Number 1 Viking Fans!

It's finally football season again!  I am so excited to spend my Sundays with these 3 crazy guys cheering on (sometimes screaming at) our Vikings!

Casting away our Summer!

So this post is a little delayed but I still wanted to share it.   This summer was quite an amazing summer, filled with so many fun adventures and good times.  I have so many amazing memories from this summer whether it was at baseball games cheering on my boys, relaxing the lake with family, community events and celebrations with friends/neighbors, evenings just playing at the park, days at home just relaxing, attending concerts, camping with the scouts or any of the many other things that popped up along the way.  I am very grateful for the summer that I had and I hope that every summer that lies ahead is just as awesome.  I knew I wanted to do something fun to end the summer and thought what better way to end than the same way we started it!  So Clint and I booked a cabin at Sunset Resort on the Ash River for Labor Day weekend.  We loaded up the three boys, two coolers of food and all our fishing gear and we spent a couple days away from the hustle and bustle of the city life, away from technology (cause up there nothing really works), out in nature soaking in all its beauty!  It was a perfect weekend.  The weather cooperated my better than our last trip in which it rained almost every day.  We didn't catch that trophy fish or our limit of walleye like we had dreamed us but we did catch enough to enjoy an delicious fish dinner one night.  We held our own little fishing contest as well, Austin and Colton were on a team together against Clint, Mason and myself.  It was fun to keep score (they set different points for different species and it was worth more if it was a keeper).  Clint, Mason and I won the contest but only by a point or two!   The boys even did a little swimming this time.  We were back in a nice quite little bay and the boys decided to jump overboard and swim to a little island to explore while Clint and I stayed on the boat to fish and listen to the laughter of the kids in the distant.  It was just a prefect weekend.  I am happy that I have someone in my life to share these things with, it is so fun to see the boys do something for the first time or even for the 100th time but with a twist that made it exciting all over again and then look over at this great guy and see him smiling and enjoying that very same thing that I just witnessed. It makes my heart just skip a couple beats cause I realize how lucky I am and how blessed the boys are to have another loving adult in their lives (can't ever have too many right).  Looking forward to many more family vacations with my favorite guys (yes I am completely outnumbered in the gender equation but being an outdoorsy girl it is something that I am totally okay with)!  

This last picture pretty much sums up my summer... carefree, fun, outdoors, laughs and just enjoying every moment!

Grandparents Day!

We spent the day up in New Munich with my Grandpa to celebrate Grandparents Day!  My grandpa is 89 years old and lives in an assisted living home with his wife, Mildred (they just celebrated 1 year of marriage in June).  The home put on a wonderful little celebration today for all the families of the residents living there.  We played a friendly (insert always competitive when Sand's are involved) game a softball with all the kids and a few brave adults!  Then it was pinata time and a big dinner for everyone who came.  It was so much fun to get together with so many of my cousins and what better reason then to celebrate my Grandpa because without him none of us would be here!  I took way too many pictures but I will just share a couple favorites.

First Days of School

Well summer is already over and it is back to school for the boys!  Colton is in 5th Grade this year. I still can't believe it, this is his last year of Elementary!  Wow.  Just still trying to let that soak in.  How in the world did that I happen so fast.  I remember his first day of Kindergarten like it was just last year and here we are on his Last First Day of Elementary.  

                        First day of Kindergarten                              First day of 5th Grade

And then there is Mason, my baby, who started Kindergarten this year.  I remember when we went to Kindergarten Orientation for Colton and everyone kept saying before you know it Mason will be school too and I just thought it still seemed forever away.  Well here it is!  Both my boys are in school together.  This the only year that they will be at the same school together too!  Mason was more than ready to start Kindergarten.  Having gone to Pre-K at the Elementary last year for half days really help prepare him for this year.   He was so excited and eager to meet his teacher, find out if any of friends in his were in his class and most of all ride to school every morning with his best friend who lives across the street from us.  I was able to hold back the tears on his first day but on the inside I was a complete mess.  It is very bitter sweet to see my baby just take off on his own ready to conquer the world.  I am very proud of how independent he is but at the same time wish he still would pretend that he needs his mama just a little every once in a while!

Bye mom, don't worry cause I got this under control!