Monday, June 9, 2014

Life in April



April was a wonderful month for us!  We stayed busy with work doing some updates in the house and spent quite a bit of time outside enjoying the beautiful spring weather.  Here are some highlights from the month.  

The first weekend of the month my parents came down for a visit.  It was a nice time as always.  John and my dad got a round of golf in and my mom and I hit up some antique stores in a nearby town.  My mom was actually here for a few extra days because JoLene was off so my mom watched Elsie on Thursday and Friday which was fun for Elsie and she loved having extra time with her Grandma Bonnie.  Saturday April 5th I participated in my third 5k of the season-Freedom Run 5k.  It supported Story Country Freedom Flight and was put on in conjunction with Republicans of Story County.  Story County Freedom Flight helps to send war veterans to Washington DC to visit their war memorials.  I ran this race with my friend Heidi (I forgot to take a picture but you can see me (#53) in the picture on the front page of this Newspaper article-haha).   It was a good morning for a run and I ran this one in 29:41 and came in 25 of 68 participants (This was a very small grassroots 5k which took place in a park not far from my house.  


On Sunday April 6th we finally bit the bullet and turned Elsie's car seat to forward facing.  She was pretty happy rear facing and it is so much safer to keep them rear facing for as long as possible but unfortunately she outgrew the rear facing limits for her carseat at 2 years 4 months. She is happy as can be though :)  


We spent a lot of time in the evenings and weekends at the elementary school park just two block from our house.  On of Elsie's favorite things to do is the old school style Merry-Go-Round.  Instead of riding though, she likes to push it around.   

We started to move from indoor work at our house to outdoor work.  And there was a lot to do.  We raked up 16 bags of leaves one weekend and then Bev came over and we did 32 more bags!  Oh but it felt good to get it done.  Elsie and I were also excited to plant some things we we did a little cactus garden for the front porch and a little fairy garden for the dining room.  

Not only did Elsie do a little outdoor gardening, but got in some gardening with her new flower garden toy that came in her Citrus Lane box this month.  It was so cute and she played with it for 45 minutes upon opening her box.  

Makeing muffins and checking in to see if they are done yet.  

Lunch with Grandma Bev and Grandpa Dale with ice cream for dessert.  Lucky girl!

After the George Strait Concert, the next morning John made me breakfast in bed.  Looks like I am lucky girl :)  

Elsie's First Nightgown...getting so big!  


Checking out the little baby chicks at Theisen's.   

Another big change that came in April is that we potty trained Elsie!  Packing these away was bittersweet.  My little babe is growing up so fast! 


Lots of playing pretend with her stuffed animals and dolls.  Looks like Minnie joined us for breakfast one morning and he was helping her baby go potty :)

We had a lot of fun this year celebrating Easter with our families.  Check out all these Easter Related posts:
Blank Park Zoo Egg Hunt, Easter Morning, Easter Day and Dyeing Eggs, Easter in Minnesota.

The last weekend in April we went up to MN to visit family.  When we arrived my dad had a campfire going-first fire of the season :)  Even though it was 9:30 PM and well past Elsie's bedtime we had to sit outside and enjoy it for a while before putting her down to bed.  



The next morning she was so excited that she was going to Allie and Piper that she set the breakfast table for them :)  They however, were not planning to be there until later.  


Elsie also got a fun Easter Basket from my sister and family.  She was so excited about it that when she discovered it hidden she just couldn't wait for my sister to arrive.  
Also that same weekend we got to visit some of my high school friends and thier families.  We spent Sunday evening at Melissa and Jakes.  Also joining us was Josh and Liz, Chris and his girlfriend Laura, and Alan and his little daughter.  It was a lot of fun and it was a blast to watch the two kiddos have fun together and dance.  One of the most hilarious moments for me was Elsie came over to me and pulled out her ponytail.  I told her she needed to keep it in and she said no because she need to shake her hair while she danced-and then demonstrated what she was talking about.  Oh that girl! 

Photo
Elsie and Finn dancing! So much joy! 

