Earlier this month we had a couple of weeks of big thunderstorms on a daily basis.  On this particular Wednesday afternoon, the girls and I were sitting in the kitchen playing a board game and all of a sudden the sky went black so we knew another thunderstorm was coming.  But then the noise started and it got louder and louder and louder.  It only lasted a few minutes but this was the size of hail that we received at our house.

We are pretty lucky that no windows or siding was damaged by the hail.  Gotta love thunderstorms!!!

Berries Berries Everywhere!

Last week we drove to Hermiston to do some berry picking.  There is a wonderful blueberry farm that we go to each year.  The berries are plump and juicy and at a good price.  We also found a raspberry patch that had lovely berries, too.  It was a warm day but we were determined to fill our buckets!

Even Clara helped out by NOT being fussy!  She just hung out in her stroller and enjoyed being outside with us.

When we got home we had picked 20 pounds of blueberries and 10 pounds of raspberries!  The berries we froze but the raspberries.....

....we turned into delicious freezer jam!  How wonderful to have a freezer full of jam and berries.  Harvest season is coming upon us.  Our garden is doing well - full of zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, peas, and onions.  Pretty soon I will begin canning and our food storage will again be ready for the long winter months.  It's a great feeling.

Happy 4th of July

We had a very special 4th of July at our house this year.  We love holidays and we especially love it when Daddy has an extra day off of work to spend with us.  We started out our day by going on a family hike.  We walked up Deal Canyon which is near our house and it is quite the hike.  It's beautiful but also pretty steep so at times it was a little bit of a struggle for Emma and Samantha.  But they were troopers and we made it!  We took the picture at a scenic spot where we could look out over the whole valley!

Later that day parents came for a visit.  Mom and Dad were on their way to the MTC in Provo to begin their mission to Jackson, Mississippi.  We were so happy that they could stop and spend some time with us before leaving.  We had a very yummy dinner of bbq ribs and salads.  The girls and I made them their favorite cookies to take with them on their trip.  There were lots of tears when we were saying goodbye.  It's hard to believe that we won't be seeing them for 18 months but we are sure proud of them for making the decision to go and serve!

They are wonderful parents and grandparents and we are sure going to miss them.  We love you G&G!!! :)

Later that night to make us all feel better, Mark lit some fireworks for the kids in the backyard but it was chilly and the wind had picked up so they didn't light very well.  He took the girls to see the city fireworks when it got dark which they enjoyed.  It was a good distraction for them.  Although we were sad, we were thankful to have a special day!

More Summer Vacation

We left Minnesota on Tuesday and drove to Waterloo, Iowa that night.  We had some time in the pool and then the next morning got up early to head to Maquoketa to visit my grandmother and my aunt and uncle.  I love being in Maquoketa.  It's where my dad grew up and where we spent some time living when I was in elementary school.  It's a small, quaint town and I always have the greatest time visiting when we are there.  There is so much Edwards family history in Iowa that I just want to soak it all in!  Grams and Bonnie and I can chat and visit and laugh.  They love being around the great-grandkids and always have yummy food and special gifts for them when we come.  We visited about the family and genealogy and politics.  Uncle Steve loves politics so we always have interesting discussions with him.  It was just the best visit and I was so sad to leave.  Grams is 88 years old now and she is as cute and spry as ever.  Bonnie and Steve take good care of her but it was hard to say goodbye.

On Thursday morning we drove to North Platte, NE to stay for the night.  There wasn't much excitement happening in Nebraska but on Friday morning we drove to Salt Lake City to visit with my sister Tracie.  She bought a new home last fall and we had yet to see it.  There were a lot of things that we wanted to do while we were there.  We arrived on Friday evening and had a great dinner with her and visited until bedtime.  Unfortunately, about 1:30am Samantha started vomiting. :(  She was hit pretty hard with the flu which was NOT good timing for us.  Mark went out in the middle of the night to find some medicine and some Sprite to help with the tummy ache.  We were hoping it would be a quick bug but she was still sick all day Saturday.  That meant that our plans had to change a bit.  Instead of all of us going out site seeing together, it was just Tracie, Emma and I going to see a couple of things.  We went to the Church History Museum to see the new children's exhibit and then walked through the new City Creek Mall by Temple Square.  It was gorgeous and there was lots to see.  Emma really liked the fountains that were there.

