Celebrating 10 years of marriage!

Andy and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on May 20th. It's hard to believe it has been that long. In the beginning of our marriage I had dreams of going to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary, but 3 children later am thinking it might be more realistic to celebrate 40 years there. We decided to go to Duluth, MN and the north shore which I think at this stage of life is even better than Hawaii. It was so peaceful and quiet. It was absolutely beautiful and was so refreshing for our relationship and for our souls. We drove to Duluth last Sunday evening and stayed one night in the Radisson Hotel. We enjoyed a good dinner at the famous Grandmas including their famous onion rings (the half order is plenty for 2 people, by the way). On Monday we enjoyed a drive up the north shore. It was pretty foggy, but the drive was still beautiful. We hiked at Gooseberry Falls and Cascade State Park. We saw beautiful waterfalls and gorgeous views. Our resort was absolutely beautiful. It was right on the shoreline of Lake Superior and had some really pretty views! On Tuesday we went to Grand Marais and enjoyed a little shopping and sight seeing there. We enjoyed a peacful afternoon and a very beautiful sunset that evening. We drove home on Wednesday through the Superior National Forest. Andy had to move a tree that was blocking the road and we got to see a black bear and a wolf.

This was the view from our resort room. A lot of the day was foggy, but it cleared off at night and was so pretty!

A lighthouse in Grand Marais

A waterfall in Cascade State Park.

Gooseberry Falls

This was right outside our resort room as well.

It was a perfect way to celebrate what God has given to us. We are so incredibly blessed and are more in love today than when we said "I do". We know that it is by God's grace that we can say that and give Him the glory!!!

Let Them Be Little....

because they grow up way too fast! It's hard to believe that our "little" boys are going to be first graders as of 2:15pm this afternoon. Connor woke up pretty sad this morning. He loves school and loves being with all of his friends. He is so social and is not looking forward to the summer being away from his friends. Carson was excited that it was the last day of school because he is so excited for T-ball to start and to go fishing. Last Friday they had a graduation ceremony. They sang several songs and received diplomas. There was a little reception in their classrooms and we got to watch a video of all of the fun things they got to do in kindergarten. They each will get a copy of those videos. What a fun keepsake!!!! Because they are in different classes, they had different ceremonies- so there are lots of pictures! Here are the graduates: Carson (with his two best friends CJ and Colton) Connor receiving his diploma from his teacher Mrs. Kensok.

The proud parents!!!

Carson's class

Connor's class

Mrs. Kensok- Connor's teacher. She was a great teacher for Connor. She is so caring and loves her job. She was firm with the class when she needed to be. She allowed them to be creative in their projects and let their own individual expressions come out. Connor is going to really miss her.

Mrs. Redfield- Carson's teacher. Mrs. Redfield is a wonderful teacher. She is gentle and yet very bubbly and happy. She really made the classroom a fun experience for the kids. Carson absolutely loved her and is also going to miss her!

Some of the grandparents that were able to be there.

We are so proud of Connor and Carson. They really excelled this year. They love to learn and it was so fun to have them come home and tell me with excitement the things they did in school. They made wise choices and are good examples to their friends. We are excited for what lies ahead! We love you so much Carson and Connor!

Running the race set before us

The 2010 Fargo Marathon was this weekend. We had the priviledge of making it a family event and it was a ton of fun. They had a kids mile or 1/2 mile run on Thursday evening. The kids got T-shirts and official race numbers and even got a medal at the end. The weather was beautiful and there were hundreds of kids running from age 2-12. We chose to do the 1/2 mile since this was our first year. We were so proud of the kids. They didn't complain once and just kept going. Kaelynn walked for a little while, but she never quit. She just kept a smile on and kept going. Here they are pre-race... A family picture before the race begins.

Connor and Carson with their friend Colton from school.

Here they are after the race- a little red-faced, but still smiling and very proud of what they accomplished.

Carson was on the preview story of the marathon for the 10:00pm news. They showed him running past three different times in one hour. It was so fun to say, "There goes Carson!", every time we saw it. Andy did the 10K this morning. I was had intentions of running with him this year, but my training got cut short when I got hit with a cold that lasted weeks. I hope to participate next year.

The weather was rainy and cool, but actually was pretty good for the runners. His race started at 7:00am so Carson and I got up and stood in the rain at the 3 1/2 mile point to cheer him on to keep going. It was really neat to see the first runner come through the course and pretty soon to see the road full of runners. It was a blessing to be able to encourage them and to spur them on.

Andy finished the race in 1 hour and 1 1/2 minutes. We were very proud of Andy and he was very happy to see us standing there cheering for him. He met his goal and is thinking of doing the half marathon next year.

I did not do so well at taking pictures this morning since I was holding an umbrella and trying to cheer, so this is the only picture I got.

It was quite the experience. I think Carson was in awe of the whole thing. It really is something to see thousands of people running together and to see thousands of people cheering them on. When the winners of the 1/2 marathon came into the FargoDome to cross the finish line, the crowd cheered so loudly. It was a moment that wells up emotion within you.

We had some great moments to talk to the kids about what Hebrews 12:1 talks about- running the race set before us with perserverance and setting our eyes on Jesus. That verse was on the back of all the medals which the kids thought was pretty cool.

So we have goals for next year- Connor and Carson want to do the mile youth run. Andy is thinking of doing the half marathon and I will hopefully do the 10K. Let the training begin!!!!