Our fourth of July long weekend definitely did not consist of much rest or relaxing, but it was a lot of fun and we wouldn't have changed it at all!
Call us crazy, but we had the brilliant idea to leave for WI Tuesday night once Luke got off work. So, 12:15 a.m. and we hit the road... We "thought" that J would actually (possibly... prayed) sleep being as though it was the middle of the night, but that really was not the case the entire way... Now don't get me wrong, he slept for a while... I would say he was awake at least 2 of the 4.5 hour drive back home. Oh well... He was in a great mood once we arrived to Nana and Gpa Marson's house so it worked out.
Wednesday was actually pretty productive and tons of fun (even though we were running on VERY little sleep - I slept 2 hours while Luke was at work Tuesday night and Luke took a 3 hour nap once we got to Ona). To be perfectly honest, I was a little nervous how Wednesday was going to go because of the lack of sleep, but like I said, we were troopers and fun was had by all! My brother was actually in town, so I think that also helped us keep going and survive with such little rest... We wanted to soak up as much time with him as possible since he was leaving the next day.
Anyways, my mom had made plans with her best friend to head out to their house and enjoy a relaxing afternoon by the pool! Let me tell you, it was great to see everyone and hang out, but it was even more wonderful considering it was over 100 degrees outside! A HUGE thank you goes out to Debbie and Jim for the wonderful hospitality and great pool party! Such a great afternoon :-)
That evening, mom, Adam, Luke and I decided to brave the heat and head down to Riverfest to enjoy the fireworks. (Gpa and Jameson were in bed) I hadn't been to Riverfest in years, so although it was hot, it surly was nice to enjoy the fireworks like the good ol' days!
It was back in the car for Luke and I on Thursday! Adam, Luke and I headed to Milwaukee to enjoy an afternoon Brewer game. Yes, call us crazy for going to an outdoor game in 100+ degree heat, but we had so much fun and made great memories! Not to mention, Adam's best friend Bryan joined the fun, so it was great to see him and catch up as well. Now, tailgating was not so much fun, but we did a "no-no" and decided to enjoy a couple cold beverages in the air conditioned car. Although the Crew lost, we sure had a great time and it was so much fun to spend one more day with Adam.
Bryan and Adam during our "tailgate party"
Heading into the game
After the game, we said our goodbyes to Adam and Bryan and Luke and I jumped BACK into the car and headed to Ona. We had yet another busy day ahead of us Friday!
Bring on Friday... We were up and at em' bright and early so we could head to Winona to spend the morning with Luke's mom! (the 30 minute drive from Ona to Winona seemed like a blink of the eye compared to the hours of driving we put in the previous days) We hadn't seen Grandma Jean since Easter, so we were all very excited to get some quality time with her. Play, play, play is exactly what J wanted to do as soon as we got to Winona. He was all over the place from the moment we walked in... Or should I say from the moment he realized there was a dog in the house (yes, Mr. Man LOVES dogs, but what he doesn't know is a puppy is no where in the near future for this family - hahaha) Grandma Jean was in heaven with her little man! You know you have a special Grandma when she is crawling on the hardwood floors with your 11 month old and having the time of her life! Love you Jean! The four of us went for a lunch date to Jefferson's before we had to say our goodbyes and head over to see Luke's dad and step mom. Thank you for a wonderful morning, Jean. Like I said before, we were so excited to spend some quality time with you and can't wait to see you and Gundy next weekend for J's birthday party.
Off to Luke's dad house we went for a quick visit. Luke was spending the afternoon with his dad talking "business talk" so J and I made a fast stop before heading back to Ona for nap time. Although our visit was short and sweet, it was great to see Mike and Carol :-) We will see you both next weekend and can't wait to get some play time in with Grandma and Grandpa Hansen!!
After nap time, my dear friend Jenna, her husband Nate and their adorable daughter Ellie stopped by for a playdate! So much fun!!!!! J and Ellie (well they might not know this yet...) WILL BE prom dates in years to come, so they do need to get to know each other at a young age and understand the plans their mom's have for the two of them! haha. As you can see in the pictures, Ellie and J look about the same size, but foolish to the eye, Ellie is actually a year OLDER than J. She is truly such a little peanut and doll. So great to see you guys and watch our the little ones play. (hope we can do that more often in Madison - hahaha)
J's face is priceless in this picture!
Naturally J wanted EVERYTHING Ellie was playing with
Saturday... Saturday... Truly, Saturday's event was the real reason for our trip home. It was my ten year class reunion. So many GREAT things have happened over the last ten years... Its hard to believe life can take some many turns in such short periods of time.
Saturday morning we got up and headed out to see Great-Grandma Marson. That was one entertaining event! Jameson was so into G-Gma's cat Isabella and G-Gma was so entertained by J! It was such a funny chain reaction to witness.
J chasing Isabella
G-Gma and J enjoying some snacks together
This pictures melts my heart!
After our morning visit, it was off to lunch and then some errands for J's up-coming 1st birthday party!
Waiting for his food!
Saturday evening was my reunion! I just have to say THANK YOU to Drew Davis for putting the event together! You did a great job. It truly was great to see so many people I haven't seen in years and catch up on every one's life. It's was also so fun to hear what everyone is up to these days and I have to honestly say, I was so interested in all the very successful people from our class. I am proud to be apart of Ona's Class of 2002! It melts my heart to hear all the stories of our classmates and where they are now.
Just a quick side note... The story that touched my heart the most was from Caitlin Callister (Caitlin... If you are reading this I hope you don't mind I put your name in here!) But truly, you are an inspiration to all! Caitlin decided to take a chance and applied for an inner city teaching position on the East coast. She was offered the position, packed her bags and headed out east all by herself. The part of her story that touched me so much was her passion for her job! The entire time she was talking about what she was doing her eyes were so bright and the smile on her face NEVER faded! When she mentioned the children she teaches you could tell her heart was wide open and she truly cared for each and everyone of the kids in her classroom. Thank you for all you do for our youth Caitlin and I would be honored if my child would be so lucky to have such a passionate teacher like you some day!
Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures at the reunion, but here are the couple I did end up capturing...
Luke and then headed off to a wedding party to celebrate Tristan and Mike's up-come nuptials in Napa! Congrats you two! We wish you a life time of happiness :-)
Sunday was time to say goodbye and hit the road and head back to good ol' South Dakota! Although the weekend was jam packed (like always) it was great to spend some time back in our hometowns and see so many wonderful friends and family!
Cute post!
ReplyDeleteThank you :-)
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