Happy Birthday!

It was birthday time once again.  Nine years old!  Teresa was up early and ready for a fun day.  She spaced her presents out through out the day and was pretty pleased with each one.

 She chose cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  We stuck a candle in since her cake won't happen until her party.  She waited a long while to eat because she wanted to eat with Timothy and watch Big City Greens.

 One of her favorite presents was a new jean jacket.  She looks pretty stylish!  She spent the morning bike riding with friends.  In the afternoon, we went to the Movie Pets 2 and invited a neighbor.  It was a pretty funny movie.

 Her dinner choice was Freddy's because the fries remind her of Disney world!

 I like this picture.  It captures the day well.  Teresa excited about her gifts and the little things that make the day special and Timothy being a little tired of his sister getting all the attention.

 After dinner we went to Culver's for ice cream.  It was one of Teresa's favorite flavors--Really Reeses!  And it is always good to see some sibling love on a special celebration day.

Teresa is growing fast, but remains our kind-hearted girl with an intense love of animals--especially dogs-- and books.  She is a special part of this family and we are blessed to have her!

July Happenings

We have had some fun times in July.  Fiona came and stayed for a week to join Teresa at Critter Camp.  It was fun to have a friend here all the time, someone to have sleepovers with, and someone to dream about getting a dog with!  Fiona got to join in some outdoor games after dinner like kickball.  And the girls enjoyed being twin cousins in matching outfits.

 One special thing we did was a Mystery dinner.  The kids got to pick items of a menu, but they did not know quite what they were picking from the funny names.  They had a great time ordering for 3 courses.

 We were thankful for all the fun times during the week!

 Another fun getaway was to my friend's lake home in MN.  She invited a couple high school friends, me and her sister.  Several of us brought kids who were about the same age.  Despite having just met, they had a blast playing in the lake.  The big floating lily pad was a hit.  Even on the rainy, overcast day, they wanted to get into the water to play.

 There was also some kayaks to try out.  We did not get to go out on the boat and tube due to high water and the no wake rule.  Maybe next year.

 When not in the water, we played games, had a campfire and made s'mores, and the kids made up a dodge-ball game with bean bags.  But probably the favorite indoor activity, at least for Teresa, was the massage chair.  She is pretty sure we should get one too!

We are thankful for the fun times of summer days!

Family Visit

We recently had a week with family.  It also doubled as a chance for Troy and i to celebrate our anniversary a little belated!  We made a visit with Susie first.  The kids really enjoyed the little toads all around her house.  We had a nice dinner, went to church, and got in a walk/ scooter ride.  It was a quick visit, but a good one!

After Susie's we met family at the Twins game. It was a beautiful day to spend outside.  Unfortunately the Twins happened to lose, and there was hardly any scoring.  Oh well, it was still nice family time!

When we visit my mom in the summer, the kids have a handful of parks they like to visit.  One night we went to the Ninja park.  One area is like a hundred meter dash.  I raced Teresa and Timothy.  And especially with Timothy, I was trying to win.  I like the picture of us, except for how it clearly points out that he beat me!

Another night we went to the ropes park.  The picture is of Teresa and I trying out one of the fun swings.

The kids spent their days at Day Camp with their cousin's church.  And my mom kindly agreed to watch them for a night while Troy and I did a little getaway close by.  We went to a B & B on Lake Minnetonka.  But we also got in some biking around the cities, a boat ride and a long walk.  And we had a nice dinner out enjoying some pizza that was not just sausage!  And the kids were having an equally good time with Grandma and their own dinner out.  It was win- win for everyone!

A cute duck, duck, gray duck magnet!

 Dinner out with yummy food and great company!

 Walking along Lake Minnetonka

Biking in Mpls.

One night instead of a playground we went to the ice cream and french fry place for a treat!  We all enjoyed a cone.  The only thing missing was my dad.  Last year he joined us on this outing and we all wished he could have been there again.  (Truly, we wish he could be a part of everything again.  We all miss him very much!)

Ice cream treats!

And since there are all kinds of birthdays and celebrations in our family during July, Mom organized a family get together.  It is always fun to see everyone and the cousins love playing together.  They had some water baseball going early in the evening and lots of smiles and laughter through out the night.  It was Mattias' birthday and I offered to make a cake.  He requested a foot ball shaped dirt and worms cake.  I did my best and I think he was pretty happy!

Water baseball

Relaxing before dinner

 The cousins love time together!

A little gift opening for baptism birthdays, and birthdays.

The football cake!

Before we left, the kids did a little work for my mom outside.  Watering and blowing the twigs and grass off of the driveway.  The were happy to use the hose and the blower!  

Before we knew it, the week was over and we were heading home.  We are blessed to have the family we do and to have all the opportunities to be with them.  We are grateful.

Happy 4th of July

We decided to do something new for the 4th this year.  We spent a few days with Aunt Mary and found some fun activities around the Madison area.

 I like this picture of the three reading Garfield.  Teresa looking at Timothy as he tries not to smile!

 Here is my festive dessert...angel food cake with cool whip and berries.  Fun and Tasty!

 Here are the kiddos and Aunt Mary pausing in their play on the new app the convinced her to try.

We tried to go for a bike ride the morning of the 4th.  We did ride a little ways, but Teresa's chain came off twice and ruined a bit of the fun of the morning.  But we redeemed that with a trip to Jason's Deli.  The kids and I went in the spring, but we wanted Troy to try it.  The kids like the Pb and j and free ice cream.  Troy and I enjoyed the salad bar.

 In the afternoon of the 4th, we went to a festival in a nearby town.  It was free and had some great activities like the climbing wall, caricatures, glitter tattoos, Nerf guns, bounce houses and laser tag.

 Teresa, Troy and Timothy all did the climbing wall.  I included the pictures of each of them at their highest point.  Teresa in the top picture, Troy in the middle, Timothy on the bottom.

 While we were waiting for the caricatures, there was a selfie booth.  It is George and Teresa!

 Nerf guns were enjoyed by Troy, Timothy and Troy.  I love this picture of the fun that Troy is having.  And Teresa looks pretty serious in the picture below.

 I did participate in the laser tag and the glitter tattoos!  I just don't have pictures of those!  It was a fun afternoon.  We went back for the fireworks display at night.  It was a good show that we all enjoyed. And we of course enjoyed our time with Aunt Mary.  Teresa seems to really like the Cubs?Brewers rivalry they have going!

It was a good show that we all enjoyed. And we of course enjoyed our time with Aunt Mary.  Teresa seems to really like the Cubs/Brewers rivalry they have going! We are thankful that we live close for these short, but fun visits!

Baptism Day!

We celebrate Timothy as a child of God this weekend.  In the morning we stopped at our pastor's house to visit some foster kittens.  They were delightful to play with until we realized that Timothy was allergic to them.  His eyes were red and itchy and he was sneezing.  He has never reacted to animals before, so we were rather surprised.  A little allergy medicine and he was doing much better.

We had thought about going to the pool, but opted to do some water play at home instead.  Our little pool and water balloons made for a good deal of fun for the kids.

 Dinner was Timothy's choice--Little Caesar's stuffed crust pizza.

 And after dinner some neighbor kids were invited in to enjoy donut s'mores with Timothy.

It was a pretty fun day in celebration of a pretty special boy.  We pray that he continues to grow in his faith and follow Jesus each day!