Ted drove us to indiana – he worked while we got to spend time with my relatives. Our kids favorite place to be is with their cousins. Together they fish, swim, jet ski, wake surf, tube, play ball, play games, ride bikes, laugh, sing, tell stories, eat, visit shipshewana, golf, go to dinner/lunch by boat, and spend time with grandparents. They’ve made some of their most cherished childhood memories side-by-side and I’m so grateful.
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Here’s what happened:
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The boys went wake surfing…
ClarkGeorgeLuke
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And fishing…
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Tubing…
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And boating…
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They played lots of games…
The kids played lots of games
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And ate yummy food …
The Chief has GOOD ice creamRise-n-Roll sells the world’s best donuts
They went golfing…
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And relaxed…
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They spent time with grandparents and great grandparents…
We celebrated Mom’s birthdayMy dad’s sailboat – we tried to take it out but the wind wouldn’t cooperate
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They obliged their moms and grandma by re-creating photos …
2020-20222015 – 2017
And made the best memories together!
I’m thankful for our family who opens their homes and shares their toys and food with our large crew!
We are so proud of George and how hard he worked to become a soccer referee.
He watched about 8 hours of ref instruction online,
went to a four-hour class,
a two-hour training, and
took an intense referee test, and …
Earned his official “Ref” status!
He was super nervous about reffing his first game – but Ted went to observe and said he did awesome. He’s reffed a bunch a games in June, and becoming better and more confident with each one.
George even got to ref one of Paul’s soccer games, which was super fun for all of us.
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Paul finished his spring soccer season in June. He played with a great group of boys and their team was UNDEFEATED all season.
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Luke and Clark are in baseball. It’s been fun spending summer nights at the baseball field watching them play. Clark made the All-Star baseball team and crushed it! He hit the ball every time he was up to bat, had several RBI’s, pitched, and started the game playing third base (which was his dad’s position).
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Field Trips Fridays
Field Trip 1: The Minnesota History Center
I joined the Minnesota Historical Society so that our family could visit a few unique places in our state. Our first stop was the Minnesota History center in St. Paul. It was a fantastic museum with hands-on exhibits to teach kids (and adults) about Minnesota’s History. George loved the WW2 airplane experience. Clark liked making sundaes at the soda shop. Paul and Luke loved the tornado experience. I enjoyed exploring this new place with my boys.
Here’s a peek into our visit:
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Field Trip #2 – Fort Snelling
Our next field trip (with our Minnesota History passes) was to Fort Snelling. This place had been on my list for awhile, and I’m so glad we finally made it happen. It was beautiful and so interesting to get to experience what an army base would have looked and felt like 200 years ago.
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Field trip #3 – Tactical Urban Combat
The family that battles together, stays together.
Our family was gifted passes to Tactical Urban Combat in exchange for a blog post. We had a so much fun choosing a nerf gun and battling it out with another group. Clark helped us win ‘capture the flag.’
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We celebrated Father’s Day for one FINE dad!
I’m thankful that our boys are following in the footsteps of someone so kind, wise, strong, faithful and full of integrity.
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An Egly Boy Sleeps away
In June we sent the first #eglyboy to Lake Geneva Campground with a bunch of other kids from our church. He loved it!
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Wrigley Love
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A Walk Down Memory Lane
Baby LukeBaby PaulThis sums up the personalities of Clark and George when they were toddlers. George was so easy-going and Clark was a spit-fire!
We had a little backyard birthday for him and some of his friends.
He asked for a “Hibachi” birthday dinner. Here’s a peek into our first family hibachi experience:
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Signs of Spring
Minnesota had the LONGEST winter, but warmer days are finally here. Spring is BURSTING all around us. It THRILLS me and smells OH.SO.GOOD!
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Listen to this cardinal sing:
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Field Trips are BACK!
State Supreme Court
Minnesota House of Representatives
After more than two years, field trips are back!
I was thrilled when Paul asked if I would chaperone his fourth grade trip to the Minnesota State Capital. This place had been on our bucket list for four years.
The capitol was designed by an architect named Cass Gilbert, and built in 1905 for $4.5 million.
We had a great time exploring this beautiful building and learning about our state’s government. Paul didn’t want the day to end.
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Encountering a new season of parenthood
After all these years, we finally have a child old enough to babysit so we can sneak off and have dinner by ourselves.
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We Escaped to Florida
My amazing in-laws came to town so that I could tag-a-long on Ted’s work trip to Orlando in April. The sunshine, palm trees, and warm weather were good for my soul.
Wrigley’s been getting lots of exercise running with the neighborhood dogs:
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His two favorite things are cuddling with his family and playing catch with his favorite ball.
