Vacation at Aunty "Tristy's" (Kristy) house in Iowa!

This past weekend we road tripped it with Ryan's mom and dad to Anamosa, Iowa for vacation.  We spent the weekend with all of Ryan's siblings and parents and had a great relaxing time.  The car ride was the usual-Landon did not sleep a wink either way, (a total of just over 12 hours) although it seemed far less painful with Grandma and Grandpa there to entertain.  We had a wonderful time although I didn't take as many pictures as I should have!  I am going to try and get some from some other people and will post more later.  So think of this as a preview.  The kids spent some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa.  As you can see in this picture, Kadence doesn't love the sunlight.  Also, make sure and catch a glimpse of Kristy's beautiful yard, I really should have taken pictures of the entire thing-it is beautiful.  Landon and Elijah sure enjoyed looking for frogs in the pond!  

 Jessie's kitty was most definitely the hit of the weekend with both of our kids.  They had so much fun with him and always wanted to find and play with him.  In this picture, the cat looks pretty happy actually...amazing.
Friday we spent the day at the Jones County Fair with all the kids.  The adults all went back later for the Brooks and Dunn concert which was really fun!  Landon went on a bunch of rides, him and Elijah were definitely fair buddies.  Ryan went with Landon on the things he needed help with.  I think they both had a lot of fun.
Look...Landon chose Mommy's favorite color for his car...haha!
It was pretty cute, Landon and Daddy were on the carousel and Kadence was watching and would wave at them every time they went by...such a doll.
Taking a rest from running around with Aunty Arin.
It was the cutest thing, right when we got to the fair, Kadence plopped down in the middle of all the boys (strangers mostly) in the dirt and started playing cars...it cracks me up.
Some other fun things we did were:  canoeing down a river, played outside a lot, had a little get together with some of Kristy and Jerry's friends/family, and just hung out and enjoyed each other!  The picture below shows the famous "butt-ball" game on the trampoline.  Everyone had a lot of fun...I opted out of that one! Ha!  The kids all had a great time together-and the adults too:)
I took this last picture of the kitty sleeping on Landon's bed when he was asleep.  I wanted to do it so I could show it to him because I knew he would be soooo excited...I woke him up in the process...oh well:)

All good things must come to an end.  Thanks for the great weekend Gary, Sue, Kristy, Jerry, Jessica, Tyler, Arin, Dusty, Holly, Jack, and Elijah!

"Mommy, I yove (love) her!"

Earlier this am I was getting some things done in the kitchen when I realized the kids weren't yelling at each other yet.  Surprised, I went to peek on them and on my way heard lots of giggles.  

They were playing together so well!  There was nothing but giggles from both of them.  

Then, to make it even better, Landon hugged Kadence and said, "Mommy, I yove (love) her!"

I think my heart melted.  What a joy our precious little children are.

**5 minutes later I am sure they were back to fighting:)

Kids grow up way too fast!

Landon Gary:

still loves to run and run and run, is almost completely potty trained, loves his cars, asks to watch Thomas repeatedly, loves to snuggle, is not a morning person, loves chocolate milk and pizza, says his "ca's" like "ta's" and "ga's" like "da's" and "la's" like "ya's," loves being outside, likes to read books, is starting to play more with his sister, says racecar ALOT, only it sounds like "retard," sleeps very well at home, does not sleep in the car at all, loves to wrestle with Daddy, is protective of Emma and Kadence when he's not bullying them, is scared of the petting zoo animals-goats mostly, doesn't like big dogs, could go to the zoo and look at animals every day, is learning to ride his bike, knows that his mom loves toffee (coffee), likes to look at pictures of his family on the computer, is a very picky eater, likes routine, loves to ride in boats, walks on his tippy-toes quite a bit, plays with girls all the time, and is the sweetest boy in the world.
Kadence Jean:

quickly went from walking to running, has the cutest gap between her teeth, smiles all the time, scrunches her nose more than she smiles, is thinning out already, has the biggest brightest blue eyes I've ever seen, loves to push her stroller around, still loves her pink bear, knows she's pretty when I first put a dress on her, loves cars and trains (just because her brother does), says many many words, loves shoes; her new flip-flops from Grandma specifically, is a good eater, likes her sleep, loves books, copies her big-brother, is becoming more outgoing, has fine hair, loves to go outside, likes dogs-big and small, is still my baby, likes to play with sunglasses, loves the water, points to airplanes in the sky when she hears them, wears pink a lot, is obsessed with rocks, answers to Kadence, Kadee, Dee, Tadee, and Chickee Momma, likes to close doors but hasn't figured out how to open them yet, enjoys playing with Mommy's make-up, and is the sweetest girl in the world.

The other morning I was cooking in the kitchen and caught this lovely act.  Landon was reading (making up a story) to Kadence.  Then she was pointing at the pictures and saying what they were and he kept saying "yep...yep..."  It was the cutest thing in this world.  I wish I could have captured a better pic, but the light wasn't working with me and I really didn't want to ruin this precious moment.  

My children bring so much joy to my life.  They are just growing up so fast and I want to treasure and remember every little thing about them...

Happy 3rd Anniversary Honey!

Today is our 3rd Anniversary.  I can not believe how fast these last three years of my life have gone.  

I just want to say thank you Ryan for being such a great husband and wonderful father.  

I love our life together more and more each day.  

Congratulations Sarah!

Ryan and I made a road trip to Manhattan, Kansas this weekend for Sarah's wedding.  We actually left the kids at our house with my mom and dad, so we had some time to ourselves.  Sarah's wedding was an outdoor wedding and was absolutely beautiful as was she!  It was so good to see Sarah and her family.  I have nothing but good memories of all the fun times Sarah and I spent together!  It's such a wonderful feeling to have such a good friend that you can not talk for awhile but pick right back up where you left off...  Congrats Sarah and Bryce!  

