June 2014

Every 2-3 months we head to Wisconsin to see my parents. It really only takes about 5 hours to get there, so we love being able to see them lots. We also are so lucky to get frequent visits from them. Love it!!!! Above, Lauren walks through the Oshkosh Zoo. This is the zoo that I grew up with. It is pretty simple, and has remained much the same. It is fun to see her enjoy it as I did.

My parents have THE BEST swing in their backyard. It is attached to our huge oak tree. The swing is attached so high, that only one of my daredevil siblings, Ruth, will climb up to attach it. Thank you Ruth! Still, the neighbor kids say that it is the best swing, but they have told my parents that they need a better fort:)

This was my garden in June. It grew quickly!! My tomatoes ended up getting blight, which I fought, but it really reduced the amount of fruit. It was so fun to have a garden. I felt like I learned a lot and have plans to safeguard the plants from animals and diseases a bit better this next season. Lincoln loved tending the garden, watering it, and keeping weeds out. I feel like it really gave him ownership over something that he was excited about.

This is a picture from one side of our backyard. In April/May of 2014, we sold our white fence. It was a really nice fence that the previous owners spent a lot of money on, but it was broken in a couple of areas, and on one side wasn't installed properly. We sold it pretty quickly and Vance spent a few hours breaking his back (not really) pulling out posts with the buyer. We love having the open feel and now we and our neighbors can sled easily, without worrying about hitting the fence. It is such a park like feel, and we love it.

We were ecstatic when we heard we would be getting visitors. Besides seeing Jeremy and Janessa, Vance's sister and brother in law, who live in Minnesota, this was our first visit from the Murray side of the family since we've left Utah. It was so fun to be able to share our world with them. Vance's dad, and brothers Austin and Tanner came on a roadtrip and visited us. Above is Vance, my sweetheart, with Austin. I can't believe how much they have grown.

Above is Lauren with her cousin Preston. Usually they ignore each other, but it is super cute to watch them interact.

When ever the weather is warm, it feels like we are at the parks, or playsets, playgrounds, every day! My kids just can't get enough.

Austin, Lincoln, Lauren on my lap, Avely, and Tanner

Vance's dad got to spend some time with Lauren. Look at her pigtails!!!

We loved, and still do, the trails around our home. They are everywhere in Chaska. 

My grandpa, William Doral Kemper, got really sick in June 2014. He was ill enough that when I heard the situation, I left at 4:45 am the next morning, arriving in Oshkosh a little after 10 am (with my kids!!!) We came a week early before the Kemper reunion (which was relocated to Oshkosh instead of Maryland). But my grandpa pulled through! Here he is with Lauren and Lincoln. Lauren was less than thrilled....

I really was unsure if I'd be seeing him again. But my grandpa is such a fighter. He's in pretty good health and he is 85 now!

Out to lunch with my parents. Lincoln and Lauren absolutely adore them. Mema and Papa. Lincoln prays for them every day.

My dad walking in the hospital with Lincoln. These are actually Lincoln's pajamas and he is wearing some red sunglasses. Too cute to not photograph. My dad is definitely my hero,

Because I'm a super mom, I wasn't watching where Lincoln was. 15-20 minutes or so....and I found him like this. The caution tape started in the garage, and I found Lincoln like this.

It was wrapped around is neck more times than I could count. I felt really guilty, but at the same time it was hilarious. So of course I snapped a picture. I'm really glad he could still breath. It was pretty tight around his neck. It was a great opportunity to talk to him about safety and putting things around his neck/face.

So I need to find pictures from the amazing Kemper reunion!!! But here is Lauren with Rosalie, her cousin, on the best swing ever. They are about a year apart.

We found these boys eating their ice cream cones like this. Jared Ross, Wylie Hobbs(second cousin), and Lincoln. It was really touching to see my kids play with my cousins kids. Wylie is my cousin Phillip's oldest son. Phillip and I used to play together at family reunions. We used to hold each other tightly and roll down hills together. We were young enough (2 or 3) then that it didn't hurt and we loved it!

Lauren with her darling second cousin, Peter Anderson. (my cousin Julia Hobbs Anderson's son). This was taken in my grandparents home in Oshkosh.

May 2014 Videos

Just a couple of videos of the kids playing.

More May 2014

Miss Cheryl, Lincoln, Miss Nadi, Karen Linscott

Lincoln graduated from his "Terrific Two's" ECFE class. Karen was the parent educator. I have had her for 2.5 years in Lincoln's classes and love all that she teaches and the support she has offered. Cheryl is so sweet with the kids. Nadi is a legendary preschool teacher! Lincoln misses her so much.

Here are the kids and parents on graduation day.

Lincoln took a gymnastics class. I believe this was his second time taking the class. It hasn't been his favorite, despite the smile here. Two or three times in the six week class, he said he wasn't feeling good and wanted to leave. Oh well, I think he enjoyed it somewhat. 

Some days I get bouquets of flowers from a handsome man, my son Lincoln. Vance of course gives me bouquets as well. Love the kind gestures he shows me. I love being a mom, most of the time!

Above is a video of Lincoln during gymnastics. He is very distracted during gymnastics, but here he is having fun! We find this video hilarious, and we love it too:)

May 2014

In May of 2014, we buzzed Lincoln's hair. Well, Vance did. It was fun to do. When I went to Georgia for our nephew's baptism, Vance buzzed Lincoln's head for a fun summer cut. Lincoln loved it. We have this tradition of going to Culver's now.

