Buenos Dias!

Hosea, Andrew and i are currently in South America for a close friend's wedding. It was a long trip to get here, Buenos Aires, Argentina, with stops along the way in Miami and São Paulo, Brazil. Nevertheless, we are happy and so in love with Argentina. 

We spent the last week in Wisconsin with my mom's side of the family. It was so wonderful to spend each day outside, soaking up lots of sun. Eve and Elliot overcame any fears or apprehensions they had about the water, and were almost immediately jumping in the pools (with their mini inflatable tubes, of course). I can't believe I have kids who aren't afraid of the water! It is absolutely thrilling. My sisters and I are still awful swimmers...

More photos after the jump >>>

the fourth

I was too busy chatting with my grandparents to take many photos on the Fourth of July, but it was a fantastic day. We had perfect weather, and were at the perfect place to enjoy it. 

My grandparents house is one of the only, if not the only place that really feels like home to me. We moved every few years growing up, so this is sort of a big deal. Each year there is talk of my grandparents selling their home and moving into an assisted living center, so we try and spend as much time over there as possible. I was Eve's age when my grandfather built the house with his bare hands. He is an amazing man. 

It is an interesting time to be bringing children into the world---into this country. There have been so many changes in the past few years, it's almost too hard to keep up. I am so thankful God has blessed me with family that encourages and prays for me, without ceasing. Where would I be without their wisdom?

Hope you had a lovely 4th. 

Today I took the kids to our local zoo/conservatory. We didn't tackle the actual zoo---it was pretty cold today---but the animals weren't really a part of the plan, anyway. I had Eve take a camera along so she could get pictures of different plants and flowers in the conservatory. Later, we printed the photos out, and recreated the images as paintings. She is really into painting, and also loves flowers, so I thought this would be a great home school activity, and a fun way to wrap up the week.

We don't get many days with just the three of us, so we soaked this week up like crazy.

Don't let the face fool you. She was having fun. She just didn't want to give up the camera, of course.

We love the conservatory.

Happy weekend! xo

lately

I don't have much to say, but wanted to share these sweet faces.

Life is good.

The Merriest Christmas

Happy, happy holidays, and merry Christmas to you. I feel like this is already the merriest Christmas I've had in years. Maybe the merriest ever? I actually feel bad typing that because my family---my sweet, enduring, patient family---has seen me at my worst and grouchiest lately, but I really do feel this has been a wonderful season.

Andrew and I decided to not exchange gifts this year because we will be taking a trip the weekend after Christmas. The kids will each receive a couple of things... nothing fancy. I stuck to this idea: something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. I actually didn't even get the kids books because they each received one from one of my uncles. 

We didn't plan anything for Christmas Day that will involve driving, leaving the house, or even getting out of our pajamas. I'm pretty excited to spend the day having coffee, cookies, and snuggling up with my babies. And cooking a big fish. Mmmmm. 

Like I mentioned earlier, we will be leaving for a couple of weeks, so I wish you all the merriest Christmas! We will be back with photos and stories from our road trip to Banff. I am so excited to spend New Years in the mountains! It's also our 5 year (engagement) anniversary on New Years Day. Who could have guessed where we would be 5 years later---two kids, & a third on the way. We have been blessed so abundantly.


Merry Christmas.

our independence day

Elliot woke up early (like, really early) and I decided to just stay up with him. Of course, he is already back to sleep and I'm alone now but... blog post!

Yesterday we went to my grandparent's house in Stillwater, MN for the evening. Their house is my absolute favorite place in the world. My grandparents are in their mid eighties, and aren't sure how much longer they will be able to stay in the house, so I am over there as often as I can be, just absorbing as much of the place as I can. I never really thought I would have children of my own running in that back yard. It's a great feeling.

We all had dinner, sat out on the deck and just talked all night... nothing fancy. The kids ran around, my dad set off a lot of fireworks (he is kind of the biggest kid out there), and Eve was loving it. She held a sparkler at one point, but that was about it. Eve is a very delicate creature. Doesn't like to be sticky, doesn't like to wear anything that isn't a "ballerina dress", ... we butt heads. A lot. But man, I love that kid. She lights up a room.

Being at my grandparent's place made me feel really excited to move to the country. I actually kind of wish we could move into their house. Having moved around so much growing up, I don't really have a place I consider 'home', so I guess coming back to this place during the summers & whatnot is sort of the closest feeling to home I know. My grandpa built his house with his own two hands---people just don't do that anymore. He is pretty incredible. Who knows, maybe that is a possibility? It's definitely worth praying about.

Hope you all had a happy 4th of July!

xo

life lately

just a few photos of our summer, so far.

Our summer days have been filled with ruffly swimsuits, evenings at the playground, bunnies in the backyard, and other things. So far, so good.

P.S. Those buns are brioche, and the recipe is from the fauxmartha. They are TO DIE FOR.

grateful heart

Hey all.

I'm starting off this week linking up with Ember Grey's grateful heart Monday.

There is so much to be grateful for, but this week I am especially grateful for this past weekend! We were able to get away for a couple of days as a family and it was soooooo nice. It definitely wasn't the perfect vacation, but we were able to walk away from it with only a few tears shed (mostly mine... okay, some from Eve, too) so I'd say it was a success.

We went camping in southern MN. When we got there, the woman working in the state park office was super kind, and immediately upgraded us to a better site because there were a lot of cancellations. I was kind of wondering why people were leaving...? I thought it had to do with the flooding that has been causing a lot of problems in the area, but it turns out it was because of the awful mosquitoes! No joke, within, like, 20 minutes of getting out of the car, my kids' faces looked like they had the chicken pox. :( It was so bad. I am a camper, and have camped in pretty extreme conditions, but this was by far the most difficult situation I've ever been in on a camping trip. What can you do when your defenseless kids are being eaten alive!?

We stuck it out one night... then left early and went to a hotel. Ha! It all worked out though. The kids were troopers. And to be clear, I didn't cry because of the mosquitoes. We picked a campground that's near a lot of amazing hiking trails, but unfortunately a lot of the trails were super muddy or underwater entirely. I cried because I fell and slid down a ridiculously muddy hill WHILE HOLDING EVE because God forbid she step in the mud (she is a little princess), and it was just a totally awful, slightly embarrassing event. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, I was screaming, Andrew and Elliot were like a quarter of a mile away, totally fine, ... sigh. Camping adventures. Somehow, Eve only ended up with a tiny blob of mud on her foot. I was literally covered in mud, head to toe. Oh well.

It's good to be home, and we will try again next year.

Happy Monday!

madeline's prom

Over the weekend, I had a chance to take some pictures of my littlest sister, Madeline, her boyfriend, and another couple of her friends before they went to prom. These guys had places in mind where they wanted to take photos, so my other sister Lauren and I followed them around St. Paul, taking orders. ;) We had a lot of fun exploring the city, and these girls looked so beautiful! Lauren and I never went to our proms so we were kind of living vicariously through Madeline and her friends. Just a little.