Mini-Vaca in Minnesota

We spent last weekend in Minnesota with family. We actually had 1 rehearsal dinner, 2 weddings plus receptions, and one 80th birthday party/family reunion packed into a few days and sprinkled with lots of extras. Here is only a quick sampling of our 250 pictures that we took. It was super hard to choose only 10 photo's to share!!

We were able to spend some time at my mom's sisters' house. You can tell that we took full advantage of the pool (with diving board) and the sun. The boys (and Brian and I) loved launching ourselves off the diving board and into the 88 degree pool. Everyone had such a great time and even got alittle sun-burned, but it was totally worth it!!

Tyler, Haley, and Jacob enjoyed this floating "rescue boat."

That evening was capped off with my cousin's rehearsal dinner on a dinner cruise boat. We cruised around for 3 hours, enjoying the sunset and the regatta sailboat race going on in the background.

The next evening was the wedding. The 3 bears sure do clean up nice!

The boys put on their best smiles for cousin Alyssa. Also, they were so excited to wear a tie...just like daddy. (I wonder how they will feel about ties in 10 years :)

We blew off some steam at the Mall of America. The boys enjoyed the Nickelodeon Theme Park. Do you see us...drooling at the thought of riding all those rides? The boys could hardly wait to get in and go!

If you look in the middle (5 seats back) you will see Jacob and Grandpa Andy and in the seat behind them are Uncle Tom and Tyler.

Look at those "pure joy" smiles :)

This was our second wedding reception. By this time the kids were pro's at the dance part. Here Tyler (yellow), Jacob (orange), and Haley are catching the "Saturday Night Fever!" We have some really good video's that will be shown to their dates before their first dance.

Our weekend was capped off with Grandma Robben's 80th birthday party. Here Haley discovered that she loved walking in the sand and keeping the beach ball from flying into the lake.

We had such a wonderful time, filled with more memories than I can recount. Thank you to all the family we saw, it was great catching up with everyone!

Happy Father's Day

We had a wonderful and warm Father's Day weekend. We spent all of Saturday at my mom and dad's and some time on the lake.

We wanted to capture a great family photo to mark daddy's day of 2009. We did our best :)

A trip to the park is not complete without a train ride. The boys loved it and Haley will learn to love it.

Jacob loved his carousel ride. But it was loooong. We got our money's worth!

Tyler and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer enjoyed every minute of the ride.

Haley just held on tight. After 3 minutes she began to wave to the crowd. Again, she will learn to love this too!

Mommy and her girl.

The boys patiently waited for something to bite. But boy do they look angelic sitting on the rocks watching the water. I loved the photo so much that I had to put the one below on too.

Nope, nothing, too hot. Better luck next time!

We are blessed to have the most wonderful husband and father. We love you!!

Week in Review

Well, we made it through the first week of summer vacation! We had a crazy week with no chance to sleep in...yet. Here are some of our favorite picture moments from the week...

Haley has fully embraced her "terrible two's." My littlest angel expands her vocabulary daily, has an opinion about what she wears, and can flash you her "sassy-I-know-it face. If you have ever had a 2yr. old girl, I don't need to explain anything about this photo :)

We spent one night at the zoo for a special dinner and fun family trip. Tyler (on the right) insisted that this is where I take his photo. Jacob (on the left) didn't want to sit too close to his brother...I think that's called "The Buffer Seat."

Check out this beautiful peacock...look closer for the two terrors stalking it! The peacock then shook all his feathers very loudly, causing Haley to scream for safety.

Our week also included babysitting time with cousin Izzy. The boys pushed the girls around the kitchen for a LONG time. The girls loved every minute of it!!

Can't wait to see what the weekend brings!

Happy 2nd B-day Haley!

Happy Birthday to my favorite 2 year old!

Haley loved her "Elmo" and "Big Bird" cake plus two candles and a bonus singing candle.

Of course her favorite part, and her brothers favorite part, was opening gifts.

She loved the dress-up clothes she received from her friends Olivia and Sofia. She wore them for the rest of the day.

Here Haley is helping the big guys get the pool ready. I think her pink satin skirt looks right for the occasion. :)

Haley then switched it up to a pink tu-tu so she could help daddy pull weeds.

