Good Friends, Good Times.

Rachael and Andrew and their kids Emma, Macy, and Reese came to town over the weekend and we had so much fun with them!  They used to be our very close neighbors as they lived on the other half of our twin home.  We shared so much more than an inside wall with all of them.  Our kids were so excited to see their friends and had an absolute blast playing with them!  We stayed out at the Ramada hotel here in town with them so we could hang out at the water park and enjoy some adult time once the kids were in bed.

This water park was just perfect for our kids' ages and they all had an absolute blast!  We definitely spent a lot of time in the water!

Landon going down one of the slides.  He has been kind of shy around other kids lately, but you wouldn't know it if you saw him and Emma.  They played together just like they had been doing in every day like they used to.

Another one of the slides where we spent most of our time.  Emma, Macy, and Landon getting ready to slide down.  Reese who is 17 months would crawl out of the pool and head up the stairs and come down the slide all by himself!  He is such a little daredevil and adorable as well!

The four older kids spent a great deal of time swimming around in the water that was just the right depth for them!

Kadence having fun!

The BIG slide!  This was the favorite of Andrew and Ryan.  They took the kids on it with them but were truly just doing it for themselves!  This one was Landon's favorite, he has been talking about it since we came home.

Ryan and Landon after one of many rides on the BIG slide.

Our kiddos actually slept pretty well which is always a good thing.  After they went to bed we hung out right outside our room with Rachael and Andrew, had some beers (ok I had a Diet Pepsi), and some great conversation (aside from the Anesthesia talk).  It was hard to believe that we have not seen them for almost a year.  When we got back together it felt like we had never been apart-only all of our children  had grown up a TON.  It was such a short time together but it was so great to see all of them.  It did make us a little sad when we came back to our house and reminisced how nice it was to have them living right next door to us.

Well, it is crazy to think that our "someday" (the end of anesthesia school) is getting closer and closer.  Which means we are one step closer to our yearly tropical vacation!

Thanks for a great weekend, Carlson's!

The fourth.

We headed back to Ryan's parents house for the holiday weekend.  Everyone but Kristy (who we missed a
TON) was there by Friday evening.  Thursday night we headed out to feed the cows some "cake" and Arin got some really neat pictures.  The kids all had a blast and it was really neat!

Kadence was even pretty brave until one of the cows got a little too close to her ponytail.

Jessie and Aunty posing.

Love this picture of Landon and Ryan-they look so much alike!

We spent most of the next 3 days at the lake.  The kids had an absolute blast with all the fun stuff to do and all the family to entertain them.

Landon had fun on a couple tube rides.

Kadence loved playing along the beach with the sand toys.

The kids spent a TON of time playing with Grandma and Grandpa.

Papa's hat was definitely the hot commodity.

We spent some time swimming in the lake with the kids.  Landon didn't like to get too deep because that is where the sharks are.

A lot of time was spent playing king of the mountain on the tube!

Just hanging out!

Jessie posing for a picture.

We played a ton of bean bag games.  Sometimes it took longer to figure out the scoring than actually tossing the bags...

Love this picture of Kadence sleeping.  She was so tired.

These are just a few of all the great pictures I had to choose from.  We had such a great weekend.  Our kids are still trying to recover from the exhaustion!

Hooray for July!

The day is finally here...the day we finally go to Grandma's house.  It has been a long 4 days for the kids this week as they are both excited to go to Grandma's and Grandpa's house/lake this weekend.  Time is a very hard concept for a 2 and 3 year old to grasp.  So we are down to the day, where all I had to explain was, "we just have to wait for Daddy to get home and we can go to Grandma's house TODAY!"  We have a fun weekend planned with family and let's just hope the weather is as nice this weekend as it has been all week long.

We have a very busy July ahead of us with every weekend from here on out filled.  Thankfully it is all very fun things that I am very much looking forward to.  So on this first day of July, lets just say, "HOORAY!"

A Full Falls.

Falls Park is overflowing right now with all of the rain we have had here.  Ryan and I don't remember seeing it this full in the summer.  It is pretty neat to see the rushing water so we have visited the park a few times in the last few days.

