Playing in Rochester

On our second day in Minnesota, we picked up a bicycle for Chloe at Play It Again Sports for twenty bucks.  It didn't have any training wheels and she was all over (FINALLY!) learning how to ride a bike.  There was no holding the seat or running along behind her this time around, she got the hang of it immediately and was off and biking like a pro!  

But first, she had to stop and blow some dandelions.  :)

When she tired of biking around the school parking lot while the boys were playing catch with the football, Chloe headed to the playground and climbed to the highest point.

I think she even roared.

The little monkey wasn't done climbing and was thrilled the trees were perfect for climbing.

The boy had to get into it, too.  So then we had two monkeys up in trees.

Driving to Minnesota - Day 2

Day two started before 9am with an attempted photo op with a mascot, but got on the road quickly when we realized there would be little cooperation from the two subjects.

We saw more farms.

Since we got so far on Day 1, we made it into Rochester before lunchtime.  The kids were restless after sitting for so long for a day and a half, so we took them to the House of Bounce.

The kids were running from one bouncy to the next.

They both made it to the other end of Jacob's Ladder without falling this time.  In years past, this was a more difficult task.

And they liked the gigantic slide where they came out of a mouth.

They came down FAST!

Then they found a hideaway underneath a jumpy.

Owen hit the jackpot on one of the arcade games and got over 100 tickets.

He was pretty excited!

Driving to Minnesota - Day 1

We started the day early, leaving the house before 8am.  We came prepared with music and headphones.

We saw many lakes.  This one is Lake Nickajack in Tennessee.

And many cool bridges.

Spinning tires.

And cool horses going for a ride.

We saw farmland.

And the Gateway to the Midwest.

Not long after passing this bridge, we drove across it in the opposite direction when we realized we made a wrong turn (someone was not holding up her navigational duties....sorry, honeys!).

Loved this cool blue bridge!

We also saw plenty of wildflowers.

Can you hear me now?

A big rainstorm welcomed us through Iowa before we called it a day and found a hotel room in Iowa City for the night.

Kelley's Photography

Kelley worked out a deal with a local daycare to photograph some of the kids to help promote her new business.  Here are some of her favorites.  All of these but two ended up being blown up into 2x3' wall clings to hang inside the daycare.

New Belts!

Owen got his second camouflage belt during this ceremony AND the Top Gun patch for outstanding test performance when compared to his peers.

Chloe moved up from yellow to her first camou belt.

Always exciting getting new belts and moving up in rank!

Ice Cream Afternoon

We went out for a dollar movie (Megamind) with Martin and Luke before having lunch at Dagwood's (pizza). 

Afterwards, we walked over to Publix and bought some sugar free ice cream.

Life is good when you can share ice cream with friends!

Lazy Summer Mornings

Find the kids snuggled up under blankets and watching cartoons.

Owensk Under Attack

The Grandmas were over for dinner this evening.  One little Owen boy got caught and tickled and had his little face smushed.

I think she might have loved him and kissed him and called him George.