We stopped at the Deseret Book store and did some shopping.  So many things we would like to buy!!!  We also made a stop at the Disney store and bought Sam a special present since she wasn't able to join us.  Aunt Tracie was a good sport.  That evening she stayed back with Sam at the house and Mark and I and the other girls drove through Millcreek Canyon and over to Wheeler Farm.  Once upon a time Mark spent some time working there so we always try to make a visit when we are there.

Sunday morning was Father's Day and it was time for us to head home!  Tracie made a nice breakfast for us and then we hit the road.  We drove to Meridian, Idaho and stopped to visit with Mark's aunt Kathleen and his cousin Tim at his home.  Tim and Carol made a delicious dinner for us and it was great to spend some time catching up with them.  Kathleen is also so happy to see us and she loves to spend time with the girls, even in her 80's.  We said goodbye and within a couple of hours we were HOME!  Hallelujah!  It was wonderful to walk through our front door and straight to my bed.  Oh how I missed it! :)  We survived 18 days, drove through ten states, and put nearly 5,000 miles on our van.  Thanks to all of our family who helped make our trip memorable - we love you all!

More Summer Vacation!

Well, we managed to make it to Sauk Rapids on Wednesday afternoon.  Our main reason for making the trek to Minnesota this year was to help Mark's mom get set up in her new apartment.  She moved to Sauk Rapids a week or so before we got there and there was LOTS of unpacking and sorting to do.  Mark's job was to clear the storage unit and help Maxine go through her things and make her new home a comfortable place to live.  We got straight to work as soon as we arrived on Wednesday and spent all day as well as Thursday working, along with Mark's sister, Karen.  Karen was such a sport and took Emma and Samantha with her most days so Mark and I could work at the apartment and get errands done.  However, on Friday, we took a day off and drove to Minneapolis to the Mall of America!  We had promised the girls that the next time we went to Minnesota we would take them to the American Girl store at the mall.  Emma and Samantha are American Girl enthusiasts and both have their own doll.  They were so thrilled to be there!  This is a picture of them standing outside the store getting ready to enter.  Such anticipation!

The store was huge! It was very crowded with little girls and their parents looking at the fun merchandise and displays.  One thing Emma said to me was, "It's like my dreams have come true!"  They were just so happy to be there and their smiles were huge!  It doesn't get better than that!

There was a bistro on the second floor that we made lunch reservations at.  It was adorable.  The girls could bring their dolls and have lunch with them while the dolls sat in little high chairs.  It was very pink and very girly and Mark felt a little bit out of his element.  But he was such a sport and made sure his girls had a great time.  Lunch was yummy and then there was more looking around to do.

They each were able to find something to buy so this is a picture of them after making their purchases.  Sam bought some accessories for her Molly doll and Emma bought a mini doll of Felicity to match her full sized doll.

Of course, since we were at the mall we decided to look around a bit after leaving the American Girl store.  The mall has an indoor amusement park so we let the girls pick a ride.  They decided on the carousel.

Clara and I watched while the girls rode their horses.

We came home on Friday evening and Karen made a delicious dinner for us while Uncle Dan made a fire in the backyard for s'mores.  The girls ate their s'mores and jumped on the trampoline and had a wonderful time.  We worked hard on Saturday at the apartment and Karen and I took the kids to a splash park in Sauk Rapids while Mark did some things for his mom.  The girls had a blast playing with Amber in the water.  On Sunday after church we drove to Browerville to Mark's other sister's home.  Teresa was a great host with her family and we had a nice dinner with them.  Then we drove to the cemetery to visit Bob's grave.  Mark was the only one who from our family who was able to attend the funeral so this was the first time the girls and I had been able to visit.  We took a nice picture with everyone and read a couple of cowboy poems that Bob would have really appreciated.

On Monday we did some more work and then took a break to take all the kids to the Bounce Depot.  The girls jumped their little hearts out and as you can see, got hot and sweaty!  They had a blast but we needed to cool off so we went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream.

