Tuesday, July 30, 2013

National Eagle Center

As we approach our final month of summer (BOO!) we decided to tackle more Summer Must-Do list activities this week. We started the week by exploring the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN. We had never been there before so we knew this HAD to be one of our activities to do this summer. The boys, Marlee, and I headed over for the morning/early afternoon to learn about the eagles during the live eagle presentation. The "eagle expert" told us all about eagles and answered the audiences questions. We learned some very interesting facts while watching the eagle, Angel, eat a fish. For instance, did you know that eagles have hollow bones? Neither did we! Amazing!! We explored the rest of the centers 2 levels, had our picture taken with a real eagle, and enjoyed the scenery of the Mississippi River-- just beautiful even on this cloudy day! We will definitely be heading back to the Eagle Center again very soon! After we finished up at the Eagle Center we just HAD to stop for lunch at the Nelson Cheese Factory. The boys enjoyed ice cream after their sandwiches. What a memorable day we had!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Celebrating 40 Years

This past weekend we headed over to Alexandria, MN to celebrate my mom's and dad's 40th wedding anniversary. On July 27, 1973 at 7pm my parents were married in Minot, ND. My brother and his family and my sister and her family were also able to come over to celebrate for the weekend. We had planned on renting a pontoon for the day and heading out on one of the local lakes to celebrate, but with the unseasonably (65 degrees-- BRRR!) cool weather we had to postpone the lake cruise. Instead we took the kids to the brand new YMCA to swim and play basketball. Congratulations to my parents who make marriage look effortless! Thanks for all you do for us! Love you! Here are some pictures from the weekend. Jessi and I brought the exact same outfit to wear and we didn't even plan it! Actually, we didn't even know we both owned the same shirt. TWIN POWER!

Soccer

Blake had a great first season of soccer. Last Tuesday they wrapped up the 6 week season. The Mondovi Athletic Association organized all of the teams, and Blake was excited to play against some of his classmates. Blake seemed to enjoy running all over the field, and he could most often be found on the ground after falling rather than up on his feet. He also liked the other parts of soccer like playing "rock, paper, scissors" with teammates (during the game :)) and he enjoyed having an icee treat after each game.

My Little Minions

About a week ago it was a rainy day Sunday afternoon, so the boys and I decided to go to a matinee at Micon in Eau Claire. This was Bennett's first actual movie in a theater. He seemed to like it, and I think he really liked sitting on my lap the whole time :) Here is a picture from outside the theater.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Marlee is 8 Months Old!

8 months later and we have a little girl who scoots all over the house on her belly and likes to prop herself up in a crawling position. She also had that second tooth pop through and others are working their way in. She is getting better at picking food up with her fingers too. This little lady just brings us so much joy!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Summer Fun 2013

This past week we crossed quite a few items off of our Summer Must-Do List. The boys hadn't ever been to Cherry Berry before, so we ventured over there one warm afternoon to share some yummy frozen yogurt. The boys favorite part was sampling all of the different kinds of frozen yogurt. After yogurt, we went to one of the local playgrounds to swing and slide down the slides. On one of the gorgeous evenings this past week we loaded up the boat and sand toys and headed down to Alma beach and marina. While Blake and Randy went out fishing, Marlee, Bennett, and I played in the sand at the beach. It was Marlee's first time feeling the sand between her toes. She LOVED it! Bennett had fun driving his tractors through the sand. Marlee also enjoyed eating her supper of beets on the beach!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

4th of July Weekend Fun

It was a busy and fun 4th of July weekend! Randy and I started off the 4th of July weekend with a 5 mile race in Mondovi. The kiddos stayed home with a sitter so that Randy and I could both run without having to push the stroller:) Later that afternoon we headed over to the Brenner Family's home to see Randy's childhood friend, Mike, his wife Lindsay, and their 9 month old son Bode. It was fun catching up with ALL of the Brenner family! Blake and Bennett were on cloud nine because they got to play baseball, play by the creek that runs through their backyard, and eat lots of good food! Marlee enjoyed 'playing' next to Bode on the porch. (see picture). In the other picture Randy is holding Bode and Mike is holding Marlee. That night we went back home to get cleaned up and put on jammies before heading into Mondovi to watch the fireworks. All 3 kiddos were fast asleep by the time we pulled into the garage. They must have had a good time, because the next day both boys took 4 hour naps:) On Saturday we decided to take our boat out on the water for the first time this summer. It is sad that it is already July and this is our first boat/fishing trip of the year. We loaded up our gear and headed over to Lake Eau Galle near Durand. The lake was just the right size for us and not too busy. Each of the boys caught several sunfish and Randy caught a 16 inch large mouth bass! YES!! Now we get to have a yummy fish fry! This was also Marlee's first boat ride. She LOVED, LOVED riding on the boat and was so relaxed as the boat skimmed over the water.