Summer Reading

Now that summer is in full swing, I am trying to keep the kids on somewhat of a routine We go somewhere every morning, then while the babies nap the boys do some reading and workbooks to keep up with school over the summer. This morning we went to the Library with Melissa, Avery, and Luke and they got all signed up for the summer reading program. After checking out some books we headed to the park right next to the library. There are fountains and also a river they can play in. All the kids had a lot of fun. At one point I couldn't find Livi. She was in the stream with the rest of them, but then she wasn't there and no one knew where she went. I found her in some strangers arms! I guess a group of moms thought she was lost so they were carrying her around trying to find me. I was surprised Olivia let them pick her up and take her, but I wasn't surprised she wouldn't talk to them to tell them I was just a few feet away. A little scary for sure, but glad she was ok. Its hard to because I tell the kids if they are lost to find another mom, but in this case she wasn't lost! It was nice to get to catch up with Melissa and the kids and worn out by the time we get home. Hopefully I can keep this routine up!

Last Day of School

The boys had their last day of school! I think they are excited about summer, but I also think they will miss school and seeing their friends every day. Tyler got to wear pajamas and watch a movie and Carter had an end of the year picnic. Justin, Nolan, Olivia, and I all went to the picnic. Carter was excited to introduce his siblings to his friends. All the first graders also sang everyone a song about going onto 2nd grade. After a bit Carter was ready to go play with his friends on the playground, so we left. We also got to see Tyler for a bit. After school I surprised the boys with a water fight. I picked them up instead of having them ride the bus and when we pulled in, the water guns were ready. They all thought that was pretty fun. We went to Tyler's baseball practice and then came home and played outside some more. We finished up our summer is here celebration by having family game night. Here is to a great summer!

Art Show

The night before we went to South Dakota we went to the boys school to see their artwork in the school art show. They usually do this during field day the next day, but since we would be gone we went the night before. They also had cookies and juice for everyone. Tyler proudly showed us his art work. Carter was upset that he didn't get to have more than one cookie, so he didn't want to show us his. We then had fun seeing all the other artwork and what kid of art the kids would get to do in the coming years. We have been really happy with the art program at their school. Their teacher does a great job!

South Dakota Day 4

On Monday morning we woke up,  and went to the Jewel Caves. The kids thought it was a lot of fun going down and looking at the caves, although they did not like the rule they were not allowed to touch anything. The tour guide was great though and Griffin, Tyler, Carter, Noah, and Nolan all took turns leading the group. Nolan even got to hold her flashlight.  Olivia was tired so Justin held here where she fell asleep during the majority of the tour. After that we went back to the house to get everything packed up and cleaned and then we said good bye and hit the road. the kids did a great job once again and we had a really smooth trip without any traffic. We came home were the kids jumped on the tramp some before going to bed (they still had school to go to). It was a wonderful trip and so great to see everyone. It will be fun to do it again in January!

South Dakota Day 3

After a late night we slept in some and then headed out to Bear Country Its a drive through wildlife park that has a on of black bears, wolves, mountain lions, bison, etc. It was such a fun time. The kids loved spotting all the different animals and it was great to see all the bears. The would walk right in front of the cars. We also saw some bears swimming and quite a few of them scratching their backs on logs. After the drive we got out and looked at some of the smaller animals like badgers and foxes and we also got to see some black bear cubs. Very cute. After that we headed to the KOA were Nana and Bapa were staying where everyone else was and all the Minnesota family were hanging out. We grabbed lunch and it started pouring. The kids had a blast running around the gazebo and it was fun getting to catch up some more. We had planned then to go to Mt Rushmore, but with the rain and Boyd and Sharalee had come car trouble we just headed back to the house were the kids hung out and watched a movie. It was very nice to have some down time. That night we had a yummy dinner from Dana and then just hung out and talked. We also started packing up as we would head home the next day.

South Dakota Day 2

After a good night's sleep we all woke up. We took turn with all the meals so Justin made pancakes and sausage for everyone for breakfast. The all of us, minus Bapa headed into Custer to go on a hike. The kids had a lot of fun climbing on all the rocks. Justin carried Olivia most of the way, but Nolan did great hiking the entire time. After a fun hike we headed back to the house to start getting ready for the wedding. However our battery had died so we found an auto shop and bought a new one. Once we finally made it home Lee, Alex, and Andy had also made it to the house from Chicago. We all got ready and headed off. It started raining, so the wedding was moved inside. Cassie did a great job, it was beautiful and she had so much stuff for the kids. Each kid had a bag with playdoh and crayons and a sheet for them to do, and then she also had a artist to that drew pictures of the kids and a special buffet line just of kids food for them. So great! The kids did pretty well during the wedding. They played outside a lot, and got in trouble by the park ranger for climbing on rocks. Olivia, Nolan, and Tyler had a blast dancing, Tyler is the most reserved on the dance floor. Carter had fun watching the artist draw. We couldn't leave until Olivia got in one dance with her daddy, but then we headed home (t was almost 10 and the wedding started at 4:30!). We also had a lot of fun catching up with Justin's cousins and family from Minnesota. A beautiful day for sure!

South Dakota Day 1

We headed off early Friday morning to go to South Dakota to celebrate Justin's cousin Cassie getting married. All the Pedersons were going to stay in one big house together so that all the cousins could hang out and play. The kids did great in the car on the way there, watching movies on their kindles, and coloring in their coloring books. We did stop on the side of the road once for Olivia to go potty. Good thing we brought hers along! We stopped in Wyoming where Boyd and Sharalee and their kids had stopped for the night and all the kids got to play on the hotel's playground and Tyler had fun shooting hoops on the basketball court. After that we headed to the house. The house was great and all the boys were excited for the bunk house that they got to sleep in. Nana, Bapa, Dana and Zach also arrived pretty quickly after us so we hung out and enjoyed the property. Tyer played a lot of catch and Noah and Carter played together a lot. That evening we had a fun night of roasting marshmallows. It was a very fun night.