July Activity Wrap Up

The girls finished up swimming lessons a couple weeks ago. Emily was a little disappointed that she didn't pass but got over it quick when she learned she'll be in level 4 with her friend Ella next time. Caitlin passed and is headed to Level 5 and Rachel "passed" and will be a Whale next time. (she automatically passes, but once in Whales they actually get tested to go on) Gymnastics was a hit as always with all the girls doing quite well. Day camps are completed and Rachel finished her soccer camp last week. Nothing else on the calendar except lazy days and vacation from here til school starts! Yeah! Rachel enjoyed soccer for the most part. For some odd reason or another she hung close to one of her teachers the last two days. To me it was quite annoying. Instead of coddling her I was hoping she'd tell Rachel to run and kick the ball. It is soccer right?!?! Well, the final day of soccer was held indoors due to some rain we had the night prior. So the gym was full of little soccer players. It was loud and crazy. This was the day all the kids would "play" a game. Rachel was one of the goalies for the first half and maybe touched the ball once. Then she got moved to the middle of the court and just stood there. She must have missed the part where she was to go after the ball and not wait for it to come to her! You could definitely tell the kids who had actually seen the sport played before! At the end, however she was able to move to the other side of the gym and meet up with her buddy Kael who wasn't having the best of times either. They both ended up being goalies and neither one kicked the ball. And they both thought they didn't have to do soccer again! :)

We are Family

This past weekend we headed home to Lucan for the Moore Family Reunion and for Brian's cousin Ashley's wedding. We also celebrated Owen and Ally's birthdays a little early since we were all together. It was a pretty fun weekend despite Natalie getting the flu and Rachel fevering. All of Bob's family had the flu prior and we're pretty sure Natalie got it after she sucked on Ally's nuk. Owen and Mom got it on Sunday afternoon/evening. It was a quick little flu bug thank goodness!




The girls kept asking me if I knew anyone at the reunion and out of about 60 people I knew maybe 20, 6 of them being my own family! It was fun to see my cousins, Marty, Lisa, Cynde and Kris. The girls had a blast playing with their cousins in the pool, riding in the mustang and riding on the 4-wheeler. There was TONS of good food! My Mom and Dad did a great job hosting the party.

Happy Anniversary Rhonda & James

Happy Anniversary guys! Hope you had a nice vacation in MN. It was so nice to catch up with you when you were here.

Happy 12 yrs to Us!

Today is our anniversary, 12 years! We have truly been blessed-beautiful kids, awesome friends, great families, nice neighbors, a warm cozy home and good health. Thank you God!

Happy Belated

Happy Belated Birthday to our nephew Isaac who turned 7 this past week and Happy Belated Anniversary to his mom and dad, Sharon and Mike who celebrated 15 years! Also, Happy Belated Anniversary to Gina and Steve who celebrated 9 years of wedded bliss. Happy Belated Birthday to Shelia who is again 29 years old. :) Sorry if I forgot anyone...July is a very busy birthday and anniversary month!

What a Weekend!

We had a very busy but fun weekend! Friday evening the girls had their swimming lesson and Rachel had Katie's b-day celebration at the pool. Brian was mowing the grass, I was frantically cleaning and packing to head back to Lucan/Wabasso for overnight and Saturday. We managed to get it all accomplished in record time without yelling or crabbing! We were heading back to meet up with our friends James and Rhonda who are home from Ohio. Saturday before we met up with them Brian and I took Caitlin and Emily golfing. It was so much fun! Mom watched Natalie and Rachel and I guess they had fun too! It was fun to be able to do something with the older girls and that they had our undivided attention, something they probably think they never get! Then Saturday afternoon we met the Pohlen's in Wabasso at Brian's mom and dad's house. It was great catching up with them and watching our kids play so nice together. Crist being the only boy did very well with all the girls. He is such a cutie! We just have such a great time with Rhonda and James. If we could just get them to move closer!!!