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Crawling up to give Ted a hug.
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It was a cold rainy day in Minnesota – this is what everyone wishes they were doing today.
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A Quick and Easy Salsa Recipe
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Taking a Walk Down Memory Lane
6 year old George holding baby Luke (Luke is now TWO YEARS older than George was when we took this picture)!
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Ted and his boys
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Luke attending his first “field trip” to BlackBerry Farm.
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This picture is our first outing with all four boys. We went to Chick-fil-A (shocking, right?). I love how Clark grabbed the centerpiece from the table because he thought the flower would be ‘pretty in the picture.’
Thanks for reading! What have you been up to? Leave me a comment!
It’s been awhile since I’ve given you a peek into our week. I’ve been busy living life and have not taken the time to write about. So, I’ll try to quickly catch you up on our Minnesota life.
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January
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My Mom was in Minnesota!
I was so excited to welcome my mom back to Minnesota. It had been 2.5 years since her last visit. January in Minnesota is not the best time to visit, but we made the most of it.
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Volcan Snow Park
Neither of us love the cold, but we got bundled up to check out the Vulcan Snow Park in St. Paul. The sculptures were works of art and the maze was super cool!
The picture of Clark and Mom was taken in front the bank where locals put a stop to the Jesse James Gang.
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Sisterhood Ladies Night
Another highlight of Mom’s visit was the ‘Sisterhood’ ladies night at my church, with guest speaker Susie Larson.
My mom has loved Susie for YEARS. She listens to her podcasts, reads her books, and sends usher books. When I found out that Susie was speaking at our church on the week my mom was coming to town, I was THRILLED and felt like it wasn’t just a ‘coincidence,’ but a way for God to show us His love. Susie Larson is an amazing communicator, and mom LOVED getting to finally meet her.
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When I moved to Minnesota, I attended this ladies night called “Sisterhood” all by myself. I came alone, sat alone, and went home alone. It was a good night, but not my favorite way to attend a ‘ladies night.’ Fast forward three years, and I can’t tell you how happy my heart was to come with a bunch of sweet neighbors and friends (plus mom). We came together (in three cars), sat together, and went back to our neighborhood together and it meant SO much to me.
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Before mom left, I snapped this picture. This will be the last picture where George is smaller than Grandma.
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Thanks for coming to visit us Mom!
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February
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My mother-in-law in Minnesota
In February, my mother-in-law came for a visit.
Mill City Museum
We took Nana to the Mill City Museum. This was once the home of the General Mills flour plant.
Did you know flour can be as explosive as gun powder?
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A flour explosion destroyed most of the building. What remains is now the “Mill City Museum.” The General Mills factory has relocated to another town.
Nana and Paul
Nana and Clark
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George ‘reenacting’ a pose from our visit almost 3 years ago.
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George with my mom 2.5 years ago, and with Nana in February:
We found a beautiful old window at the museum and stopped to take some pictures.
Nana
George and Clark
The boys and Nana were being goofy. I loved how this elderly woman on the side was watching them.
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It did warm up enough one day for us to take a winter walk.
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Thanks for coming to visit us Nana!
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March
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Bye-bye-Basketball
We finished the basketball season with a weekend in Iowa. Clark’s team got invited to a regional tournament, and it was a great way to end the basketball season.
I’m thankful for these sweet basketball moms
One mom put these on every door
Clark and a few of his teammates
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Wrigley’s World
I can’t give an update without a peek at Wrigley. He is such a good dog. We are crazy about him!
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Wrigley likes to cuddle with his toys
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Just the right size
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My neighbor sent this picture. Wrigley walked over to see if her dogs could play. He was peeking in the window as if to say, “Come out and play with me!”
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The boys had Wrigley try on their hats:
George’s hat
Clark’s hat
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Paul and Wrigley
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Luke and Wrigley
Thanks for reading! Hope you are having a great week. Leave me a comment and let me know what you’ve been up to!
The boys and I took advantage of a day off in winter to explore SEA LIFE at the Mall of America.
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They’d be asking to go to this aquarium since our first visit to the Mall of America in 2018, and we were excited to finally get inside and explore.
Sea Life is well organized with a “trail” that leads you through the entire aquarium.
I was surprised by how many different ‘creatures’ lived at Sea Life. I mean, it’s inside a mall, how big can this place be? Well, apparently VERY BIG! There are literally THOUSANDS of creatures. Two that I enjoyed seeing were the BLUE dart frogs and the alligators.
