sneak peek

It's late (or really early). I am tired. We had a great weekend. Lots of fun!

As you can see, words are hard for me right now. But I will show you just a peek at what our weekend was filled with:

I was super pumped about taking my cutie-cousin Emily's Senior Photos . . . I begged her to be our "model", and she graciously excepted . . . and rocked her session. Here are just a few.

This picture was taken in what used to be my Grandma and Grandpa's yard, before the 1997 flood took the house away from us.

We had a lot of fun watching my cousin Tanner get married. Made me feel old, but it was still really fun :)


They got married in gorgeous St. Michael's Church - - same church Carl and I got married in

More to come! Night-night.

right of passage

This morning, we made our way up to St. Could to get something done that the two older girls have been bugging me about since summer started. I have been waiting and wondering when the subject of "ear piercing" would come up, and one random morning, Ella said right of the blue, "mom, I want to get my ears pierced today". She had never mentioned it before, and all of a sudden, she NEEDED to get it done.

I told her it wasn't a decision that you make hastily. I was a decision she had to live with the rest of her life (okay . . . maybe a little dramatic, but I wanted her to know that it was a big deal, and not to take it lightly). I also made her save up some money, because I knew that would delay the act a little further. However, she told Grandpa Adolphson that she needed some money for her her ear piercing fund, and all of a sudden, she had the exact amount of money she needed . . . funny how that works out :) As soon as Jocie found out Ella wanted her ears pierced, she quickly jumped on the piercing bandwagon.

So, with excited energy and just a few tummy butterflies, the girls picked out their earrings and sat, ready for their girly right of passage.

Just before . . .

after!

right before . . .

(that's not a needle, she is just marking her ear with a little ink)

after!

we liked the earings so much, we decided to get Claire's done too . . .

JUST KIDDING!!!! (that's a digital sticker, I promise!)


Both girls did awesome! And they both said that it didn't hurt too bad :) Now they both have their ears ready for some cute earrings for Aunt Dana's wedding this Fall!

revenge

The girls have had it . . . and I got a taste of my own medicine.














The cameras were in my face for a change :)

(the camera ella was using was passed down to me from my mother, and her mother gave it to her . . . so it is my favorite camera of all time - - the others were given to my by Carl's mom, Judy. She had recently inherited them, and then passed them my way! I am totally in love with all of them! I can't wait to display them along with some vinatge family photos!!)

Daddy Day

What can I say about "dads" that hasen't already been said? They are strong leaders, hard workers, but also have a gentle side that comes out most when they are around their daughters.

I (and my girls) are so blessed to have such fabulous father figures to look up to. You may have already picked up on this in my past posts, but I am a self-proclaimed "daddy's-girl". In my eyes, my dad can do no wrong . . . he has been coined "St. Mike" by more than one family member (dad, did you know that?).

Of course, nobody can be perfect, but I think in the dad category, all three dads in our lives are as close to "perfect" as you can possibly get! Here are just a few things I adore about "our dads":

Dad:

~ I love how you let me come to your hockey practices and hang out in the players box . . . and I also loved the attention I would get from your players :)
~ I love how your such a "guys-guy" who loves Hockey, Football and Baseball, but is also a Domestic Divo (the male version of a Diva) who makes kick-ass french toast, cleans bathrooms, and can wash, mend and fold laundry like nobodies business
~ I love that I inherited your legs . . . just kidding :)
~ I love that you used to bike Ali and I to the Dairy Queen on MANY summer nights when we lived in Crookston
~ I love the way you get up extra early when you stay with us so you can go out and get doughnuts for the girls before they wake up. (It reminds me how Grandpa Roy used to take me to Charlie's Bakery so I could pick out my own long-john)
~ I love the way that you still call me "Annabelle" just like you did when I was a little girl


Dwaine:

~ We love the way you spoil our girls . . . not just with gifts but also with your attention
~ We love how you give the girls such unique experiences with horseback riding, sleigh rides and trips out to the farm
~ I love how you are not only a great father to Carl, but you are also a great friend
~ I love watching you and Carl battle for the rights to the thermostat
~ We love how you can talk to anyone . . . at any time . . . about anything! It's such a great quality to have
~ I love when our girls see anything with John Deere on it, they think of you

Carl:



~ I love what a hard worker you are
~ I love how you play with our girls, whether it be with babies or baseballs
~ When people hear that you have three daughters, they always look like they feel sorry for you, but I love the way you tell them, "I prefer girls, I don't even know what I would do with a boy"
~ I love that you coach Jocie's basketball team, and probably will continue that tradition with the two little girls
~ I love how the girls run to the door and yell "Daddy's Home" when they hear the garage door go up
~ I love that you only want THE BEST for your girls


Happy Father's day to you all . . . you deserve only the best!!

BFFs

It's always really heartwarming to watch your kids play with a best friend. They treat each other so well and have so much fun together . . . and it always brings me back to when I was little and I got to play with my best friend. How a sleepover was never enough, how you could never get sick of each other, and how you would dream about marrying brothers one day so you could be "real sisters".

Well, Ella has that type of friend. Her name is Mette, and they just adore each other! The other day, I took the girls out and snapped some photos of them on the beach in their ballet costumes (since we "missed" the professional photos) . . . I also thought it would be fun to take some "best friend photos" with them doing some summer-time activities. Fortunately, I had the same dress, one size apart and in different colors so the girls could "coordinate" with each other . . . we've all done that right? Called your best friend before a 6th grade dance, to make sure that we wore the exact same acid-washed jean skirt with matching Jordache top? No? Maybe that was just me.

Here are just a few of my favorite shots:

I can only hope they stay life-long friends! :)

Dancing Queen

This past weekend, we were excited for two sets of Grandparents to join us for Ella's dance recital. We missed Nanny, but we totally understood why she couldn't be there and look forward to seeing her soon! . . . and Ella was so excited to get the big balloon bouquet delivered to her :)

This is Ella's third year in dance, and I know I am a tad bias, but she is one heck of a dancer! Her moves are gracefully, on beat, and often times, quite spunky and/or sassy (much to our dismay).

She had three different numbers in the recital this year - one each for tap, jazz and ballet. She had a great time performing for everyone, and had a big smile on her face the whole time (especially during the jazz number which was to "Baby" by the one-and-only Justin Beiber). Here are some pictures from both the rehearsal and the recital:

one of the best parts of dance . . . Ella's BFF Mette

(the girls were sick of me taking pictures . . . weird, I know . . . so I asked them what they would look like if they saw Justin Beiber, and this is what they came up with)

The girls were both very pleased to get their "3rd year trophies" . . . they have been waiting for them since their first dance recital.

The classes and costumes may be (too) expensive, but it's always really cute to watch Ella dance her heart out on stage every year. It (almost) makes all the time and money worth it :)

little red barn

Over Memorial Day weekend, we were able to spend a few days in Carl's hometown of Argyle, MN. One of the girls' (and Carl's) favorite place is Grandpa Adolphson's barn which sits right on the edge of town just down the road from their home.



The quaint red barn is home to seven horses and also holds many wonderful memories for Carl and his dad, as well as our girls. I am sure this little barn will be featured in the the stories they will someday tell our grand kids.

Instead of trying to describe what goes on at the barn, I will just show you.







Getting to the barn is half the fun . . . especially when Claire gets to drive us there with her two sisters in the back of the pick-up.

(who puts their toddler in all white to go to the barn? . . . . not one of my best ideas.)

Claire is a rookie at the barn, but I am sure Carl will make sure she learns fast!








Jocie's an old pro around these horses.








Ella and Sage were really trying to get to know each other.























I am sure the girls can't wait to get back!