Happy Father's Day!

"A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty."-Unknown
Today we honor thy fathers who truly are involved in their children's lives. They do not need to indulge their children, rather they are role models, they are ears for listening, they are extra hands for playing and smiles for giggling, they are dads....he is the father of our children!

Yesterday afternoon we spent with Grandpa Kinney, my father who came in town for a visit. He came by with Uncle Chase, Keeley and his great friend Jay. We relaxed outside as Dylan was totally content playing in his pool! It was a hot a steamy day, perfect for some water play time. It was a great afternoon spent relaxing, swimming and even a impromptu game of football!

Last night we grilled out, after the kids were in bed, and just sat and talked about life, our life and how fortunate we are to have such a beautiful family! I had picked up some yummy finds at the Farmers Market yesterday morning and we waited all day long to divulge on yummy fresh green onions, golden Yukon potatoes, Rosemary and Dill fresh baked bread and fresh guacamole also. Perfect wind down to a great Saturday afternoon.

"My father didn't tell me how to live: he lived, and let me watch him do it."-Clarence Kelland
Sunday morning came bright and early as Daddy had got called in to work :( This was so sad, but just another testimate of the hard work Daddy does on a daily basis to provide for our family. We had no idea how long Daddy would be at work so the kids and I relaxed on the couch and had a surprise visit from Grandma Martin! We visited with her a bit and then got showered and cleaned up for the day. Soon after Daddy called and he was off work just before noon, we were so excited to have a Fathers Day together after all! Daddy made a pit stop by his parents house and we decided I would surprise Dean and take the kids in for a Father's Day visit with their Grandpa! He was very happy to see the kids since he had not seen them in quite some time. We sat outside and Dylan played with his trucks and toys from Grandma and Grandpa Holub's house. Grandma Martin was there also and soon came a visit from Aunt Linda. The sun was nice and hot today, the breeze was perfect to keep us from overheating! A bit later Grandpa had Dylan on his scooter giving him rides up and down the driveway, we aren't sure who enjoyed that more Dylan or Grandpa, but it was great to see smiles on both of their faces on such a special day!

"Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a Dad."Anne Geddes We headed home for a late lunch and to give Brad our Father's Day gifts to him! Dylan was very excited to help Daddy open his gifts. First brought the card and inside a special piece of paper, 5 Golf Lessons for Daddy! This is a perfect gift for Brad as he really is starting to like the game of golf but doesn't have the best skills to make him content with playing too often. What a better way to get those skills down and him comfortable with the game, another way for Daddy to have some time with the guys! Next brought a pair of Heat Gear shorts and then I went and got the big gift. We made him close his eyes and turn towards the door as I brought in and placed in front of him.....a brand new set of Golf Clubs to go along with his lessons!!! I don't think he knew whether to smile, cry, laugh or shake his head but he was very happy to say the least! Happy Father's Day Daddy!!!

Thank you honey for being such an amazing husband and wonderful father for our children. With all of the crazy minutes each day brings, even if we don't thank you as often as we should please know that everything you do, we are truly grateful for!We can not thank you enough for working so hard to provide for our family. Each day I see you with our children, teaching them, giggling with them, playing with them, reading to them, consoling them and just being their daddy...one of the lights of their life. Thank you Brad/Daddy for being you!

Happy Fathers Day to all Grandfather's, Father's, , new Fathers and Father's to be!~

Last weekend we ventured to our friends cabin in Guttenberg for a day of fun on the water! The kids went for their first boat ride, Dylan wasn't digging it at first but once he got out of his funk for the day he turned into a good boy and really enjoyed the day! The home and yard was just beautiful up there, literally 'on' the water, the boats were beautiful too! There was live music and people galore for a annual get together put on by the Smith Family! Thank you Eddins' family for such a delightful day on the river!

Coming up soon, Danielle's 2Nd Birthday, visitor's from PA and the 4Th of July Celebration! So much to look forward to!~

Memorial Day Weekend....

