I caught a dandy!

The next part of our trip was spent relaxing with my parents at their house. The boys had a blast coming up with things to do, build, play & ride and my parents happily went along with their requests. They carved turtles out of wood, they used their Great Grandfather's lathe and made a beautiful bowl. They tubed, sauna'd, and ate many many s'mores. They made a limbo set, had an unbirthday party, played games, built forts, shot the bb gun, did archery, rode bikes, rode motorcycles and made traps. And of course, they fished. After one particularly nice catch, Owen told me this.

All this and I've just touched the tip of the iceberg. As I think about it all, I'm thinking that we need to just call it Camp Grandma & Grandpa.

I'd be a stunt pilot.

Yesterday we went to the Shoreham Air Show just west of us along the sea. We saw many loopty-loops, twists, fireworks, jets, biplanes and many other airplanes & tricks. As we were walking back to the station, Walter asked if I'd ever ride in one of the stunt planes. I told him I didn't think so and he said he not only would, but he'd be the pilot.

Back to the trip home...After returning from my girls weekend, we had an Armstrong reunion with my mom's sisters families. Its always fun catching up with family and especially cousins as we are all grown now. Although I haven't figured out how my sister and I were the oldest and most of them are now in their 30's while I am still 29. Puzzling.

All the Armstrong Great Grandchildren

My camera battery was so low it wouldn't flash correctly. :(

The next day, Jer headed down to Mayo Clinic with his dad for a few nights. Al had to get a temporary stent replaced with a permanent one. My parents took the boys up to da U.P. (eh!) while I stayed back and prepped our house. Jer's brother had moved out and we were deciding whether to rent it out or leave it empty. Regardless, I had a fair amount of stuff to get ready as I knew our time would be full once I returned from my parents house. I joined the boys and my parents the following day and let it all go and relaxed, slept & enjoyed summer on water...a favorite favorite thing...more to come...

Roadtrekin' GNO

My dear friend, Tracy, purchased a Roadtrek RV last year and this summer my best friends from Augsburg (my GNO crew) and I tested it out with a trip to Northern(ish) Minnesota. As always, it was a great time and by the end my stomach & cheek muscles were both sore from laughter & smiles. We enjoyed hiking around Goosebury Falls, lunch at Fitger's (where Jer & I were engaged!), cooking on the campfire, reminiscing of college days and catching up on what's happening now and where are dreams are taking us.

I may be a bit biased, but I have to say, Augsburg attracts and churns out some pretty spectacular people.

Can we go fishing?

When we were home, these were often the first words out of Owen's mouth. Jer often obliged and they'd grab their poles & worms and walk to beautiful Lake Nokomis. Its nice to live so close to water.

In addition to enjoying our house and neighborhood, we got to enjoy our dear Minnesota Twins one afternoon. We went with Al, Moogs & a family friend, Tony. It was a perfect afternoon and we were happy to have tickets in the shade. The boys enjoyed enormous hot dogs...something they don't get in our house anymore...so it was a real treat. I really enjoyed being downtown.

We just so happened to park next to First Ave & couldn't resist a few quintessential Minnesota shots.

Like for dinner?

Walter asked me today, 'Will Daddy be home tonight?' and I answered 'yes.' He said 'No, but will Daddy be home before we go to sleep...like for dinner?' and when I answered 'yes' again, he did a fist pump 'YES' combo. I'm telling you, we are all really enjoying this togetherness.

After returning from Iowa, Jeremy went on his fishing trip with his Augsburg pals where there were plenty of laughs and unfortunately not much fish.

While he was away, we enjoyed the Hipps family and caught up with some friends as well. We didn't get to see everyone we hoped to and I'm sorry if you were among those we didn't see. We were also hoping to have more time with many of you and just had to relish the time we did get. Here are a few photos from those wonderful playdates that I remembered to take photos during:

We are lucky to have such kind, fun friends!

Back...home?!

We are back in beautiful SUNNY Hove after 5 solid weeks of laughter, joy, tears and enormous amounts of love back in the Midwest. I've broken up previous vacations into multiple posts and this one will be no different. My only concern is that we were so busy and did so much the posts may never end and become what we are doing now!

After about 2.5 weeks away from Jer, we were so anxious to be together again. Although it was ridiculously difficult to say good byes, Jer & I both have had a very strange and unforeseeable feeling that this actually feels like home here. I think after being away from one another regularly for work and having such great friendships and family near by, having this time here has allowed us time to be a family so much more and has hence brought us much closer. So although its tough being away from all you that we love, we are cherishing this time and considering it a huge gift to our little family.

So I suppose I should try explain a bit of our trip. The boys were rock stars on the flight and we were greeted at the airport by my college roomie, her family, and Jer's grandparents. We had a great night reconnecting with Griffy and our lovely house. (I have to say, I did an amazing job designing that kitchen!) We received visits from Jer's parents, brother and my sister and loved it all. We eventually made our way to Iowa for Jer's cousin's, Anne, wedding. Jer stayed back home with his dad, who unfortunately had to follow doctor's orders and not travel. We missed them terribly but enjoyed a beautiful evening celebrating Anne & Charlie and laughing lots with family.

The following week was full of playdates and catching up and even a few appointments if I remember correctly. We celebrated Uncle Moogs' 33rd birthday...and spent an entire day swimming at the Chaska Community Center with the Hipps crew, followed by an obligatory stop at DQ! (Their hot fudge sundae's with pecan's are still amazing.)

Now to keep it present - the boys and I had a lovely day at home today. They built enormous megabeasts that they ride on - photos later - we found a beautiful near path full of forts and great areas with major fort potential and topped the night of with a little tea & Risk. FYI, Walter can now claim World Domination.