Our week in Minnneeeessooooota

The kids and I packed our bags and headed to Minnesota last week. It was a VERY long 14 hr. trip in the car. The kids all do great--except for the 100 stops to go to the bathroom, I mean really, can't you wait 10 minutes until we are THERE?? I guess all the junk food I packed to get us through was taking it's toll on their stomachs....poor things.

Every day was crammed with stuff--running here and there to see everyone. We spent the majority of the nights with my sis-in-law Lynn and her husband. They have this big, empty house with enough beds for all of us. Needless to say, she waited on us hand and foot. The kids loved it, too.....this Mamma don't do that! One morning Lynn made Mitchell ice cream with Reese's cereal mixed in it for breakfast. He giggled through the whole meal. I didn't say a thing--Auntie's have to spoil their nieces/nephews from time to time. Like Lynn says, "There's so many more important things to worry about in this lifetime." That's going to be my motto from now on. :)

On Tues. we went to my Mom's to see Sharyn, Lorrie and all the kids. We had fun swimming and laughing and catching up with each other.

Jonnie and Mitch will always be best friends.

The girls--Alli, Cassidy, Alaina, Courtney, Ashley

That night we stayed with Lorrie. The kids played outside and slept on the floor of their family room. Lorrie and I giggled into the night in her bed. I think we kept Allison awake in the next room. :)

On Wednesday the kids hung out with our old neighbors. That evening we went to the opening night of Sonshine. They were offering a free concert to thank all the residents of Willmar. It was very nice because most of us can't afford to send the whole family to Sonshine, so the younger kids got a taste of what it is all about.

On Thursday Lorrie and I took the kids to the local pool. Mitchell loves swimming so much--I had to pull him out when it was time to go. He's a little fish, I tell ya.

Is he cute, or WHAT??!!

That evening I headed to Green Lake to hang out with my girlfriends. We sat on their patio and had dips and cocktails and watch the moon rise over the water. It was a perfect night with great friends.

Alli jet-skiing with her girlfriends before Sonshine.

The beautiful moon rise.

I found out on Friday that I have a new niece! I'm so excited, and little Rose is adorable. I can't wait to meet her. Congrats Julie and Greg...and her big sisters Analese and Mara. She will be greatly loved.

The rest of the week was filled with Sonshine runs, movie nights, lunch with Grandpa, Lego's with big cousin Chris, and mini-golf and a movie with Lorrie and kids....

"Where ball doe??"

The girls had a great time at Sonshine...seeing all their friends and meeting new ones. I love that music festival. There are so many unique personalities professing their faith. It's a great thing to see and experience.

On Sunday we headed home to Colorado. I have to say, once we got back here I found that I missed the mountains while we were away. I looked eagerly for the elk and deer that come down the mountain in the evening. Seeing Chuck after a week was really good, too. :)

This weekend is the jazz festival here in town. I can't wait to check out the bands. We are lucky to live in a town that appreciates the arts. There is something new to check out every weekend.

It does feel good to be home.....

What I love about my 17 yr. old!!

Your smile and laugh. You light up a room with your smile. When you laugh, I can't help but want to share in your joy.

Do I have something in my teeth?

I love your strong morals. You know exactly what you believe and you stick to it. Nobody's going to talk you into anything you don't want to do. You impress me every day.

I love your empathy towards others. You love all life, and believe it should be honored. I love how you can be on the computer for hours looking for pets to adopt. You take after me in that sense. You're Dad doesn't know where that came from. :)

You are a great friend. You give out awesome advice, and are a great listener. Your friends are lucky to have you.

You love your family--even though we annoy you sometimes. Your favorite thing to do is stay home and stay in your jammies, watching movies. You love rainy days and having nothing on the schedule. I, also, love that you and I love the same movies. Moulin Rouge....Sense and Sensibility....The Holiday....Ace Ventura. We could watch them over and over and over.....

I love laughing at the same jokes, making fun of each other when we say the wrong things.

I love how independent you are. You are so much more confident than I was at your age. You have a good head on your shoulders, and I know that you are going to do what makes you happy. You're going to go out and make a difference in this world...you're so passionate about so many things.

You're turning into such a beautiful young woman...inside and out...and I'm so extremely proud to call you my daughter. I can't wait for our future trips to France and Italy...and maybe a trip to New York to see a Broadway musical. ;) Live it up, girl!

I love you so much. Happy 17th Birthday, my sweet.

