*Wedding reception. The girls danced their little butts off at our friends Josh and Karissa's wedding reception in May.
*Lara's recital in June. It was the cutest thing EVER! Can't wait for dance to start up again next week! The recital made it worth trying to keep Ayla under control in a little room filled with people EVERY Tuesday for 9 months!
*Birthday parties. We've had a few to go to this summer, and had lots of fun helping friends celebrate!
*St. Croix County Fair. My parents came down and we all headed to Glenwood City to spend the day at the fair. There weren't too many rides for Lara to go on, but we had fun with the animals, the food, the exhibits, and the dancers.
*Circus. I took the kids, along with my friend Kate and her son Jasper to a circus in Glenwood City. Needless to say, it was the lamest circus ever, but the girls and I got to ride on an elephant, so it was worth it. : )
*Camping! I took Lara on her first camping trip with Jen, Bryan, Preston, Peyton, and Parker. And of course Bella and Bentley. We had a great time, Lara loved it, and we can't wait to do it again next year!
*Galena, Illinois. My mom, the girls, and I rented a house for a couple nights with my mom's 3 sisters, their kids, and grandkids in Galena in August. We had a great time shopping, eating, and hanging out with family that I usually only get to see about once a year.
*Siren. We've gone up to Siren TONS, done lots of 4 wheeling, bonfires, games, and going to the beach! Lara has been up there on her own a few times too, which has been a nice little break for me.
*10 year class reunion. I brought the kids to the park part of it during the day, then they went to play at their friend Logan's house the rest of the afternoon/night while we continued reunion festivities at the Eagle's Club. It was so good to see old friends and catch up!
*The Great Minnesota Get Together! My parents came down again and we all piled in the van and went to the MN State Fair last week. We had perfect weather, the kids both went on TONS of rides, and I went on a few with them, they got to be little farm hands, see baby animals, Lara went in the butterfly garden again, and we ate some good food!
Here are some fun things I've been able to do this summer when I haven't had the kids, while they were either in Siren, or with their dad for the weekend (or had a babysitter)......
*Small town celebrations. I was able to go have some fun in Baldwin for Junebug Days, River Falls Days in July, and Hammond Heartland Days in August. I love living by lots of small towns that have their own weekends of celebration each summer.
*Country Splash! That was a FUN 3 days of music in Somerset! I got to see Kenny Chesney and Rascal Flatts, 2 of my favorites, along with many other good country artists. My friend April, my cousin Melissa, and I went together, and we had a lot of fun and can't wait to go next year!
*MN Zoo. My cousin Boo, her friend Shannon, and I went to the MN Zoo together. We were the only group of adults there with no children, and also the only one's that bought these crazy little animal hats, and wore them all day.
*Valleyfair. Boo, Shannon, my friend Ben, and I went to Valleyfair in July. I hadn't been there in a couple years, and it was a lot of fun. The rides aren't as wild to me as they were when I was younger, but it's still a good time!
*Apple River. I floated down the Apple a couple times this summer with cousins and friends, and hope to do it a lot more next summer, and also take Lara with. I think she would love it!
*Twins game. Reid and I went to a Twins game in August. It wasn't the most exciting game, they lost and we didn't have the best seats, but it's their last season playing in the Metrodome, so it was something to do. It will be fun to go to some games next year when they play outside!
*DIVORCE. The divorce was FINALLY final on August 26th, and it feels so good to be free from everything and know that I can move on with my life!
Here are a couple random pictures. Like I said, I'll go through all of my pictures from the summer and pick out a few maybe later this week.
Peyton and Lara on our camping trip. Such a cute couple!
This was on the elephant at the circus.
