Okoboji

We spent 5 days at one of our favorite places in Iowa - Okoboji! Camden loved it this year. She really liked the water, even more this year than last year.

Kade liked the water too. But he kept trying to eat the sand so we had to watch him closely!

Even Daddy enjoyed the water.

Camden was very brave this year and jumped off the dock to Daddy. Over and over! Until Daddy's arms got tired of catching her!

On Saturday we drove from Okoboji to Sioux Falls for a Wilson family reunion. We took a family picture at Falls Park which is a gorgeous park in Sioux Falls. Because we had such beautiful scenery, we got a lot of great family pictures. Here's Camden with her second cousin Carter.

Grandpa Ken with two of his three grandchildren.

Grandpa Ken and Deb with all three grandchildren.

Unlce Blair, Aunt Tarryn and sweet little baby Reagan.

All 5 of the Great-grandchildren on the Wilson side

Left to Right - Reagan, Kade, Camden, Dylan and Carter

Dylan and Kade looking at each other. Can you believe these two boys are only a day and a half apart in age? Dylan is 36 hours older than Kade.

We even managed to squeeze in a quick birthday celebration for Camden with Grandpa Ken and Deb. Complete with cupcakes and presents!

And of course I got to spend some quality time with my newest niece, Reagan. She is now 11 weeks old and cute as can be. She was full of smiles for her auntie!

I could just hold this sweet little thing all day!

Take a good look at her shirt. It says, "My Aunt is my BFF". And I'd like to make it known that I am her only aunt, so it obviously referencing me!

Auntie Tarryn and Kade even dressed alike on their final day.

We also squeezed in a trip to Arnold's Park while we were in Okoboji. Camden and Grandma rode the train together...

...and the carousel

While Mommy and Kade rode the carousel. This was Kade's first time on one. He thought it was great!

He didn't stop laughing until the ride ended.

Camden rode it a second time with Daddy.

Our final night there was an interesting one. Around 10:15pm we heard the tornado sirens going off. Shortly after someone came by our cabin and said we needed to take cover. They directed us to a unit made of concrete block. We had to get the kids out of bed and drag them over there. We stayed for about an hour and a half until the storm passed. The sight when we came out was an appaling one. Here are the pictures I took on the beach the following morning. Just feet from the shelter we were in. Thankfully everyone was alright!

All in all it was a great vacation!

Take me out to the ball game.

We took the kids to another Iowa Cubs baseball game on Thursday night.

Take a look towards the outfield. Do you notice anything?

Look closer. Can you tell yet?

Our little Kade is famous!!

How did he spend his two minutes of fame?

Eating! Of course! He was enjoying some of his sisters Dipping Dots ice cream and the camera focused in on him. Luckily Daddy had the camera out already and was able to snap a few pictures.

10 months old!

Where did my baby go? Someone has taken my baby and left me with a little boy instead. It's a sweet and lovey little boy, but a little boy none-the-less. Our baby is ten months old already. I just can't believe how quickly the time has gone!

Kade is getting into everything now. He doesn't sit still for more than a minute. And he climbs on everything. I can tell you now that this little boy will be a trouble maker!
He is so different from how Camden was at this age. If Camden got into something she wasn't supposed to and we told her no, she would cry. When we tell Kade no, he just looks at us and laughs. And then he does it again.
He still has an amazing disposition. He is always smiling and happy. The only times he cries is when he sees food and can't have it. This boy can recognize the sound of a package of Goldfish being opened and comes a crawlin' as soon as he hears it.

Camden and Kade get along great right now. Camden shares her snacks with Kade and that makes him very happy. If you ask Camden who her best friend is she says "Kader". I hope it stays that way, at least for a little while :)

Memorial Day Weekend (picture overload)

We went on our annual Memorial Day trip with the Janes and Rachuts this past Memorial Day. Each year we pick a cabin in a remote area and spend a long weekend 'camping'. Which basically means we don't give up any of the moder necessities like plumbing, air conditioning and beds but we do have a campfire each night.

The past two years, Camden was the only child who was able to join in. But this year we muliplied the number of children by four!

Left to Right: Kade, Cherri, Camden, Grace, Jill, Beth, Abby.

Both Beth and Jill's girls just turned one in May. To say we had our hands full was an understatement at time! We look forward to a few years from now when they will all play together so well.

Our first night at the cabin we made sushi. We fed the kids "normal" food and put them in bed then made sushi for the adults. It was fun!

Apparently I forgot to bring my camera to all of the other activities we did because I don't have pictures at most of them.

Saturday morning we went into Decorah and did a little shopping and went to the Farmers Market. Then we headed to the new brewery for the guys to sample some micro-brews. The kids got a little rowdy as it approached nap time. But luckily we were the only ones in the place so we weren't disturbing anyone. After the brewery experience we headed back to the cabin for naps.

When the kids woke up from naps we took them back into Decorah and let them play at a park. They had a blast and burned off some energy!

This is as good as family pictures get now days.

We caught a good family picture of the Rachuts, though.

Even the grown-ups had fun on the playground.

Abby and Grace loved the slide (although their faces don't necessarily show it).

When we got home from the park, we had supper. Then we gave the kids apple juice popsicles. We stripped them down to diapers and set them on the deck for this treat.

After popsicles we put the girls in the bath together, trying to speed up the process with only one tub. It was a disaster! Abby and Grace took turns screaming while Camden sat in the back of the tub shivering.

Our second full day at the cabin we visited a winery and ice cream shop. I have no pictures of either one.

Here's Camden and Grace on our final morning before heading home. Notice Camden has a hawkeye shirt on and Grace has an ISU shirt on. Camden is trying to explain to Grace why the Hawkeyes are better than the Cyclones.
The three youngest sitting in their diapers.

What a fun weekend! We were exhausted by the time we got home, but looking forward to next year's trip :)