Spring Lake Park Reserve

There is not much better (to me anyway) than a Minnesota Summer. One thing I love to do in the Summer is go exploring. And there are hundreds of places to explore around here. Over the Memorial Day weekend we drove just about 15 minutes away to Spring Lake Park Reserve (just on the way to Hastings.) They have a lot of little hiking trails through the woods and along the bluffs of the Mississippi. We went for a little hike along Scharr's Bluff that had beautiful views of the river.

After following a dirt trail for a long time we came across this cool stone bridge.

Views from the bluffs.


After our hike we sat down and watched the sunset. It was beautiful!



Fun day!

NO MORE DIAPERS! EVER!!

We are done! Officially done with diapers! I always dreamed of this day. And I'm so happy it is finally here. Last week I ran out of diapers and just decided I was not going to buy anymore. Summer has been potty training all week and she has done really well. Of course, there have been accidents...there always are....but she has been accident free since Aisle D4 at Target yesterday. Luckly, our super hero Nursery Leader came to the rescue. Cher just happend to walk by that said Aisle D4 while the deed was in process. She ran (literally) and found me a nice red shirted Target employed who promptly walkie-talkied some back-up. And even told me I didn't have to wait around for it to be cleaned up.

Now I just need to teach her that you don't have to run to the potty every time you have a toot. However, I still gladly took her to the toilet 5 times today at church. 3 out of the 5 were legit.

My purse is happy, my pocketbook is happy and I am happy to be in this new phase of our lives! Diaper-free!

Birthday musings

Birthday's are interesting...as a kid they are the most exciting special day of the year. My kids start anticipating and getting excited about their next birthday almost a year in advance. Then as you age and get a bit older, birthdays become just another day. Today as I woke up (nursing my pinched nerve in my back) I realized I'm now at the point where birthdays are even a little bit depressing.

Ten years ago I remember turning age 25 and being depressed because I was just half a decade away to 30. Well, here I sit today at age 35. 40 is just an arms length reach away. How can that be? How did I get that old?

So much has happend in those 10 years. 10 years ago today I didn't have any children, lived in a small apartment and was working full time.

Just one year ago Bart threw me my first surprize party. It was at Bucca's with many of my great friends. Today I celebrated by getting Bucca's take-out and eating with my family. Any day is a good day when you get to eat Bucca's chicken saltimbocca. Mmmmmmm.

I have had some other very memorable birthdays. Like this one...

This was May 20, 1995. I turned 21 in the Namibian bush. That is a loaf of bread my BYU professor is handing to me with candles stuck in it. The constant wind out there blew out my candles before I could. In the box was some assorted candies and cookies that were very delicious.

I also remember turning 10 (I think) and we had a school field-trip/picnic to Como Park on my birthday. It was a really hot sunny day and I got a really bad sun burn. My dad has a picture of me from that day in his slide collection-so I can't scan it in, but I was sitting on our couch with my great-aunt and uncle, Pauline and Charles Harrington, and my face was bright, bright red. I remember that birthday very clearly. It was a fun birthday aside from the burn.

I could think of more but I'm sure my musings are not that interesting to that many people. They were just a few of my random thoughts I had throughout this day.

And THANKS to everyone at the park today for the song, and the cupcakes and THANKS to all that called or facebooked me birthday wishes today!

Backyard nuisance

Not when you eat through my brand new basement screen.

Painted!

Finally our house has been painted. I was getting tired of everyone thinking our house was blah color. You can't move in to Cobblestone and have a blah colored house. So here it is....

What do you think? We've had a lot of good feedback from the neighbors. We also just got our drive way today and we can't drive on it for a WEEK! Now we just need landscaping, grass, sprinkler system and patio then we are FINALLY DONE and we can enjoy it all!

Grandma & Grandpa Davis

Bart's parents came out to visit us last week. They came for Ainsley's baptism and had the honor of being our 1st house guests in our new house. Here are a few fun pictures from their visit.

At Underwater Adventure, underneath the Mall of America.

I love this picture because of the shark swimming overhead and everyone's reflections in the window.

After Underwater Adventure we ate at the Rainforest Cafe (also at The Mall---seriously what isn't there to do there?)

At our magnificent Minnehaha Falls. I know its no Niagara but considering it's just coming from a creek I'd say it's not all that bad!

We had a fun time with Dennis and Sue. We love you! Thanks for coming and come again soon!

More house pictures...this time with furniture!

Some of you have been asking to see house pictures now that we are in it. Well, I finally feel like I can show you a couple of the rooms. They are clean and mostly decorated although we still need to find something for over the fireplace.Front room/Living room

The Family room.

The girls' room.

Summer's corner of the room.

The girls' are doing great in their big room over the garage. Bedtime has been no problem, they don't want to be separated and sleep alone. I was really worried my plan of all 3 girls in the same room wasn't going to work but it is working! They love it and I love it!

Ainsley's Baptism Day

Saturday, May 2nd. Ainsley dressed in white.
The happy family.

I love this picture of Ainsley and Grandpa Peterson.

Grandma and Grandpa Davis came from Utah for this special day.

Bart performed the baptism.

Ainsley glowing afterward.

It was a perfect day!

Packing up

Do you see the stow-away?
Look closer....

I didn't even realize there was an empty box back there until I found Summer playing in it.

Our new HOME!

I'll post some pictures later but just to let everyone know (although most of you know anyway) that we are happily settled in to our new house. Now, that we have all our things in it, it definately feels like a home now instead of just a house.

Last Sunday as we were getting ready for church Kenzie said, "I feel like we are at our old house."

Me: "What do you mean by that?"

Kenz: "It just feels like home."

I love that.

And I'm so happy the kids have all adjusted so nicely to our new HOME!

Full of Memories

Here is a conversation Bart had with Kenzie the day we moved all our stuff out of the house.

Bart: The house is all empty now.

Kenz: But, it's full of memories and if you close your eyes you can see them all.

Pretty deep for a 6 year old.

Happy Birthday Ainsley!

Wow! Ainsley turned 8 years old on April 14th. I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast. We had cupcakes on her birthday then the next evening we went with 2 of her best friends to Red Robin. Here's Ainsley as a baby and then some pictures from her birthday celebrations.

Happy Easter!

The farm at the zoo

I'm not sure how many zoos across America have a farm at them but our good ol' MN Zoo does. Every Spring they showcase all the baby farm animals. The whole family went today to check them out. Here are a few fun pictures from the day. I always knew Ainsley was a good egg.

"BAAAUUCCKKK!!"

Wilbur?

Kind of blurry, but these cute little goats were only 3 days old.

Ainsley said this chicken looked like he was wearing pants.

We always love seeing the draft horses. There are 3 of them and luckily enough one of them came right up to us.
Ainsley is really into horses right now.
If you look closely you can see this horse was trying to eat Summer's shoe! The horse then licked her pants and Summer said it was giving her kisses.

And there they are...our 3 little expert farmers!

Family room is done.

They finally finished the hearth the way it was supposed to look. Here is the finished project and a few other random pictures.Up the stairs
Master bedroom

P.S. This is my 100th post!

Yay! More house pictures!

We got carpet last weekend and they've installed all the knobs and pulls on the cabinetry. Now they are just doing final touches and cleaning up for us!! Here are some of the latest pictures.

Master bath above, kid's bath below.

Main floor bath above, upstairs laundry below.

Front room above, Kitchen below.

Once we get the hearth fixed I'll post a picture of the Family room.