Camping Season is On!

For Memorial Day weekend we decided to take our camper for a trial run out at Grandpa
Lee-Lee and Grandma Nana's farm. Sadly, we didn't think to take any pictures of the camper or us in it, but we did get a few of the "fire-camp" that Grandpa and Daddy built for us. We enjoyed s'mores and lots of fun around the fire.

Rainy Day Fun

Last Friday afternoon, a light rain came through Mitchell. Lauren has had a fascination with umbrellas for a while, so I suggested she go outside with an umbrella. She jumped at the chance. Of course, she requested a purple umbrella (her favorite color right now), but made due with the only umbrella we had.

After standing in the driveway and singing under her umbrella, she became more adventurous and wandered to the patio. She was pleasantly surprised to find that if she stood under the downspout, she could get "poured" on.

Notice, the shoes came off and she found a nice place to relax (on the slide of her not-yet-constructed swingset from Uncle Brandon and Aunt Kim).

On the move

Emma has discovered that she can move much more quickly when she's on her feet. She enjoys Lauren's rocking chair because it slides easily along the carpet, and the couch is long enough to give her many options of places to be.

Catching up...

The other day while I was vacuuming, Emma was following close behind. When I lost sight of her, I found she had taken a shortcut under the dining room table.

Jared's birthday party in Huron. He had lots of help blowing out his candles.

Lauren sharing her love of riding "Dusty Bottoms" with Emma.

Emma & Lauren posing with Mom for Mother's Day.

Jared's Birthday present. Lauren was quite the cheerleader as

Jared shot his first baskets in the new hoop.

Emma trying very hard to play peoples with big sister.

As Emma worked on the house, Lauren busily piled all the peoples' accessories into a heap. She told Emma to be very careful of her "firecamp" because "it is so bery hot." I asked Lauren if she had built a campfire, and she said, "Yes, a firecamp."

A pitiful sight - First of all, this is Lauren's sandbox. Secondly, she had to take off her shoes to use as shovels. The helmet's a whole other story.

Spring is finally here...we hope.

Happy Birthday to Stacey! Oh wait, her birthday is in January...well now that it is nice, she got the new bike that was promised to her for her birthday.

The girls are enjoying an outing to the park on a beautiful spring day.

The Pink Polo Girls.

Emma has became quite proficient with the walker, she even knows that when we ask her to put it away, she knows where it goes.

Lauren has begun to emulate Dora, she has to wear her "backpack" as she watches her.

Splashing and So Big!!

Birthdays and Baseball...

This weekend we went to Minneapolis to suprise my grandma Marge and help her celebrate 80th birthday. Judy, Gary, Rose, Ivan, and Katie all went to the cities with her on Friday and over the course of the weekend Chance, Annie, Oliver, John, Melissa, Casey, Riley, Jerry, Laura, Brandon, Kim, Joey, my Dad, Bob, and our family all showed up to suprise her. After taking the girls swimming on Saturday morning, we went to the Mall of America. After that, we took the train to the game at the Metrodome where the Twins played, and beat the Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim.

Our family at the game. Lauren wearing the tiny Twins helmet from our sundae.

The birthday girl (a few days early) with the girls at the game. Happy 80th Birthday Grandma!


Emma sitting with her grandpa Tony at the game.
Outside the "dome" before the game.
Our trip on the light rail from the Mall to the Metrodome.

The girls with their serious shopping faces at the Mall of America.

On Sunday we drove home and stopped in Sioux Falls to see Stacey's sister Tammy who was in town for a conference. We went with her, Tim, Megan, Grandpa Lele, and Grandma Nanna to the Pizza Ranch.