Another wonderful month in the books! 



Sunday, June 8, 2014

2014 Summer Bucket List

A few weeks ago John and I (and Elsie) were driving home from being away for the weekend and we decided to create a summer bucket list.  These are things that we would like to do this summer.  Some of these things include Elsie-some do not and would be things for just John and I to do together.  And to be honest...some of these things are things that just I would like to do.  It is now June 8th and some of these things are already cross off the list!  What my hope is from this list is really to create a priority list as sometimes summer gets so busy we don't get to the things we really wanted to do.  Also, my hope is that we can refer to this list during our moments of down town to try to make the most of the summer! So here it is...our summer bucket list.

  1. Do a Park Hop 
  2. Visit Ledges State Park
  3. Go Camping over Memorial Day
  4. Go Camping over Labor Day
  5. Visit a Winery
  6. Go to a flea market
  7. Picnic at the Park
  8. Go to a Drive In Movie
  9. Biking/Swimming at Big Creek State Park
  10. Take Elsie Fishing
  11. Rathbun Weekend
  12. Mid-Week Camping at local County Park
  13. Ames Farmers Market
  14. Host a BBQ
  15. See fireworks
  16. Ice Cream walk to Starbucks (not the coffee shop)
  17. Catch Fireflies
  18. Swimming at the local pool
  19. Swimming at the Ames Pool
  20. Explore 4 new county parks
  21. Strawberry Picking at the Berry Patch
  22. Night at Prairie Meadows Racetrack
  23. Trip to Duluth
  24. Zoo Brew for date night
  25. Take Elsie to the splash park
  26. Go Mini-Golfing
  27. Go to a parade
  28. Ice Cream from Picket Fence Creamery
  29. Go to the beach
  30. Adventureland
  31. Iowa State Fair
  32. Trip to St. Louis
  33. Go to an outdoor concert
  34. Visit to YCamp
  35. Go to Elm Creek Park when visiting my parents in MN
  36. MN Zoo
  37. ICubs Baseball game (or a Twins game)
  38. Relax on the front porch with wine

Whew!  Looks like we will be busy :)  

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Easter in Minnesota

Because we spent Easter at home this year, we headed up to MN to celebrate Easter with my family the following weekend.  We hadn't been up to Minnesota in three months!  I am not sure it had ever been that long that we hadn't traveled north to see my family so we were definitely due for a trip.  On a side note-my parents had been down twice to visit us.  We had a wonderful weekend!  On Saturday my sister and the kids came down for dinner and an egg hunt!  Elsie just can't get enough of egg hunts :)  






 






Both my Grandmas came over for dinner and to visit too so it was wonderful to be able to see so many family members!  





Monday, May 19, 2014

SCC Spring Festival

A few weeks ago, John, Elsie and myself met up with Brandi and the girls at the local county conservation Spring Festival.  We also went last year and had a really nice time.  This year the weather was beautiful (compared to last year).  It was sunny and probably somewhere in the 60's.  When we first got there we headed down to the canoe area.  Elsie liked the idea of canoeing but after a few minutes on the water she was over it and ready to move on to the next thing so it was fun while it lasted. 






My little paddler





After canoeing we made our way to the fishing area.  The park has a little pond so it was shared by people fishing and canoeing.  I think this is the first time Elsie has ever fished before.  


Checking out the creek. 









After fishing we went to check out the other programs.  Last year they had a naturalist there that did a program with live animals such as frogs and snakes.  This year they had music.  For the actual program we enjoyed last years more although the music was nice to listed to while doing some of the other activities.  


Elsie LOVED the binoculars.  She did not want to put them down.  I said this last year but she is definitely my little nature girl.  


After finally getting her to put the binoculars down she wandered over to frog calling area.  These little demonstrations reminded me so much of my time at Eagle Bluff and did many of these sames activities.  



The last thing we did was make a rain stick.  




Meanwhile, the girls enjoyed climbing in the tree. 





Another wonderful event!  Can't wait for next year.