On the road again....

We have been on the road in the month of August more than we have been home.  We had a great trip to IA and MN and last week we had the opportunity to go to Bismarck for Grandpa in ND's company picnic.  It was special for us all to be there- especially for grandpa.  It was held at the zoo in Bismarck which also has a small amusement park.  The kids had a blast- as did the adults.  Here are some highlights:

Taking a trip on the zoo train- a great way to see the whole zoo :)

No explanation needed....

One of the grizzly bears at the zoo.  He was sweet from behind the glass!

Driving the go-karts.  A scary picture of what is to come.  At least I have 9+ years to prepare myself.

Grandpa even got in a little golf lesson.  Kaelynn's first golf outing was pretty successful!

The fun didn't stop there though.  The next day was filled with more adventures.  More to come.......

Family and Friends

We have been home for a couple of days now and I am getting caught up on cleaning and laundry.  We spent last week in IA and MN and had a great time!  It was so fun to be able to attend the weddings of two special couples.  We felt very blessed to be able to celebrate with them.  We were able to see so many people that are so special to us while we were there.  It felt like we had just seen all of these people a couple of weeks ago.  It's hard to believe that we have been gone from there over a year. 
The Martin family is a family that is very near to our hearts.  We stayed with them while we were down there.  The girls- Kelsey, Mary, and Ashley babysat our kids while we lived in IA and no one compares to them.  Julie and Tim are good friends and it was great to catch up. 

Ashley let Kaelynn wear this flower girl dress that she wore when she was Kaelynn's age.  Kaelynn loved it!!!!

We also got to spend some time with my family in MN.  We went to some really fun places including the Maple Grove Maze (a big indoor play area with lots of tunnels and slides) and Valleyfair.  We got to see my cute pregnant sister and spend great time with cousins. 

We couldn't leave Valleyfair without devouring a bag of Cotton Candy.  HMMMM so good!!!!

I would have taken more pics at Valleyfair except that it was so hot and humid that my camera lens fogged up.  It was like that for a majority of the day.  I was slightly bummed :( 

We are headed out to Bismarck for Minnkota's company picnic and then next week we head to San Diego for a couple of days with some others from church.  We are excited for these times, but also looking forward to the end of travels and the beginning of routine and school :)   

Football camp

Yesterday the boys got a cool opportunity to start thinking about the sport of football and to start working on some football skills.  Phil Hanson a previous NDSU football player and a Buffalo Bills defensive end from 1991-2002 puts on a free football and fitness camp every summer for kids at Fargo South.  Everyone got a T-shirt and then they were put into groups and went through stations to practice football skills for each position on the team.  It was very hot and humid, but the boys worked hard and really tried their best. 

Andy had a meeting, but I kept thinking how much fun he would have had seeing his boys playing the sport he loves so much!  I took lots of pictures and some video so he could get a glimpse of it.

Here's the best picture I could get of Phil Hanson.  He walked around to each of the stations and tried to give some pointers.  He was a big guy!!!    

Here are some action shots of the boys doing some of the skills:

Kaelynn got in on the first skill, but didn't do much after that.  Somehow I don't think her future lies in football :)

Carson had a great catch!

They had to practice tackling.  They were told to wrap around the dummy and push through it- not jump on it.  Both of them did really well with this.

This was the quaterback exercise.  They had to pick up the ball from that orange table and step back.  They were told which color to throw it to and they had to do it before the beep or they would be "sacked".  Carson did very well with his aim. 

They had to practice being handed the ball and tucking it in and then running to the right or left in order to not get tackled. 

Connor has a great 3-point stance!  He might follow in his father's footsteps!

They even got to practice kicking and punting.  Who doesn't like to kick a ball? 

It was really fun to watch them.  It got me pretty excited for the possibility of sitting at high school football games every Friday night cheering on my son/sons!!!  We'll see what God has in store!

Party animals......

Yes we are still celebrating Connor and Carson's birthday!  Matt and Laura treated our family to the Redhawks game on Sunday for the boys' birthday present.  It was hot and sunny, but a lot of fun too.  And the Redhawks won!!!! 

Snowcones were the treat of the day!  Lydia really, really enjoyed her first taste of one!

Tonight the boys had their friends' party at Space Aliens.  They each invited two friends and of course Kaelynn was there trying to keep up as best she could.  Lots of pizza, pop, tokens, video games, prizes, cupcakes and ice cream, laughter, and noise makes for one fun birthday party! 

Isaac- a friend from church

Caleb and Lukas- twin friends from school and the bus

Ryan- a friend from church

So the fun has come to an end.  It's been great to celebrate these two awesome 7 year old boys!  We love them so much and are excited for their future year!  We love you guys!

Cousins, Cousins everywhere

We just got back from the week at the lake and we had a great time!  Of course the best part of the lake is being with family and this year topped all others so far!  Andy's brother and family are home from overseas on furlough for 6 months and have three children ages 4, 2, and 1.  Andy's sister and family are also home from overseas and now have a 4 day old little boy.  The cousins have such a great time together! 

Isaac, Connor, and Carson

Kaelynn, Lydia, and Julianna

The whole gang!

Julianna and Lydia with their first caught fish!!

And introducing the newest cousin: Jonah Paul Emch
born 7-21-2010 at 1:17am

We are home now and are looking forward to some more family and friends time in the next couple of weeks.  We are going back to Iowa next Friday and can't wait to see everyone down there!  We are also spending a couple of days in the Cities and can't wait to see grandma and grandpa there too!  Can't get enough!   

Happy Birthday Connor and Carson

It's hard to believe that 7 years ago today these handsome young boys started as..... 8 week premature babies! They came into our lives with surprise and excitement and they haven't disappointed since then.

I unfortunately don't have any digital pictures of their 1st birthday since we didn't have a digital camera then. I guess someday I'll have to get around to scanning them in. They are in the scrapbook though.

2 years old:

3 years old:

4 years old:

5 years old:

6 years old:

We are so proud of both of you and who you are becoming. We love you so much and can't imagine what our family would be like without you both! Happy Birthday buddies!

Love, Dad and Mom

Things are moving right along....

Well summer's half over- I know that because my birthday has come and gone. My birthday is July 15th and it has always been a bittersweet event- exciting because it's my birthday, but sad because school was in sight. Now that I have children in school the thought process is definetly reversed. School is in sight- yeah!!!! It was a good day. I got to go out for lunch with my sister-in-laws and got to have a great Paradiso dinner with the family. Now on to bigger and better though- Connor and Carson turn 7 tomorrow! AND- we leave for a week at the lake with the Kvernen's. The summer is moving right along and we had enjoyed every minute of it!