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!!!!

I don't understand it!

So Kaelynn has this thing about Filet-O-Fish sandwiches from McDonalds.... She LOVES them! She will eat only 2-3 bites of a cheeseburger, but she'll down her fish sandwhich in less than 5 minutes. What is up with that??? In fact I would say fish is her favorite meat. I can hardly get her to eat chicken, pork, or beef, but she will eat to her heart's content on fish-sticks or fresh Walleye or Crappie. Kind of strange for a 4 year-old girl!!!!

The element of surprise... not a chance!

The element of surprise does not exist in this house!!! It has been that way since the beginning of our marriage. I am referring to the buying of gifts whether it be for birthdays, anniversarys, Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc. Gifts are usually purchased either by the giftee or with the giftee present. Today was Andy's 31st birthday! Last weekend I was gone helping a friend with a large dinner. I came home on Saturday evening to a very happy husband. Why? Because he had already purchased his birthday gift for himself. He said it was the last one and that it was a really, really good deal. He was willing to take it back, but really would a good wife make her husband do that? I hadn't purchased his gift yet, but wasn't planning on getting him what he bought. Oh well! I guess there is always Father's Day. Maybe I should purchase it now and make him take back anything he buys for himself this time!!!!!! Happy Birthday honey! We love you!

Spring is really here

The weather has been absolutely beautiful! Spring is here and I believe it is here to stay. As I write this the kids are playing in sprinkler in the backyard. I myself will not be going in, but they are having a blast! Yesterday we went to Lindenwood park. They have a great playground area and some great walkings paths. The river is still pretty high so the walk wasn't very pretty as everything is pretty dirt covered still, but it was so good to get out! Kaelynn found this great walking stick! Yes it is about 3 times the size of her, but she had fun carrying it. I absolutely love this picture of Connor. It captures his personality to a T.

Notice the leaves on the trees!

We cut off about 2 1/2 inches of Kaelynn's hair last week. It looks so much healthier and makes her look older!

The Ten Year Itch

Yes, I have it! What exactly is it? It is the realization that we have a lot of household things that are ten years old and are very much past their prime. It is the desire to replace those things as quick as possible. Yep, Andy and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary next month. As I look at my kitchen counters and in my drawers and closets I am often reminded of that beautiful day we said "I do" because we are still using the same towels and sheets and kitchen towels and utensils and dishes, etc. Now, the dishes and utensils don't really need to be replaced, in fact they won't be, but the towels and sheets it might be soon time for. I am very proud and slightly embarrassed to say that this past weekend we finally replaced our coffee maker at the ripe old age of ten years old. It was soooooooooo ready to be pitched. I'm not sure why we didn't do it a lot sooner. A programmable coffee-maker is the spice of life in our house right now!!! We didn't know what we were missing! Wait, yes we did! I can also say that I finally threw away the crustified pot holders and oven mitts after ten years as well. Oh, it was so freeing! Can't wait to see what's next!!!