Just Us for Justice

Tonight was so amazing!  It snuck up on us, but it was the Chippewa Valley "Just Us for Justice" run which benefits the International Justice Mission.  John trained while away last week so that he could breeze through the 5 mile.  When we told the boys there was a kids' race, you know they couldn't resist!  This race has grown exponentially in the last three years - this year hosted by three churches (Jacob's Well being one), the race raised over $21,000!  Pretty awesome!  So many of our friends from around the community were there, it was a great family event.

Logan was SO excited to have his own number.  He has been waiting for this day!

Bennett was excited for the race, too.  His number was another story...on again - off again.

Eden just took in the sights and sounds.  :)

ijm.org

 Woohoo!  My two favorite little runners!

 There's blurry John in the orange, holding Bennett who wasn't so sure about running in the rain!

There goes blurry Logan, running with the BRIGHT shoes!  He did awesome, running all by himself: 1/2 mile.

And Benny and Daddy ended up running together.  :)  Way to go boys!

By this time, Eden was in the Moby and it was super rainy, so I was sad not to be at the finish line, but we watched from the gazebo.

What a bunch...looks at those faces!

Next year, we'll all run - yes, even mom, but Eden can ride in the stroller.  :)

Kids' Vacay - Day 5

We started off Day 5 in the best possible way: Papa Famous Pancakes!  My dad was working from home on Friday, so he was whipping them up before we headed out for another playdate with my friend Sarah and her kids.

Sarah lives in Minneapolis, near Minnehaha Academy where John and I spent so much time for the first 4 years of our marriage.  It was fun to drive back and tell the boys that I used to work at that school.  They were confused, I think.  :)  So far, I haven't even taken my big camera out of the case on this trip, so why start now?  I took some photos with my iPhone again, but they didn't turn out too great with the morning light.

Here you can see Grace showing off her tricks and Bennett trying to keep up.  Both of these kiddos are 3.  Benny was pretty excited to play with Grace and while he was a little shy, he warmed up by the end.

William (almost 5, just like Logan) shared his cool Vikings helmet with Bennett!

Little Kate is still little!  She is sweet and smiley.  What a cutie!

The baby girls (just about 12 days apart) hung out in their seat while the moms made lunch.  The kids all did really well together.

Grace wanted a photo with her sister.  :)  

And, of course, there was hockey!

It was a fast paced morning with 6 kids and 2 moms!  Thanks to the Careys for hosting us - we had a great time!

When we got home, Papa and Nana were ready for some time with the kids after our morning away to visit friends.  Eden was wide awake and having fun with Papa.

She sure does like to stand on her chubby little legs!

It turned out to be a rainy afternoon and Papa and Bennett had a special trip to the movies while the rest of us ran a few errands and rested.  It was such a great week - many many thanks to my parents.  I know it was tiring and super busy!  Tomorrow we meet Dad back at home!  Yay!  We have lots of fun stories from our adventures.

Kids' Vacay - Day 4

We packed up on Thursday for another fun outing that Logan had done with Nana, but I'm sure Bennett did not know what he was in for!  We headed to the Mall of America for a day at Nickelodeon Universe!  It was great!  The boys got wristbands so they could ride all day and a chaperone could ride along.  That was me.  :)  I'm not much for rides and let me tell you: the Blues Clues ride about did me in!

Eden all packed up and ready to go!

Bennett wasn't so sure at first, but it didn't take him long to warm up!  Logan was ALL in right away...full speed ahead!

It is so fun to watch the kids have such a blast doing crazy stuff!  Love it!

The Barnyard Hayride was a favorite.

It was so hilarious: the boys would put their hands up and scream when we dipped and went around the corner!  This was not as tame of a roller coaster as you would think!  They loved it!

Eden was not as enthusiastic as the boys, but she was oh-so-cute, as always.

My little snacker.  This boy needs his snacks - and not a minute late.

Bennett's all time favorite was the semi trucks.  We went on these about 10 times in a row.  By the end, I didn't have to go with...he loved it so much!

The boys tried the mini bumper cars and I was soooo nervous.  I thought for sure they would get stuck, or bumped too hard, or just be scared.  Nope.  They LOVED it!  They rode together in a car and Logan was like the best little driver out there!  He drove around, avoiding the other cars - like he had done it before or something.  I couldn't believe it!  They preceded to go on the bumper cars like 20 times.  Clearly, there were no lines or waiting - they would just walk right up and get on the ride again!

Nana got lots of snuggle time with Nana while I was busy with the boys.

 Logan was cautious and smart - such a first born.

As they got more comfortable, Logan would sometimes bump into another car and then they would laugh, of course.

 By the end of the day, Bennett drove his own car a couple times, too.

I was really proud of them for trying something new and not being too sheepish. 

 After LOTS of rides - around probably 1:30, we decided we had to take a break for lunch.  So, we went to my favorite place: Nordstrom.  I love the store and I also love their little cafe.  They serve a great casual, pretty quick lunch and have good kids' meals.  Of course, since the Anniversary Pre-Sale was happening, we had to look around.  The boys got new kicks.  So.Cool.  And, of course, they insisted on wearing them!

I'm so happy for the boys that they have each other.  They had such a good time together.

We also had to stop by Legoland where we found this awesome Woody.  Bennett wondered "where could Buzz be? maybe next time he will be here, mom".

Again, Eden was snoozing away after her own late lunch.  What a trooper.  Best baby ever.

This family kinda cracked me up.  I mean neon hues are stylish right now, but really?!  Clearly, it was their "i-know-who-my-family-is-because-we're-all-wearing-neon" strategy, but it was worth a photo.

Then it was back to the rides, if you can believe it?!  The boys re-did some of the rides they had already done and even tried some new ones.

This FlyBoat was so so so funny!  I couldn't believe they liked it!  They went up and then bounced their way down to the bottom and up again.  I was just glad I didn't have to go with!

This was a seriously fun day!  And a long one!  It was exhausting for the kids and for my mom and I, too.  Thanks to my mom for a wonderful day and for all her help!

Kids' Vacay - Day 3

Today we arranged to meet my dear friend Kim, and her two cuties Avery and Drew at Teddy Bear Park.  We had a great time in the heat!  It was seriously hot!  The kids loved playing and we had a long morning to enjoy the park before we had our picnic together.

Both of the boys really love Avery (she is just 6 weeks younger than Benny and fast approaching her bday!) 

 I guess I missed out on any pics of the babies, but Drew is an awesome little guy.  He is so cute and cuddly.  He was super tired but didn't even make a peep the whole time - despite missing his nap.  Kim and I had so much fun watching the kids play and getting so much time to catch up.

 Those are some sweaty kids!  Playing is hard work.  :)

Back at Nana and Papa's that night, the boys had so much fun goofing around with Papa in the yard.  It was such a lovely day!  Thanks to Kim and fam for meeting up with us in Stillwater!