Swim Time!

Last week, when the temperature most days was in the 90s, it was perfect weather to go swimming! Carrie and I took Christopher to one of the public pools and had a wonderful time! He had a great time checking out all the playground equipment in the pool! It was a fun way to beat the heat! Here are a few of my favorites from the evening:

He's got his little mischievous grin on in this one!

Carrie helping him down the stairs. He was pretty sure of himself when he was playing, but one of us was close-by, just in case! No one got any owies though...not even Carrie or me! Haha!!

Christopher and his beautiful Mommy!!

Busy busy!

Hello all! We've been a bit preoccupied with getting ready for our move from the house to the townhouse! We got the keys and were all moved in within a week! Yay! A HUGE thank you to my parents who were able to come up and help us out on Wednesday! Dad was a big help with hauling truckloads to the townhouse and Mom packed and cleaned the whole day at the house! What a team!

And now on to the real news surrounding the move...Daisy! Ha! It was quite funny how she wasn't phased a bit when B brought in a lot of boxes for packing. Here are a few of my favorites of her "helping."

This next one is pretty funny too..."Where's Waldo??" :)

This next one is of her on the last day at the house. She always enjoyed looking out the bay windows. We thought this was pretty cute how you can see her reflection in the window!

She really did well with adjusting to the townhouse. She quickly found some of her favorite spots of where to nap and where to scope out the views from the windows. Here's a classic Daisy sleeping pose...what a life! :)

Willmar Weekend

I am way behind in posting pictures! So we'll go back a few weekends to June 27th, when we were in Willmar. First we went to the parade where Brad and Sara were marching. I only got a good picture of Sara from this parade. It's hard to tell who is who when they have the hats on, so I stuck a box around her head for easy viewing. Haha!

We then went to a ski show at one of the lakes in Willmar. We went with B's siblings (in the picture below, the order goes from the left: Sara, B, Brad, Josh).

Here's one of the pictures of the ski team forming a pyramid out on the lake. Crazy!

Later that night, we went to check out the fireworks in town. Here are a few of my favorite fireworks shots! I think this first one looks like a big flower!

This last one was when a bunch of fireworks were all going off at the same time. Quite the show!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my Mom's birthday!! I have so many special memories of times spent with you, Mom. Just a few of my favorites are all the family vacations, planning my wedding together (which I could have never done without you and all your lists!), all the times I've called you with cooking questions (remember "how do I make gravy??") and all the fun we had when Carrie and I were growing up. You have continually encouraged me through all the stages in my life and I have always felt that you're there whenever I need you. I love you Mom!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mom and me together

Here she is being a wonderful Mom when Carrie and I were just little squirts

Being silly with Dad for the camera!

As many of you know, my Mom is a twin. Her twin sister, LeAnn, is such a special Aunt to me. She has always taken the time to support me and keep up with how life is going for me. I love you Auntie LeAnn!!

Our family has countless stories of how the twins really are 2 of a kind! They sometimes dress alike without planning it, they have a lot of the same mannerisms, and they have very similar senses of humor. Here they are a few Christmas celebrations ago, playing a duet on the piano and laughing for no apparent reason. At least the rest of us didn't know what was so funny!! Ha!

Here's another example of how the twins are funny. They both have a tendency to blink in pictures. Here's one where they both even blinked at the same time! Hilarious! Happy Birthday to both of you! Hope your day is filled with memorable moments...and lots of phone calls with birthday wishes. Haha! Love you!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads and Grandpas! To those in our family, thank you for all the times you're there to talk and listen to us, to support us, and to encourage us. We have so many great memories of fun times with you! We love you!

Allie with her Dad, Pete

B's step-dad, Bill

Allie with her Grandpa, Russ

Parties and Parade Fun!

This weekend, we were busy enjoying parties and a parade! Over the course of the weekend, we went to 3 graduation parties of some of B's cousins in the Minneapolis area. It's hard to believe it's been 10+ years since we were at that stage! But it was a great time for celebrating. Then Sunday, we went back through Willmar before we headed home. We got to see Cayden for a while too while we were there! Then Sunday evening was a parade in Benson, MN where the Willmar Marching Band performed. B's brother and sister (Brad and Sara) did an awesome job!!

Sara and B
Uncle B walking with Cayden

Cayden watching down the street, waiting for the parade to start

The Fergus Falls band was there too!

It was hard to get a good picture on Sunday of the Willmar band, but I'll be sure to post better pictures in a couple weeks. We're going to 2 more parades of theirs at the end of the month! I love marching band!! Ah memories...

Daisy!

I thought it was about time that our kitty Daisy got her own post on our blog here. She's full of personality and in my unbiased opinion, the cutest cat ever. :) A funny story of her recent antics...we tied a catnip toy of hers to a string on this blue post you see in the picture below. She's normally energetic before playing with this catnip toy, but then here's the aftereffect...

Take note of the back paw on her kitty

bed to help keep her stabilized. Ha!

Here's a picture of her in one of her new favorite spots lounging on the front step. (The picture is a bit grainy because this picture was taken through our bay window which has a screen on it! Oh well!)

I just had to include this picture too because

she's sitting in a normal pose for her, but

such an awkward pose for most cats...for most

cats who are likely more refined and lady-like

than our pretty little Daisy. Haha!