Trip home part 1!!

We left Edmonton on Friday July 29th. I had intentions of doing a few errands that morning, but a trip to the orthodontist to fix a broken wire prevented those errands so I called Chris's parents and had them pick up what I needed and we still hit the road only 30 minutes after I originally wanted! We had a super easy two day drive to the cabin. Kids, dog and weather all were great.





We pulled into the cabin around 6pm on Saturday night just in time for a delicious meal! Jeff had gotten there that day too and was able to be there the whole time we were there which we loved!

The kids swam so much...I couldn't even being to count how many times they got in and out of the lake. The water was warm and they are gaining lots of confidence swimming. We got out on the sunfish sailboat a few times and even got the old fishing boat out with the 5 horsepower engine and toured around the lake a bit. The kids had a blast. Jeff and Chris declared it to be the last summer without a boat:)

The only bad thing was the mosquitoes....I have never seen them so bad. It was hard to be outside if you weren't in the water. We had to say goodbye inside the cabin...it was too awful to stand out in the yard! Despite those pesky things, we had a wonderful start to our trip! Enjoy some pictures!


                                      water gun fight in the lake below! Sure makes it easier to refill!

Mya wake boarding on a boogie board below! After this was when Chris and Jeff decided a boat is a must! 

one of many late night swims below! 

ouch! Mya got eaten alive...I think she said she ended up with 70 some bites. 

Mya's birthday party

Last Saturday we had 5 girls from school over for Mya's party! She really wanted a theme so we decided on "Fun in the sun." They played outside in the pool for most of the party. They also jumped on the trampoline, did water balloon games and squirt gun fights! We had a few things planned for indoors in case the weather was bad, but we ended up only doing one craft and we totally squeezed it in last minute because they wanted to be outside! My sister in law gave me a great idea to have a book exchange instead of presents so each girl brought a book and then they all went home with one too! I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't think my kids have read more than 5 pages since school got out so we need all the motivation to read we can get right about now! The girls made their own pizzas for dinner and we enjoyed Mya's favorite...chocolate cake for dessert! All in all, a super fun party with great kids.

    When you're only one grade away from the girls at the party and the only boy, this happens! 

  One of Mya's friend's little sister is Ivy's best buddy so we invited Haylee too! It worked out great to have a friend for Ivy so she stayed out of the way of the big girls. 

 Check out that photo bomb by Max! 

 Relay races! 

A fun craft we did with glue, salt and water color paints. 

Mya is 8!

Dear Mya,

Happy Birthday to you! You are 8 years old today! You had your birthday party with your GPN friends on Saturday and today after gymnastics practice, we went  to the indoor playground "All Stars" with your neighbor friends Avery, Anna and Cali. Tonight for dinner we had your favorite tacos and you had chocolate birthday cake too:)

If I had to use one adjective to describe you these days, it would be determined. You will never back down from a challenge and will work at something as long as it takes until you get it right. Your interests change really quickly...you were super into soccer, then you switched to basketball and now you're back at doing gymnastics every chance possible and even watching you tube videos of other gymnasts in your spare time. You are training quite a bit this summer (10 1/2 hours per week). You don't really want to go, but once you're there, it seems like you enjoy it and are learning lots.

You are a hair twirler, knuckle cracker, and a teeth grinder. You are unofficially 45 inches, 47 pounds, and size 12/12.5 feet. You have lost 7 teeth, wear size 7/8 shirts, 5/6 pants and dresses, favorite show is Victorious, favorite drink is ginger ale. You love tacos, waffles, pasta, party chicken, and eating immediately before bed after your have already brushed your teeth. Speaking of bed...you have a very specific routine...you sleep with your red polka dot Christmas blanket to cuddle, pink fleece blanket to cover with, stuffed turtle next to you, fan on, water with ice next to the bed, and cold wash cloths close by in case your feet get hot! You are a total staller...maybe the best one ever. Eventually, dad and I just have to walk out of your room while you're mid-sentence sometimes! You give the best hugs and are a big cuddler...especially with your daddy!

You have tons of friends. Seems like people are drawn to you. Your best bud from 2nd grade Brianna, is moving to Vancouver this fall, so that will be hard. You love playing with the neighbor kids, riding your bike, scooter, rollerblading, shooting baskets, jumping on the trampoline, watching Netflix, playing American Girl dolls with Ivy, doing crafts, organizing your room, and baking!  You loved school and did very well. I can't wait to see what 3rd grade is like for you!

