Extra kids & plenty to do!

BABYSITTING

DJ & Deena went out of town last weekend & we had the privilege of watching the boys. Friday night was a rough night for Cohen & I. He woke up around 3:00 & was disoriented about where he was & who I was. I tried to give him a bottle but that didn't work, so I tried to rock him. He was content to rock & smile at me but wasn't about to fall asleep. (Lil' stinker!) After an hour of rocking, I brought him into bed with me. He smiled & played for another half an hour (woke Jamey up in the process - whoops!) then FINALLY gave in & went back to sleep. Gosh, I don't miss getting up in the middle of the night AT ALL!!! The rest of the weekend was great! We thoroughly enjoyed spoiling the boys & was sad to see 'em go! Speaking of spoiling the boys... When DJ asked Collin if he was going to behave for me he said, "Yeah, I'm always good at Kelly's 'cause I get to do whatever I want when I'm there anyways." Whoops, my bad! ;) I've always had a soft spot for my nieces & nephews but have a slightly softer spot for Collin considering I watched him (daycare) for the 1st 2 years of his life.

I don't know if DJ & Deena usually let Cohen feed himself but we did. McKenzie & Lauryn thought it was the funniest thing ever! He of course made a HUGE mess but the end result was the same - a full tummy.



FARMING - Part 1

When DJ & Deena asked if we wanted to the take the boys for the weekend, I didn't know I was going to be on my own. Not that it would've mattered, I would've taken them one way or the other. But I'll admit, there was a few times I could have used Jamey's help & wished he was there. For the most part, Kenzie & Lauryn stepped up the plate & helped when necessary. Anyway... Jamey spent most of the weekend at a friend's milking his cows. I know what you're thinking, "Jamey? Milk cows? What?!" My thoughts exactly! Davey Gardiner & his father, Wally have a farm just outside of Cannon Falls. Davey asked Jamey if he'd fill in for him for the weekend & much to my surprise, Jamey said yes.
Here a pictures of my honey playing farmer. He looks so darn cute walkin' around in cow manure. ;)


Wally doesn't have any grandchildren to spoil but enjoys spoiling other's & asked if I'd bring McKenzie & Lauryn out while Jamey milked on Saturday evening. Lucky for Wally, not only did I bring McKenzie & Lauryn I also brought his lil' buddies, Collin & Cohen. Collin's been to Wally's with DJ several times & recognized the farm as soon as we got there. It was really cute, as soon as I pulled in the driveway Collin said, "Hey! I've been here before! This is Wally's place. Wally's my favorite friend!" Who knew Collin would be hangin' with 74 year old men, lol!

Check out Collin's farm boots. They're cows! They have little tails that hangs off the back. Deena forgot to pack Collin's boots so we HAD TO swing by DJ & Deena's to pick them up before we went to Wally's.

Wally took the kids on a Gator ride to see the baby calves. Cohen loved being on the Gator, moving or not. As soon as I set him on it, he grabbed the wheel & started making motor sounds with his mouth, lol! I offered the girls' Barbie Jeep to DJ & Deena but DJ doesn't want his boys driving around in a pink Jeep. Maybe after DJ sees how much Cohen enjoyed the Gator, he'll reconsider.


Below are pictures of the kids feeding a baby calf. Collin thought it was incredibly funny & giggled the entire time. McKenzie thought it was fun & Lauryn thought it was disgusting how much the cow slobbered all over.



One of the newborn calves at Wally's is Jim Lockhart's. Wally told the girls they could name the newborn calf but that her name had to start with a "D" (not sure why). When the girls were deciding on a name, one of the names they discussed was Deena. I told them I didn't think their auntie Deena would appreciate the fact that they named a cow after her (lol!), so they named her Diamond instead.

FARMING - Part 2...

On Sunday morning, I packed the kids up & drove to my dad's land where we picked potatoes. Sound like fun? I was surprised to see just how much the kids enjoyed digging potatoes. Aside from potato pickin' being cheap entertainment, we have enough potatoes to last us a all winter! Here's a few pictures of the kids with Grandpa pickin' potatoes.



I brought Cohen to the edge of the field in the stroller. He was pretty content to check out his surroundings, although I have NO idea what he's looking at here, lol!

More birthday fun!

Last weekend was dedicated to birthday parties & family. Saturday afternoon was Lauryn's "friends" birthday party. (see previous post) This year was the 1st year we allowed Lauryn to have a birthday party with her friends. She's deprived, I know. ;) There was a dozen kids & a few adults at the party. My friend Tammy pointed out that Jamey & I seemed a little stressed. We kind of were. We just wanted everyone to have fun & didn't want anyone to get hurt. Everyone left happy & in one piece, so I guess we stressed for nothing.

After Lauryn's party we went to DJ & Deena's for Cohen's birthday party. As always, DJ & Deena provided lots of food, drinks & fun! Check out the pictures posted on DJ & Deena's blog of Cohen eating his 1st birthday cake. They're HILARIOUS!

On Sunday, my sisters & their families (minus Bridget) went with us to the Dakota County Fair. 7 years ago, Jill took me to the Dakota County Fair to help induce labor with Lauryn & it worked! Every year since Lauryn's been born, we've gone back to the fair to celebrate her birthday. I don't have any cute pictures of McKenzie or Lauryn on the rides because they ride the adult rides now & they're much too fast to take pictures of. I do however have a picture of Jamey on the big slide with Collin. Doesn't he look cute?! Collin, not Jamey. ;)


After the fair, we went to Jim & Kandi's to continue Lauryn's birthday celebration in the pool. Seriously, that's ALL we do these days...go swimming! After the cake-n-ice cream was gone & the presents were opened, my family & I went to the races to cheer on my brother-in-law Mike. Mike's improved tremendously since the 4th of July but spun out a couple of times causing him to place towards the end. Oh well, it was still a lot of fun to watch. Can't wait for the next race!