Love you mom!

My mom came back to Sioux Falls with us on Sunday and is staying until this Sunday.  It is so great to have her here with us and I can't remember the last time I have had the opportunity to spend this long with her!  I don't think I fully appreciated my mom and all she did for us girls and our family until I became a mom myself.  I am just lucky that she is such a great mom, friend, role model, and truly a gift from God.  With that said, I have a little to say about my mom...

My mom...

-gets up early to play with the kids even though she isn't a morning person.

-plays games with the kids that we didn't think of.

-spoils the kids but still makes them abide by most of my rules.

-cooks good food.

-washes and folds laundry.

-is a great shopping partner (and always find ways to spoil not only her grandkids but her own kid too).

-volunteers to iron dress clothes because she knows how much I hate to iron.

-watches movies with me.

-never once complains about sleeping on our couch or the fact that we don't have cable.

-always picks up.

-reassures me that I am a good mom even when my kids are throwing tantrums.

-is the one person who is truly able to give me a break.

-loves giving the kids baths and putting them to bed.

-allows us to have a "date" night and not worry about the kids the whole time.

-takes care of me even though I am 26.

Mostly-my mom is the best mom in the entire world and doesn't give herself enough credit!

Love you Mom and appreciate all you do!

Fourth of July Weekend!

We had a great vacation weekend back in Cloquet with my family.  We were able to leave Wednesday night and spend the entire weekend there!  Our kids traveled the usual way...almost no sleeping, but at least were good!  Thursday we spent the day with the Skowlunds and had a good time.  Annabelle and Landon had fun playing together at the park.  They play really well together now and Landon always wanted to be with Annabelle!

It was really cute, Landon would get up to the slide before Annabelle and then just wait for her so that they could go down the slide at the same time!
Kadence and AJ had a good time playing together, too!  They were sure good helpers:)
Friday we went to Canal Park on Lake Superior with my mom and dad.  The kids had so much to look at and loved the boats!  Kadence kept pointing at things she saw that she liked!  I forgot how chilly it can get by the lake!  When we left Cloquet it was 77 and it was 57 down by the lake!  Needless to say we had to buy a sweatshirt for Landon, luckily we had one for Kadee!  You'd think I didn't live there my entire life for how unprepared I was!  
Landon thought it was pretty cool to look down at the water and out at the boats.
Fourth of July morning we went to the Cloquet parade.  It was the first parade our kids have been to and they both had a BLAST!  Annabelle on the otherhand...was scared!  But look how cute she is!  She stayed in the second row on Papi's (that's what she calls my dad) lap the entire time.  Landon was a good cousin and shared half his candy with her!!
Landon and Kadence both loved watching all of the people and spent the entire parade waving!  Landon figured out quick if you waved to the people they were more likely to throw candy your way!  He LOVED all the fire trucks too!  I thought Kadence would be scared, but she loved it too, and even joined in the candy fetching!
It was a gorgeous hot day, just perfect!
After the parade and naps, we all headed down to Jill's in-laws boat at the marina on Lake Superior.  We had such a good time there!  I was a little stressed because I was worried about the kids so close to the water when we were on shore, but they listened pretty well.  We went on a boat ride and the kids just loved it!
Landon and Annabelle had so much fun together!  Annabelle was showing Landon the houseboat ways and he was copying everything she was doing!  They were waving to all the people, it was so cute! 
We were right next to this big ship that went under the lift bridge.  It was cool to watch so closely and the bridge had to go ALL the way up for it.  It was really neat.  
Ryan and I and the kids walked over to the sand beach and played around for awhile.  Kadence was soaking wet, but had a blast.  The water was freeeeezing (as usual) but we were able to walk in it a bit.  I can't believe people actually swim in it!  I like the smaller much warmer lakes:)  
Landon stopped for a quick cheeeese:)
I just had to take a picture of the view of downtown Duluth with the hillside in the background, it's just so pretty!
If you can believe it, our kids stayed up for the fireworks.  They started at about 10 o'clock and were a fabulous show!  I was worried Kadee might be scared, but she loved them.  She pointed to the sky and clapped the whole time!  Landon fell asleep about 5 minutes in on Grandma's lap.  I guess he had had enough.Here's a picture of some of the crew.  I really wasn't sleeping...just caught mid-blink:)
We had a great weekend!  The best part was when we left....Grandma came with us and is staying for the week!  We also had a chance to rollerblade (10 miles if you can believe it) on my favorite trail next to Jay Cooke (where Ryan and I were married).  We also went and saw Jackie, Will, and Rocco at the golf course.  They cooked us a great meal and we golfed a couple holes.  I forgot to mention we had a great supper with Grandma June on Thursday night, and we saw the rest of the fam at the parade and a good breakfast on Sunday morning!  There's always so much to do when we go home! I love it.   

Kid's say the cutest things!

Cute story~

The kids and I went to the zoo on Monday morning.  We have a membership so we visit the zoo pretty regularly, the kids love seeing the animals.  It is the perfect size when I have the kids by myself and they love it!  We always stop to feed the ducks which both the kids enjoy and of course visit the petting zoo.  Kadence loves to feed the goats right out of her hand...her brother is too scared!  We were about to leave the zoo when Landon looked at me and with the cutest look on his face said, "mommy i wanna see dinosaurs, where'd they go?"  He has been really in to dinosaurs the last few weeks and so I can understand why he'd ask for them at the zoo!  I tried to explain it to him, not quite sure he understood, luckily we were distracted with a snack:)