July 2014: 4th of July!!

Because the 4th of July landed on a Friday this year (Michael and my day off), we were able to take Thursday off from work too and head down to the cities to celebrate the 4th of July with family and friends! On July 3rd, Michael took Adelyn to the Marine fireworks and met up with the Ericksons to watch the fireworks. After Adelyn realized that the loud "boom"'s wouldn't hurt her, she enjoyed the big boom fireworks!! 

Then on July 4th, we got ready to head to our annual family 4th of July party that Terri & Dave hold each year. Adelyn got herself ready for the day, and I have to admit she did pretty well...she put her swim suit on, with her dress over it and of course she had to include her red, white, and blue necklaces! (and that darn blankie...can't go anywhere without it!)....

And we all had a blast spending the day with amazing family celebrating July 4th! The girls swam ALOT, played with the toys, ate some good food, and did some more swimming! 

And of course, the cousins had to stop for a sucker break in-between swims (this is Adelyn & Ryley enjoying a sucker)...

And right before we left the party, the girls even got in some snuggle time with their newest cousin Rhett! He's a doll, and Adelyn was loving him up!! (Olivya was too, in her own ways...)

Happy Independence Day!!! Hope you were all able to celebrate the day with those you love! 

July 2014: A June Recap...

Here's a sort of "photo-dump" as to what we've been up to during June. All I can say is we are LOVIN' this summer stuff...

Bonfires and being outside in our bug-free yard (thanks to mosquito squad!! Best investment/splurge ever!!)

Working lots...hanging out with teenagers...getting a twins game in here and there, and helping out at Feed My Starving Children too (day trip to the cities!!) - and I even got to invite my nephew to join us for the day...

My cousin Abbie Graduated!!! We had a great time celebrating her at her grad party...and the kids loved the candy bar!!! I can't believe she's done with high school, and am so excited for her to start her new adventures at Iowa State!

We snuck in a beach day with some great friends for a long over-due playdate with all our babies!! So fun to all be together and be going through this time of life together too!! (Shout-out to SueLynn & Aaron for their super cute baby Eliana and Maggie & Scott for their super cute baby Hailey!!)

On Wednesday nights, my church holds worship outside at our "Maria Chapel" which is a tiny little old church that we still own. It also happens to be located on a gorgeous lake with lots of property, so our church takes advantage of that and we have outdoor worship on Wednesdays around a campfire with a hot dog & brat roast after worship. My girls LOVE sitting on a blanket for worship, and I LOVE the casualness of the time I get to spend with my congregation people! 

And our girls still LOVE going to "school" (aka daycare). Every day, Adelyn asks if she gets to go and is very excited when the answer is yes. They are only in daycare 3 days a week, but we are so blessed to have found a great center for them to be a part of where the staff are incredible with kids' developmental needs, play needs, and creativity needs!! 

(ok, so we may not have accomplished the writing thing at 2 years old...but we are working on it! She at least recognizes her letters!)

The girls made these cards at "school" too, and they pretty much sum up the dad (aka Michael) that he is! Happy Fathers day to Michael this past June also!! We had a very chill, but good day celebrating him!

Both Michael and my schedules are very different from our schedules during the school year, and because of that, we are able to take some days off here and there and enjoy some extra days off with our kiddo's (and not pay for day care those days! Score!!). We are DEFINITELY lovin' this summer stuff....

Hope you had a great June too!! 

April 2014: Happy 1st Birthday Olivya!!!

Well, it's official. Olivya turned 1!!! What a blessed and crazy year it has been.

The night before Olivya's birthday, we headed to the cities in anticipation of our Carmack/Texas family flying into Minneapolis to celebrate. After picking them up from the airport, we checked into a hotel for a long weekend, took a quick swim in the pool, and then headed to my parent's house for a birthday dinner for Olivya, complete with her first experience with an ice cream cake!

(I had to take it away for a second to slice her a piece so the rest of us could enjoy some cake too, and this is the reaction that I got...)

But she calmed down quickly and waiting in anticipation as she got her cake back...

Finally!! My cake!! Yum:) 

The Saturday after Olivya's birthday, we lucked out with a gorgeous day for her birthday party!!! We held her birthday party at Teddy Bear Park (and had a Teddy Bear Picnic)  in Stillwater, and it was a great day celebrating this wonderful girl...we were so blessed by our amazing friends and family who came out to celebrate...

After some great playing and enjoying good food and company, we realized that we forgot the candles at home!!! (You can't have a 1st birthday without the birthday cake experience)! So luckily, we have some pretty amazing friends who went on an adventure downtown Stillwater to find some candles and matches (thanks SueLynn & Aaron!!), so that we could all see how Olivya would react to her 1st birthday cake experience...

Contemplating...

Testing the cake...

...And going for the kill! 

Success!!!! Olivya fell asleep shortly after this cake experience, so of course Dada had to come to the rescue and help her out...

And Adelyn made sure to get her fair share too...

Happy 1st Birthday to this sweet, loving, cuddly, and determined little girl!! We love you Olivya and are so blessed to have you in our lives!!