Summerfest, Vacation (again!), and Adventureland

While I can't believe that summer is drawing to an end, I am so happy about all the fun we managed to fit into these ten or so weeks. I'll start babysitting in a couple weeks and although not every day is easy; I feel so incredibly blessed that I can stay home with my kids. And having extra kids around here during the school year makes me appreciate the summer even more. I think I used to like fall best. Football season, cooler weather, even our wedding was in the fall. But there is something so special about the summer- catching a glimpse of that absolutely awestruck look in the kids' eyes as they watch fireworks, seeing a parade through their eyes, having them react to Adventureland as if it were Disneyworld- it's all just so much fun. And even more than all the "big" things, I hope I will forever remember the little things that made our summer so amazing. Spontaneous backyard picnics, bike rides to the park, swimming at the pool, catching up with friends, icee pops on the front steps...I could go on but I'll stop before I start sounding like a country song. I could never find enough time to write all the cute stories and funny things from the last couple weeks so this time I'll do lots of pictures....

Here we are at Summerfest doing the "all you can ride" wristband deal. Kael was excited. Kylee has no idea what she's in for, but clearly excited as well. She is supposed to be 36 inches to ride all these things and she's like, just barely over 35. So I had a ponytail on top of her head and the carnival guys let her pass. We'd already paid for the wristband and I don't think Kent was willing to take no for an answer. I'm so glad because Kylee loved the rides as much as Kael.

Here we are at fireworks. This is the look of awe in Kael's eyes I was talking about earlier...

Kylee loves her babies. End of story.


We went up to the cabin in Grey Eagle, Minnesota for five days and had the coldest weather we've ever had!! We still had so much fun but had to stay bundled up. We had such a great time but as you can tell from this picture we were all a bit chilly!

Since we didn't spend as much time on the boat as usual, we played lots of games. Here's Kael, strategizing his next bocce ball move.

He's clearly happy with his decision.

We spent a lot of time fishing off the dock. Kent got the original Barbie crown weight from Kylee's fishing pole stuck in a tree so he tied on a plastic turtle at the end of the pole instead. Every time she cast, she'd say, "I caught a turtle!!!"

The kids loved this hammock swing. Kael would hop in and say, "Come on Kylee, I will hold you! You can sit on my lap!" and they would swing together. Kylee also is quite comfy here with Aunt Tammy.

Kael is helping Kent drive the boat. They've been especially good buddies all summer long.

I looooove American processed cheese. Squirt cheese, Easy cheese, I've even heard it called Spray cheese and I love it just the same. I am pleased to report that Kylee shares my true appreciation of this wonder food.

All four of us are tubing!

The boys and their walleye.

Yep, it's still cold- how cute is she all wrapped up in her "blankilee"? (Kael loves to correct her and say, "Kylee it's BLANKET, not blankilee.")

Group shot- Kylee can't seem to figure out what I am doing all the way up there.

This is right before we go to Adventureland. The kids truly have no idea the adventure that waits on the other side of the gates. I went with the kids and my mom in the morning then Kent, me and the kids all went back in the evening. All said and done we probably spent about 8 hours there. Kael even rode the Outlaw roller coaster!

The ladybugs- a classic. We also did the teacups, hot air balloons, tilt-a-whirl, waterslide, and a whole bunch more. We went home for naps in the afternoon but truly could have stayed all day.

The boats. Kael and Kylee refer to them as the "fishing boats" and Kylee proclaimed this her favorite ride of the day. Kael's was the tilt-a-whirl.

Here we are, about to board the train.

In other news, Kylee's second birthday is around the corner. She has been teling people about her birthday for probably the last 9 months. To say she's excited would be the understatement of the year.
Wedding plans for my sisters seem to be going well. I've been dress shopping a couple times with them and I think they both have found "the dress"!
I think that's all the news for now, I'll post some more after Kylee's birthday!