treadmill slide, Mason hopping and chillin' with Sis

So I have 3 videos from our time in MN....we used Nana's treadmill in the basement as a slide :) that was a big hit....Mason was starting to hop/scoot around by the time we flew out there, I wanted to catch it on video before he figured out how to crawl because it cracked me up. A little over a week after I took this, he mastered crawling....way to go! The 3rd video is just Adelyn and Mason doing their thing :)
Enjoy :)

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MN visit: we miss you!

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We had so much fun in Minnesota with Nick's family and time flew by way too fast!

It was fun to watch Ella and Adelyn play.

Ella finally warmed up to Nick the night before we left...he fed her a cookie :)

It was so good to be back. Christmas can't get here soon enough :)

We miss you guys all so much.

We love you!

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MN visit: at the park with Ella

In Minnesota, we spent alot of time with Kyle, Sara and Ella (thank you, for making time for us!).

We had alot of fun with them and Ella is just the sweetest little thing. :)

We  spent alot of time at Ardyce's or their house, but we did get to the park one afternoon with the girls.

They played on the playset and swings, then we busted out some fun bubbles that Auntie Steph gave them (thank you, Steph!)

It makes me sad that we don't live closer to them, but what time we do get to spend with them is always the best :)

We love and miss you guys so much!

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MN visit: the zoo

We went to the zoo one afternoon with Nana and Uncle Kyle, Aunt Sara and cousin Ella.

The girls had fun seeing the animals and walking around.

The zoo was nice because it wasn't huge and just had "the basics". Lions, tiger,s giraffes...that's all you need when there are toddlers involved :)

We watched some show with a seal.  Adelyn loved it for the most part and was clapping along with the music.

Ella enjoyed it too, but I think she was more interested in all the people :) she was too cute, let me tell you.

Oh yes, Mason was there. He was in the carseat in the stroller most of the time, but Nick let him out during the seal show

No, I didn't take any pictures of animals....the fun for me, is watching the kids look at the animals :)

I wanted to get one of all of us in front of the zoo, but it was getting hot, toddler and infant were getting tired....what can ya do? :)

We had fun and the company, of course, was the best part of it :)

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MN visit: Grandpa Ray and Ellen

Among the many fun activities in MN was spending time with Grandpa Ray and Ellen.

Adelyn always has a blast with their Tonka truck and tools that they keep stashed in the sunroom. She knows right where to find it :) She was also just plain all over the place....go figure...

Mason got ample time with Grandpa and Ella was just as sweet as ever ;)

I had my first taste of rum punch....um, can you say yum?! Why have I never had this experience before. It was so good!

We had a blast sitting out on the deck (this was pre-ridiculous humidity and heat) sipping yummy drinks, chatting and watching kiddos.

Ah, those summer days :)

Thank you, Ray and Ellen, for your hospitality and letting our crazy toddler take over the sun room ;)

As with everyone else, there wasn't enough time and we had to leave too soon!

I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked...but when there are kids involved, it's way too easy just to leave the camera in the bag and not deal with it :)

But here's one more for the road:

:)

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MN visit: family, lake walks and coffee

I'm finally getting our trip to the midwest documented :) I have a lot of pictures, so instead of showing them all at once....I'm going to do mini-installments for a while :) I definitely won't be short on things to blog about for the next week or so ;)

SO...first we landed in Minneapolis on Wednesday, June 22. I broke out with shingles that night (ooh, that stuff HURTS)...apart from that, it was fairly smooth sailing ;)

We stayed with Nick's mom (thank you, Ardyce!)...

 ...and spent ample time with family. We also got to spend some time with Nick and Alan's bestie, Dan (can you use "bestie" when referring to male friendships? well I just did).

We made a few trips to the lake and partook in the tradition of Caribou Coffee. West coast, you are missing out. That's all I can say.

Here some are pics from one of our walks to the lake...

I can't tell you enough how much fun we had in MN with family and how sad it is that we aren't still there! Thank you again, Ardyce, for being so gracious with the early mornings :) and sometimes uncooperative sleepers! :)

Stay tuned for our zoo trip, time with Ray and Ellen, my cousin's wedding, and fun at the park with Ella! :)

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midwest happenings

So we have been back in the Great Midwest for the last 3 weeks. We flew into Minneapolis at the end of June, drove down to IA at the beginning of July and are still here. Nick was back in Cali last week for work, but the kids and I didn't have anything else to do, so why not stick around?? ;)
I have LOADS of videos and pictures, so I won't be wanting for post topics for a long time :)
Here are some snippets of what's been going on:

I broke out in shingles the minute we landing in MN (let me tell you, it sucks and it HURTS)
Mason is crawling like a maniac and is nearly 8 months old!!!
Mason got his first tooth and is working on his second
Adelyn has many new phrases, such as, "are you kidding me, mom?"
Adelyn LOVES boat rides....
...specifically fast boat rides AND fast car rides....you frequently hear her in the back seat hollering "faster!"  (Thank you, Ray, for letting us borrow your car!  Thank you, Mom, for letting me commandeer yours as well!)
Mason LOVES the walker
Mason's favorite hang out spot is under the kitchen table. Never fails...put him down, he beelines it for the table

We have been getting loads of family and friend time...my cup is definitely overflowing :)
I can't wait to share all the pictures and video with you!
The kids and I fly back late Tuesday night (my littlest bro is braving the toddler/infant effect and flying back with me...thanks, Jake!)....I'll try and start posting the goods when we get settled again :)

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