Chelsea and Erik are getting married! So we headed out to Prior Lake (via Minneapolis) Minnesota to celebrate. We arrived pretty late and by the time we made it to Uncle Carter and Aunt Rose's house it was way past bedtime.
The next morning Uncle Carter took the boys fishing from his dock. Alex and Zachary have fished before, but they have never caught any fish. That changed today!
Alex and Uncle Carter with Alex's first fish!
Zachary and Grandpa with Zachary's first fish!
They were both so excited and proud of themselves! Zachary thinks it might have something to do with the bait.
All of the fish (20 at least) were successfully returned to the lake. I think the boys were a little disappointed that they didn't get to eat any of them though. We spent a lot of time cruising around on the lake.
All of the fresh air and excitement caught up with Alex and Zachary. Can you think of a nicer place to nap?
Chelsea and Erik had their wedding at a beautiful location. The wedding was outdoors and then the reception was inside. We met Cousin Sophia and had fun getting some last minute energy out before the ceremony.
Here comes the beautiful bride!
After the ceremony, we mingled while the final preparations were made inside. Zachary thought Chelsea looked "so pretty" and wanted to give her lots of hugs.
Our best attempts at keeping shirts tucked in just weren't enough.
Zachary was getting ready to dance!
And he danced with ALL the girls!
Alex and Auntie Nichole
Mady and Daddy
Mady and Grandpa
Zachary and Auntie Nichole
More hugs with the Bride
It was a very beautiful wedding and so much fun! Best Wishes Chelsea and Erik!
The next day, family gathered at Uncle Carter's house for a day full of fun. There was more fishing, games and food.
The following morning was a bit slower. The boys played some croquet and then we went to the playground down the street for a little while. For lunch, Uncle Carter picked up mini make it yourself pizzas for Alex and Zachary.
In the afternoon, we were very blessed to have Great Grandma Farrow, Aunt Jean, Uncle Robert, Kristin, and her kids, Kiera and Brody (from North Dakota and Iowa) come to see us. We took lots of pictures.
Some of us went out on the boat.
Aunt Rose made me a surprise birthday cake! That was so nice!
It was very special for Alex, Zachary and Mady to get to meet Great Grandma. A very heartfelt thank you to everyone that helped make that happen.
Our next adventure was to see Minnehaha Falls.
This is what I remembered from a previous trip:
This is what we got:
But the lack of water made for fun riverbed rummaging.
We found swings! This was Mady's first time on the swings, and she enjoyed it!
Nature shots!
Hiawatha and Minnehaha
John H. Steven's House
No, he didn't
Enjoying the fallen leaves
Enjoying the lake again
How can you resist?
Back to the playground
And then time to get serious. Schoolwork doesn't wait forever.
On our last day, we went to Mall of America and Nickelodeon Universe.
The grand finale was a moonlit cruise around the lake for my birthday!
Mady didn't like the life jacket, but she eventually settled in.
Last minute fun at the airport
What a wonderful trip! We were able to meet and reconnect with so much family and go on many adventures. Thank you Uncle Carter and Aunt Rose for insisting we stay with you and taking such great care of us!