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They also have the only sawfish in Minnesota. Those fish are COOL! (Duke and Duchess are their names)
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Sea Life also has the only glass tunnel in Minnesota – and it was incredible. There were different types of fish, turtles and sharks swimming over and around you. We’d never experienced walking through a tunnel like that, and we all enjoyed it.
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Upon exiting the tunnel, there was a tank of starfish and sea anemones that we were allowed to touch. They were beautiful and felt so soft.
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There were also sting rays to observe and feed.
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Next we entered a room of tall tanks filled with jelly fish. They were mesmerizing. I could have watched them for hours – but I was pulled away by my boys who wanted to keep moving.
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The boys liked the exhibit with a surf board that had been bitten by a shark.
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Did you know that sharks think surfers are seals or sea turtles and that’s why they bite?
For lego lovers – there is a lego play area.
My boys said their favorite part of the day was the “Scavenger Hunt.” Upon arrival, there are books available with things you need to find throughout Sea Life. When you find them, you look for the stamper nearby and “punch” your card. When your card is full, you show it to a staff member in the gift shop to receive a sticker and a medal.
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Scavenger Hunt Guide
What kid doesn’t want a medal? They all wore theirs proudly.
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There were several shows, talks, and exhibits throughout the day.
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An interactive movie
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There are also fun ‘fin’ facts throughout the aquarium, as well as games to play.
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If you are in a hurry, you can go through the entire thing in 30 minutes. If you take your time, you can wander and spend about 90 minutes.
Sea Life is a place I’d recommend checking out. Writing this post makes me want to go back. I need to spend more time with those jelly fish. If you are local, you may want to get a season pass so that you can enjoy Sea Life throughout the year.
Thank you to Sea Life for the fun experience! They gave our family free tickets in exchange for this post. Being a blogger has benefits. 🙂
Thanks to every single person who took the effort to put up Christmas lights this year or send out cards. It definitely brought Christmas JOY to our family.
My favorite tree!And this house!
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The new Hawkeye series on Disney Plus
When Ted asked me to come watch Hawkeye with him and the boys, I brought a book to read. I’m not really in to the “Hawkeye” character, and didn’t want to watch this new show, but I did want to hang with the boys while they watched it.
Little did I know how much we would ALL enjoy it. The storyline was so engaging and the characters were endearing. We just finished the final episode on Disney. I said to Ted. ‘Let’s watch that series again’ (I never say that. It was truly THAT GOOD)!
Wrigley is the SWEETEST DOG. However, when he’s outside and not on his leash, he doesn’t always come back when you call him. If he’s not done playing, he will run AWAY from you when he sees you coming toward him.
This became a HUGE problem two times in December. Once when I had to go to work and couldn’t get him inside. Another time when he ran onto the pond and we weren’t sure if it was thick enough to hold him. Paul was a wreck thinking his dog might go through the ice and there was nothing we could do.
Enter the world’s best invention. A collar that beeps, vibrates or shocks. (We don’t use the shock)
The very first time I gave Wrigley a gentle vibrate and beep and said “COME,” he immediately came and sat next to me. I was shocked and overjoyed how well it worked then, and how will it continues to work. I only needed to use the vibrate twice, and now he obeys when he just hears the BEEP!
This device is usually $50, but they are currently 20% off. This was the best $40 I ever spent.
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YouTube videos the whole family can enjoy
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There are so many ANNOYING YouTube Channels. However, there are a handful that we can all enjoy together.
Mark Rober – a former Nasa scientist who makes entertaining videos by creating gadgets and fun experiments.
Dude Perfect – a group of guys that met at church and now make trick shot videos and a ‘game show’ called Overtime.
Fantastic 2 – I can’t NOT mention the channel my son’s created. 🙂
Ted and I escaped to Arizona for our 20th anniversary – and what a place to celebrate!
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The weather was gorgeous and we spent nearly every waking hour outdoors.
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Here’s a peek into our trip:
Wednesday:
We arrived at the Phoenix airport, rented a Jeep, met up with some of our best friends (Mark and Stacey), and had lunch at The Mission in Old Town Scottsdale. My heart was happy as we sat outside in the warm sun, surrounded by palm trees, filling up on tacos, chips and salsa!
After lunch we window-shopped in Old Town Scottsdale. This unique shopping area is filled with western style art, clothing, and jewelry.
Though there are many beautiful hotels in the area to choose from (Faimont Princess and The Sanctuary are two of my favs), we found the perfect AirBnB right in the middle of town. After dropping our bags inside the condo, we went straight to the rooftop deck to watch the sunset (and moonrise).
This rooftop would be our favorite spot to end every day.