After visiting with the Pohlen's we went to see Grandma Schueller. She's doing great and its always nice to see her. We were just laughing at all the stories she had to tell about raising 6 kids on the farm and stories of Grandpa. All I can say is she was and is one strong working woman. Please let me never complain about how "easy" we stay at home moms have it!

Sunday afternoon we went to a potluck at our friends the Gleisner's farm. They invited all the MOMs group and Men's Bible Study families out. They had over 60 people! The kids had a great time jumping on the trampoline, catching frogs, playing badmitton and going on a hayride. The flies were horrible but the food was good and the conversations were even better. It was a very fun, memorable day!

Now, we are gearing up for another fun filled week...

Happy Birthday Kates!

Happy 6th Birthday to our friend Miss Kates. Hope you had a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday America, Aunt Laura & Uncle Rob

Matching Skirt Girls-Emily, Katie and Rachel

Katie and Lydia

Glen, Brian, Natalie, Caitlin, Jessica, Charlie, Deb, Heather and Amy

Natalie enjoying her sucker and waving her flag

A break in the candy grabbing action

Happy Independence Day! But most importantly, Happy Birthday to Laura and Rob. Hope you both had a super birthday!

To celebrate the 4th and our tradition, my parents and Brian's parents came to St. Peter for the annual Old Fashioned 4th of July Parade. There are crazy people that put their blankets and tarps down DAYS before the parade to get a good spot. CRAZY! This year there were blankets down on June 30th! Seriously people...its a parade! Anyway...Brian got us a great spot and the girls were happy getting tons of candy they didn't need. This year the rain held off and we were able to stay dry. It was a very humid day however, so after the parade we headed back to our air conditioned house for pizza. The grandparents stuck around for a bit and watched The Wizard of Oz while we all rested. After they left we geared up for our friends to arrive. The Lundquists, Gilbertsons, Frey's, Schillings and Yosts all joined in the festivities this year. Despite the mosquitos we were able to have a great time. Thanks everyone for the great food and conversation! After the party we loaded up the van and headed towards the fairgrounds where the fireworks show took place. We stayed in the air conditioned/mosquito safe van and watched the show. We all had a very good day and was happy when our heads hit our pillows!!!

Another Fun, Busy Week

We started last week off with a trip to Elk River to visit our friends Doug & Heather McCoy and their daughters Victoria and Elizabeth. We hadn't seen them in ages so it was nice to "pick up" where we left off and catch up. Their girls are the same ages as Caitlin and Emily and they had a great time playing in the pool and whatever else they could find to do. Rachel and Natalie hung out with them too. Thanks guys for a great afternoon! It was so nice to see you and we can't wait til the next time!

After the visit with the McCoys we went to Bobby & Laura's house which is only 15minutes from Elk River and we got to visit and play with the girls. The girls loved seeing their cousins! It was a late night though. We didn't get home until close to midnight!

Monday, Caitlin got her teeth pulled.

Tuesday, Emily went to Tye-Dye camp.

Wednesday, friends Jared & Gracie came to play and Caitlin had a lemonade stand with Abby

Thursday, we went to the pool

Friday, our friend Gretchen and her mom Leslie came for a morning visit. It was nice to catch up with them and I always enjoy getting to chat with Leslie. Then Kylie came and then the Frey girls and we all ended up having a pizza party and the girls had a lemonade stand. They made $20! The policeman, UPS man and Postal lady were some of the "elite" customers. They had a fun time and plan on donating the proceeds to Kids Against Hunger in Mankato.

Friday night I took the girls to "Toy Story 3" along with Amy and her girls. It was a good movie but Emily didn't care for it. Brian was so nice to stay home with Natalie. I think she enjoyed her "Daddy time".

Today we spent it getting ready for our 4th of July party. Brian mowed, the girls picked up, we all went to church in Mankato, ran errands and went out to eat. It was a fun day.

Toothless Wonder

"BEFORE"

"AFTER"

Our trooper Caitlin finished up phase two of teeth pulling last Monday. She got 4 pulled and didn't even phase her a bit. Well, maybe a little after it was all done and the novicane was wearing off. ;) Here is a before and after picture of her.