The Lake

The kids and I were blessed to take trips to the Ozarks two weekends in a row.  The first was with my parents and good friend, Sara Madison.  Owen got a lot more comfortable with the water by the rocky beach this time.  At one point he even got too far to touch, which he didn't like, but I was so so proud of him.  And isn't Eden just so adorable in her life jacket??  Personally, I enjoyed my internal alarm clock that allowed me to get up and enjoy the lake all to myself.  It was beautiful!

We also got to spend a little time in Kansas City because my cousin Kathy passed away after a battle with lung cancer.  She was a brave and strong woman who will be missed by many.  Below are pictures with both of my grandma's.

My parents took the kids and I to Fritz's.  It is a diner that has a train bring you the meal.  both of them were fascinated!  This was where my mom took me on days that she brought me to the hospital while she did rounds.  It holds a special place in my heart.

Everyone was worn out after a long day!

Owen and Eden could not get enough of Lily.  They LOVED her!

The second trip to the lake was with a few girls that I go to church with.  We had such a good time.  It was nice to be able to be with all of them for an extending amount of time and to get to see them after 9pm since I usually leave to put the kids to bed!  I'm not very consistent with taking pictures so I didn't capture a few of the girls, sorry ladies!

We had an intruder while we were there.  yuck.

celebrating freedom in the promised land

aka "we celebrated the 4th of July in Minnesota."

and we had a blast.

Seriously, we enjoyed seeing all of the family in Waterville and in Owatonna.  Thank you so much for loving us and cherishing our kids!  And I had a great birthday with you all, especially since I won a few games of Settlers.

In Waterville, we took the boat out, played cards and ate way too much yummy food!  The best part was watching Owen and Ben giggle for like 20 minutes while sharing grapes!  Or maybe it was playing cards with great-grandma Bernie.  It was such a fun surprise that some of the Retzlaffs came down to see us!  It was a joy being with all of you!

In Owatonna, Jon tried to have Nick's Pizza not once, not twice, but three times.  We all said "no" to the third attempt.  I bet if Anne had stayed for dinner Jon would have gotten his way!  We had fun being creative with how to get outside even though it was so hot!  We enjoyed an early morning time at the park and an evening out back by the kiddie pool (I didn't get great pictures, oh well!).  Despite the heat wave, the men managed to find a way to play 18 holes of golf and lucked out with a beautiful morning!  We also watched Eden take her first steps on my birthday!!! 

Thanks for such a great family vacation everyone!  We love you!