May Update

WE MADE IT!!!

Oh my goodness, there were days I wasn't sure how, but we did! Planting and harvest are two of the more difficult times of year for us, with us hardly seeing Mark. But after the second weekend of the month, he was finished, and we were able to settle in and enjoy our time together :)

This month was chock full of beautiful weather, some light gardening, car washing (OUTSIDE!), long walks, LOTS of park time, Mother's Day, and plenty of time spent with family: Mark's cousin's wedding, supper a couple nights with Mark's Mom, an overnight trip down to Humboldt, and a family vacation to Brainerd in which Mark's Dad, Pam and Jess joined us for a couple days.

It was really the greatest month of 2014 so far! I did a few posts on some of the bigger events this month, which I'll recap below here. Thanks for stopping by :)

Kirsten and Luke's Wedding (May 3)

We started the month celebrating with Mark's cousin Kirsten at her wedding. We only made it to the ceremony, but enjoyed seeing family the little bit we could.

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Mother's Day (May 11)

We had a low key Mother's Day, complete with lots of family time and snuggles, a nice, long nap, and fun at the park.

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-26)

We spent an overnight down in Humboldt visiting the family, and then enjoyed grilling with Mark's Dad and Step-Mom at their home in Worthington.

Click here for a full recap of the trip to Humboldt with pictures!

Brainerd Vacation (May 29-June 5)

We enjoyed a week-long vacation up in Brainerd, Minnesota. We had a great time fishing, playing in the grass and sand and lake, eating yummy stuff, tubing, swatting a few mosquitoes and just generally enjoying life. Mark's Dad, Pam and Jess also joined us for a couple days of the weekend.

Click here for a sneak peek of that weekend! I hope to have a full recap up before too long on my travel blog.

Here, also, are a couple journal entries I did while I was there.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 5

Looking Ahead...

This summer is a pretty open book for us! We hope to spend a good amount of time at the pool in town this summer (as long as the boys don't get too crazy) as well as some time out on the jet ski, hopefully. After our trip to Brainerd (even though it went very well in perspective), we have no desire to travel anywhere far away again soon. I do have a two day work conference (technically, it's a week, but I'll only be there for 2 days of it) in Minneapolis at the beginning of July, so Mark will see what it's like to be home with two crazy boys for a couple days (sorry, hun!). After that, we'll see exactly how it goes if I'm ever allowed to leave home overnight again in the history of mankind lol

Should be an interesting summer, that's for sure!

Memorial Day Weekend: A Trip to Humboldt (May 23-24)

We made an impromptu visit to the family farm in Humboldt over Memorial Day weekend. It was nice to have the time to relax and visit with Mom, Amanda and the family, and the kids just loved playing with their cousins and enjoying the beautiful weather.

We were SO not expecting to witness this the day we arrived at the farm: Kendrick apparently is already ready to tackle the stairs! He made it all the way to the landing with me standing behind him to make sure he didn't fall.

It was really fun to watch Kendrick interact with his next oldest cousin, Caitlin. Kendrick is such a huge kid that he was just about her size, but she was a little more mobile. I think they'll have fun growing up together :)

Caleb was very protective (and proud) of his new lego set, and had to show it off :)

My sweet Vinsand nephew and nieces :)

Vinsand and Johnson cousins :)

I was so grateful for beautiful weather so we could hang out on the deck swinging for a bit :) Cashel was way more interested in playing out in the yard after he had just gotten a bath and put his PJs on. But there was plenty of time for that the next day :)

On Saturday we had a pretty lazy day, which we mostly spent outside playing. The farm is really a pretty magical place growing up, and we always enjoy our time when we don't have to watch our kids like a hawk, since trees don't move at 30mph, and most everything is covered with grass to cushion the falls. Cashel could spend hours just watching the leaves rustle or a little train of ants make their way to their ant hole. But add in a mini 4-wheeler, and it's even more enchanting!

Little Miss Kaleigh Mae might very well be THE most energetic little 3 year old I know, but we may have her beat when Cashel joins the club in January :)

The hidden dangers of the farm involve occasional run ins with Avengers, but thankfully cousin Kaleigh knows how to get away quick!

Another great part about the farm is the swing for the babies, who can't exactly do a lot of the other stuff just yet :)

Miss Kaleigh Mae left the 4-wheeler unattended, so Cashel decided to give it a shot. It was funny to watch his reaction when it moved, and it was pretty jerky, but he loved it!

I've noticed a trend ever since the kiddos have entered the picture that I have a tendency to take a ton of pictures of them and practically none of the adults, so I thought I should start taking pics of them as well :)

Mark really enjoys being at the farm and being able to explore with the boys :)

We were stunned by the incredible sunset on the way home. Cashel kept saying, "Wow, Mama - sunrise! Sunrise, Mama", which we then corrected to, "Sunset, Mama! Wow! Sunset!"

We aren't sure when we'll be back down to the farm, but hopefully not before too long!

A Mommy and Boys Weekend: Day 2 (Playdate and Mama time) (May 17)

My college friend Nancy and I both have a few things in common:

• We both went to college at NWC
• We both married boys from the Worthington/Brewster area.
• We both have single-parent experiences during planting and harvest.
• We both have two kiddos.

On Saturday, we had Nancy, Madelyn and Collin up for a play date. It was hard to keep the two toddlers in one place for very long! haha

This smiley little guy slept the vast majority of the time (growth spurt, anyone?)

The rest of the afternoon didn't exactly go as planned. The boys didn't overlap their naps at all, and I felt like I got pretty much nothing done. But on the upside, it also gave me some pretty fantastic time with each of my boys, where I could devote my full attention to them, which was pretty awesome :)

Overall, it ended up being a pretty nice day, even if I didn't get the nap I desperately needed. I don't recall the rest of the details, but I do recall this being the last day Mark had to help with planting, so that was awesome!