Minnesota State Fair

Finally, We made it to the Big Minnesota Get Together, otherwise known as the Minnesota State Fair! It has been 4 years since Mike and I have been there. We had a really great time too. It was just Mike, Adriauna and myself that went this year. We figured it was too crowded to bring the little ones and it was a good time to have some quality time with Adriauna as well.

On the bus ride there

Mike's "Papa Pup" (foot long prono pup) Yummy!

Adriauna waited patiently for us to find the big pickle on a stick

Deep fried gourmet pickles (another one Adriauna and I were looking forward to)

Just the three of us!.........what a good time!

Oh yeah baby! Can't go to the fair without bringing home a bucket of Sweet Martha Cookies.

Mike and I on the way out of the fair

Adriauna and I making funny faces on the ride home

Brooke at 11 months

No Way! How is it that Brooke is 11 months old already? Where does the time go? I can't believe that next month my newborn will be 1 year old! Brooke is such an amazing baby. With every passing day, it seems like she is changing right before our eyes. She is pulling herself up on furniture and even letting go and standing unassisted for a few seconds......not walking yet and that is okay with me. She crawls around and gets into enough already. She loves to pull books off the bookshelves in her and Kami's room and in Ethan's room as well. She loves being read to and turning pages in the books. She loves to play with anything that is not a toy. Some of her favorites are the artificial tree in the living room, whatever she can get out of the kitchen cabinets,cell phones, any tiny bits on the floor that the vacuum cleaning can't seem to get and she loves to play with the hair brush. She actually likes to brush her hair. What can I say, it is adorable. Meal times are very entertaining in our home. Brooke is very serious about her food and I think it is pretty safe to say that she adores food. I don't know how she manages it but she never stops making noise while she eats. She is constantly babbling. I guess her name suits her well. She is our little babbling Brooke!

Brooke all ready for church

Brooke loves corn on the cob

Como Zoo

The kids and I ventured out to the Como Zoo on a gorgeous day! It is not very often that I go somewhere like this with the kids and without Mike but I was determined to go to the zoo. It turned out to be a fantastic day. The kids were absolutely wonderful and it was not too hot or too cold outside. We loved the new exhibit with the polar bears. I could not believe how big they were. We caught the tigers when they were not sleeping like they usually are when we go. We even saw one playing with a plastic swimming pool. It was quite exciting to see such a big cat gnawing on it like it was nothing. It goes to show how big and strong they are. Brooke was so cute watching and pointing at the tiger saying"Wow!" Another animal we always enjoy looking at was the gorillas. It is fun to see them sprawled out on the rope hammocks chewing on fruit that they were gripping in their enormous hands. We had a lovely picnic lunch together where Ethan was feeding these cute little birds that were in a tree next to our picnic table. Finally, we headed to the butterfly garden where tons of colorful butterflies surrounded us in a garden of beautiful flowers. We were not lucky enough to have one land on us but we really enjoyed watching them land on other people. I am hoping to go to the zoo again before the summer is over! Hopefully next time we go, Mike will be with us. We had a blast!

The kids in front of the zoo. The sun was really bright so Ethan made sunglasses hands.

Here we are in waiting to see Sparky and his friend Misty the seal.

Brooke enjoying some of her lunch.

Ethan and Adriauna posing in front of the tree where they were feeding the birds

My little goof balls love each other so much!

Brooke and Adriauna before we entered the polar bear exhibit.

Three in a stroller.

Willow Tree

We had a bad storm hit us recently which split one of the branches on our weeping willow tree in our back yard. Since there was some risk in it breaking off completely and possibly hurting someone, we decided to cut down the branch all together. The branch did not seem as big as it actually was until it hit the ground. We were really happy that my dad came over with his chain saw to help cut the branch up. Kamryn and Ethan had a lot of fun watching the branch come down and playing in the mess.

Beach 2010

We enjoyed an evening at the Elm Creek beach. The kids splashed in the water and played in the sand. Brooke thought it was a good idea to try a few handfuls of sand but it did not take long for her to discover how horrible it was. She also tried to eat one of our buckets. It was in the mid 90's that evening so the water was perfect for swimming!

Brooke splashing in the water

Ethan and Kamryn playing with a watering can under the water

Brooke biting the bucket

Kamryn and Brooke playing with the watering can

Ethan's Birthday!

Happy 4th Birthday Ethan! It is hard to believe how fast 4 years goes by. My sweet baby boy is now a sweet little boy. Ethan was all smiles on his birthday. He picked out cupcakes for his birthday dessert and as you can see he is really happy with his choice! We had been looking around for a good deal on a bike and found a really nice one at ToysRus! Ethan was really excited to help Daddy put it together and try it out. We barely made it down the street and back before it started to rain. Ethan did a really good job and got the hang of it right away. He was a really happy boy on his birthday!

Ethan smiles as we sing" Happy Birthday"

Ethan on his new bike going for his first ride!

Kamryns Birthday!

Time sure flies by.....Kamryn is now 3 years old. Her and Ethan got to decorate her cake with sprinkles. Since we did a combined birthday party for Ethan and Kamryn, we decided to just keep her actual birthday simple with just our little family but Ethan and Kamryn insisted that we had to invite someone over for dinner. They chose Grandpa and Grandma Olson. It was a great day!

Kamryn with her decorated cake!

Kamryn and her Kai-lan mega blocks toy!