The Best is Ours

Eli, Cara, Brady, and Allie have the best daddy in the world.

There is no one better to take them by the hand and lead them through life.

Happy Father's Day Matt. We all love you so much.

Minnesota

Already the middle of June! Since I’ve last stopped in to blog  (can’t believe it has been a few weeks!) we had our 3rd annual yard sale. It is an enormous amount of work, but very worth it in the end! We were blessed with one great day of sunshine for the sale and the second day was an exciting mix of rain, thunder, and lightning! It feels so good to earn some money and get rid of things!

Then just 5 days after the sale, Cara and I headed out to Minnesota for a long weekend with my sister and her family. They have a new home on a lake and we got to see everything for the first time. I am so glad that I decided to take one of the kids with me (and thanks to my sister and her hubby for Cara’s plane ticket!) I rarely get quality one on one time with any of the kids, other than doctor’s appointments. Cara did a great job traveling and enjoyed every minute of being doted on by my nephews!

Despite the fact that we packed a lot of fun into the 5 days we were there, I had a lot of mental down time. I wasn’t constantly attending to the needs of small people, preparing meals, cleaning up meals, doing laundry, or disciplining! It was a very nice change of pace.

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Cara and my sister Melissa (Auntie Lissa)

My nephews Evan and Ryan with Cara at Battle Lake. They fought over who got to hold her hand, sit by her, and buckle her in her car seat!

Uncle Jerry farms 1,500 acres in Western Minnesota and has some pretty cool machinery. Cara and I became acquainted with our first John Deere combine.

Tell me this picture isn’t hilarious?!?! If you know me at all, you know that I’m not known for being an “outdoor girl!”

Uncle Jerry took Cara and Ryan for a 45 minute ride out to the farm in the combine! I hear that Cara colored in her princess coloring book for most of the ride.

My sister has a beautiful home that sits on the highest point around Ten Mile Lake. To get to the water, you have to walk down 50 steps to their dock. I think I may have been lamenting about the walk back up the steps in this picture!

We had lots of fun fishing for bass and sunnies from the boat. We didn’t actually catch any because we weren’t the best at staying quiet. Cara, Auntie Lissa, and I did not care much for the leeches that were used as bait…ugh.

Ryan and Uncle Jerry did catch a few fish early one morning and had to bring Cara outside to show them off.

I have so many special memories from our trip. I am hoping to maybe bring the boys in the next year or so and hopefully our whole family someday! Although we joked that Uncle Jerry will need to buy a party boat if we all come