It felt so good to be back at Target:) I spent a boat load of money on things we can't get up in Canada..like cherry coke and jif peanut butter! Who knew I could spend money that fast.
It was Nordic Fest in Decorah the weekend that we got there. As if we didn't have enough going on with family, we threw some Norwegian festivities in there as well! Max wanted to do the Elvelopet 5K with Tara and Chris on Saturday morning. Mya and I went to support them along the trail. Maxwell started out pretty fast...you can see in the picture below that he was way out in front of my sis and Chris, but eventually he realized that was a mistake. Ended up finishing in 33 minutes and was 19th in his age division. When I picked him up after the race he told me he just wanted to see grandma. He knew she was the only one who would give him sympathy! He says he'll do it again next year, but will train a bit and won't go out as fast! #lessonlearned.
After the race, we got ready to go to the parade. Max and Mya were lucky enough to be in the parade again with Uncle Brian, Olivia and Grace. They threw candy, but ran out just a few blocks into the parade! My parents, Ivy, Chris and I watched from the balcony at the bank and had a great time. Ivy consumed about 11 suckers in an hour and a half we're pretty sure.
The weather was super hot the week we were there so we enjoyed a few days at the Decorah pool. It's just a block from my parents house. I scheduled a couple swim lessons from Mary Kathryn Maher and they went so well. Max and Mya were both really close to being able to take off, but couldn't quite get the breathing down. MK taught it to them in less than 10 minutes. The best quote was from Max when he said...why didn't my other swim teachers teach me like that??!? The other highlights were Grace, Olivia and Mya going off the boards for the first time, (even the high board!) and Mya doing a flip off the diving board.
The kids had so much fun with their cousins. The girls loved watching Tara be a mom to a baby and they loved helping with Quinn. Mya held her more than me and Quinn loved being with them! Her cute little face just lit up when the kids were around and she always wanted to be with them. One morning Tara took Quinn and Chloe for a walk and the girls followed with their babies in their carriers and Olivia even pulling the toy dog behind:) #monkeyseemonkeydo Then, Tara helped them swaddle their babies in some of Quinn's old baby blankets and they thought it was the coolest thing ever.
Aunt Amanda helped them organize a lemonade stand which was on our summer bucket list! The little buggars ended up making $29 and even got to take a pic with the sheriff who stopped by! They spent their hard earned money at the Whippy Dip:)
When Quinn wasn't completely distracted by all of the commotion, we got some good kisses in from her! She's definitely a lover...when you hear the "mmmmm" as she's about to go in for the kiss, my heart pretty much melts. Even if it is to kiss Chloe:) She wasn't a huge fan of Chris, but that worked to my advantage because if it was just Chris and I in a room, she would come to me! We loved our time with Quinney and all of the kids. (more to come on her in a later birthday party post!)
One of the nights that we were home all of the guys (my dad, Brian, Chris, uncle Geoff and Andrew) went golfing and all of the girls and Max and Grady went out to my aunt Mary's house for a nice dinner and some play time! It was so fun to get out there and see their beautiful lawn, sit on their back porch and look out at the fields! And a bonus is that my cousins Kelsey and Kylie are so so good with all of the kids. My kids light up when they hear we're going to see K&K and it makes me so happy! Just wish we lived closer:) I also got to play a little tennis with my sister and Kelsey...those two showed up to the courts in the exact same outfit!
more to come....
1 comment:
Looks like you had such a good time back in the states! I know how busy it is trying to see everyone. So glad you had a great time with your family!
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