Kids' School Christmas Programs

Mason & Sadie had their Christmas music programs at their school today. Sadie was a cutie in her Santa hat and Mason did a great job playing his recorder. It definitely added to the spirit of the season.

Sadie's Birthday

We celebrated Sadie's 7th birthday on Saturday. We had a special birthday dinner for her with candles and chinese food at her request. She sure is growing up and we love her so much!

Oakdale Stake MTC

Last weekend our stake held a Missionary Training Conference for the youth in our stake. I had the opportunity to help to organize the conference and it was an incredible experience. Many times throughout the weekend I felt the Spirit as the youth in our stake got a glimpse into what it's like to be a missionary. It brought back many wonderful memories of my own mission. My parents were also in town visiting us for the first time since their return from their mission to the Ukraine. They participated as investigators and did a great job. It was so nice to see them again and for our kids to spend some time with them. My kids are lucky to have such awesome grandparents!

Boundary Waters

At the end of the summer, Davis and I went up north to the Boundary Waters between the US and Canada. We paddled and portaged for 4 hours or so until we arrived at a beautiful lake called Perent Lake where we camped on a small island. We went swimming and fishing and had an incredibly relaxing time. It was a birthday present for the 12th birthday. I'm proud to have him as my son.

Mall of America

Meredith, Anna and Travis are in town this weekend. After picking up Travis at the airport this evening we headed to the Mall of America, went on some rides, had dinner and did a little shopping. Our kids sure do love Meredith and Travis - they are great with kids!

County Fair

The Washington, MN county fair has become an August family tradition for us. We have a great time seeing the animals, riding rides, watching the lumberjack show and eating heathy fair food. Although Mason doesn't look too happy in this photo - he must have just been told no more rides.

Spotlight on Sadie

Sadie's has been having a fun summer. In early July she got her ears pierced while she was out visiting family in CA. She was a little nervous about it but also very excited. After she got back from CA she attended cheer camp and had a great time. She's a cutie!

Summer B-Day Parties

Harrison and Sadie recently had a blast at their friends' birthday parties - Jake and Annie. Harrison makes a great Buzz Lightyear!

Strawberry Fest

We spent a few hours yesterday at our town's Strawberry Fest watching the parade and going on rides. The kids had a blast.

Atlanta Airport

Last week I was flying back from a business trip to Florida and was connecting through the Atlanta airport. As I was walking through the airport I ran into a good friend of mine who I hadn't seen in about 8 years - Christy Smith. Christy was one of my seminary students in Texas when I taught New Testament when we lived down there. She was also in Young Women's with Brooke. She was one of those youth who always had her act together. It turns out that Christy is teaching seminary herself and has been for a few years now in Utah where her husband is going to law school. In fact, a year or so ago when I was teaching Old Testament seminary here in Minnesota, Christy was teaching at the same time in Utah. It was great to see Christy again!

As we briefly talked in the airport we also discovered that her husband and my parents recently had dinner together in Kiev, Ukraine. My parents are on their mission there and Her husband, Chase, is doing a summer internship with a lawfirm. It's a small world.

Harrison's B-day!

We have a great family party for Harrison yesterday. He was a handsome little man who was very excited! The other kids did a great job celebrating with him. He is such a wonderful part of our family.

Cute Kids

Here are a couple cute shots of Sadie and Harrison.

Our house...in the middle of the woods

We've had a great spring here in the north country. Brooke shot some photos of the yard last week. The leaves are almost all on the trees.

View from the Back Deck

Side Yard


Swing in the Front Yard

Swing Again

Pinewood Derby Gold

We had a fun Pinewood Derby this past Saturday and at the end of it all Mason stood atop the podium claiming first place! He had a great attitude and cheered for all the boys from his pack. His good friend Alex Coutu came in second place.

Easter

We had a beautiful Easter day today. It was about 74 degrees and we had all the windows open. We had a fun Easter egg hunt this morning. The kids found eggs hidden all over the yards and in the woods. We dyed them yesterday between conference sessions. We were very excited to learn yesterday that Brooke's dad has been called into the 2nd Quorum of the Seventy. He'll find out on Tuesday what his assignment will be - we're predicting Eastern Europe based in Moscow.

Family Bonfire

We had a great family bonfire last night. The weather was perfect (about 60 degrees) and we had a beautiful full moon. We roasted hot dogs and marshmellows and played "Ghost in the Graveyard" with the kids. A perfect Minnesota evening!