30 times 2

Our past two weekends have been in the planning stages for a long time!  We started planning a girls trip to Chicago late 2011 for Racquel's 30th birthday.  She was pregnant in January during her actual birthday, but considering it was a milestone we wanted to be sure to do something once she was all the way ready for the celebration!  We purchased tickets to Cirque du Soleil's Immortal Tour which is the tribute show to Michael Jackson.  The weekend seemed so far away when we surprised her with the tickets in January, but the time flew and we were all looking forward to a fun weekend just us girls!

We had a wonderful weekend full of entertainment, good food, shopping, great conversation and laughter!  I am truly blessed to have a handful of amazing women in my life that are much more than just my friends...they are my sisters!  Happy (belated) Birthday, Quel!  We love you and hope your 30th year is your best yet!!!  (I tried to upload a picture of the birthday girl, but it wasn't cooperating -- probably best that it didn't!)

This past weekend we had another special birthday to celebrate!  Monica's 30th!!!  We had been planning a cabin weekend in honor of her birthday since March!  We loaded up our families and a group of 13 of us went to the cabin! 

I've got my bucket and shovel, now all I need is sand!

We pulled into Guttenberg just in time for lunch.  We stopped at the Riverview Cafe for a bite to eat.  The view of the river was great and a hole in the wall spot was a perfect way to kick off the weekend!

The Three Amigos!

Friday afternoon was spent getting settled in at the cabin, putting groceries away, kiddos napping and welcoming Scott, Racquel and Sloan!  Then it was off to McGregor to Old Man River for Monica's special birthday dinner!  If you haven't been to Old Man River it is worth the trip!  It is a neat restaurant downtown McGregor with good food and a nice atmosphere!

Make a wish!

Lila is pretty proud of her grandpa's cabin!

It was back to the cabin for the evening to put the kiddos to bed and enjoy some adult time.  The weather this weekend was absolutley perfect for time spent outdoors.  It has been so hot that I worried a fair amount about not being able to tolerate being outside for very long.  We were all excited to use the deck, light some citronella candles, and enjoy each others company!

The next morning we woke up to beautiful sunshine!  The kids were chomping at the bit to get on the boat and get to the sandbar!  After breakfast and a little playtime we got ourselves around and off we went!

The kids couldn't have enjoyed themselves more on the boat!  They all earned their boating stripes as you saw lots of smiles as we cruised around on the river before finding the perfect spot for building sand castles and splashing around!

 



Sloan's first boat ride!



The birthday girl and her sweetie!

Captain Eddins!

Here we go!

Splish Splash!

Sloan enjoying the shade!  She is a natural beach baby!

Quite the project!

Brandon & Henley

Dig, dig, dig!

Soaking up the sun!

A castle is in the making!

Family Pic!

Little Miss Lila took some time adjusting to the water this time.  She had a spill of the tube the last time we were at the cabin and I think it rattled her a bit more than I anticipated.  She eventually settled down and allowed herself to enjoy the time spent in the water and at the sandbar! 

We had an amazing weekend with the little kids and the "big kids!"  It was so nice to have some time together where we didn't have a schedule to keep, it was relaxed and all about enjoying each other and the beautiful weather!  We are blessed with the greatest friends and we are so lucky to have our kids grow up with each other and form friendships that will be long lasting!

Buddies!

Happy Birthday, Monica!  We love you and wish you nothing but happiness during your 30th year!

The Fourth

I have decided that it is hard when a holiday falls in the middle of the week.  Especially a holiday such as the Fourth of July that brings friends and family together to do nothing more than celebrate!  It is about warm weather, festive red, white and blue decor, good food, cold beverages and relaxation!  There is nothing formal about the Fourth, there aren't presents, or big meals to prepare, it is casual BBQ's, picnics, music on the radio, pool parties and of course fireworks!  Just our style!

After a full day at work and 100 degree temperatures in Cedar Rapids we piled up the truck to have a picnic near Ellis Park where they host fireworks each year on the 3rd.  We met the Holub's and the Hahn's early in the evening so we could secure a prime spot to view the fireworks!

We passed the time with our picnic style dinner, fun activities, festive dress-up and sparklers!  The kids did such a nice job being patient for the fireworks show and at 9:30 it was time to watch as they lit up the sky!  Lila was a bit uncertain at first, she has always loved the fireworks, but this year the loud boom rattled her a bit, but before long she was settled in and enjoyed calling out the ones that had her favorite color scheme of pink and purple!

We headed home around 10:15 with a whipped little girl in the back.  Between the late night and the heat she was zonked out when we pulled in the driveway!  What a fun tradition this has become!

With the later evening last night, Lila woke up at 9:00 this morning!  It was nice for Mom and Dad to sleep in, too!!!  We had plans to head to Jason and Jen's to enjoy the sunshine by the pool, as it was be another hot one today!

We got to Jason and Jen's and Lila and Mike were immediately in the pool, ready to cool off!  With the temperatures the pool water was even in the high 80's!!

Everyone enjoyed a relaxing day and took dips in the pool on and off throughout the afternoon, only hopping out to grab a drink or something to eat!  Since we were able to enjoy the fireworks last night at Ellis we are happily sitting in the air conditioning at home and will be happy to watch the fireworks via the television tonight!!!  We hope you enjoyed your Fourth as much as we did!

Fun in the Sun!

IT.  IS.  HOT!  That is all I can say!  It has been around 100 degrees with the heat index for the past week and it doesn't show signs of stopping in the near future.  In order to beat the heat we headed to Guttenberg where our family cabin is for some good old fashioned fun in the sun!  I know I have shared this before, but Guttenberg is where I spent all of my summers with my family doing the same things that we now share with Lila.

We only made a day trip, so up and back in a jiffy, but we still had enough time to let the sun bake in and have a lot of laughs and smiles throughout the day!

All Aboard!

She LOVES to be on the boat!

Captain & Co-captain!



Love my Auntie Jen!



First up - Celia, Ruby, Carson & Annie

Soakin' up the rays!

Fearless Riders!

Sisters!

First tube ride!!!

Hop on Daddy!  I can't go without you!

Holding on tight w/ Dad!

Other than sitting in the house with the air conditioning cranked up, there really isn't a better way to beat the heat than to be on the water!  I am so thrilled that Lila will grow-up on the Mighty Mississippi with family (and her Grandpa Smith), just like I did!

Three Year Pictures

We got Lila's pictures taken the day after she turned three!  Our friends Heidi & Troy of Studio U Photography were able to capture some really beautiful images even though Lila was not in the mood to cooperate! 

A special thank you to Heidi & Troy for helping to capture the beautiful essence of this amazing little three year old girl!  To us she is the most beautiful thing in the world and the photographs help to soldify these precious moments in time!