Happy Memorial Day! Today we celebrate all of those who serve our country, those who have gone before us and those who continue to protect our freedom every single day. To all of those men and women **Thank You!** This weekend brought our family no real plans so we stuck close to home and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine outdoors! We busted out the kids pool and let them swim their hearts out! Since it was a bit sticky we kept Danielle inside some of the time, since her dehydration spell last weekend we wanted her pumped full of liquids and not sweating it out as fast as she was putting them in! So on Saturday her and Daddy had some afternoon TV time, as you can see she was intensely watching also!

Dylan was SO excited to go swimming, and as we started potty training this weekend (See his blog) this was one of his rewards for going continuously on the big boy potty! Mom and Dad were ready to stick our feet in and watch him have a great time!

Daddy loved showing off his skills blowing bubbles, Dylan then had his take too!

Yummy Bomb Pops! The Ice Cream truck came by and Dylan and the neighbor kids all ran to get their money and then ever so patiently waited at the curb to pick out their treat! The refreshing taste of a frozen 'ice pop' as Dylan call it, perfect for a summer treat!

We were outdoors ALL day Sunday and Monday soaking up the sun! Dylan got a nice little tan thru his sunscreen and mommy was sizzling by the time the weekend was done! Daddy, we giggled at, as he took off the socks and tried to sun tan his pale white feet and rid of that horrible sock line that everyone teases him about!! HA!!! We love you Daddy, pale white sock line or not

Monday morning we woke up and headed to the Cemetery for the Memorial Day salute. We stopped at the floral shop for a new floral display for our loved ones. The service was beginning, complete with music, prayer, taps and the gun salute. It is SO emotional pulling into the cemetery fully decorated with tons of flags for the Holiday. So many incredible friends and family of ours are laid to rest there, those whose lives fell too short. We were there to salute them. Dylan was happy to carry the flowers to his Grandparents and big brother Dalton's resting spot. We prayed, tears filled our eyes because we miss him, them, SO much, and we smiled because of the wonderful baby boy he was, our first baby, the first real living sign of our love. Knowing he is laid to rest with my Grandparents makes it a tad bit easier to visit because we know they, as well as Grandpa Holub, are protecting him and snuggling him every single day in heaven.

The cemetary is so beautiful this year. Everything is so green, fresh flowers planted and bright flower bouquets marking the spots of loved ones. It is very breathtaking every single visit there.

We ventured for some lunch and then home to more fun in the sun! We decided that we need a bigger pool, one that we can all fit in. So that list on the list of items to purchase this week and we are very excited about that! We got the kids all snug in bed and Brad and I had some time together, what a wonderful end to a great weekend.

We were very blessed with a wonderful weekend of togetherness! Family time is the best time!~

Weekend Getaway....

Last weekend we headed off for our first Summer 2010 getaway! We have had this trip planned for months and months now, a getaway with our friends the LeConte's from Wisconsin! This destination was Water park of America in Bloomington, MN, and right across the street from the Mall of America! On Thursday afternoon we packed up and headed off for the 4 hour drive, we were more than ready for a fun weekend ahead! We arrived at the Radisson hotel / Water park of America hotel and it was fabulous. Check out our awesome room! Not only did we have a King size bed but Dylan also had his own set of bunk beds too! Danielle had a little crib, we had a couch and table and even a microwave and mini fridge. We were set! The best part though was just thru the curtains out to the balcony.....which overlooked the water park. It was amazing!

The water park was all lit up at night, the room darkening curtains were perfect to block out the light and noise. But we opened up the french door and got a blast of hot air and the sights of lots of fun to be had!

Friday morning we got up and ready and headed off to the Mall of America to shop, play, eat and celebrate Allison's 2ND Birthday! This was also a birthday weekend for Allison and I, I was very excited to share a fun weekend with another little birthday girl!