That night, we had a phenomenal anniversary dinner at Dominick’s steakhouse. When we arrived, the host handed us a handwritten card, wishing us a happy anniversary. The food and service were outstanding. Our dinner ended with complimentary dessert – beignets, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and melted chocolate on the side. Yum! I’m still dreaming about that dinner. That was a delicious and memorable way to end our anniversary.
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Thursday
We conquered Camelback Mountain. When we arrived at the mountain, I read signs saying, “Beware: EXTREMELY challenging.”
‘How hard can this be?’ I thought, as I saw a smooth trail ahead of me. Well, that trail soon ended and was replaced by nothing but huge boulders. We climbed rock after rock and felt like we’d never make it to the top. I kept thinking about the relaxing afternoon that awaited us, and that kept me going one step at a time. I wrongly assumed going down would be much easier, but that was a different kind of challenge. It felt SO good to have conquered that mountain.
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We spent a luxurious afternoon at the Fairmont Princess spa! We got a couples massage, used their eucalyptus steam room, sauna, hot tub, waterfall pool, and adults only pool.
We woke up early on Friday and drove 60 miles north to Sedona.
I’m not sure how I’ve lived my whole life without knowing how spectacular Sedona would be. There aren’t even words to describe the beauty.
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We started the day with a hike up Soldiers Pass, which led to a unique cave to explore. We brought sandwiches and had lunch with a view.
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We hiked back down, drove through town, got coffee, then hiked Cathedral Rock. Because the landscape in Sedona is so incredible, you barely notice that you putting in effort into those challenging climbs. The hikes were phenomenal.
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We met some new friends for dinner, then drove back to our condo to sleep.
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Saturday
Saturday morning we met old friends for coffee, then went to Hash kitchen for brunch. Hash kitchen is an experience. It’s a breakfast party with a live DJ! Unfortunately (fortunately?), I forgot my tube top or any other sort of club wear that we saw other patrons wearing. The music inside was LOUD (did I mention the live DJ?), so thankfully, we found a table outside and enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the warm sun.
After breakfast we spent the day exploring Scottsdale and a quaint little town called Cave Creek.
We went back to our place to watch another sunset, and spend time with friends.
For dinner, we went to a cool spot called Sorsa Wine Room, and sat on their patio that overlooks a beautiful shopping area.
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Sunday
Our last day. We packed up, then went to a friend’s church (you must visit Gateway if you are in town), before heading to their airport to fly home.
We packed a lot into that long weekend, and had such a great time!
A couple things we didn’t do that I’d like to include next time:
If summers are for making memories, we made a TON OF THEM in July. Here are some highlights!
July started with a vacation:
A week in Indiana is better than a trip to Disney
My aunt, grandmother, and cousins
Cousins and mamas
Luke and my nephew Eli
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My mom and all of her grandchildren!
A letter my grandmother received from her uncle during WW2.
George hearing the story of my grandparents opening their store more than 50 years ago.
My nephew was excited to see my book at my grandparent’s store.
At my grandparent’s antique store
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We had a wonderful dinner and date night at Kelly Jae’s in honor of my sister (in pink) and brother-in-law’s 21st anniversary. My sister and her husband (in white) joined us, as well as childhood friends (on left).
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I got to spend a morning with childhood friends. Only one still lives in town. The rest of us happened to all be there for the 4th of July!
My dad took us for a boat ride down memory lane. These homes on Lake Tippecanoe used to belong to my grandparents. My mom and dad lived in a small cottage behind these two homes, and it’s where I was brought home from the hospital. I grew up swimming, tubing, and learning to ski on this lake.
My grandparents sold this property when I was in high school, and this was the first time I’d been back!
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Wrigley’s World
While we were in Indiana, some good friends took the BEST care of Wrigley.
Though the boys had a blast in Indiana, they were SO happy to see Wrigley when we got home.
My chauffeur:
I put Wrigley in the car and ran in to grab my phone. I came back out and found Wrigley ready to drive Miss Daisy Egly.
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Pan-o-Prag – our local fair
I’m not sure how the fair in Lakeville got the name “Pan-o-Prag,” but that’s what the locals call it and we spent a hot afternoon enjoying it all – carnival games, rides, fried food, and a parade! To keep the cost from getting out of control, I told the kids they could ride two rides, play two games, and pick one snack.
We have a tradition of eating breakfast at Jensen’s on the anniversary of our move to Minnesota. The boys are thriving and happy. They love all the lakes and fishing. They also love our neighborhood and the many friends they’ve met.
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Date Night Re-make
July 31, 2018
July 31, 2021
Three years ago Ted and I went out on our first Minnesota date night. We went back on the same night to celebrate!
