Grandma's Garden

No summer would be complete without some pictures of the fabulous flowers in my Mom's garden. Kacy and Ryan agreed to take a trip to the garden and help....(it was before 8 in the morning when we were out there, so Madi was certainly still in bed!)

Yes, she thinks she is a super model and needs to pose for every picture!!

Ryan just loved sitting and picking grass..........(and then he would eat it!)

Villa Pines Picnic

The girls and I had the chance to take in the Villa Pines Family Picnic with Great Grandma Soley. We a blast seeing how much fun Great Grandma was having. It very nice to have her back in our lives and for my children to have the opportunity to get to know her!

Farm Run

The girls and I made a run down to the farm this weekend. Linda, my coworker, has decide she is retiring at the end of the month so I figured I might as well have one more long weekend before then.

The following are just some random pictures from the farm.

The girls and their baby kitties...notice how gently Madi holds her poor kitty!

This is Lovey!

And this is Tiger!

Yes, I think he looks like he may be growling!!!

Ryan at 7 months!

County Cousins....

Ryan and Grandpa playing in the grass.

Looks like Ryan loves Kacy's kitten too!

Mom says his tongue is his new thing!!!

Isn't just too darn cute!!!

Ryan and Papa on the deck.

Papa is watching for deer, Ryan is watching all the

loud moving vehicles on the highway.

Fawn Doe Rosa Fun!

Yes my friends it is that time of year again, we are off to one of our favorite SCF hot spots

Fawn -Doe-Rosa!!!!

My girls love to feed the animals, pet the animals, kiss the animals and ride the animals.

We are very lucky to have this great resource so close to our home. It is too bad we do not use it more than once a year. (I am sure the girls would love to go and ride the horses every weekend if they could!) Bret missed this years trip because he was in Ohio taking in some races!!

Sisterly love.....this is as good as it gets people!!!

The new babies.

This girl has no fear when it come to feeding the animals.

What is the bag Kacy?

"Kacy in the Dell"

"Madi in the Dell"

Pretty, pretty peacock!!

I think this is duck talk!!!

Just ask Madi what her horses name was....

"Bob, like my Papa!"

And Kacy rode Cinnamon.

We figure Skippy was pretty jealous, because she always rides him when she is there.

In fact last year Terri got Skippy out just for Kacy!!

Our Day Trip......

After being at Nana and Papa's for a week I thought when I finally got to Arkdale I should get the girls out of there for the day to give my parents a much needed break from naughty little girls. So we packed up the van and headed to Henry Villas Zoo in Madison. I have not been there for years!!!! Most likely, the last time I was there was our 8th grade school trip. (try doing the Math on that one!!!) The girls had great time checking out the animals and seeing all the zoo had to offer. We did have a great number of people to contend with however.

Rhino

Not the cheesy pose we usually see from her!


What do suppose these two are taking about?
Probably the crazy lady taking their picture!


And she is the one I usually can not get to cooperate. I am not sure if I should consider her sticking out her tongue cooperation!!

The cool giraffe!

And the ugly camel!

We then headed out of Madison and in the direction of Waunakee. We were hoping to find Ashley so she could pick out which dress she liked better for her flower girls. That mission was a success. We found her place of work and she picked the dress she liked.....coincidentally it was also the one Kacy liked. Now we will just have to get Madi's fitted so they can match.

We then took a break in his adorable park in Waunakee before heading back........

There was an amazing stone bridge....

Look who is all smiles now!!!

Her too...kind of!

We then headed the long way back to the farm.....

& I mean the really, really long way.

Thank goodness I had a full tank. I knew we may have been in trouble when at one point we had the option of taking the ferry!!!!!

Graduation Day

Today is graduation day from 8th grade.....in the fall it will be off to high School for Bret Johnson.

They do an awesome job with in St Croix with 8th grade graduation. I remember being so impressed when I went the first time for Justin. There is an actual ceremony so it really is a big deal. All the girls are in dresses and most of the boys took time to tuck in their shirts at least. Both Mark and I were able to attend without the girls...due to the fact that they are still driving Grandma crazy at the farm. I am going after the ceremony to get them...

The theme for the class of 2014....

I almost choked on my gum when I realized that that really is not that far away!!! I have always heard that once your child starts high school the years just fly!! Guess we had better hold on!

They also received hats that said "Dream Big!"

Proud Dad!


Mr Excitement himself heading for his certificate from Mrs. Willow


Wait a minute....I think that may be a smile!!!

Good Job Bret....High School here I come!!!

Welcome to Boise...yes Idaho!

Over memorial day weekend Mark and I had the opportunity to take a mini vacation...alone!!!!

We flew out to Idaho for his cousin's wedding with Rene and Ross. This is the first of our 9 weddings between May and October! We flew out Thursday, drove up into the mountains to stay a couple days at his Aunts cabin then we came back to Boise on Saturday for the wedding!

The scenery was breath taking, we enjoyed walks, shopping, eating

and played many hands of O-Hell!!

One of the favorite parts of the trip....which we have no pictures to post of was class 4 whitewater rafting. I never would have done it if I had know I had to put on a wet suit.....

It was amazing!!! I also never would have thought I would have wanted there to be more class 4 rapids!!! Floating on a tube will not do it for me anymore!

This is Ron and Vick's cabin! We had great accommodations for two nights. They are located about 2 hours north of Boise, near McCall.


I loved the snow on the mountain tops.

Pictures from the wedding.

The ceremony and reception was held at the Art Center in Boise.

It was very pretty and Kesley had some amazing colors and flowers.

The Bride and her Dad

Kesley's' s brother Micheal married them.

He is a Naval Officer.

Ross and Rene

This Mark's Dad and his brother's and cousin's who made the trip as well.

Micheal and his wife Heidi with the new bride.

Downtown Boise, and its capital.