Turning 8, Cobber Reunions, "Bonus Family" time! (Trip part 2)

There is a country song about the Red River Valley.  I am pretty sure that it is talking about the Valley in the south, but the Red River of the north will always be a sweet place for me!  Brandon and I will never forget the "sweet hours that we spent in the Red River Valley..."

Brandon hadn't been to Fargo for eight years!  Wow!  Oh friends, we treasured out time in the Valley so much!  Everything seemed easier.  The hard seemed easier! It was such a holy time. We were so excited to take the kids to see this special place we have loved.  It meant another drive that we had to gear them up for, but after such a great experience this summer I know they will be eager to go again soon!

We had big plans to spend time with the first family I nannied for, to see Cobber friends and tour campus, to celebrate M's Birthday, and to see the area that Brandon and I fell in love! Our friends in the Fargo area are not connected to either of us through biology, but we truly felt that we were among "bonus family" the whole time we were there!

We arrived on Monday evening.  The kids couldn't wait to check out the pool!  The M family moved off the farm and to a great house that has an in-ground pool with a diving board and slide.  The kids were in heaven!  The M family also has two dogs and two cats.  Amazing!  We ate fast food and did lots of swimming.  The pool was WARM which we all loved!  We had so much fun!

We couldn't believe they had a real pool at their house!

Happy 8th (Golden) Birthday M!! (Tuesday)

We really packed in A LOT of activity during our time in Fargo!  We knew it would be a bit odd to celebrate M's Birthday in Fargo, but the timing of his Birthday meant that we needed to do it and it ended up working out great.

We started the day with presents.  T was given a few 1/2 Birthday presents.  It is so hard for our kids to have a "not their Birthday" day and we try to soften the blow with 1/2 Birthday gifts.  T got a lunch bag and thermos, a used scooter, and an in home OT bouncing ball thing.  She also got some crafting things from good friends. She was thrilled.  I wish I could report that the lunch box is doing well, but it has seen better days!  I think I shouldn't have gotten a knockoff brand.

T: This looks just like my friends L and N's lunch bags!

T: A two wheel scooter!!

M got many gifts.  He is so hard to buy for so I started researching the best reviewed gifts on Amazon and we found this awesome arm game thing.  It is hard to describe, but it was a hit with everyone!

M: It felt so good on my arms!

Our good friends gave him B-day gifts and we brought them with us as well.  He got some awesome water squirters which were pretty perfect since we had a pool in the backyard!

M: These look AWESOME!

After presents and breakfast and a slower start we headed to visit our dear friend Sarah and her boys.  Sarah lived across the hall from me in college and was VERY VERY instrumental in M's adoption.  M is close in age to her son A.  T is close in age to her younger son A.  Confusing with the letters, but basically, the kids had friends to play with!

Making new friends!

What a special photo!

This photo melts my heart!

It was so refreshing to spend time with Sarah. 

A happy family moment!

After our time with Sarah and her boys we decided to go out of a Birthday lunch at 5 Guys.  It was our first time there and the kids LOVED it!  M thought the hamburgers were the best he ever had.  What a special lunch.

M: I could eat these all day!

M: Check out the size of this drink!

After lunch we got home just before our company arrived.  My freshman roommate and her daughters were able to come and visit and swim in the pool.  Melissa and I have not seen each other since we became moms, so quite a while.  It was so great to relax in the pool and chat while our kids played.

A little older and a little wise and still so much to chat about!

Four great kiddos to make life more interesting!

M: It was fun to play with N and teach her how to use my new toy!

M: We successfully passed it back and forth!

After Melissa's crew left it was time to make dinner plans.  Everyone was willing to go to my favorite Mexican place for dinner.  I have been there for many Birthday's in the past so it was fitting to go there for M's B-day dinner.

M and T: We love D so much!!

Yes, I did have leftovers!

M: This was a great crew to spend my B-day with!

M: I even got sparklers and cake and singing.  I couldn't eat the cake but it was still fun. 

We received a text from Brandon's family.  Many of them were together so they decided to take a special Birthday picture and send it to M.  What a sweet thing to do.

M: They were thinking about my Birthday even when I wasn't there!

It was a FULL day and the kids went to sleep very quickly.  We enjoyed a good time sitting outside and talking with the M family.  We were talking about many fun memories of my time in there home.  So many funny moments and quotes.

Wednesday started off rainy, but there ended up being plenty of sunshine when we needed it!  We had a campus tour scheduled for 10:00 and the timing was perfect.  The kids got to play and cuddle the pups before the tour.

M: I was just clowning around!

M and T: We love Josie!

Once we got to campus the rain stopped and we were able to enjoy perfect weather for a tour.  The tour was a LOT longer than my kids would have liked, but it was so special for me to see all my old favorite spots.  So much has changed and at the same time nothing has changed.

T: I could hear an echo in this exact spot. 

T: We got a picture with this funny head!

The kids were putting on a show in the very room that we had our wedding reception years ago!

M: We did SO MUCH WALKING and I needed a rest!