I always like to do comparison pictures although it does make me a little sad.  The bottom picture is from last August, it is crazy to see how much the kids have grown and changed in just 10 short months.  For whatever reason, this park never gets old.  There is so much room to run and play and the kids just love throwing rocks, sticks, and pine cones into the water.

Funny how I am so used to Landon's wild and crazy hair that I don't even notice it until I look at a photo I have previously taken!  Too funny.  We watched 2 little boys (probably around 10) fishing and one of them happened to catch a pretty good sized fish.  Landon was completely enthralled and I had a flash forward in time-seeing him and his buddy fishing!  This was great timing as we are going to be able to fish a little at Grandma and Grandpa Strasburg's lake this weekend.  If Landon has the patience to wait I think he would be thrilled if he caught a fish (no matter what size).

Landon found this nest on the ground with two baby birds in  it.  The birds were pretty little and couldn't move, so the kids sat right next to them and watched them for a long time.  It is just such a great joy to be outside and see all of the great beautiful things God has given us.

Laura Ingalls Wilder.

On Saturday, we ventured about an hour and a half to DeSmet, SD.  This is where Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up.  She is most famous for her Little House on the Prairie stories in which this very land is featured.  They have a tour of her actual home and school in town along with a museum.  We had met some friends and decided with the ages of our children to skip that part.  We headed out to the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead which was located right outside of town and had a tremendous amount of space for the kids to explore and play.

Here's the kiddos getting ready to go for a ride.  They thought this was pretty fun!

One of the little barns had some kittens in it.  Our kids love kittens so we spent a fair amount of time in here.  Ryan's holding the baby with Kadence and Adelyn both petting her.

Adelyn, Kadence, and Landon climbing on some hay.

Here's one of the baby ponies that the kids all loved.  It really seemed more like a dog than a horse.  Adelyn, Kadence, Kade, and Landon playing with (aka chasing) the pony.

I really think Kadence thought we should take the pony home, she absolutely loved it.

Unfortunately, our trip was cut short due to some bad weather heading in.  We missed out on the covered wagon ride to the school with several activities for the kids.  The kids enjoyed the homestead so much, we would like to try and find a time to go back so we could do the things we didn't get to do.  And, of course small tame animals never get old!

About 20 minutes after we left town, we heard on the radio there was baseball size hail reported in DeSmet.  I guess we left just in time!

16 Weeks.

I am trying something new since this is most likely going to be our last little bundle of joy.  The only reason I say most likely is because I am aware that sometimes God has different plans than we do.  There are very few pictures of my growing belly (more like body) from my first two babies.  I think I purposely avoided the camera for 9 months which I kind of regret now.  I would really like to have something to compare this pregnancy to, but have to rely on memory and Ryan's honest opinion (yeah right!).  So here it is, my first belly picture!  I am now 16 weeks and can not believe that I will have my halfway ultrasound next month already!

 I had my OB appointment and had gained some significant weight since last month (not surpising).  I took Landon with me and he was very very excited.  We heard the baby's heartbeat with a doppler for the first time together.  It was so precious to see his big brown eyes so big and the smile on his face was priceless.  The baby's heartbeat was ticking away at 161 bpm.  We heard the baby kick the doppler and that of course was Landon's favorite part.  That was the first thing he told Daddy about.  I would have took Kadence back with too, but she is so afraid of the doctor I didn't think it would make for an enjoyable experience for anyone.  She was just as precious though, she came running towards me with the biggest smile on her face and the first thing she asked was, "baby otay, mommy?"  What a little sweetheart.  We might try to take both of them to the ultrasound but I haven't decided yet.

So, with some very challenging months behind me, I am thankful we have a strong little baby (so far).  I have started to feel a little bit less nauseated which I think excites my hubby even more than me.  The baby is moving away like crazy and Ryan has even got to feel the kicks and squirms!  This has made the whole pregnancy more exciting and tolerable.  Thank you God for giving us this blessing (but we probably don't need another:) )

Happy Father's Day Ryan!

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband.
Thank you for being you.  I love you so much ! You are the very best husband and dad.  I am proud of all you are doing and the sacrifices you have made to better our family's life.