Before we knew it, it was Tuesday morning and time to say good-bye.  We spent a little time with Maxine and had a tearful farewell.  The girls love being with Gramma so we were sad to leave.  But we got a lot accomplished and it was wonderful to visit with family that we don't see very often.

Next we are heading to Iowa......

Summer Vacation 2012 continued.....

Well, we left Byron on Monday morning and headed to Gillette, Wyoming on the other side of the state.  Mark's sister Joan lives there with her family.  They have two daughters similar in age to Emma and Sam and they always have a great time playing with each other.  The girls played games and looked after their animals while the grown ups visited.  We had a lovely dinner with them and then it was time to head to our hotel for the night.  Unfortunately, I spaced getting any pictures with them which was really disappointing.  I wish I had some to show.  On Tuesday morning we headed to South Dakota.  We have great friends, the Siebert family, who live in Minnesota.  Mark and Tami have been friends since high school and we always try to meet up with them when we head to their neck of the woods.  This time around they were doing their own family vacation through South Dakota.  So we met up with each other in a very small town called New Underwood.  We went to a park and visited for a little while.  It was very hot and windy but it didn't stop Clara from enjoying a ride in the swing.

Here is Mark and the girls along with Tami, Dave, Hawkeye, and Orion.  We had a fun visit and it was great to catch up!

Then we got back on the road and headed to our destination of Sioux Falls.  We had never spent much time there but it really is a pretty city.  Our hotel was nice and of course we had to take advantage of the swimming pool.  This was Clara's first time in the pool and boy was she happy!  She jumped up and down in the water and would squeal with delight.

Of course Emma and Sam had a great time in the water, too.  They love to swim!!!

After a comfortable night's rest and a good breakfast, it was time to leave town but before we did we wanted to make a stop at the falls.  They were really very pretty and there was a nice park surrounding them.  We took lots of pictures and the girls enjoyed climbing on the rocks and doing some exploring.

We would definitely like to come back to Sioux Falls and spend more time. 

Shortly after we left Sioux Falls on Wednesday morning we entered Minnesota and one the first little towns we came to was Clara City.  Of course I had to stop and take a quick picture.  It was meant to be!

More pictures to come!

Summer Vacation 2012

On June 1st we started out for our summer trip to Minnesota to visit with Mark's family.  We made several stops along the way to see other family members and friends.  We took 120 pictures throughout our 18 days of traveling - I promise to only show a few of our best on this blog.  The first stop we made was in Byron, Wyoming to visit with my sister Shellie, and her family.  Shellie and Joshua welcomed their first child, Jackson, back in November so this was our first time meeting him and we were soooo excited!!!  Clara and Jackson are three months apart but they took to each other very quickly. 

We went to the park so Emma and Sam could stretch their legs and burn some energy.  The babies just sat on the blanket playing with each other and letting us take their picture over and over. :)

On Sunday Uncle Joshua was a great sport and played board games with the girls.  This was them playing Sorry.

Uncle Josh is a proud papa - I suppose it helps that Jackson is just a miniature version of his daddy.

We went up to the Big Horn scenic area to spend some time.  It was a beautiful evening and the views were gorgeous!

We loved our visit in Byron and were sad to leave but we had many more stops to make along the way on our trip.  Fifteen more days to go - To be continued.....

Last Day of School

On May 31st the girls celebrated their last day of school!  They got out a day earlier than everyone else because we were leaving for our summer vacation.  Emma's class invited parents to come and listen to the children read stories to everyone that they had written and illustrated all by themselves.  Mark and I and Clara were very happy to attend and Emma did a great job.  She wrote a story about the things our family did during our Spring Break.

After class was finished, we picked up all of Emma's things to take home for the summer.  She had created a couple of posters over the past school year that were very special to her.  You can see that she put hard work into creating them.

This was her "ME" poster that shows all of the things that help make Emma who she is.

Samantha and Emma had a fun school year and they are looking forward to moving ahead to second grade and fourth grade!  Summer Vacation here we come!!!!