As you can imagine, the kids just LOVED Lego land! There is tons of Lego's for the kids to build super fun things! The boys enjoyed building cars out of Lego's and then racing them on the track. We let the kids play, the mom's did a little shopping, all before heading off to the Rain Forest Cafe for Allison's Birthday lunch!

Danielle was such a good girl. Enjoying the ride in her stroller and shopping with mommy while the boys were playing. A girl after mommy's heart enjoying shopping time together! She of course got some adorable summer clothes to add to her wardrobe!

We had an excellent lunch, and all stuffed ourselves! Dylan of course had pizza, his top choice! The kids loved looking around listening to all of the animals. Lots of cool things for the kids at the Rain forest Cafe! And none of the kids got scared, which was a huge plus!!!

Dylan must have been a really good boy because he got a super fun strobe light glass! The kids were just mystified drinking out of these cool cups! It of course made the trip home and he still enjoys turning the strobe light on and off. What a catchy glass to keep the kids content!

After we finished our lunch the waiters came over and sang Happy Birthday to Allison! She got a very yummy hot fudge sundae and even got to blow out the candle! She was a happy little birthday girl!!

All of the kids were ready for a nap after a full morning/early afternoon at the big Mall. Time to rest up before we head to the water park! Well our kids had different agenda's on their mind, and naps were not at the top of their list! So after some quiet time it was time to get ready to head to the water park. Here is the view from our room's balcony, how neat is this?! The lazy river was calling our names!

This is also a view from our balcony, overlooking the lazy river and basketball pool area/jungle gym area and you can see the wooden stairs up to the BIG water slides!

We got our suits on and were off for an afternoon/evening of fun in the water! Even Danielle was SO excited for water park play time!

Drew, Allison, Dylan and Danielle ready to let loose!

Hurry up with the pics mom!!!

One of the best things about the water park was the temperature of the water. It was SO incredibly warm, I mean bath water warm! This was perfect especially for Danielle to help loosen up her muscles that have a tendency to get tight. The air temperature was also very warm/borderline hot even, so when you were out of the water you were not even chilled at all. Daddy took Danielle down some of the smaller water slides and she loved it! As you can see Dylan had no fear and these slides were just warming him up for the BIG slides yet to come!

These girls are only one month apart in age, and they love each other so much! Too cute!

Our water park passes were from 4-10 Friday night and 9-4 on Saturday. This was a perfect amount of time for us. After the park closed on Friday we headed up to our rooms to finish the night off with a Cookie and presents for Allison's Birthday!Happy 2ND Birthday Allison :)

The kids were pretty sleepy by this point, but this party was in full force complete with fun party favors!!!

Rock stars with their shades on!Saturday morning we were up after a full night's rest and ready for another fun filled day!

The kids sure were excited to get wet, wild and crazy!

The water park was very accommodating and even offered life jackets for the little ones. We took our own for Danielle but used the ones the park provided for Dylan. It was perfect and virtually a must for his safety.

This is Fort Snelling the kids own water park in the middle of the big water park. It was surrounded up high by a small wooden fence all the way around. The kids were virtually contained and couldn't get to the big pools, lazy river and big slides without going down steps and ramps. This was perfect for the little ones, there was 5 slides for them, I believe, plus lots of fun water toys too. There is so much this picture doesn't show, but believe me it was heaven for these little ones!!!

And THEN, there was the BIG DADDY water slide! The 'family' slide that started WAY up high, 10 stories high to be exact. I don't know how many steps it took us to get up there but all I know is that is was a LOT of them! The kids begged and begged to go again and again, it was SO much fun! Here are the daddy's and the boys arriving at the bottom of the slide.

Aren't these two little miracles the cutest boys ever! Hard to believe they only weighed 1 and 2 pounds when they were born! We are SO blessed to have met the LeConte's in the NICU in IC. These were the scariest times in each of our lives, but the good lord brought our family's together for a reason and we are so happy to have them in our lives! And look at Drew and Dylan now, two little buddies!

