*sorry for the delays... I am back!
Day One: Saturday, August 10th
With Summer Park complete it was time to head to MN so see my family. This summer our MN trip started off differently. We drove directly to my Aunt Pam's house for a family reunion. It has been several years since the family has all been together. It is so tricky to get schedules to coordinate, but I am so very thankful that we made it happen and that Pam was willing to host. We only live 5 1/4 hours from Pam's house and stopping there adds at most an hour to our journey so that was a blessing too! We were hoping to arrive at Pam's before lunch time. We got up very early and were actually ahead of schedule. I didn't know if Pam wanted people to arrive early. When we arrived we quickly realized that we could arrive anytime. We had quite a welcoming committee come to greet us!
We parked "down below" and Grandma Kathy and A came down to welcome us!
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| T: It is so fun to be with Grandma Kathy! |
Before lunch the girls played with a huge collection of matchbox cars.
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| Two cuties! |
The girls moved on to something else and M and my uncle Eric played with the cars.
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| M: I am so glad that Eric came. |
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| T: Uncle Bret and A and I are looking for frogs in the pond. |
My cousin Kelly got some fun lawn games including a jumbo Connect Four. It was in constant use.
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| M: It has been a long time since I have played with E. |
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| M: Dad is really good at this! |
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| T: Daddy and I played a long time. |
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| T: Eventually we both had to sit down. |
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| M: E and I also played beanbags. |
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| M: I love Grandma Kathy. |
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| T: Higher Daddy! |
My cousin Lisa brought a very cool balloon thing. It consists of really long balloons and a pump. You release the balloons and they fly everywhere. It sounds very simple, but we all really enjoyed playing with the balloons and watching them launch. Many of the balloons ended up in trees, but I guess that is just part of the fun.
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| M: I hope this balloon goes far. |
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| A balloon in action. |
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| Brandon trying to get a balloon out of a tree. |
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| M: Grandpa and me snuggling |
After we ate we took lots of group pictures. My cousin Kelly's hubby took the pic below because it is always fun to see a group of people taking pictures. Later when he was looking at the photo we realized how hilarious it was. Part of the truck behind me and my cousin Lisa's arm created what looks like Shelly lighting a cigarette or something else... Also the angles make it look like my head is on Lisa's body. Over all, just a hilarious photo.
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| The closest I will ever get to smoking! |
My mom and all four of her siblings were at the reunion. It is a rare time they are all together, so sibling pics were a must. While all the cousins were waiting for the siblings to get ready, we decided to take some pics of their photo prep. The guys were ready, the girls were not. They probably hate that I am posting this, but I did just post the photo above of myself, so I feel like it is only fair :)
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| The prep shot! |
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| A great pic of the five siblings. |
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| 5/6 of the Grandkids. We missed you Kris! |
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| The cousin's kids... missing three. |
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| M was on O's shoulders when he was much younger so they wanted to retake that photo. |
Someone suggested we do a family picture and since they don't happen too often we jumped at the chance.
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| Our family! |
After the reunion we headed to my grandparent's farm to load up some rocks. My uncle now owns the farm. It is a bit emotional to be there without my grandparents being there. My mom took the girls over to see the cows. My mom can truly do the best cattle calls I have ever heard!
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| T: I do want to be a cowgirl some day! |
After picking up the rocks we were on our way to my parents home. We were pretty ready to unload and be done with the car for a while.
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| T: We were looking at funny pictures from the reunion. |
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| T: A has this cool Barbie head and I loved styling the hair. |
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| T: This is just one of the MANY fancy hair styles I tried out. |
Day 2: Sunday, August 11th
Day two started pretty low key. We hung around my parents house for a while in the morning. My mom and I went for a walk and the kids played outside. They really wanted to go fishing, but my parents assured them we would fish later in the week.
At mid morning we headed to my grandma's house to explore and play and eat. On the way to her house I spotted a skunk on the side of the road. I sure didn't think I hit it, but the van's smell told a different story! Whew was it strong haha.
Grandma had a fun surprise, a kitten that was tame. He wasn't tame for too long, but we were able to get kitten cuddles that day. It was a bit dreadful because I just wanted to sneak him home too!
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| M and T: Isn't he SO CUTE!!! |
My dad gave the kids rides on the Gator. This is sort of a tradition for them.
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| M: I always like to help drive! |
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Coming over the hill...
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FLASHBACK... to two years earlier!!!
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| Same positions! |
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| Lots of joy! |
After an incredible lunch we headed over to an aquatic center near my grandma's house. We met up with one of my best friends growing up and her sweet family! It was so special to spend the afternoon with them. Her kiddos E and T are so sweet. My T just loves Jessi's E and wished we could hang out with them every day. The weather was not the nicest while we were there, but the water was super warm and there were many fun things to do. We all really enjoyed ourselves! I went off the high dive. T did some flips, but after hitting her head on the diving board she decided to stick to the obstacle course and water slides.
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| We practically had the pool to ourselves. |
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| Part of the group. |
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| A blessed bunch! |
The whole time we were at the pool it was very cloudy. When we finally convinced the kids to get out we all took long hot showers. The added bonus of a day at the pool is that everyone gets a good shower and you don't have to think about baths later at night!
When we got home my mom had a tasty meal ready for us and it was getting pretty late. It was another VERY full day for our family.
Day Three: Monday, August 12th
Finally the morning for fishing came. The kids were so excited to go fishing with my parents. They each caught a few fish which always makes the trip more exciting.