Here's a picture of Lauryn & Collin watching the races. They looked so cute laying there together, I just had to take a picture.

During the races, Cohen kept pointing & saying, "What's that?" over & over. (at least that's what it sounded like) Yes, Cohen has a beer in his hands. He's teething so anything & everything goes into his mouth & the cold can feels good on his gums.

Here they come! Mike's in 2nd or 3rd place at this point, but spun out shortly after causing him to finish 2nd from last. Better luck next time Mike!

After the races were over, Mike took Cohen down on the track to sit in the car. Cohen loved it!

Lauryn's Birthday

Jamey's parents put in a hot tub last fall & an underground pool this spring. Needless to say, Jim & Kandi's pool is McKenzie & Lauryn's new favorite place to be. When I told Lauryn she could have a friends birthday party, it was no surprise that Lauryn wanted to have a pool party. I was amazed at how well all of the kids swam. They were diving & flipping off the diving board like they were born to swim. It was a LOT of fun for everyone!!!

For the past few years, Lauryn hasn't wanted a birthday cake (she'd rather I make brownies) but figured she should have cake & ice cream for her friends. When Jamey, McKenzie & I went to pick up the cake (Lauryn wanted it to be a surprise), McKenzie & I argued over which cake to get. I wanted a flower cake & McKenzie wanted a cake that looked like a giant hamburger. I think McKenzie chose the hamburger cake just to torment Lauryn, lol! As you can see by the pictures below, I won the argument. ;)


Lauryn & a few of her classmates, Mackenna Otte, Madelyn Dibble & Julia Thompson

Abby Meyers, Belle Freeberg & Lauryn

Jack Freeberg & my nephew Devon (in the hot tub)

Abby Meyers & my niece Lexi (also in the hot tub)

Lauryn & her favorite cousin, Lexi. Lexi is AMAZING with Lauryn! Its no wonder Lauryn looks up to Lexi more than anyone else!

Lauryn & the gang before they sang happy birthday.

Lauryn blowing out her candles. She got 'em all, so no boyfriends. ;)

Happy Birthday Lauryn!!!

Lauryn turned 7 years old on Wednesday (12th). Gosh, its hard to believe my BABY is already 7 years old!!! I don't have any cute birthday pictures of Lauryn yet (her parties are this weekend) but I took these on her birthday. She wanted to help me do laundry. This is how I found her when I walked in the laundry room...lol!

Weddings

So far this month we've spent our weekends at weddings. My cousin Tammy (Kimmes side of the family) had an outdoor wedding on the 1st. Aside from Bridget's wedding on the beach, it was the most beautiful wedding I've ever attended! McKenzie & Lauryn were on the dance floor from the moment the ceremony ended until the time we left. They had a BLAST! My cousin Natasha (Heiman side) got married on the 8th. Natasha was a beautiful bride! The Heiman family only gets together once a year, so when we get together we have lots to talk & laugh about. It was great to see everyone again!

After attending back-to-back weddings, I remember why our kids, or kids in general, aren't invited to weddings very often. Tammy's wedding wasn't your typical wedding set-up (considering it was outdoors) therefore the kids could run anywhere & do anything without being in the way. However at Natasha's wedding, the only place to run was in-between people & tables. I was afraid the girls would run into someone or something doing so, so they spent a lot of the evening sitting at the table with Jamey & I...not fun for them! Aside from that, I know how expensive wedding meals can be & was sick about how much money was wasted on the girls' meals. McKenzie's an extremely picky eater. (It drives my dad craaazy!) At both weddings, she filled up on buns & pickles. Lauryn's a much better eater & had slightly more to eat than McKenzie but still threw the majority of her meal away. I guess the point of the story is, despite how much fun the girls had at Tammy's wedding, I might think twice about bring them to the next wedding they're invited to. Below are pictures taken at both weddings.

~ The Kimmes Wedding ~
The girls don't enjoy posing together for pictures but I make 'em anyway. :)

Lauryn & Grandpa - My dad can never just SMILE in pictures. He always has the same smirk on his face.

Lauryn & Mary - For those of you that don't know, Mary's my dad's girlfriend.

Lauryn doing the Electric Slide for the 1st time


~ The Heimann Wedding ~
Lauryn & Grandpa Dennis again. Yes, Lauryn wore the same shirt to both weddings. I figured she's 6 & can get away with it. ;)

McKenzie & Jamey - Jamey HATES taking pictures but how could he say no to his beautiful daughter?!

McKenzie & I - Gosh I hate pictures of myself!

McKenzie & Grandpa Dennis

Lauryn & Julia - Julia's my cousin Sheila's stepdaughter. Lauryn & Julia are close in age & had lots of fun together.

Grandma Kimmes

For many reasons, my Grandma Kimmes is & always will be very special to me. For one, she's my only living grandparent & has been for almost a decade. For two, she's the only one of my grandparents that McKenzie & Lauryn will ever know. McKenzie was at hospital when I said goodbye to my Grandpa Kimmes but she was just a baby & would never remember him. I've taken the girls to visit my grandparent's grave sites on several occasions. They enjoy visiting & listening to stories about them but it isn't the same as knowing them. McKenzie & Lauryn have spent many days at Grandma Kimmes' house last couple of summers, doing some of the same things I did when I was their age. I can't put into words how much that means to me. So this post is in honor of my Grandma Kimmes - one of the best people in the world!!!