Lillian is 3!!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lillian JoAnne!!

A special treat of chocolate donuts with sprinkles for breakfast.

I came out and she said to me, "Say happy birthday to me!"

What a goofball.

A special, little present from Mom & Dad - a Disney princess purse, that her dad picked out himself.

She LOVED it!

This little girl, let me tell you... 

she's a little diva,

insists on being babied - though denies to the end that she's a baby,

is ALL girl - loves her dresses, anything pink,

can throw a tantrum like no other,

drives me crazy some days...

But I wouldn't trade one single bit of it.

It's nearly impossible to imagine what my life was like before she was a part of it and I can't possibly imagine a life without her. There aren't enough words to describe how much I love her.

Happy birthday, baby girl!!

Minneapolis

I was given the opportunity to go to Minneapolis this past weekend to attend a conference. The experience was incredible! I had forgotten what a great city Minneapolis is!

The opening night celebration for the conference was held behind the Mill City Museum, along the Mississippi Riverfront. Such a beautiful area! I enjoyed a lovely walk to the museum from my downtown hotel. Enjoy a few pictures I took of the museum area.

The conference began on Saturday, but I didn't get into town until late Saturday afternoon. Sunday was my first day of the conference, but also the day they had their opening general session. Some talented gentlemen from Brave New Workshop opened the session, debunking some common Minnesota myths (many of which rang true for this South Dakota girl). They were hilarious and informative. We were also entertained by a Native American dance. I could watch them dance all day.

I attended all kinds of sessions that taught me so much about this industry I'm in now. I heard from some incredible speakers, Deepak Chopra and Chris Heeter among them. It was overwhelming, exciting... It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad I was able to go.

I talked with vendors about how their products are benefiting the industry and I met all kinds of people. Most importantly, I finally met a couple of my freelance writers. I mingled with all kinds of people and experienced first-hand the wonderful hospitality of the Meet Minneapolis team.

And I made a button! So fun!

I went on this trip by myself. Which was a little daunting at first. I don't know that I had ever driven in Minneapolis before, but if my sister could do it surely I could! And I'm not the most outgoing person when it comes to meeting new people, stepping up and introducing myself and asking to sit with complete strangers. Talk about some personal growth I experienced! I did it. I asked if I could sit with people I didn't know. I walked right up to people that I "knew" from blog posts or twitter feeds and I introduced myself.

And I went out and ate supper, by myself, in a restaurant in downtown. A couple of gals with Meet Minneapolis recommended I go to Hell's Kitchen, a fairly short walk from my hotel. I was not going to miss out on the opportunity because I was by myself. I'm so glad I went. I knew it wouldn't be horrible and it wasn't. AND I ate probably one of the best burgers I've ever had. I had a lovely walk down Nicollet Mall on the way back to my hotel too.

The next morning was a 2-mile fun run with some of the attendees. There wasn't a very large group, considering there were about 1,900 in attendance at the conference, but just enough. We ran around Loring Park and the sculpture garden. It was actually fun! Then I had a full day of sessions before I headed home. The conference ended Tuesday, but I had work to do!

I left inspired and excited and hopefully I'll come away with several article ideas for future issues!

Weekends

This is what lazy, summer weekends look like at our house.

Being silly

PB&J picnics

 Slip 'n Slide

Pool

Daydreams

Smiles

Backwards slides

Not-so-much with the slip and slide part

Climbing

Around the Yard

The apple tree.

Apple crisp, apple pie... maybe. ;)

I have a few flowers on the front deck (thanks to Jessica and Carrie's receptions - their step-mom Kathy did a wonderful job with their centerpieces!)

These are on my neighbors back patio.

So pretty!

These can be found on the side of our house.

I'm not even really sure what they are.

Preston's flowers. 

He got these on his field trip to Medary Acres and yelled at us several times that they had died.

Guess they didn't. ;)

Summer!

