Showering Baby Schwein

You've heard it once, you've heard it twice, and you have heard it a hundred times over from me... Yes, we were on the go AGAIN the last few days!

Why this time you ask?  Well, one of my closest high school girlfriends IS EXPECTING!  And you know what that means??  Party time!  Yes, it was Mrs. Kayla Schwein's baby shower Saturday afternoon.  Oh how I LOVE seeing all the baby goodies new mommies get :-)  (melts my heart!)

But Naturally the travel schedule was more then just a Saturday shower for this crazy-busy family.

First of all, I have to give my quick shout-out....  A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to my amazing father!  He, once again, came to our rescue and helped us out in a big way.  Luke was out of town most of last week for the Target Nation Sales Meeting.  With that said, he was going to have to drive all the way back to Sioux Falls Thursday night/Friday morning just to turn around and drive with J and I to Ona.  Needless to say, my dad said he wanted to come visit us, so he made the trek out here Tuesday afternoon and J and I hitched a ride back to Ona with him Wednesday evening!  That way Luke just had to drive the two hours from the Twin Cities to Ona rather than 4 hours from the TC to Sioux falls and another 5 hours from SF to Ona.  (sorry, that was a mouth full, but I couldn't go on until I said my thank yous!)

Anyways, we arrived back in Ona Wednesday evening and we started our visit at the Holthaus'!  It's always so much fun getting to spend time with them!  (miss you Melissa, Kaylin and McKenzie!  Oh yes, and Jeff too - haha)  Not to mention, J was having the time of his life with their puppies!  I think little Winnie was worn out by the time we left!  The giggles that came out of Jameson's mouth were never ending and heart-melting!  (yes, yes, I know, I know... We need to get another dog, but this mommy is NOT ready to bring back that responsibility just yet)

I am pretty sure every single time we are home, we say we are going to make a trip to the Children's museum...  And every single time we say that, something comes up and we end up missing out.  So, this trip, I told my dad we were FOR SURE going to make it to the museum!  No if, ands or buts about it.  Well, dad and I loaded up J, drove downtown La Crosse, unload J... and what do you know... IT WAS CLOSED!!  Oh yes, the one week it was closed to build a new exhibit!  Don't get me wrong, I am so happy they are updating/remodeling, but really... that week?  Ugh!  (I guess we will try again next time!)  Oh well, what can ya do... So instead, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and let J run around Kids Coulee for a while!  I have to be honest, I wanted to go to the museum, but Mr. Jameson was in heaven running around outside.  I guess it was a blessing in disguise that it was closed.

Loving Life!

Swinging with Gpa!

It was then time to head home for lunch and nap time!  Once J was up from his nap (and Nana was home) we all went for a nice long walk in J's new toy!  (Thank you Nana and Gpa)

Dinner time was very entertaining thanks to Nana and Gpa's dessert selection

I was awaken by a lovely surprise late Thursday evening/Friday morning.  Luke drove home from the Twin Cities EARLY!  I was so excited to see him and have all day Friday as a family.  And boy did we have family time.  We visited my Grandma for a while and then made a trip out to meet the newest member of the Marson family, Cruze Daring Marson!  A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!  I can't believe how little he was.  And boy does he look like his brother and sisters :-)  (I am so sad to report that I did not get one picture of Mr. Cruze!)  Thank you Meghan and family for letting us swing on by.  We wish we lived closer so play-dates could be way more often.  Love to you all and we can't wait to see you all (all 6 of you!) the next time we are in town.

Friday evening was yet more family time!  Luke's parents were meeting us out for dinner.  We were so excited to see them and get some much needed time together.  Pizza Amore was our destination of choice.  Low and behold, once we arrived at the restaurant, we figured out (quickly) they were not too kid friendly... So, we ordered our pizzas and headed down to Riverside park for a beautiful evening picnic.  Again, kind of a blessing in disguise.  J was running around the park and enjoying every minute of it!  (not to mention interrupting a few wedding rehearsals along the way!)

Such a big boy riding on Daddy's shoulders

Family Picture!

*Love*

Saturday was SHOWER day!  Yay!  So excited to celebrate Kayla and Matt's bundle of joy!!  Jane Kerbaugh and Amanda Sims hosted a lovely party.

Kayla and Amanda

Both Mommies-to-be!

The beautiful Hostesses

Jane and Amanda

Ona girls showering our mommy-to-be

Friends FOREVER!

 Amanda and Maria

So Pretty!

Kayla seeing the cake for the first time!

Great job Amanda!

Such a gorgeous mommy-to-be!

Time for Presents!

I think someone is going to be a little spoiled :-)

Look at all that BLUE!

My mom reading a special book to Kayla

If you haven't already, make sure to read

"Ma, There's Nothing to Do Here" by Barbara Park

if you are expecting - it's adorable..

The shower was absolutely wonderful! 

Kayla - thank you for letting me be apart of your special day! 

Kayla and Matt - you two are going to make wonderful parents!  Baby Schwein is so blessed to be joining such a loving and caring family.  It's very clear you two have all the love in the world for your little guy already!  We can't wait for baby Schwein to arrive!  Not to mention Jameson is excited to show him "the ropes" as he grows!  We send all our love to you both and your bundle of joy.  Love you.

It was then time to pack up the car and head on home!  We wanted to get home Saturday evening so we could have all day Sunday to relax as a family... And relax is exactly what we did!

Such a GREAT visit home!!   xoxox