Fourth of July

We were invited to Idaho Springs (a small mountain town just west of us) for the 4th by the family that owns the pizza restaurant in town. They park their RV downtown (by their restaurant) and hang out there all day and into the night for the fireworks. We walked around this old western town, checking it out like all the other tourists did that day. What a CUTE town--I know how they hate when people say that! :) I mean, really, it was such a neat town. Anyone coming to visit us will definitely be given a tour of that town.

We grilled and ate fantastic food all day, and settled in for some great fireworks.

They have a little waterfall right in the middle of town. The fireworks were let off on top of this mountain.

I had to take some pictures of the fireworks!

This picture is of a string of fireworks they let off across the waterfall. The picture doesn't do it justice...it was very cool. After the fireworks, the firemen were out there putting out all the little fires that were caused. It was a little freaky, and a show in itself.

It was a great day and night.

Set building

On Thursday the kids and I got up early--o.k. early meaning 9:00 a.m.--and headed to the local theater, where they are performing 'The Wizard of Oz' this weekend. I e-mailed the theater last week and asked them if they needed help with building the set. I told them that we were new to the area and wanted to connect with the community, and my kids are all about the theater. They jumped at the chance, and could definitely use our help.


I'll admit...stepping out of my comfort zone is very hard for me. I get these great ideas, then find a million and one reasons why I shouldn't do it. That happened to me on Thursday morning as well. Stupid things popped into my head...like, "I'm totally going to embarrass us; these people will think I'm a weirdo; what if they don't have anything for us to do and we just stand there looking goofy, etc....etc." Well, I shut that voice up and thought of the kids. All those thoughts run through their heads as well, and I had to show them that you never know...it could be the best thing we ever do.


Well...I was right, it was the best thing we ever did. Not the work, mind you, but getting the connections. If any of you know, I'm a devout knitter. It's just in my blood....LOVE IT, and one of the first things I saw when we stepped into the lobby were a group of women KNITTING!! I knew it was a sign from God, I was so pumped. Then, the manager of the theater came and introduced himself and gave us a tour. It's a great little theater. This manager (Gary) is also in the production, and we later found out that he teaches piano and voice (exactly what my girls want to do). Anyway, he told the girls that their next performance is "Anything Goes" (which Allison has already done) and they need a few more girls for the chorus. So, we are going to sign them up for that! I was so excited for them. Needless to say....Thank God I didn't listen to those negative words in my head.


Our jobs that day included painting the stage floor:
Don't you love Ashley's jumper?




And the boys made 'Wet Paint' signs, and helped me tack up the stage skirting. After we were done, the woman in the picture with Ashley, and her son, took us out for lunch. She had a ton of info for me about theater opportunities. It was a great day!

Settling in...

O.k. so we've settled in. Our cable was hooked up late last week, and the kids have resumed their positions. I was missing the fact that we could order a movie whenever we wanted, and couldn't wait to get cable hooked up. Now, I'm regretting it. The kids don't want to do a thing anymore. They are completely content (most of the time) watching a show or two, and not going outside. I think it's time I put a time limit on again.

This past weekend we stayed home, cleaned out the garage (well....Chuck and Tanner did). We feel a little bit more organized now. It was extremely hard to stuff our other 4-stall garage into one stall, but Chuck made it work. We can't fit our van in there, but I'm happy for the extra storage space. :)

On Saturday night Chuck and I went to check out the nightlife here in Evergreen. We had a lot of fun, listened to a couple of really good bands, and met some really nice people. All night all I could think of was, "Man, our friends would love this place!"

On Sunday we all went out for lunch, then bought some bird feeders. I know---BIG DEAL---but, the more things I get to make it home, the better. Here is my bird feeder out my kitchen window:

I have yet to have one bird eat out of it yet. It may be a little too close to my kitchen window. :)

And here is my hummingbird feeder out front:

We saw our first hummingbird last night. :)

Yesterday, the kids and I tried to eat at a really cool resteraunt for lunch, then tried to see a local museum, but BOTH are closed on Mondays. Who knew?? We may try that again today.

Tomorrow we have another concert by the lake! I'm really excited for this one, 'cause we met the lead singer of the band that will be performing. She is such a neat person. We didn't know she was a local celebrity till the end of the night. :) We had so much fun. She has a Dixie Chick/bluegrass/celtic sound which is really interesting. The kids and I are planning on getting there really early to set up chairs, then renting paddle boats and hanging by the lake for the afternoon. I'm sure pictures will follow.