Love you tons Miss Mya Pat!

Mommy


July 18, 2008


July 18, 2009


July 18, 2010


July 18, 2011

 

July 18, 2012

July 18, 2013


July 18, 2014


July 18, 2015


July 18, 2016

Quick trip to Decorah!

Right after Shae was born, I booked a ticket home for last weekend. I knew I would see her at the beginning of August, but I just couldn't fathom not seeing her for 3 months! Then, a few weeks later I decided to bring Max with me as a surprise! We didn't tell him until the night before. I wanted to bring all 3 kiddos, but it was just too expensive. The girls and Chris had a really good daddy/daughter weekend and Mya definitely let me know when I got home that she called dibs on the next trip:)

We flew out Thursday morning and met my mom and sister in Rochester after taking the shuttle from the airport. I got out and hugged my sis (who I hadn't seen in a year) and then said I left my purse in the van and went to get Max! It was an awesome surprise:) We went home and surprised the Huinker kids and Amanda and continued to surprise lots more people as the day went on! It was so great to see Tony...we missed seeing him last summer so it had been 2 years. The best part of the day was meeting Shae and seeing Quinn again. Quinn is super friendly so she came to me and gave me a hug right away which pretty much melted my heart. I am so so happy they're back in the states so we can see them more than once a year. Another great part of the day was seeing Quinn and Grady's relationship blooming. I think about what my kids have with Olivia and Grace and I'm so happy the littles are getting that too!

Friday we went and checked out Tony and Tara's new house that they're renovating in Decorah and also went to see my Aunt Mary, spent some time with Olivia, Grace and Grady and, went for a run with Tara and tried to take advantage of every single minute! Max loved every minute being there...got to help with the house a bit and got to be with Olivia on her birthday weekend!

 Later in the afternoon, my happy house friends came to town! We were celebrating the bachelorette parties/showers of Rachel and Megan. I have known these girls for 18 years...half my life. I feel so lucky to have them in my life! We stayed downtown and had the shower Friday night and then on Saturday morning we headed off on a "bike ride with the brides" around town and had a blast.

Sunday morning we were up bright and early for Shae's baptism! I was so happy to be able to be at this special event! They got her baptized at Tony's home church in Burr Oak.

Sunday afternoon we got a ride up to the cities with Tara's friend Meleah and then proceeded to get our flight delayed and then flew through a storm! Quite and eventful end of the trip for sure:)

Visitors!

Chris's parents came for a visit a couple weeks ago and we had a great time! They flew in on Thursday June 23rd so they got to spend a few days with us while the kids were still in school. Mya had a soccer game (that got rained out 15 minutes in) Max had a piano recital, and they had an end of the year assembly at school!

On the weekend we drove to the mountains so we could introduce them to one of our favorite places on earth! Banff:) It wasn't very clear on our way into town, but the next two days were great despite a lousy forecast! On Saturday we walked around Banff, did a little shopping and had some lunch. Then we hit up Bow Falls and then drove out to Lake Louise! We hit up Both Lake Louise and Moraine Lake while we were out there. It was chilly, but still beautiful.

On Sunday the girls went to a high tea at the Banff springs hotel. It was so awesome! The view was breathtaking and the food/tea was delicious too. The waitress we had made the experience so great for the girls. When they brought the food, I was sure it wasn't going to be enough, but we ended up taking home 3 boxes! The boys took a gondola ride up Sulpher mountain and enjoyed the view and hiked around a bit. The ride home was long (as usual).

On Monday when the big kids went to school, Ivy and I took David and Linda to the Legislature. We took a tour, walked around the grounds and let Ivy swim a bit in the fountains out front. I've been on a tour before, but I learned lots of new info this time and really enjoyed the day!

We also were lucky enough to celebrate Canada Day with them! We went back down to the legislature for some swimming, food and fun! Later that night we went to the fireworks in our community. Since it gets dark here so late we had to wait until almost 11:00 for the fireworks to start! It was also raining at this point so we were barely holding on, but I'm glad we stayed. I'm pretty sure it was Ivy's first experience with fireworks!

Good byes are easier when you know you'll see them soon! Thanks so much for coming David and Linda!