Fun In The Cities

We had a fun weekend in the Cities.  I was in the Cities for a conference last week.  Eric and the kids joined me on Thursday.  We got together with his aunt, uncle, cousins and their kids.  We don't seem them very often but when we do we always have such a fun time and always say we need to do this more often.  I am so bummed I didn't take any pictures.  I think we were just trying to keep tabs on kids, catch up on life and I was trying to figure out what kids went with what cousin. There were 13 kids between the 4 of us ... that's a lot of kids. I had the conference on Friday too so Eric took the kids to the zoo with his cousin.  He said it was him and about 80 stay at home moms at the zoo!  What a trooper! He and the kids had a great time.  Shane was pretty sure he was going to ride a zebra that morning but they couldn't seem to find the zebras. The highlight of the weekend was The Water Park of America Hotel that we stayed at.  The kids love swimming and water parks.  They also were very excited when they saw the hotel room.  There were built in bunk beds for the girls too sleep in.  They thought that was pretty cool ! Below are some pictures of our fun filled weekend! 

Do you think Emma looks excited to be at the water park?  This is the first picture I got of her.  Our little party girl was loving life!

Shane couldn't get enough of the slides! 

For such a little thing Alexa has a lot of determination.  She made her way across the logs on the rope course numerous times.  She was very proud of herself!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Emma and her daddy! 

The BIG SPLASH!!! The kids had fun under the big splash with their dad.  They are up on the bridge under all the water! 

The double tube ride was Alexa's favorite slide.  Emma and I loved the Family Tube Ride.  It was a big round tube that we all could fit in and it was a pretty wild ride.  It is the longest slide in the US.  It is 10 stories high.  Shane usually said, "I'll just watch! "  We always seemed to talk him in to going with us! 

The day wasn't complete without warming up a little in the hot tub! 

Our hotel was right next to The Mall of America.  We ventured over to the mall on Saturday afternoon.  The kids were in awe of how big the mall was and were all smiles when they saw all the rides in the middle of the mall.  We spent a little time at Nickelodeon Universe.  

The kids got to meet Pablo from the Backyardiagans.  

They had fun on the little roller coaster.  Even I got to go on it with Shane since he wasn't tall enough to go on it alone.

The Wonder Pets Boat was also a hit! 

Here we come on the Diego Bus! 

 

I Wish I Wish We Could Be Sisters Forever

It has been so much fun to see the bond that Alexa and Emma have as sisters. They are the best of friends and have so much fun together. I have to say for being sisters they rarely fight .... now I'm sure that just might change but for the time being we'll enjoy it.

The other day I was watching the girls from the window and this is what I saw. They were sneaking over to the neighbor's yard and picking the dandylions that were white. The would close their eyes and say "I wish, I wish that we could be sisters forever!" They would open their eyes and both blow the flower and giggle. Then they would start over and do it again. I think they did it a dozen times. I snuck my big zoom lens on my camera and snapped a few pics without them even knowing.

Life Long Friends At The Lake

There are some friends that walk into your life for a little while and then there are some that last a lifetime .......

When we lived in Arizona we made some amazing friends. It is rare that you find friends that both the husbands and wives click, let alone 4 couples. We moved to Sioux Falls 5 years ago and through the years our friendship has remained strong and continues to grow. One of the couples is now in Sioux Falls with us and the other 2 live in Arizona. This past week they flew in to spend a week at the cabin with us. The last time we were all together was 5 years ago. At that time there was a 3 year old little boy, Caden and Alexa was 1. This time around we had 10 kids 8 and under. Oh how times have changed.

Five years ago we took a picture on the front steps of the cabin. This year we tried to stage the same picture which was quite comical. We got it pretty close. It was so much fun to reminisce and wow look at the improvement on the coloring of the photo. The old yellow coloring made us feel a little aged. We may have aged but life has gotten sweeter for all of us over the past 5 years.

We had such a great time and the kids had so much fun together. Everyone ate, slept and played hard. There will be more pictures to come of our fun-filled week!

4th of July

We had a great time at the Lake over the 4th of July! The cabin is a place that many memories are made and the festivities of the 4th are always a highlight of the summer! The kids and their cousins Darby and Tyra were ready for the evening festivities to begin!

Watching in the fireworks!

Alexa's reaction to the fireworks and Shane thought they were a little loud!

Darby and Alexa trying to get a firework started together!

Shane helping daddy light a bottle rocket!

Emma having fun with a sparkler!

Of course the evening would not be complete without a fire and some 'smores!

What a great day!! Life doesn't get any better than this!

4th of July Celebration

On the 3rd of July we usually head to the Village Northwest for their 4th of July Celebration. Eric's sister Molly is a resident at the village. They have a wonderful celebration every year that over 1000 people come to. There is a big barbecue, games, rides and a petting zoo for the kids, carnival food, horse rides, entertainment and of course a big firework show when the sun sets.

The highlight for the kids was the train ride.

We met Eric's sister Lori's and her family there too. The kids had fun seeing cousins, Callie and Zach. Shane and Emma are on the Ferris Wheel with Cousin Callie.

The night would not be complete with out a little sugar, I mean a little cotton candy!

The fire work show was quite something!! This was the first "real" Firework Show the kids have seen!

By the look on Alexa and Emma's face you can tell they were quite impressed!

Emma and Aunt Molly enjoying the show!

Alexa and her daddy taking it all in!

Birthday Bash

Alexa and Shane had a Birthday Bash with our families.  We celebrated 4 June birthday's at the Birthday Bash.  Alexa, Shane, cousin Mia and Mia's cousin Simmeon.  The kids had so much fun celebrating together! 

Shane was all smiles when everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" to him.

Shane saw his 1 year old cousin attack her cake like this so thought he would try it too!  

I can't believe my big girl is 6 already! 

Alexa attacked her cake more like a lady.  She took a little lick of frosting with her finger.  

Happy 1st Birthday Cousin Mia!

Alexa loved her CD player and headphones! 

Shane got a flashy new big boy bike!