eileen stayed with the kids they brought a tree along and the kids helped plant the tree! It's a very special oak tree, as it was grown by an acorn from the tree at Rich and Eileen's! I love things that have special meaning and this is a special tree that we'll get to watch grow throughout the years! Since we weren't home to take pictures while it was being planted, I wanted to make sure we documented the tree from its early stages!

Ta-Da! The tree the kids helped plant!

Bishop has been really excited about worms lately--and he dug a couple up in the dirt in our alley!

Weekend with the Moore's!

After getting the car packed and getting a late start, we got up to the cabin on Big Sand Lake. We got there around 7ish and the Moore's had waited for us to have dinner, so we had a late dinner and played for awhile before bed. The kids both napped on the way up and the late nap resulted in a very late bedtime Friday night. Oh well, that's what vacation's all about, I guess! ;)

Michelle's parents built their cabin and it is absolutely beautiful!! There was more than enough room for all of us (including Michelle's parents) and it was a real treat being able to stay there! We had to ride in the elevator to get to the lake and the kids got a big kick out of that! We checked out the lake that night and the kids scoped out all the fish!

Looking for fish!

Bishop and Danny playing with their "guns" or vacuum attachments! :)

A late bedtime never guarantees sleeping in for three and one year olds--so both kids were up before 7am on Saturday morning!! We went to The Logging Camp for breakfast, which was a lot of fun. Breakfast is served family style and there were chickens and turkeys for the kids to chase around!

CHEESE!! The Logging Camp is really fun!

Chasing the chickens!

Playing in the golf cart

Saturday afternoon we took the boat out for a cruise. All the kids got to drive and we even attempted some fishing! Fishing with 2 3 year old boys and a 1 year old girl isn't easy and it's quite nerve wracking, but the kids had fun! No fish were caught and all the kids put their lines in the water....including Nora who put her entire pole in the water!! Oops!! ;)

All ready to go with their life jackets on!

Bishop and Danny riding the elevator to the lake

Bishop driving the boat with Dan

Nora's turn to drive the boat!

Bishop fishing!

The boys had a great time together, although they did fight like brothers! It was fun to get away for the weekend! Thank you so much, Moore's for having us!!