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| M: Can I start fishing? |
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| T: Grandpa is getting my line ready. |
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| Beautiful kids and beautiful views. |
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| M: Isn't she a beauty! |
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| M: Another keeper? |
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| T: I finally got one! |
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| Did they catch dinner? |
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| The kids learned about catch and release. |
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| T and M: We found a perfect tree for climbing! |
After fishing, the kids came home and biked around and played bean bag toss. M's new trike thing was a hit with everyone!
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| T: I am riding the big bike! |
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| Grandma Kathy sure is a fun and young grandma! |
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| Opposite teams but still standing on the same side. |
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| She is all in! |
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| Look at that focus! |
After lunch we headed to a brand new park. My parents joined us for a while so they could check it out too.
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| I only got a little motion sick! |
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| Good match ups! |
The kids loved the zip line!
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| M: I could do this all day! |
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| T: I was thinking about all the tricks I could do on it. |
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| OK, so maybe the kids were not the only ones who loved the zipline! |
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| Having fun! |
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| Maybe the zip line was loved by three generations! |
Next to the simple zip line was a more complex version that was handicap accessible. The kids tried out this one as well.
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| M: This was pretty cool too. |
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| T: I feel confined in here. |
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| T: I love a good climbing challenge. |
The swing below would induce vomit in this mama in one hot minute, but the rest of my family LOVED it!
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| T: Let's go really high dad! |
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| Crazy kids! |
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| The face of thrill and joy! |
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| Joy x 2!!! |
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| He got really high too! |
After a long time playing at the new park we decided to leave and go to another park we enjoy. On the way to the park we drove through an animal sanctuary area. There were animals so close to the fence that we stopped to take a picture.
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| What a sweet fawn. |
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| T: I just needed to get out of the van and say hi! |
After seeing the wildlife we stopped at the "blue park" we have visited several times before. Each kid got to make up an obstacle course and our whole family did it. Some parts were tricky for tall bodies!
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| M: Climbing up a roller slide isn't easy. |
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| M: I can go pretty fast! |
After playing a while at the "blue park" we noticed an interesting piece of art near the parking lot. We decided to check it out. We discovered it was part of a multi-piece exhibit all over town.
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| The biker! |
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| Not sure what this is about, but she is cute! |
We looked at the sculpture map and discovered another one close by so we checked that one out too!
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| T: I was checking out the map! |
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| T: Can we please go to every single one? |
We didn't end up going to every sculpture, but we did have fun finding several more of them as we drove through town. On the way home we decided to stop at one more park and enjoyed time at the red park too! It was a full afternoon of parks!
Once we got home we decided to have a water fight with balloons and squirters. The balloons didn't work so well, but the squirters were fun. Brandon and Grandpa Daryl ended up getting into it and getting wet too!
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| M: This isn't fair! |
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| T: This isn't fair! |
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| Evenly matched! |
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| As soon as T was being chased she would throw down her squirter haha. |
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| Get him! |
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| Get her! |
After the water fight kids were cold and hungry. We had a tasty dinner and a special dessert of homemade ice cream sandwiches. They were a big hit with this girl!
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| Yummy!!!!! |
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| T: I can't believe how good this is! |
It was another very fun and very full day in MN!!!
Day 4: Tuesday, August 14th
The day started with another trip to the lake for the grands and the kids!
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| M: I could do this every day! |
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| T: I love hair styling! |
T and Brandon spent a lot of time gardening last summer. The massive construction zone in our yard has meant no garden this summer. T was very eager to garden with Grandma Kathy.
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| T: I love spotting beans! |
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| T: I think I see a ripe one. |
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| Sweet gardeners! |
After lunch Brandon and I took the kids to a lake to swim. M really wanted to go to the waterpark, but it was a bit on the chilly side and it looked like rain was coming so we didn't want to spend money on the tickets when a quick dip in the lake would be free. M wasn't in a great mood, but ended up having some fun.
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| What summer in MN should look like! |
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| Trying to sink Brandon. |
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| T: I love it when Daddy throws me! |
While Brandon and M played catch T discovered a toad. The poor toad endured a lot during our time there. Thankfully we did convince her to leave him behind.
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| T: I love my new friend. |
As we spent time at the lake we could see the storm clouds rolling in. They were getting darker and darker and closer and closer. As soon as the first drops hit we were out of the water and loading up the van. By the time we were buckled and driving away it was pouring rain! It rained for a while when we got back to my parents and then the sun came back out.
Not long after we got home my grandma arrived and told the kids she was taking them to Dollar Tree (with my mom and me) to pick out 5 things each. They were very excited about this. The process in the store was long as T wants everything and M never knows what to get. Eventually they had each chosen a gatorade and T had lots of wall decor for her room and M had lots of cap gun type things. They were proud of their purchases.
Shortly after we got back to my parents house cousin A and Bret arrived.
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| They all love their Great Grandma! |
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| Cousins! |
After dinner we played in the yard and Uncle Bret told us that he had purchased some cool balloon things like we played with at the reunion.
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| M: Finally I get a turn! |
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| Even Uncle Bret tried it out. |
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| Time to launch some balloons. |
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| Getting ready for the grand finale! |
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| Launch time! |
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| They are off! |
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| A sweet goodbye embrace! So thankful that they love each other! |
A true sign of vacation... late night ice cream treats!
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| M: I can't believe we get eat this way after bedtime! |
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| A yummy way to end the day! |
Another fun and full day in MN!
Day 5: Wednesday, August 15th
Typically our final day of vacation is just packing things up and heading home, but this year we had different plans. Our deal special friends met us on the way home for a picnic and fun together at a park. It was so very special to catch up with them even though our time together seems so brief. We hope our time between visits will be much shorter this time!
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