Relaxing Sunday at the Minnesota Zoo

We got back late on Saturday night from our adventures in Baraga and came back to the cities. We woke up Sunday well rested and ready to spend a relaxing day with the family before getting on our plane that night. We decided to go to the zoo and spend the day. What a beautiful day it was and we really enjoyed it. We had not been to the Minnesota Zoo since Jyllian was 10 months old and she was sooo very sick while we were there that it was not that enjoyable. So we had a much nicer time this time around. We got some really cute pictures of the kids and our family and of course the animals. Jyllian enjoyed getting to be with Ben (my cousin Maggie's little boy who turns 3 in a week!). There were too cute together. A wonderful way to end a stressful week! Enjoy the pictures :)

Fun Was Had By All....

Part two of Grandpa's funeral was traveling up to Baraga Michigan which is in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. My dad lives in Ironwood Michigan which is on the way up to Baraga so we were able to stop on Thursday and spend the night. Although it was a short visit we did enjoy getting to see him and spend time with him. I guess we take what we can get and be happy with it right!?!?! Thursday night we arrived to dinner ready for us--we ate a delicous meal and I was surprised by a birthday cake! It was very tasty as well. After we ate and visited for awhile we left and went to where we would be sleeping--a wonderful house on Lake Superior. Friday morning we woke up and went back to Dad's for some breakfast before heading to the lake to skip some rocks (an all time favorite among us all), take some pictures and enjoy the scenery before getting back in the car to finish off the trip. I was happy to be able to get some pictures of dad with the kids. Jyllian enjoyed getting to see her pappy again--2 times in one year! That hasn't happened in a long time. So it was good.....

Leaving On A Jet Plane

In past 5 years we have traveled to Minnesota 6 times and our family there has been out here to visit us 1 time. We had said we would not be coming to visit until someone came out here to visit us--well due to grandpa passing away we had to make an exception and we traveled to Minnesota--but thats it from now on until they come out here we are not going back :) Mom and Shane flew out on Monday morning as they had the entire week off, I was only able to get three days off so we were not able to fly until Wednesday. It was a pretty hectic day-we landed got to get changed and then off to the funeral home for part 1 of Grandpa's funeral; but it was still nice to be able to see everyone. It was the first time in a long time that we were all together--aunts, uncles, cousins (with the exception of one). I wish we could have gotten some pictures of us all, but we didn't.

Jyllian and Cohl both did awesome on the plane out to Minnesota. Cohl slept from right after we took off until just before we landed. Although my arm was completely numb for about an hour after we landed it was so worth it :) Jyllian got to sit in her own seat next to her dad and she was soooo excited. We had not flown since she was just over a year old so that was fun. She got the window seat and loved getting to look out. The plane trip back wasn't as pleasant, but still we made it safely and that is what matters after all!

I took a couple of pictures on the plane....

In Memory of Grandpa

My grandpa passed away today. We are all knew it was coming, but it does not make it any easier to deal with. There are a lot of great memories we have, and many of them are from recently. I am so thankful that we were able to spend as much time with him as we did in the past few years. He really got to know Jyllian and she just adored him! I hate that he was not able to officially meet Cohl, but he was able to "meet" him with lots of pictures. I am thankful that I am able to remember him when he was out here spending time with us....his smile on his face when we walked through the door, his simple "Hell-o, How-r-u?" just thinking of it brings a smile to my face...taking him up in the mountains and him being amazed that people live that far away from town...Thanksgiving and an early Christmas..going on a Christmas tree hunt to find the perfect tree...Jyllian's birthday party and father's day...taking him to watch the Casper Rockies. I will cherish these memories along with every other memory I have of him while growing up. He was a good man and he will be missed! I love you Grandpa and miss you much...

Grass is growing...

So we finally got our front yard seeded. Yay! We threw around the idea of having sod put in, but decided to seed it and see how good it takes and then if it didn't take we could sod it in the spring. So we were pleasantly surprised to see how well it came up. We are excited to have grass instead of dirt--and know come winter this will be much nicer to have rather than the mud. Now we just have to get the backyard done----probably won't happen until spring! Oh well.So as you can see from the pictures--we have a front lawn :)