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A night away and all alone
Downtown Stillwater, MN
The Stillwater walking bridge across the St. Croix River
My breakfast in bed
My home for the night
For the first time since being a mom, and possibly the first time ever (?), I spent the night at a hotel all alone. After a busy summer, I was craving some peace and quiet, so I booked a night at a Bed and Breakfast in Stillwater, MN and had a glorious 24 hours to myself!
I explored, did a little shopping, a lot of walking and reading. I slept 10 straight hours and was awakened by a knock on my door with a tray of breakfast and hot coffee!!!!! What an absolute delight! I could have stayed in bed all day, but I had an 11am check-out. I asked for a later check-out and was awarded an extra FIFTEEN MINUTES! Woot. woot.
Thanks so much for reading about our busy July! What have you been up to? Leave a comment by clicking that little comment box next to the title.
How do become Queen? You put on your plastic crown and declare it! (Thanks, Ted, for the crown!)
The boys and I celebrated my birthday with a great breakfast at Hope Kitchen. Instead of a cake, we ate some delicious Crumbl Cookies.
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What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man
Ted asked us to do a hill hike with him on Father’s Day, so we lured the boys to the top with Dunkin’ Donuts.
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America Ninja Warriors
A local gym was running a special for a month-long membership so I signed my boys up. They had so much fun and burned LOTS of energy!
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A quick trip through Illinois
On our way to Indiana, we had one full day in Illinois. We got to eat at our favorite restaurant with some of our best friends.
At Bien Trucha with the Hoeft family.Makayla Beebe’s been babysitting the boys since they were tiny. And I was her children’s pastor when SHE was tiny!
On the way to Indiana, we stopped at Portillos.
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What I’m loving
I love this Alba face wash! The scent, the way it makes my skin feel, and the easy pump!
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This quick dry towel. It’s super thin, so it doesn’t take much space in our swim bag.
What are you up to and what are you loving? Leave me a comment!
How is it JUNE already? Last year time stood still. This year is doing double time.
Here’s what we were up to in May:
Luke turns SEVEN!
My baby!
Who remembers playing Parachute games.
His super cute cake made by Target bakery!
Eat the Rainbow: Strawberries and Raspberries, Carrots and Peppers, Banana slices, Sugar Snap Peas and Kiwi fruit, Blueberries and Grapes. A mandarin orange is the sun.
Eating the rainbow!
I’m having a hard time believing my baby is 7, but he promises me it’s true. We had an old-school backyard birthday. We invited the neighbors over for pizza, cake, and backyard games. It was so much fun. Click here to read about some of the games we played.
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Wrigley’s World
It’s a RUFF life!
It’s a face off
Wrigley loves getting wet!
Just like Luke, Wrigley is growing FAST!
He wants to play fetch, all day every day! He also LOVES the water – getting wet and muddy is his hobby – which is not annoying at all.
We took him to the dog park for the first time. We enjoyed watching all the dogs play!
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Mother’s Day Memories
Clark loved his first brunch
Ted gave me flowers, all the boys made me a picture, and we took them to their first ever brunch. They loved it as much as I did.
Brunch highlights:
Luke was full for the first time in his life. I mean, he usually says he’s full, but that’s because he doesn’t want to finish his dinner. This time he could choose everything he wanted to eat and LOVED it.
Paul asked if the server writes down everything he takes from the bunch to charge us at the end.
Clark ate til he was full, then came back with a full plate and asked the server for a to-go box. She gave him one and he was SO excited to get to take some yummy food home with him.
The boys asked if we could do this on every Mother’s Day, and on my birthday too. 🙂
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George’s Creation
George made some artwork for his room. He picked the background, the verse, and put them together and made this:
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Four boys in Five Sports
Paul in his football gear
George running track
Clark with his eye on the ball
Luke hitting the ball
Luke in his uniform
George and a couple friends between races
George is in Track
Clark is in soccer and taking a football clinic
Paul is in soccer and taking a football clinic
Luke is in T-Ball
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Other highlights:
At the park, a man who earned a full football scholarship to Rutgers, spent a few minutes working with Paul and Clark. I’m grateful for other adults who invest in my kids.
You know you’ve been married a long time when you start to dress alike without planning it.:
My grandfather Hobart earning his doctoral degree. My mom is the littlest girl in this picture – she’s wearing a purple dress and has glasses.
My grandma June and my mom. Mom was pregnant with my older sister Kara here. Kara had a birthday in May! Happy birthday Kara!
My grandfather loved photography and captured this picture of my grandma, aunts and mom. My mom is the little one and looks just like my niece Evelynn.