It was fun to see the new parts of campus that didn't exist when I was a student.  I told the kids we should get their pictures taken by their flags and was VERY excited to see the flags were right next to each other! Perfectly planned!

They look so small!

This statue of a former college president was a popular spot to meet people before eating a meal.  He is nicknamed the Chocolate Man.

T: I wonder if we can eat this chocolate man? 

One of my freshman floormates works at the college now.  It was a special treat to pop in her office for a quick hug.  She gets to work with residence life staff which warms my heart.  We had such a great first year together and I smile to think that she gets to help make that happen for students every year.

Cobber reunions are the best kind. 

Finally it was time to go to Park Region.  Thanks to residence life, I lived in this Freshman dorm all four years.  I could have spent all day there.  I truly didn't want to leave.  The kids were so done, and hungry, and just done... but oh the sweet memories in those walls.  I have tears in my eyes even now thinking about the hours and hours of daydreaming and praying about my future inside that dorm.  To walk there with my children was a priceless treasure.

We have arrived!

I lived on 3rd floor for three years!  It still smells the same!

The family at Prexy's Pond!

After the tour the troops were tired and hungry.  I really wanted to stop at the church we were married and check things out.  We did make a quick stop and were able to see the houses I lived in with other girls before getting married.  It was a very brief stop and no pictures.  On the way back to the M house we drove past my apartment from the time I met Brandon.  I was reminded that it wasn't in the safest neighborhood, but I always felt safe and cared for there. We went through Arby's drive through and I dropped them off at the house and ran to the store to get some GF/DF B-day treats for M since we failed to do that the day before.  

The afternoon ended up being more lovely that expected and Sarah and her boys came to join us for a long swim.  The kids had SO MUCH FUN together.  I think they all just know how special they are to each other and their interactions with each other were so sweet.  Since Sarah and I were in the pool too I don't have any photos, but we will have memories forever treasured in our hearts! The timing was perfect because it started to rain shortly after we got out of the water.

After they left we ate dinner in with the M family and then went to a restaurant for dessert so we could see J, one of the sons who works there.  He doesn't live at home and it was the only time we got to see him the whole visit.  We were able to take some quick pictures and share a few sweet moments.  I can't believe how much these sweet boys have grown up!

As we walked into the restaurant we saw a beautiful rainbow.  T pointed it out to every person we met at the doors.

Peace in the sky and peace in my heart!

I can't tell you the joy I felt seeing these big guys play with my kids.  It was sort of a sick pleasure to see them get annoyed by the typical kids stuff because they were very typical kids with me not so long ago haha.

M: I really liked spending time with A. 

T: Don't tell him, but I might marry D some day!

I am so thankful for the M family!  They blessed our lives beyond measure!

Oh how I love these boys!

They changed a little bit... pic was 12 years ago... before Brandon and I moved away from Fargo!

Another full day another good night of sleep and the realization that we were heading back to my parents the following day!

We ended up getting a slow start to things on Thursday.  Brandon was able to meet with a former co-worker/mentor that morning so we hung around the house.  The kids played with the animals and did lots of swimming.  They swam so much in there days there that they became so much more confident in the water.  It was fun to see them swim with ease.  It was much chillier on Thursday so I sat next to the water but didn't get in, and the kids were fine.

M and T: We really love Dexter!  He even slept with us at night. 

Brandon had a great time with Pete

While we were there M did a flip and a dive off the diving board.  It was very low and he felt safe.  Impressive!

I loved this diving board. 

T: I loved it!

Sometimes they are buddies!

Wearing goggles makes them much braver. 

T: I swam so much that I grew a tail!

Slide together!

T: I am doing it myself!

The kids really think this should be our Christmas card photo haha!  Yes, they did put their PJ's on after swimming.  They were cold and I guess they felt cozy.

M and T:  We want dogs just like Josie and Lucy!

The final day A came home during his lunch break to say good-bye.  That was very special to me.  D was so young when I spent time with them, but A was older and remembers more.  It was so special to catch up with him.  He was full of questions as a young boy and it is was special to hear his questions continue as an adult. The following photo might be confusing.  After I nannied for the boys the M family adopted S from Guatemala.  The other girl in the photo is S's friend. A very special group indeed!

What a lovely crew!  

We wanted little J (with his bowl cut) to be in the picture too!

After lunch and lots and lots and lots of hugs we finally got on the road.  M was to tired and we gave in and told him he could take a nap.  T was begging for her Mt. Dew.  She was given it at the campus tour.  She has never had it before, but we decided to give it to her.  What was the worst that could happen?

T: I was drinking a real soda in the car!

Unbelievable!  Our sweet, never sleep in the car girl chugged her Mt. Dew and then SLEPT... for a long time!

So sweet!

One more sweet photo!

The drive back to my parents ended up taking much later than expected because there was a bad accident on the highway.  We were stopped for a long time.  Eventually we were forced to exit and then were stopped in traffic again.  We ended up taking some gravel backroads... but thanks to googlemaps were were able to navigate back to the highway and get safely to my parents late that afternoon! 

To be continued tomorrow...