Bathing Suit Beauties

A few weeks ago, we wanted to enjoy a hot sunny day. Jocie was already at camp swimming and canoeing, and Ella, Claire and I wanted to get in on some of the summer action. We could have tried to go to the beach, but with Claire being so little, I didn't think that would be the smartest decision. So I turned on the sprinkler in the back yard, and dug the baby pool out of the shed and we had our own little "ghetto fabulous" summer afternoon :) Claire loves the water, so I knew she would like it. Ella also had a great time running through the sprinkler and holding Claire in the pool. Next summer we will finally be able to go back to the beach and enjoy summer the way it's supposed to be enjoyed...on an over-crowed beach with sand in our swim suits!

Notice the spit-up on her lip and then on her foot...i caught her right after one of her MANY barfing sessions :)

Back to school...for some of us

It is the night before the first day of teacher in-service for Monticello teachers...but I'm not sad..because I won't be there! As most of you know, I will be taking the first trimester off from school to stay home for a little while longer (I can't bear..no pun intended..to drop Claire off at daycare yet!). Although I will miss all of my friends at school, I am really thankful that I have this time at home with Ella and Claire. I will be singing a sad song in November, but for right now, I'm enjoying every minute of it!

Jocie Goes To Camp!

Pinewood Campers

I had a awesome week at camp! One of my favorite things about camp was that our cabin (#3) won the canoe race! I got to take one of the oars home for a keep-sake. The racers were Becca (BFF) ,Cassie, Nikkia, and ME. It was awesome!

Becca, Samantha, Laura, and Joice

Jocie and Counselor Laura

My counselor Laura was fun and awesome. Guess what.......... she goes to UND! A fun thing she did on the 1st morning at camp was at 7:00 a.m. she cranked the music up and played "Brick House" to wake us up!

The Bunk House

Jocie's Bunk with a view of the lake (which you can't see in this picture)

I had a blast! I can't wait to see all you guys again!

Love,

Jocie

Fore!

Today, Carl and I headed to Hazeltine Golf Course in Chaska for the PGA Championship Golf Tournament practice round. My Dad and Barb are official "marshals" for the tourney. They were given a few tickets to give to family/friends for the practice round, so we happily snached them up.

Two pros chatting it up on the practice green

Not only was it a BEAUTIFUL golf course, it was a really cool experience. We really wanted to see Tiger Woods play, but unfortunately, we missed him by mere minutes! Just before we met my dad and Barb at the 10th Tee Box, he had just walked by after his practice round and was headed to his press conference...boo! I was pretty bummed, but it was still fun to see other pros. They are amazing! And it is amazing to see them play!

17th Hole's green

The most fun I had was watching my dad in his own personal heaven :) He was so excited and walking so fast, that we basically had to jog to keep up with him. He had already worked on Monday, so when we got there, he already knew the ropes and was able to show us a lot.

10th Hole...beautiful!

We had such a good time! Carl is now chomping at the bit to get back on a golf course!

Up North

Ever since moving to Monticello over 5 years ago, there has been many times where I have been dished a little flack for being from northwestern MN. I have been (jokingly) referred to as "inbred" or a "hick-from-the-sticks". I have also been asked if Carl is first or second cousin and asked if I met him at a family reunion -- these are my favorite :). Truth be told, I am very proud of my home town (East Side! Whoot Whoot!), as is Carl (Argyle), and don't mind the playful criticism.

Last weekend we were able to get up to Argyle to spend the weekend. We had a great time! We started our festivities with the "Hanna Montana Movie" at a drive-in movie theater! Carl and I packed Ella and Jocie into a single-cab Dodge pick-up (so no one has to sit in the back and have a second-rate view). We even had fun driving the 10 miles to the theater all in the front seat (I know you are a "mandatory reporter"Nicole...but I promise this is legal in Argyle...they have there own rules :)).

Carl, Ella and Jocie in the pick-up awaiting the movie

The Drive-In Screen

We ordered a huge popcorn with TONS of yummy butter and also enjoyed slushies and candy. The movie experience was great, and I'm sure our kids will remember this experience when they are old and grey.


Claire also had fun "Up Nort". Grandma gave her a tubby in the kitchen sink. She smiled and cooed the whole time!

A bridal shower was thrown in Keith's fiance, Katie's honor on Saturday morning. The entire town was invited...not kidding. The invitation was posted in the paper! I LOVE this idea. Family and friends are all welcome to come and meet the bride, and welcome her into this tight little community :) I remember my Argyle shower, and was so impressed (and humbled) with all of the ladies that showed up. I don't have a picture from this shower, but here is a picture of Katie with her soon-to-be sister-on-laws on her bachelorette night.

from left to right: Katie Adolphson (AKA-Darin's Katie), Dana Adolphson, Katie Burton (soon to Katie Adolphson AKA-Keith's Katie), and me

We were then onto the "Kuznia Christmas". Yes, we know it is August, but Christmas time is so busy, the family decided to move the gathering to the summer-time (genius). Some might have called this a "Family Reunion", but I don't think there were any hook-ups (HAHAHA!)

