This time however, our girls were with us and we were surrounded by our family!
We head out late Thursday evening and got to the lake just before midnight. A short visit with the family, then everyone crashed because with 5 kids five and under... you know it's gonna be an early morning!
Our days were spent on the boat and in the water. We ate, then played, then ate, then cleaned up, then ate, then did a little fishing, then ate... (are you sensing a pattern here?)
It was wonderful watching the cousins play together and enjoy their time with family!
Matt and Kim, thank you, THANK YOU for the invitation and accomodations! We truly loved it!
Pile of cousins!
Ellie jumping into the pile!!
Meet BIG BUBBA!
Lila learning to trust her life jacket! Thank you Auntie Krissy!
Lila showing Elle how to fish!
My husband using his monkey toes to retrieve his watch!
~His watch got lost getting off the boat that morning, and this photo
was taken on our way back from our EVENING cruise! And to top it off...
the dang thing still works!~
We had the opportunity to spend an adults-only weekend with some dear friends at the lake.
How could we possibly say no to that?
So we said Yes! (Actually, it may have been more like HELL YES!!)
We couldn't have asked for better weather and spent the majority of our time on the water with a beverage in hand! There were brief times that we left the lake and cruised around in the woods on the Rangers, or grabbed a bite to eat, or danced like fools on the shore by the Tiki Bar!
Seriously... SO. MUCH. FUN!
Bjorn, KJ...Thank you so, SO much! And thank you to Ryan's parents for taking care of our kiddos, so we could run away and act like children ourselves!!
Mmmm.... Motorboatin'!
Here's just a few of the hundreds of photos I took this weekend.
The view to start our weekend!
Diamonds on the water
What time is it? "Just two minutes past I don't give a damn!"
I love you!
Drink in hand + camera around neck = my look for the weekend!
fun huh???!
This is just a bit of randomness from the weekend!
As we were driving around on the Rangers, one of us thought it would be a
good idea to take a picture on a hay bale.
Because, why wouldn't three professional adult married women with children
climb on a hay bale for a photo opp?!
I will not confirm or deny that we a beverage or two prior to this event (and Ryan clearly was not a big supporter of this nonsense! Haha!)
Here is our final product of all that Hay bale Madness!
These little ones have become a fixture in our daily lives.
I would like to introduce you...
Meet Lucy.
Lucy came to us last Christmas and is well loved by her mommy.
Not so much by our dogs.
She has a missing hand and foot. Her "owies" are okay now because I have the healing power of Coban!
Meet Big Baby.
Big Baby also has a missing hand.
(our dogs do NOT, I repeat... DO NOT like babies)
Meet Little Baby.
Little baby was given to Elaina by her cousin Calli for her birthday.
Little baby has managed to remain unscathed by our fierce hounds.
This is probably because she is usually in Elaina's hands.
We also have Tiny Baby, a small molded plastic Fisher Price baby that occasionally is important.
It depends on Elle's mood, but we have spent many a night searching the house for this tiny 2inch piece of plastic so that our youngest daughter can go to bed surrounded by her babies.
She loves them.
She feeds them, and dresses (or undresses) them.
They travel with us.
You can usually find one (or all of them) clutched in her arms when she sleeps.
As irritating as it is to have to wrap and rewrap, hunt high and low, and remember to
NEVER LEAVE THEM BEHIND...
They are almost as special to me as they are to her.
Yesterday we spent our day with some dear friends of ours down in Mankato!
We chatted, ate, played in the pool, the girls painted outside in their undies, and Heather and I even made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go take in a matinee show.
A little movie called "Magic Mike". Any of you heard of it?!
Plot left something to be desired, but the dancing MORE than made up for it! Ha!
It's been months since we've seen each other and the time flew by.
The end of the day came too soon and we look forward to hanging out again!
4 of the 5 girlies, playing in the pool
Sweet little Reese!
Relaxing
Ryan and Reese, checking each other out!
All the ladies in the pool!
I officially return to the working world tomorrow, and while I have thoroughly enjoyed my time off, I am very ready to be back! I'm excited and nervous, but confident and ready! A new place, a new shift (can a get a Woot Woot for day shift?!), and new people, but if I've learned anything in the last few months... it's that Change is indeed a good thing!
I am a wife and best friend to my daughters father... and mother to two little blonde girls who make my day more dynamic every day! I've discovered that life changes, whether sought out or stumbled upon, become a force in shaping who you are as a person. And I choose to believe, that although it may not seem like it at the time, all changes are for the better, if you can just find the good in life. Not often an easy task, but doable if you have the motivation. And support!
Ryan and Ana ~Married September 30, 2006 Lila Kate ~Born October 6, 2008 Elaina Grace ~Born April 21, 2010 Boone ~Born July 30th, 2006 Rio ~Born June 8th, 2007
