Natalie-Diva

One day last week I found Natalie dressed up and ready to hit Beverly Hills-Rodeo Drive. She is such a nut! Cute though! :)

Father's Day at the Lake

We spent Father's Day out at Brian's mom and dad's lake home and had a great time. Almost everyone from the Salfer side was there. The girls LOVED playing in the lake with their cousins, hunting turtles, paddle boating, tubing and playing in the rocks/sand. It was nice to rest and relax either on the boat or in a lawn chair. We tried a little fishing but the fish I guess weren't biting or we weren't patient enough to stay in one spot for very long. :) Caitlin was very persistent though-she didn't want to give up and was the last one off the dock. After an evening boat ride we roasted marshmallows for s'mores and Uncle Dave and Uncle Rob launched a few fireworks.

Construction Zone

The big remodel is upon us and it's a big one to say the least! The weather of course has put a damper on it some days but we are managing to put one foot in front of the other and take it one day at a time. I keep saying "we" but really it's all Brian at this point. Or at least, he's been doing the majority of it. Sometimes I just stand there and look pretty. :) That's what he wants me to do when I ask him what I can do to help. :) We have had a lot of really generous helpers come and work some really long hours. thank you and please continue to come!! :) I helped Brian on Thursday night into the wee hours of the morning getting the floor ready to be poured on Friday morning. I didn't get to bed until after 2am. I did want to cry at one point but didn't. Brian's Dad and Co-worker Joe came Friday morning to pour the concrete floor and things went so smooth. It was nice to finally cover the dirt!! Our friend Steve came on Friday night and stayed all day Saturday and the guys were able to put up two walls. Gina and the girls came to visit me and the girls and it was a nice to be able to catch up and just hang out together. Today was especially nice to have extra hands as the rafters were being put up. A big job, one that I would not have been much help with. Brian's parents and Brother Dan came and they were life savers! It's exciting and sometimes makes us crabby at each other. But if I just look toward the end product, its worth it....I think! :)

Last Day of School

The last day of school for Rachel was May 20th. The kids put on a cute end of the year program and are ready for Kindergarten! We will miss Little Lambs and Mrs. Voigt, but it won't be long until Natalie gets to go! Rachel is super excited for next year because she'll be joining her sisters!


Awards day was Wed. the 25th for John Ireland. Caitlin received the Presidential Fitness award (blue patch) and Emily received the National Fitness award (red patch) There were only 8 kids that received the blue patch, so that was quite the accomplishment. They also received awards for Accelerated Reading program. Both did very well and both love to read and take the tests.



The last day of school for Caitlin and Emily was Friday, the 27th and the kids celebrated with Field day. I was able to help out with the long jump portion and I had a great time. We didn't know if the weather would cooperate but it did and didn't start raining until we were all done. It was cold however and we were not really dressed for the occasion. The winning team was Blue team this year, which Caitlin and Emily were not on, but they were good sports about it all. Emily was so incredibly sad to leave 2nd grade. She LOVED 2nd grade and her teacher Mrs. Johnson. She cried and cried and cried some more, which meant I started to cry and other parents started to cry, the teacher's started to cry and you get the picture. It was very emotional and we can tell the teacher's love our kids. Caitlin had a great year as well, but she's a little less of an emotional person, kind of like her dad. :)

Playing Catch Up

I am sad today to have to turn the calendar to June. Sad because May flew by in a big fat blur. We did have a lot of fun, saw lots of friends and family and I cooked more than I ever have before. Entertaining is hard work! But definitely worth every minute of it (even when I whined about it).




After I left off (may 17) we had celebrated Caitlin and Natalie's birthdays with Godparents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins and Neighbors. It was a beautiful weekend, ok maybe just Sunday. The Landwehr's stayed overnight at our house sat/sun and the girls loved being able to play with their cousins from Iowa. We went to the park to play a little kickball and then hurried back home to get Caitlin and Emily ready for their piano recital. Natalie fell asleep during the actual party so we didn't get any pictures of her blowing out candles again, but windy Caitlin got the job done!




Caitlin also had a bday party with her friends and they tie-dyed t-shirts and hung out at our house. I didn't get a photo of them because we had to wait 24 hours for the dye to set and so the girls didn't get their shirts til the next school day. They did turn out really cute though.

As I mentioned above the girls had their piano recital and did very well. They love to play and have learned alot this past year. They really enjoy playing duets together. Caitlin also participated in the Piano Guild Audition at Good Counsel in Mankato, where she had to perform 3 songs in front of a judge alone. She did very well and got a Superior rating. I would've been so nervous, but she wasn't and acted as though it was no big deal. Emily didn't want to participate in this one so we'll have to work on her for next year. She takes after me a little more in that area and may need more persuasion! :)

Spring Program/Grandparents Day

Caitlin and Emily had their Spring Program/Grandparents day last Friday and it was very entertaining. The programs theme this year was "The great state of Minnesota". I thought the kids did an excellent job. Caitlin performed a song with the clarinet quartet and she had a solo in one of the all school songs. Grandma Elaine and our neighbors, surrogate Grandparents, Mike and Irene were able to make it to the program. I have tried numerous times to publish this post with a video of the solo and was unsuccessful, so you'll just have to settle for a few photos.

Happy Double Digits Caitlin!

Happy Birthday Caitlin! You are 10 today-finally double digits!! You are an amazing young lady who is fearless, creative, fun, entertaining, stubborn, smart, talented, beautiful and LOVED! May God bless you this year and all the years to come. We love you very much!