After the party, we all headed to church, where two of carl's cousins were the alter-servers, Carl's Aunt Diane was the organ player, and Carl's aunt Jill was the Eucharistic minister! Talk about one family being invested in the church!



Needless to say, we had a wonderful weekend in what Carl refers to as "God's Country". It is a great part of Minnesota where family and community is most important... and 9-Man football is a close second :)

Ella, Great-Grandma Natalie, Claire Natalie, and Jocie

3 months old!

WOW! I can't believe that my little Claire-Bear is already 3 months old. I must say, I'm a little sad about it! She is growing way too fast! But, I am very thankful and grateful that I have the opportunity to still be at home with her (and her sisters) instead of having to go back to work right now, which is when many mommies have to return to work.

Claire is very busy now-a-days. She loves to smile and talk, especially after eating (when she is the most happy). She also loves to look at toys and rattles. When she looks at them, her legs are always kicking and her eyes are WIDE open. She also likes her swing, which comes in handy when I have to get lunch/dinner ready, or if her sister's are demanding attention :)

Although we still we still don't have a regular "nap schedule", Claire is starting to sleep for longer periods at night (WOO-HOO!!!!). Two nights ago, she started sleeping in her own room in the crib. It was very hard for me not to have her within an arms reach in her bassinet, but she no-longer fit in there, so the change was inevitable :(

So many changes in so little time...we just need to soak everything in and make sure to enjoy these fun moments!

It's been awhile...

Whoa...it's been almost three weeks since I last blogged, and that's purely because we have been WAY too busy! Because of this busyness, I have A LOT to write about! So you might want to grab a snack before settling in to read this bad-boy. Where to begin.....

After much begging (and some helpful encouragement from grandma and grandpa Adolphson)...Carl and I caved and got the girls a trampoline! Although it was a pain to put together (right, Carl?!?!) it was worth every minute spent on it. The girls love it and spend a lot of time on it. As you can see below, Ella has a promising career of cheer leading ahead of her....this is a PERFECT herky! Any NCA cheerleader would be proud of this jump!

I also recently had a milestone birthday. On June 27th, I turned 30 years old!! Because of this, my lovely husband planned a special outing to celebrate. He took me down to Canterbury Park to watch (and gamble on) some horse races! I had never done anything like this before, and have wanted to go for years. We had a special table reserved (thanks Nicole!!) in front of the huge viewing window in the restaurant. A few of my friends from high school joined us. I was very excited to spend the day with Haley and Paul Stinar, my sister-in-law, Dana, and also Gina Fast. Gina was the big winner when she bet on a 40-1 odd horse, and won! She ended up winning $83 on a $2 bet! Cha-Ching!

After our day at the track, we headed to Maple Grove to one of my new favorite restaurants, Bennihana's. I love this place for it's great drinks, yummy food, and out-of-this-world service! I love watching our chef make our meals right in front of us!


The reason why we celebrated my birthday early was because my brother, John got married on my real birthday! I was excited to spend the day surrounded by family and friends! Ella was the Flower Girl, I was one of Beth's personal attendants, Carl was an usher, and Jocie handed out programs...so we were very involved in the day! We had a blast!

My sister's and I (the three personal attendants)

The flower girl and her Daddy

Ella and her "Johnny Boy"

The Beautiful Bride!

The new Mr. and Mrs. John and Beth Lundby!

The Lundby siblings


We had some minor weather related issues (tornado warning the night of the rehearsal, pouring rain after the wedding ceremony), but all-in-all the day was a beautiful day of celebration!
Speaking of the tornado warning...check out this picture of the sky that night....

All the kids hunkered down in my dad's basement waiting for the twister....which actually never came! I'm sure those strainers would have saved their lives!! :)


This past weekend we spent part of our 4th of July weekend at my Mom and Denny's lake cabin, and part of the weekend celebrating in Argyle. The weather was gorgeous, so we got to spend a lot of time on the pontoon and also some time on the Jet Ski. We had a blast! Ella caught her very first fish. She was fishing with Carl off the dock.

We have had a very busy summer so far, but as you can see, it's been a pretty great summer too!


P.S. in 10 short days, we will be headed back to Maple Lake to spend a long weekend with Carl's family....I can hardly wait. I LOVE THE LAKE!