The other reunion

We enjoyed another family reunion in August with my mom's siblings and their families.  It was fun to see a lot of my cousins and catch up with a few of them.  I wish I had more time to talk to all the family members I saw, but my kids kept me too busy.  At least they had fun!

 Kids crafts: making a green monster!

 Benson loved the playground.  He spent a lot of time wandering off on his own, looking for something to climb.

One of my adorable twin nephews 

Cassie and cousin Lexi coloring 

 Square dancing!  I had so much fun learning all the line dances.  It was pretty hilarious to see the differing dance abilities of everyone... (was that tactful enough?  I love you, Dad.)

Cassie keeping the twins entertained the next day at the park

Wheeee!

Empty toy bin with wheels + hard floor + two silly children = hours of entertainment

 

My "crazies," as I like to call them.

Bear Lake Reunion

Trevor's parents rented a cabin at Bear Lake for the week of July 30-August 3, so the whole family got together for a fun-filled family reunion.  I don't think I can adequately describe how much fun was had and how great it was to be all together.  A picture is worth thousand words, right?  Here's about a million words...

Ready to tour Minnetonka Cave:

(Unfortunately, Benson was about that happy all week.  Teething?  Surrounded by strangers?  New place?  Probably all three.) 

Cooler Pig.  I would explain, but I think you had to grow up with these boys to understand...

The Beach!  Many a sunburn was got on this day.

 Benson loved the sea gulls.

 "Pose!"

Grandma made adorable dresses and handkerchiefs for all the grandkids to recreate a picture she took of her 6 kids when they were young.

Three crying boys...

 Ah, that's better.

Thank you thank you to Grandpa and Grandma H for a wonderful vacation!  

The 'hood

We are loving our neighborhood.  When we first moved in, it was just us and our next-door neighbors (the Lewis's, best neighbors ever).  More and more neighbors have moved in throughout the summer, which makes things a lot more fun when evening rolls around.  The days are a little too hot for spending a lot of time outside, and we still have a lot of houses under construction, so it's not very safe to be outside with all of the trucks coming and going during the day.  But in the evening, there are usually a few people outside chatting and kids riding bikes around.  We have lucked out with all of our neighbors.  Everyone is friendly and we all get along really well.  Cassie and Benson love having other kids their age to play with.  I don't usually have my camera on me, but I did take some pictures of the kids riding bikes one evening.

Benson loves watching all the concrete trucks/diggers/backhoes/front loaders etc., and he wants to be outside all the time so he can watch them working.  Luckily, he also has a pretty good view from his bedroom window.  The construction really is fun to watch, and it keeps our neighborhood exciting and busy.  But we are also looking forward to having a less dusty and more established neighborhood once all the houses are built.

At the beginning of September last year, I stood on our lot and took pictures of the view from our future front yard.  Today I took some "after" pictures to show all the changes that have happened in the last year.  

September 2011:

August 2012:

(Yes, that's the same view!  4 new houses on that side of the street.)

September 2011:

 August 2012:

(Again, same view!)

September 2011:

 August 2012:

When we moved in December, there were 5 finished houses on our little block.  Now there are 23 finished homes and 8 more under construction.  I love having new neighbors move in every month!