One (very old-school) Vampire

Old School Vampire & Princess Witch

Mr. & Mrs. Repo

Repo and Christy got married in Colorado, at a brewery - which would have been AWESOME to attend, but since we couldn't make it, we knew we had to go to the local celebration in St. Cloud.  Andy had to work through the dinner, so I asked Kylee to be my "plus 1".  When Andy arrived, she was my "plus 2".  We had a lot of fun, and the guest list was full of pretty old-school downtown peeps.  I laughed when I looked through my pics the next morning.

Chi-TOWN!

Just so happened, that over MEA break, Mr. Nelsen's football club was playing in Chicago.  Is there a better reason for a quick weekend away?!  Ummmm, probably not.  Thank you to Grammy and Grampy for taking care of the little ones, while Andy and I hopped a plane to meet our friends in the Windy City.

Como with the Dodos

 With Prince Albert being only blocks from Como Zoo, of course we would go check it out!  And, we needed to find our next wax collectable.

My favorite pic of the day.  Bennett sat down and quipped, "Sooooo, do you come here often?"  Not really sure where he comes up with some of his one-liners.  Maybe we should consider limiting the tube time...

These two will have plenty of time for late night conversations...

SleepOver!!!

Visiting sweet baby Lola for the first time was a pretty great memory.  The kids were so excited to see T's baby, which according to Bennett, "took a really long time to come out".  We traveled down to our capital city, for Lola's first sleep over, and introduced her to the crazies who will definitely become her best friends - whether she likes it or not.

 Our little family of four...

Lola cried that night, a lot.  She cried that unstoppable baby cry, that there is really no comforting.  Bennett and Harps both did that, for hours they would cry, and I would cry.  I was happy to be there that night, and try my "baby whispering" techniques.  It's much easier when it's not your biological child, to swing, and shhhhhh, and bounce.  I was not sad for Lola, but I was sad for mama, as she felt all those crazy emotions of when NOTHING IS WORKING.  So, sweet Lo, don't make a habit of hours of fussy time.  It's no fun for anyone!  But, thanks for not waking up the ninja and the gnome. 

Rose Lake

Big news:  Grampy is officially retiring Februray 2014.  Bigger news:  They sold the farm.  Well, they sold 40 acres of the farm to a lovely family, who will raise their children on the land.  Biggest news: Not wanting to be homeless, Grammy and Grampy purchased a beautiful, beautiful home on Rose Lake!!!!  The kids and I went to check it out, and it is pretty awesome.  We started the day with pancakes.  Not Grampy's pancakes, but the local home-cooking restaurant in Detroit Lakes did pretty good job with their buttermilks.

 Rose Lake is about 20 minutes from Detriot Lakes, 20 minutes closer to us!  Sa-Weet!  But, it gets better...

 It has beautiful gardens, and a charming little path down to the lake.  It comes equipt with  a secret hideout.

 and a deck large enough for a hot-tub.  But, the very best part...  Wait for it... Wait for it...

 IT HAS A TREE HOUSE!!!  A real tree house with a bucket attached to a pulley system.

 And of course, there is plenty of room to run.

We are super super excited for this new house, and all the possibilites.  Change is good.

There are days...

There are days, when I seriously wonder about the gnome.  She is a bit peculiar.  Lately, it's been singing every conversation.  Here's an example: 
Me:  Harper, what would you like for a snack?
H: ahhhhhh!  Oooooooo!  Eeeeeee!  I woooooo-uuuuuuulllllld liiiiiiiike an OOOOOOOOreo!!!!!!!

And, then there are the outfits.  As soon as she gets home from Kelli's her shirt comes off, and if a princess dress doesn't replace it, then it's her PJs.

Today was one of those days, that I sat and wondered if she really wasn't placed in my arms from some weird baby fairy...  Until the Mister showed up.

No. Joke.