Monday, July 29, 2013

Work. work. work.

"Work, work, work,
day after day,
50 hour week for 40 hour pay..."
(except Luke's song would be more like...80 hour week!)

My poor husband could sing this song all summer long.
He works at the clinic 
then comes home
& works a heck of a lot more!
He's amazingly wonderful.

He has been slaving away at building a deck 
& remodeling the whole exterior of our house.
In the midst of his work...he had to take a little break 
so he could tell me how to give him some stitches!
Never a dull moment.
As part of our remodel, we ordered all new windows.
Thank heavens for our dads that came to help.
All the windows were installed in a day!
We have been living with most of our windows painted shut
for 4 years & it feels like we live in a while new house
now that we're able to open all the windows.
It's SO wonderful to get some breeze through the house!
I looked out to check on the progress & saw my dad sitting playing with Vance.
It was a tough day!
We graciously had some friends come over for a day & in one afternoon
Rob &  Luke got the addition sided.
In the meantime the kids & moms relaxed inside!
Rob hard at work! 
Putting puzzles together late at night while the guys continued to work outside. 
This past weekend we stayed at home
& Luke got a LOT done on the house.
We missed out on Corn Capital Days,
but feel relieved to have the 3 sides of the house almost complete!
Doesn't this scenario look a little makeshift!  YIKES.
Just a 'in-progress' picture.
Hopefully soon I'll get to show you 'all done' picture! 



Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Summer fun.

This summer has been busy...having fun with friends & family 
AND
working on our house.
In June we went camping at good 'ol Lake Edward Resort
& got wild with cousins.
We can't wait to go back their in August & stay at Cabin #5!
The kids said the water was chilly, so they ended up lounging in the sand/water hole! 
Vance had a good time at the beach too. 
 Us gals took a trip to Nisswa
& the boys decided to go fishing.
Adler & Brock caught their first fish & loved it!
Nice catch Shane!
For 2 weeks straight the boys & I had something planned every day.
It was so much fun, but also exhausting!
We enjoyed several splash pads, parks, & playing with friends. 
It was Spud Fest at Big Lake and we spent a morning with friends watching the parade.

 Friends in the parade...Sportsclips!
The boys. 
Belseth's also came to visit & of course had to try out the go-kart! 
We have been on the lake quite a bit too.
Having lots of fun on the lily pad!
It's absolutely AMAZING. 
Brock was a little nervous at first, but then spent several hours on this thing!
This pad can hold up to 1300lbs!
Sitting on the jet ski...ohh what fun for them!
We also went swimming at the outdoor pool at The Oaks campground.
Then grandma, Camy & Ang stopped by to give the boys a special gift!
What the heck....look at this darn thing.
(And no, I'm not talking about the nailer Brock is holding) 
As usual, we have also spent time at the beach! 
Making sand castles on the 4th of July! 
4th of July weekend I made a quick trip to Green Lake
to spend a few hours with some friends during Whit's baby shower.
It was a magical event, as always!
p.s. we can't wait til you move back to MN. 
 
I got home from the shower & we went to the neighbors for a night of food, fun & fireworks! 
The kids had a water balloon fight!
I can't wait for more summer fun...I just wish it all lasted longer.




Luke=33.

My wonderful husband turned 33 on June 21st.
I didn't have much planned,
but I knew I wanted to make him his favorite cake, from scratch, not a box.
So I did some research & found the 'best' recipe.
So they thought anyway.
Here's the beauty I made.
I was very hopeful & eager to bite into a BIG piece!
There were even 8 cups of powdered sugar, in just the frosting alone.
It had to be good, right? 
NO! NO! NO!
Each bite had to be really good for the calories to be worth it.
(remember, I used a LOT of sugar!).
It was NOT worth it.
I felt bad for my hubby.
It was his birthday & the cake was a flop.
The only thing that made up for it was that we got to enjoy 
the best donuts ever...at Merrifield (while camping up North).

Happy Birthday to the best husband & dad!

(p.s. I'll make a boxed confetti cake next year!)