Mormor comes to visit!

Mormor had a conference in South Dakota so she decided to come visit us for the weekend after the conference! Unfortunately, it poured hard the day before she came and a lot of Minnesota was under water. The lake was up about 4 feet. If you look at the boat, there is a dock next to it, but it is totally underwater.

The kids did not seem to mind though!

Brennen is the most shy of all of the kids and he spent the first part of Mormor's trip running away from her and giving her "the look."

Charlotta likes everyone and was full of smiles for Mormor (although not at this moment!).

Thank you, thank you Liz!!!

Auntie Liz made Charlotta an absolutely beautiful sweater (even Skylar thinks it is totally awesome!), but I have not had the camera since we got it. I just wanted to show everyone how beautiful it is, but the picture really does not do it justice. Do you like Charlotta's widow's peak? She has dark hair up front and really blonde on the sides, so it looks a little funny right now, but I still think she is adorable!

No Camera=No posts!

I left my camera up at the lake, so now I can't post my pictures. I'll get it next weekend, so check back next week!

To the Vikings game we go!

Skylar and I drove up to Minneapolis today for the Vikings game and we had a really good time (even though the Vikings looked awful and we lost)! Skylar is all about getting all of the "souvenirs" and hotdogs and candy. She did cheer really loud when we were watching the game and she said she would love to go back again!

Skylar's piano practice!

Skylar really loves to play the piano. I am a little surprised because I did not think it would be her thing, but I think it is because she gets to sing along. It is funny because at home she really lets it all out, but she gets very shy when in front of people. Here she starts out good and then she realizes I am taping her and she gets nervous in the middle.

Our last weekend in the water at the lake!

It's getting awfully cold in the water, so we thought we would have one last hurrah before we pulled out all of the fun stuff. We invited our friends, the Hulstein's, up to the house for the weekend and we had a really great time. We were also really lucky to have beautiful weather for the weekend. We played out in front while we were waiting for our friends to arrive.

"Mama, it's too windy out here for me!"

Blowing bubbles for Papa.

Sticking my tongue out at Papa!

Snuggling with my siblings.


Add a few more kids...

and it turns into Papa time. Papa time is where the kids all jump on JT and get tickled! The kids love it, but I think that Skylar is getting to the point where it hurts just a bit.

Then we decided to do a little bike riding!


When our friends arrived, it was straight out to the trampoline!



Brennen, of course, was begging to go out on the trampoline, but the adults were not as willing to get into the cold water.

We did eventually get into the water and did some jet skiing and water skiing, tubing and all kinds of fun! I actually got into the water and managed to get up on the water skis (even if it was for just a little bit). Next summer, I will get it!

Happy Birthday Papa!

We all love you so!

Labor Day weekend

We went up to the lake for the weekend. Someone on the street was having the annual Lakeview Dr. picnic and we got invited. So we went to meet our neighbors. There were quite a few kids there and James found a new best friend. They really clicked and then they spent the whole next day together as well. We tried to get a little bit more water time in, but it was really cold out this weekend. However, we did manage to get some time out on the water.

Skylar and her boys! I just love how James is looking at Skylar in this picture. Those two-best friends for life!

"Mama, this is torture!" I hate those infant life jackets. They are so big and bulky and the babies just hate them.

A little tubing. They did not last very long because they got so cold fast, but they still had a good time!

Kellen loves to put on sunscreen and he has to do it himself. Here is his workmanship.

Brennen loves to drive the boat with his Papa!

Skylar working on her reading homework.

While Skylar read, the boys played in the sand.


When Skylar was done with her reading, she took a ride on her invented swing off of the tether ball pole.

Then she gave Kellen a ride.

Later in the day...
Kellen, Kellen, Kellen...


My happy little girl!

Skylar loves to be a part of the attention and you can see her trying to squeeze into the picture. Charlotta is the happiest little girl--always giving everyone smiles!

Papa's hat is a hit!

The boys were fighting over who got to wear Papa's hat today. It's been sitting on the table for days and no one cared about it, but all of the sudden they both had to have it NOW! Who wears it best?


Now, I remember taking a similar picture of James wearing this same hat, so I had to pull it up to compare. Wow, are they similar or what?