The Big Bomb

I can't believe I forgot to post one of thee most important posts ever....The Big Bomb that went off at our house this summer.  Did I peak your interest?  Well, most of you who read our blog already know the news. Duh, duh, Daaaaaaa.....Baby #5 is on the way!  I won't get into details, but I thought it may have been immaculate conception!  We told the girls when we went on our summer vacation to the cabin and they didn't believe us and it took about 10 minutes to convince them that we were in fact NOT lying! :)  We told our family when we got back and everyone's reaction was shock, but obviously in a good positive way which I was really not expecting.  I was in fact expecting a lot of ridicule, but I'm glad my family proved me wrong.  We are excited and crazy.  I'm not sure what this circus will look like come the end of February/beginning of March when he/she arrives, but I know we'll make it through!  All you need is Love, right? :)

Apple Orchard/Corn Maze

It's that time of year again!  Apples!  We had so much fun last year at this cute little apple orchard we just had to go back again.  It's called Montgomery Orchard.  They are small and there's never a crowd to battle. They have lots of apple items to purchase, a apple cider press presentation and a themed corn maze.  Every year they have a new theme, this year being all about the Beattles.  On the maze there are 10 questions to answer and when you're thru you bring back your answers to possibly win a corn maze patch.  Exciting, I know!  Well, we didn't get the patch this year.  I guess Brian and I are just too young to know anything about the Beattles. :)  It's actually a lot tougher than you think and we didn't cheat using Brian's phone.  The kids had a great time, we had a great time and can't wait to go back next year.

1st Day of School...For ALL the girls!!!!!

  

Today was the first day of school for all 4 girls!  What shall I do??!!  Natalie started Preschool, Rachel 1st grade, Emily 4th grade and Caitlin, her last year at JI as a 6th grader.  Girls got up at 7am, and we were out the door at 7:40am.  Everyone's hair was done, teeth were brushed and they were fed.  Amazing!  After dropping everyone off, Brian and I enjoyed a nice quiet breakfast together before he headed back to work.

Ahhhh...that was so nice!

The 6th Grader

The 4th Grader

The 1st Grader

The excited Preschooler

Summer Wrap-Up

Time to wrap up our summer with a few more activities.  On the 26th we went to Hutchinson to visit our friends the Schweim's, a family we had met at KNMS 2 years ago.  It was fun to hang out and catch up with them.  Thanks guys for a fun afternoon!  

Then on the 28th, Caitlin and I went to the Twins game.  The kids who are alter servers at mass get treated to a night out thanks to the Knights of Columbus.  Even though the Twins stink, it was a beautiful night for outdoor baseball.  It was my first time at the new stadium and I had a great time, not only with Caitlin but with the other adults who went.

On Thursday, the 30th, Brian took Caitlin and Emily for their annual trip to Valleyfair.  They had a great time and rode lots of rides.  They had perfect weather and not alot of people to contend with or long wait lines for the rides.  Next year Rachel gets to go!!  She's excited!!  While they were at VF, Rachel, Natalie and I went  to Mankato, got some new fingernail polish, ate at Culver's, got some groceries and spent the evening painting our toes and watching Cake Boss.  

We also went to John Ireland's back to school get together where we enjoyed treats and a movie outside.  The kids had fun playing and reconnecting with a few classmates that they hadn't seen this summer.

We were able to get all our school shopping done, tennis shoes bought (which is a nightmare usually) spent some time with Grandma Elaine who came up to shop with us.  

The girls started band lessons and it's become quite the musical place around here.  Piano, clarinet and trumpet!

Then we decided on Sunday to take the girls to the MN Zoo.  This weekend we spent cleaning up the house, working on the house, doing some laundry and the girls spent alot of time hanging out by themselves.  So we needed a good family activity before school starts.  We hadn't been to the zoo in 3 years, not since Natalie was 4mo old.  The weather was great, the kids behaved and we some the dolphins and dinosaurs for the last time.  In the evening, we went to our friends the Gilbertsons for a potluck that all the religious ed teachers were invited to.  Heather is the Youth Minister for grades 7-12.  We had a nice time visiting with the adults (until 11:30pm) and the kids had a great time making up small skits to perform for us.

KeeNeeMooSha

The girls couldn't wait to get the boat on the water, so after we unpacked, docked the boat, went to mass and ate supper we were finally ready to go on the boat.  We took a nice quiet, cool ride around Woman lake before heading in for the night.

Didn't know they were half pig, did you?  Here's the proof!

 We did lots of fun things while at KNMS .  

One of our favorites was this...

 And this...

Brian still has it after all these years!

Didn't take long for Caitlin to get up

Emily had a tougher time but she got up too!

And a little swimming...

Another family favorite was Tie-dye Tshirts!!

We played a little in the arcade but had way more fun being outside...

And doing this....

Fishing was pretty good for us this year.  More fisherpeople, more fish!  The one day we must have caught over 30 fish in one spot.  It was a lot of fun!

Then before we knew it, it was Turtle Race day!  

It starts with some dancing and kids games...

Hula hoop contest

Brian cannot hula hoop but he's a good sport.  He just whips the hoop around him and thats the only way he gets it to move!!

I'm actually pretty good but this year I got a bad hoop...it was too light!

Then it's race time....

Caitlin's turtle was the fastest slowpoke!  All the slowpokes race in a final heat and her's won!

And she got a load of prizes!!

We had only an hour or so of this...

Enjoyed Craft Day...Paint your own birdhouse...FUN!!!

The finished projects from L to R:  Natalie, Rachel, Emily & Caitlin

The girls made their own sand castle this year without any help.  It was mainly Caitin working on it

We boated over to Longville to indulge ourselves with a free crepe from Two Traders.

We had tried the Strawberry, Nutella and Applecrisp flavors already and the girls had one more they wanted

to try.  S'mores.  My favorite was the strawberry, the girls liked the Nutella and Brian the applecrisp.

Then we boated back on our speed racer...The Dreamsicle.  We love this little boat!

One of the last nights of our stay all the campers got together around the campfire

for fresh donuts, conversation and a little sing-a-long.

See you next year, Cabin #2.  You've been good to us!