This life jacket for Danielle was just perfect. It supported her SO well, we were very happy we got it! She loved laying on her back in the water and kicking her legs and telling us all kinds of stories! This water was only 6 inches deep, perfect depth for her to lay on her back, bottom touching the bottom, relaxing and kicking all about!

Everyone enjoyed the lazy river! The waterfalls were almost hot with water coming out. Danielle loved it so much she nearly fell asleep on the tube with mommy.

Daddy & Dylan in the Wave Pool!

Daddy and Danielle in the little ones play area!

These are two other big tube slides. These were pretty high up but not nearly as a big of a hike as the 10 story tall slide was. Dylan and Daddy just loved this slide. After Dylan went on the big slides, these were way cooler to him than the kids ones.

During lunch/naptime on Saturday, Emily was SO kind and generous and treated me to an afternoon at the hotel Spa for my birthday. It was so relaxing and wonderful to be pampered! Thank you Emily for our perfect afternoon at the Spa, I really enjoyed it!

Saturday night after we wore ourselves out at the waterpark, we got showered up and headed back over to the Mall. The girls went over while the boys were finishing up at the waterpark and got a head start on some shopping! Allison enjoyed riding in our double stroller with Danielle. Two little beauty's!

The boys and Daddy's arrived a bit later and we hit up some rides at the kids Nickolodean play area. The Carousel is always a favorite for these kiddo's.

And the bus ride taking them high in the sky! Dylan had LOTS of gigles on this ride with Daddy.

Soon came time for our dinner at Twin City Grill. This was a very nice, quaint restaurant in the Mall. Dimly lit but still very kid friendly and a wonderful menu with lots of choices!

We ate dinner with the LeConte's and their cousin and his kids before heading back for more rides! We were bound and determined to close this place down!!!

Mommy went on the Balloon ride with Dylan. These hot air balloons spun us all around everywhere! I was able to catch us in action.

Daddy and Dylan on The Barnyard Rollercoster!

Drew and Dylan on the Blue's Clues Ride!

The funniest part was how excited the Daddy's were about the big rollercosters! This HUGE was had quite the drop off of this bit hill up, Brad just loved it. 4 times later he finally had enough, of this slide, but was ready to venture again to the others!This is hilarious! To see the look's on the faces of Brad and Tony, they were having a blast!

We finished up Saturday night riding the big Ferris Wheel. It was a perfect wind down to a fun filled day! We headed back to the hotel for a good nights rest, all in anticipation for our last fun day on Sunday! When we arrived back people were just finishing up at the water park, we caught a few people giving surfing a try on the big tidal wave. This looks like hard work!

Sunday morning we awoke, packed up and headed off to IKEA for some shopping and breakfast! What a wonderful store, it was a bit chaotic for the whole family, but I could have spent a ton more time there. They have some great deals! We stuffed some purchases in the car and headed towards home stopping at Cabela's and the Outlet's for a little more shopping! The temperature was 92 degree's, it was HOT and steamy! The girls shopped and the boys and Daddy's browsed Cabela's. We found some great deals and were just finishing up when Danielle had a bit of a spell. It was very scary, she was not oxygenating, we are thinking from maybe a bit of dehydration. Talk about making mom and dad feel horrible. We quick got her into the A/C, gave her a very diluted bottle and she got her color back and was breathing normal again. She has never done this before, and she was pretty sweaty from riding in the Baby Bjorn, we never want this to happen again. So we then headed straight for home! Our car was PACKED full to say the least, the kids were pooped and we had many many memories in our minds!

Seeing the smiles on our children's faces when we do fun family activities together is priceless! Parenthood is just so rewarding, we are very fortunate to be able to have fun getaways like this. Thank you LeConte family for planning this getaway, we can't wait to see you again this summer for another fun weekend. We have a special place in our heart for friends like you who certainly can relate to what we have been thru. We are blessed to have you in our lives!

This Memorial Day weekend we are just relaxing with the kids....and potty training. Stay tuned...