June Update

School got out June 5th and summer started immediately for our family!  Brent and I were both able to take the first week of Luke's summer vacation off from work and we headed to St Louis to meet our friends, the Ericksons, for a few days while they were in the area.  We only get to see these guys once or twice a year, so we soak in as much time as we can together when we can.

St Louis and Des Moines

Our families met in St Louis on Sunday, June 7 and shared a suite at Sonesta ES Suites.  This was our first time staying with the chain and we really liked all of the amenities onsite (pool, sport court, breakfast).

Monday was our first full day together and we headed into Forest Park to explore and check out the St Louis Zoo.  We were interested to learn that Forest Park is even bigger than Central Park in New York City and to see how many attractions and events fall within the park.

The guys and their kids

After a hot, humid, and tiring morning, we headed back to the hotel for the littles to nap while the big kids and parents took a dip in the outdoor pool.  Monday night, Luke, Holly, Brent, and I were blessed with the opportunity to double date while Paula, Luke's mom, took on all of the kids at the hotel.  She's miracle grandma!  We headed back to Forest Park, had dinner at the Boathouse Restaurant, checked out the World's Fair Pavilion and The Muny, an outdoor theater.  We headed downtown for dessert at Bailey's Range and decided to walk to the base of the Arch, thanks to Holly's prompting:)  We were all very glad we made the walk to experience the incredible height and size of the arch from up close.  It ended up being a great time with very few people and the Arch was beautiful against the night sky.

On Tuesday, we made a trip to Grant's Farm for a morning visiting with more animals, riding the carousel, enjoying an elephant show, and feeding baby goats.  Grant's Farm is also home to the Budweiser Clydesdales but only Holly, Brent, and I made it to the stable to meet Evan, a horse that has appeared in a past commercial.  Our crew was tired and hungry so we picked up Chick-Fil-A on the way back for another afternoon of swimming at the hotel.

Holly, Luke, Brent, and I got out for a short visit to the St Louis Premium Outlets that evening and got back in time to watch most of the NBA Finals Game 3.

Wednesday came quickly and our time together came to a close.  By noon both of our families hit in the road, us to Des Moines and Ericksons to Ohio for a stop on their way back to Baltimore.

Terrible pic of me, but this is Evan, the Clydesdale:)

Our family of four enjoyed 24ish hours in Des Moines on our way back to Rochester to take in a concert.  Michael Franti and Spearhead, who Brent and I had seen last summer, put on a super fun, family-friendly concert so we decided to try it with our kids.  (You've probably heard his song, Say Hey, on the radio.)  Unfortunately our plans of an outdoor concert did not work out, but thankfully an indoor venue was available and we enjoyed the show nonetheless:)  Nora slept through the opening act, but woke up for Michael Franti and we all had lots of fun singing along and dancing!

More pics from St Louis and Des Moines available on Facebook.

La Crosse
Brent's extended family gathered to celebrate his grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary with a La Crosse Queen River Cruise.  It was a great, kid-free evening on the water and was nice to see Brent's family from Texas and to see the joy on his grandma's face at everyone gathered to celebrate.  After the cruise, Brent's brothers and wives all got to hang out for a while too.  We rarely spend time together without kids so it's wonderful when we get the chance:)

Brent's cousin, Katie, came from Texas
(first time I got to meet her in person)

Brent was full of it the night of the cruise

Brent's older brother, Greg,
and his wife, Cally

Brent's younger brother, Troy,
and his wife, Audra

Baseball
Luke's playing baseball again this year (he took last summer off), so we spend two week nights a week at the baseball field.  He's really enjoying it and it's a good excuse to be out enjoying the beautiful summer we've been having (minus the mosquitoes of course;)).

Arizona Friends in Town
Our friends, the Gutierrez family, were in Rochester for the month of June and it was so great to spend time together several times throughout the month.  We finally got all of our family members together for a 24 hour stretch for a sleepover and it was such a blessing to be together.  We saw Inside Out (which I highly recommend), grilled dinner, had a bonfire, played Settlers of Catan, chatted, played legos, and simply enjoyed each other's company.

Day trip to Apple Valley

Picnic dinner on the patio

Lazy morning after our family sleepover:)

Day Care Buddies
When I say "day care buddies", I'm referring to Luke's buddies from his day care days before Nora.  Last week, Luke got to spend a day playing, catching up, and reliving the his good ole days with several of his day care buddies.  He was in his glory:)  Nora and I also hung out for a while and she warmed up quickly to the youngest of the Linden family and all of the fun toys:)  It is always so great to catch up with Jon and Tracy.  We miss seeing them regularly.

Nora and Luke's everyday schedule this summer consists of Grandparent and cousin time.  They spend the 20 hours I work with my parents and their cousin, Piper, 10 months old.  My parents have kept them busy with fun outings like strawberry picking, trips to the library and Carroll's Cup, trips to A&W Drive-In, and time with the animals at Oxbow and Como Zoos.

Star of the North
This year both Brent and Luke participated in the Star of the North Games that we held in Rochester.  Brent played on a basketball team organized by a friend and coworker and Luke participated in track and field for the first time.

SO...it was a busy month!  All good busy and super fun-filled, but I'm still ready for a quiet 4th of July week when we have a break from baseball, few plans, and time to catch up at home (i.e. weeding which took a dual effort from Brent and I last night!).