She really got into the job, and so did her tush. (Look closely for the grass hanging from her diaper bum.)

"Oh, do I have a wedgie or is there something on my booty?"

"Maybe if I put my hands like so, nobody will notice all the grass stuck to my diaper."

"Oh, who cares anyway...Today's My Birthday, na, na, na ,na!"

But pirates Jacob and lookout Tyler have spotted her :)

Final Friday

Well, it finally happened today. My babies ended their first year of school. Insert sigh. As we were driving to school this morning I began to reflect on this past school year, then I felt the tears coming. I told the boys to "stop growing up" and "to please stay my babies forever." Jacob proceeded to tell me that I could visit him anytime I wanted. Good to know.

Here is Jacob (on the left) and Tyler (has on the lighter shorts) on their final day of Kindergarten.

If we look back, here is Tyler (in blue) and Jacob on their first day of Kindergarten.

These days our photo sessions are not complete till we get a "silly faces" picture.

Then the peanut (who turns 2 on Monday) needed to be in a photo with the big boys too!

Here they are at school for an outside classroom shot. That's their principal behind them. Jacob and Tyler, you made momma proud this year!

Water Weekend

This weekend we met up with friends on a lake. After 15 years of not skiing, I was actually able to get my had-three-kids body up out of the water and skied!!! Not to be outdone, my boys, were determined to ski. They have no fear of the water and loved every minute of it. Our friends had a child ski board. It's kinda like a board that is connected at the top so the kids could kept their skis straight. They both just loved it and went all the way around the lake (they slept well that night!) We all had such a wonderful weekend and it was filled with great memories!

Trickster Jacob kept wanting to spice things up and tried to go outside the wake. (He saw mommy and daddy do it :) When I put the thumbs down sign he then tried to snake back and forth inside the wake. What a dare-devil!!!

If you look real close, that's Tyler! He also had a great time going for his spin. The look on his face was priceless when he actually realized that he was skiing!

And this showman got up on ski's after not skiing since he was 10yrs. old. Go daddy!!!

Haley found fun on the trampoline. Especially when daddy would make her go high, she would just giggle :)

The next day was considerably colder but great weather for fishing!!! Tyler and Jacob would just plop their lines in and get bite after bite. The lake we were on was absolutely gorgeous and just crystal clear water. So clear that at the end of the dock the boys could see the fish just swimming around.

Haley was not a big supporter of the fishing. This is her "ewww" face when we showed her a fish. We couldn't even get her close enough to a fish to take a picture of her saying "ewww" at the fish!

To top off our weekend....we arrived home just in time for Tyler to lose another tooth! With him missing one tooth on top and Jacob missing two teeth on top, it is getting harder and harder for people to tell them apart!!!

Thanks friends for a wonderful, wonderful weekend!!!!

If Tyler and Jacob Had a Farm...E, I, E, I, O!!

We recently spent some time on another of Brian's uncle's farm. We had such a wonderful, wonderful time! It's like we hit the jackpot on animals and with all the baby animals.

The boys spent 30 some minutes chasing goats through the fields. (They slept great that night!) They finally caught one and it took both of them to hold onto it!

Now Haley wasn't too sure of the baby calf. She climbed right up daddy's chest to avoid that crazy tongue!

Tyler enjoyed some one-on-one time with the 2 week old kitties. See this kitty (mouth open and screaming for his mommy) I really think he also enjoyed being held by a 6yr. old boy :)

Jacob also enjoyed spending his farm time chasing the chickens and catching this fine rooster. Later the rooster decided to work out his vocal cords and cock-a-doodle-do all afternoon!

Haley was spending time with mommy and Hannah's new Golden Retriever when she unexpectedly received a kiss from the 6 month. old puppy. She marched right over to daddy to tell her sob story of a slobbery dog.

The boys also got their chance to bottle feed a calf. I did too!!!

I also made friends with a baby sheep that the boys caught. Haley did not enjoy the furry creature as much as mommy.

Jacob, Haley, Tyler and cousin Jevon posin' for a traditional family photo.

Jacob and Tyler wish everyone a happy day! Cool dudes, don't cha think!!!