This was our first camping trip of the summer season. We aren't hard core campers, so we set up the tent in our backyard. One night Vance slept with Lincoln, and the other night I did. Lincoln was in heaven!!! He loves to make it special by doing smores over the stove, and we watch a movie on the laptop  in the tent. Maybe this next summer we will do some REAL camping!

Lauren's shades we picked up. She loved them! It's nice to have kid sunglasses, especially for longer drives to WI.

We bought our home a year earlier, and this summer I wanted a vegetable garden! Vance found some great cedar wood and built this. I helped, but he did most of the work. We planted tomatoes, yellow and regular zucchini, carrots, onions, and peppers.  We loved checking on the garden each day and enjoying the fruit later in the season!

Our friends, the Cho's, invited us over for dinner. They are from South Korea. Hanho and Sungin are really fun to be with. They made such a gorgeous meal, and it tasted great too.

Lauren flew with me to Atlanta, Georgia for our nephew Sawyer's baptism. She did great on the planes. She was in heaven and loved the independence. It was nice to spend some one on one time with her on the trip.

We went hiking near my brother and sister in-law's home in Marietta. Lauren is fearless! She's tiny, but she will do things by herself. 

After Sawyer was baptized, the children at the baptism sang "I am a Child of God." It was beautiful. Lauren didn't sing, she just walked around:)

Lauren and cousin Sawyer. Sawyer is so sweet with her. Lauren was less than amused though!

We enjoyed some smores in Joe and Carrie's backyard.

Lauren and her cousin Rosalie

More April 2014

Lincoln and Lauren on Easter Sunday. Don't they look cute? Dress and dress shirt, courtesy of Grandma!

We bought some plastic cups. Lincoln opened the entire package, put many of them in a line, and filled most of them with water. Look closely. He was so proud of himself!!

So Lauren often has a problem with constipation. Too much information?  Anyway, Vance and I both gave Lauren some Miralax (laxative) at the same time of day. It was either the next morning, or that morning, that I decided to take the kids to the community center. They have lots of kids activities, but this day they both went to the day care so I could exercise alone. 

One of the workers came and got me. They usually do this if there is a #2 diaper change. However, this was a massive explosion!!! Lauren was playing in the ballpit, with LOTS of other kids, had an explosion. But they noticed after they saw the remnants all over her back, pants, balls, and on other children. Gross! Of course I didn't have extra clothes for my children. The daycare workers had to get several other parents who picked up their children, to get them changed. I was mortified!!! Lincoln was still in diapers then, and at least I had clean diapers for each of them. I took them both to the bathroom, went to grab for the wipes. NO wipes. Seriously. This was definitely the largest, grossest mess I have ever dealt with and I had no wipes. Luckily another mom came into the bathroom. I asked her for wipes. She was so sweet and got some from her van. I had to use about half of the package. 

The above picture shows how I brought the kids out of the community center and all the way home. I was mortified but knew I could laugh about it one day. It was April, so it was still chilly. I wrapped Lauren in my jacket. Lincoln would have to walk out of the building and into the car with his diaper only and shoes. I'm sure we looked crazy!!! I got a picture to remember that crazy morning. They hung out in the bath for the next hour....

Me and the kids. I need to find more pictures of Vance to post!!

Early April 2014 and Kelsey's visit

So the winter of 2013-2014 was apparently the coldest in 30 years. Our previous two Minnesota winters were not too bad, but this last winter was almost unbearable. There were 52 days that had temperatures below 0!!!! I remember Lincoln asking to go outside and play, but sometimes I had to tell him that we couldn't. We made the best of it and spent lots of time at indoor places! This church near our home always has those clever, pun filled sayings. I liked the one above. We had so much snow!!!I remember the last bit of snow didn't melt until mid April.

My sister Kelsey and her kids, Rosalie and Jared, came to visit us! We were so happy to have them here and we enjoyed showing them some fun things in the Minneapolis metro! We spent a day at the Mall of America. Lincoln, Lauren, Rosie, and Jared, above, enjoy playing with Lego's just outside the Lego store. 

Aww, the kids cuddling on the couch. Lincoln talks about his cousins a lot and says thanks for them in his prayers.

Here is our house in February or March of 2014. The snow was up to the mailbox, as you can see. We did not have a snowblower, so our piles of snow were steep and high right by the driveway. One pile was just about as tall as me, maybe taller. It was so cold, that the snow didn't melt throughout the winter. It was crazy!

Kelsey and I. Love this lady. 

Lincoln, Lauren, and Jared. Obviously, by the beginning of April, most of the snow had melted. Whew!!

March 2014, more!

Lincoln loves to write. He loves to tell you, show you, write to you all the ways he loves you. I love that he is such an affectionate little boy. I hope he is always that way.

Lincoln asked for his own umbrella, so one day we just decided to pick one up at Target. At first he wanted the green one, but once he spotted this black with multi-colored polka dot umbrella, he was sold.

Lauren here is walking on her little way to the park. We live a quarter mile away from a great park with a playground. In the summer we are there at least a couple, or maybe more times each week. We just love to get outside whenever it is not too cold.

March 2014

We made a couple of pies for Pi Day! 3.14. Vance brought a pie with the pie symbol on it to work. They ate it at 3:14 pm, naturally. I love my engineer hubby.

Lauren just looking cute on the bench from Grandma!

Lincoln is so funny. He loves routine and order. He took all the shoes that were in the closet in our mudroom, and lined them up. Impressive, huh? 

The above video is from February of 2014, we think, possibly January. This is when Lauren was walking for the first time, at least a few steps. I always get emotional inside when they first walk. It is such an exciting time in life.