First Day of School

We've been excited and maybe a little nervous for this day and it went great. Last night, Cameron wanted to go to bed early because he had to be ready for school. This morning he wanted to eat a good breakfast so he would have enough energy for school. It was fun to see him get so excited about school.

School begins at 8:30am so we were there by 8:10am as I had some questions and I wanted to make sure he knew where to go if he needed to use the bathroom. As soon as he walked into his classroom he was off and smiling. He was so excited and it was a great feeling knowing he was comfortable being there. Ms. Palla is awesome and Cameron loves her after only one day. The theme of the week is "Bears" so he got to bring his favorite teddy bear and they learned about bears today. Another highlight was that he got to be the line leader!

It was an odd feeling after dropping Cameron off and walking away with only Emmy in my arms. We went to the grocery store and it was odd to not have two kids in the cart. Emmy and I went home and played and read books. It was very fun but different to not have them both at home. It made me happy to know that he is only at school for part of one day.

When I picked him up he was jumping up and down with excitement of what he learned and did during his day. We are glad to know he made it through his very first day of school!

More to come later...

Days To Remember

Life is passing quickly these days...I'm sure many people would agree with me on this. I find myself feeling very reflective tonight...the night before Cameron's first day of Pre-School!! Cameron will be attending St. Paul Lutheran Pre-School in Cannon Falls one half day a week. It is not much but also almost too much! Matt and I believe he is ready to try a little something new this year and St. Paul offers a great program with a lot of choices. We can start with one half day and add more time if it is going well and we feel he is ready for it. It was a big choice as he is only three and I still want him home with me as much as possible. This is going to be great for him as he will be with other children that we go to church with and not only will he be learning the basics but also more about Jesus...this we love! It will also be a fun chance for me to have a few hours of time with just Emmy.

The last few days have been days to remember because of this new stage of life and because we have had some fun things going on around the house. Yesterday, we became the proud owners of a bunny. An eight-week old black and white Harlequin female to be exact. Cameron wanted to name "her" George. Matt went on to say that this might not be the right name for a girl bunny and therefore she became Georgia!! Thanks to some very dear friends of ours - the Schwanke's - we are so happy to have this new pet in our life. She lives in what I would call a bunny cabin outside our front porch and in the two days she has been with us, she has received much love and attention!!


Today was a day off from the fair for me and guess where I spent my day?!....that's right, at the fair! My sister Jess and I decided to be crazy and join the other thousands as fairgoers with the kiddos. We planned to go early and leave early and we stuck to our plan fairly well. We had a ton of fun but found it to be a little warm today! Our adventures included checking out the Miracle of Birth Center before it opened to the public, walking through the barns, going on the giant slide, checking out the John Deere Tractors, riding on the ferris wheel, eating some great food, looking at the amazing crop art, admiring the butter heads while we ate our malts and ending back at the MOBC. It was a great day and we are all exhausted!

Emmy has taken a liking to tractors and rangers like this one
Fun on the Ferris Wheel!
My newphew Peyton clung to his mommy for dear life and screamed his head off!!

Emmy was too short for this ride so Cameron met a new friend

More to come tomorrow on the first day of school....

A Day Away

My day away was in fact a day at home!! The Great Minnesota Get Together (aka the Minnesota State Fair) is going on as we speak. This means that Matt and I are busy with 12+ days of work, 12 days of fun, 12 days of food on a stick, and 12+ days of craziness!!!

I did get a day at home yesterday so it was my day away! I was blessed to have the whole day at home with Cameron, Emmy and our nephew Wyatt. We played in the pool, picked apples, went for ranger rides, and made cookies. It was a blast!!

Here are a few photos from our fun day away from the fair.

Happy Birthday G'ma Deb!

It was a very fun day as we celebrated my mom's birthday at the farm. She is a wonderful, hard-working, and selfless woman and we love her so much! Here are a few pictures from the day...

Best Buddies (Cameron and Cousin Wyatt)

Four little monkeys...

The monkeys pile on G'ma Deb!

Great G'pa Clarence with the kiddosG'ma Deb and G'pa Don with the kiddos

Happy Birthday G'ma Deb!
We Love You!

The Garden Party

I've posted a few other times about having a garden and finally today I was able to get back to it after about a week and a half of not even getting near the garden! At about 4:30pm I announced to the kids, "lets go out to the garden!". You could of swore that I said we were going to town or to a party because Emmy perked right up and found her boots (good choice) but then also scurried to get her purse and her sunglasses. She is a hoot! Going to the garden soon became a family affair and all four of us decided to wander out and see what we could find amongst the weeds! I will warn you that the so-called garden in the pictures is hard to find as it is covered in a lot of grass and weeds. We were able to find a number of tomatoes and cucumbers so I am happy and satisfied. Cameron was a bit sad as his carrots were choked out by all of the weeds. We did find a little one for him to eat however! I know it doesn't make much sense for me to have a garden as much as I am gone in the summer but I can't help it...it makes me feel a little closer to my agricultural roots and a little bit domestic!! Here are more pictures of our garden party!!

The workers prepare for the harvest

The workers follow their leader to the field

Cameron is ready to fill his bucket (please excuse our pantless pal...just seems to work better for getting to the potty in time!)Cameron was so excited to find one carrot to eat!

At least I'm not the only one who enjoys tomatoes!

A happy harvest!

Happy 40th Anniversary Carol and Gary!

I am a bit behind in posting and will be doing some back tracking from the last few weeks but wanted to note this special day. Today is Carol and Gary's 40th Anniversary...that is something to celebrate!!

We were able to successfully plan and pull off a surprise anniversary party at Amy and Kevin's today. It was a blast to see all of Carol and Gary's friends and our family together to celebrate two very special people. It turned out to be a perfect weather day and a fun and laughter-filled afternoon.

Here are a few snapshots from the day...

Happy Anniversary Carol and Gary!!
We love you!