This has been a jam-packed summer for our family, and though we're exhausted, we've loved every minute of it. We kicked off our summer with Matt & Jessica's reception, followed by Old Timer's Day. Then we were off to the Baker golf reunion and before you knew it, it was the 4th of July!

We celebrated the 4th by going to the parade, always a favorite with the kids, and then headed out to Lake Thompson to see the Hofer family and their friends. We ended the evening with fireworks in Brookings!

The day after was BUSY, but a great day for our family. We celebrated my grandma's 75th birthday (February), my grandpa's 80th birthday (tomorrow, July 14) and their 45th wedding anniversary (June)! We had an ice cream social in the afternoon (SDSU ice cream and honey of a fudge sauce... now that's a party!) and we also had traditional Norwegian dancers! After the social, we headed to my parent's house and got ready for the dinner they hosted with more family and friends. A truly wonderful day celebrating some of my very favorite people!

We celebrated the 5th birthday of an awesome little boy this past week... we love you, Turner!!

This weekend was the Arts Festival (rain again on Saturday morning made for a very wet, muddy day in the park, but it was still great - Mom scored some great birthday presents and I found a few things for myself and the kids too!) and then we had Michael and Carrie's reception. 

As far as I know, there's nothing on the schedule for next weekend. :)  This should give us a chance to rest up before Honey Days the following weekend! We have a few more events on the schedule to round out our summer (including a couple more birthdays coming up) and, in what will probably be the blink of an eye, summer will be over and Preston will be off to Kindergarten and Lilli Jo starting Preschool. 

Though busy and running from here to there, we're fortunate to spend so much time with our families and friends. I hope you're having a wonderful summer too!

Preston's Last Day of Preschool!

Yesterday marked Preston's last day of Preschool. Ever.

As I mentioned before, I've been surprisingly calm about how fast he is growing up.

[did I mention he has another loose tooth? Sigh.]

But I did find myself getting a little teary-eyed as I watched Miss Kara tell the kids it was the last day and that they needed to do their last day hugs.

See.

So.Grown.Up.

[First day of school on the left. Last day of school on the right.]

For all the nostalgic, I-wish-my-little-boy-would-stay-little feelings, watching him grow is amazing and such a gift. I'm so proud of the little man he is becoming! He is super-excited about going to Kindergarten in the Fall. I sure hope he maintains that excitement for education!

Preston's Preschool Graduation!

Can you believe that Preston has graduated from Preschool?! I know I can't.

I asked him today, on the way to school, why he was growing up so fast.

He simply replied that he didn't know. :)

He still has two more days of school before he is officially done. Although the last day involves a field trip to the SDSU Dairy Bar, so does that really count as a day of school?! I'm a little jealous I can't go with.

We're one short summer away from Preston starting Kindergarten. 

I'm surprisingly calm about all this. I thought for sure I would be a mess at graduation, but I was all smiles.

The kids did such a great job with all their songs and it was fun watching them get their "diplomas."

[They were given rolled up pieces of paper during the ceremony. The received their actual diploma when we turned in their hats. They got to keep the tassels.]

Preston before the ceremony. 

He looks so darn grown up. Sigh.

Getting his diploma!

There are five different classes on stage.

Preston's class is the second from the left.

The graduate

Grandpa Russ came to the ceremony

[Grandma Mary went to Turner's Preschool graduation, which was also tonight. Grandma & Grandpa Beringer were unable to attend. We sure missed them!]

So incredibly proud of this kid!

The graduate with his goofball sister.

And Preston with his AMAZING teachers, Miss Kara on the left and Miss Kami on the right.

Preston had a wonderful teacher, Miss Kelly, last year.

The teachers at First Lutheran Preschool are so great! Preston has grown so much in the last two years and a large part of that is due to these teachers.

I know that they truly care about him and love him just as much as he loves them!

We will certainly miss them.

Congratulations, Preston James!

First Lutheran Preschool

Class of 2014