Early Birthday Present

Grace has been 'begging' us for a little kitten ever since we helped rescue 3 little kittens at my parent's farm at the end of the summer. Their mother was killed on the road, and the 3 were very tiny. We took them to a friend, and she amazingly pulled all 3 through! We went to visit and ever since then, Grace has asked if she could please, please, please have a little kitten! Both girls LOVE animals, no question about it. So Christian and I talked for many days/weeks, and decided we would let them have a little kitten as a birthday present for both! We also were glad to have given in considering when we went to Grace's conferences all she wrote about was either having a kitten or rescuing the kittens!

So far, this kitten has fit right into our home! She is very loveable and also loves to play and be frisky with the kids and the dog. We love our little Chloe! Even Christian this morning revealed to me that he felt this kitten fit into our home =) She loves to crawl on his lap as well to snuggle!


I have a very cute video footage of Grace with Chloe, I just need to figure out how to upload. Most cuddling pictures of Chloe & Grace are in her bed going to sleep for the night. =) Here is one I was able to snatch of Reese. You can see she has her favorite blanket in one hand, and the little kitten snuggled in the other! Welcome home Chloe, welcome home!

Chicken Whisperer

I have stated on countless occassions that our girls "LOVE" the farm life. If they could be outside with the animals all day, they'd be in their glory. Both have become so passionate and care for these animals, even the uncommon 'pets' - the chickens!

We all call Reese the little 'chicken whisperer' because she can get chickens to sit on her lap! They even follow her around like a little mother hen! So adorable.

I also find it very funny how much our girls love chickens, while their 2 aunts (Cassie & Melissa) cannot stand to walk near them! =)

Beautiful day for a picnic & a waterfall

What a spectacular Saturday in Minnesota! I know many were headed to the State Fair, however we're not huge state fair people, so the Gendrons, plus Melissa & Kyle headed down south for the day to New Ulm! We went spent time again at the Brewery there to take pics in the garden & then headed over to the park to swim & have a picnic lunch!

<--- Grace & Reese with their aunt Melissa

The Gendron Family! So Happy to have a nice summer shot!

<---- Can you begin to see the Baby Bump??? =) Love it!!!

Me with my girls! Pretty in pink!

PLAYING RESTING & EATIN!

We decided we still had a little energy left to go check out another state park and see the waterfalls at Minneopa State Park. It was fun to see and then hike down to the bottom where crazy uncle Kyle went into the falls!

Tired of feeding the squirrels

I had to share this little genius idea my hubby had for our bird feeder! We were getting so frustrated because we were no longer feeding the birds, but feeding the squirrels! They would hang on to the feeder upside down and demolish all the food! Stinkers! Christian was getting very frustrated, so the girls and him one night put this together! Little smarties and I thought was too cute so had to share!

Summer Fun on the Farm

Our Girls are some of the most spoiled little girls! They are spoiled, however, I absolutely love that they are growing up with a love of animals by being on the farm as I did growing up (goats are still my favorite). It is very interesting to see their interests when on my parent's farm.

Reese, as you can see LOVES her little red hens! She will follow them and even cuddle with them! She loves to collect their eggs, and will always say, "Thank you chickens" when picking up eggs or eating them at the kitchen table!

And here is our cowgirl Grace! She is riding Minnie, the new little horse Grandpa bought for the girls from the Amish down in Harmony Minnestoa! He had been planning this little (ok big) surprise for months, and he kept it a secret from all of us, including Grandma! She is a sweet horse and Grandpa is getting the saddle all ready for this fall to teach Grace to ride. We're thinking in a year she'll be riding by herself on Minnie after many lessons with Grandpa!

And here is the first time the girls saw Minnie and rode her. Can you see the huge smile on all '3 kid's faces'?!!?? Again, like I said, spoiled (& loved) little girls!

But mom, I don't want to take a nap.....

Yes, this is how she feel asleep yesterday for a little nap! Reese lately has not been wanting to take naps and this is not too bad except when it comes to around dinner time, she can get quite owly! I was making dinner, and she kept wanting to have a snack, after 3 times of telling her no because mommy was making a yummy dinner, I asked her to go to her room for a time out and to calm down. After 10 minutes, I realized she was very quiet and went to check on her. I found her half way between her room and the hallway sound asleep with her 'blankies'! She loves her blankies that Grandma made for her, and she was out cold! She is too funny!

Our 'Google' Adventures

One thing I love about Christian is his curiousity to try new things. I'm often reluctant because I like 'knowing' what I'm getting into and what to plan/prepare for with the girls. It's a mom thing I guess. However over the past year, we've been doing fun and different things together as a family through searches. Most are hits. Christian has termed these outings as our 'Google adventures' because more often he does random searches to find fun things for us to do together as a family! I would encourage anyone to do this and just take a day to do something brand new!

Our last adventure was a half 'google adventure' & half my hubby randomly finding this place while on the road. We went down to New Ulm for the day and had alot of fun checking out the man made pool at Flandrau State Park. This was a great park, and we decided we'll come back next year to camp and hike. We walked around town and ate at a great restaurant. Then we finished our day at the Schell Brewery. The gardens were beautiful. What a fantastic day and adventure for the family.

Daddy & Grace swimming

Reese pumped to go back into the water

Below are pics from the Gardens at Schell Brewery in New Ulm. We didn't go on the tour, but instead created our own mini tour and walked around. It is free to go and walk around there, however costs I believe $3 to take the tour.