Last Few Days in Minnesota

It has been soooo long since I felt I had a minute to blog. So I'm going to sneak in a quick (yeah right-it just keeps going and going) post while Emily and Sam are playing nicely together (how long will that last?) and Ben is asleep (please sleep little baby!).

I reviewed the pictures I took over our last few days in Minnesota and I thought I would post them along with a brief explanation.

We decided it was not worth moving our trampoline and swing set to our new house. So we gave them to our friends Hillary and Mark for their little guy Blake. Mark came and took down the trampoline and swing set (Thank you Mark!). The kids were not as upset as I thought they might be. Here is the big dirt spot where the trampoline killed all the grass underneath it.

Here is Emily and Sam swinging before Mark came to dismantle the swing set. I forced them to go outside for "one last swing." Ignore the super long grass-it rained a lot and I was unable to mow it for awhile. For pictures of the swing set and trampoline's new home click here.
We have always love "park day" during the summer. Moms and kids from church gathered at local parks and played and snacked every Tuesday morning. We were usually the first to arrive and the last to leave. Here are Ben, Ann B., Joy M., Sarah P., Lori L., and Janus W. I should have taken more pictures, but I was still in denial that this was my last chance.
Here is Emily with friends (I have no idea why she is scowling). Tessa P., Madison L., Emily, Alexis W., Ella F. I'm so glad she had a chance to play with her friends one last time.
I could not help including a picture of how Ben spends "Park Day". Here he is with a bag of pretzels. He usually eats non stop while the kids play. I guess everyone has their own definition of fun!When we are not playing outside, Emily is great at coming up with fun things to do inside. Here is Emily and Alyssa M. (across the street neighbor) dancing.

Our friends have been such an important part of our lives while we have lived in Minnesota. Our friends are like family to us and we have shared so many memories with them. I was so fortunate that Hillary C. and Sarah P. were willing to watch my kids while the movers were at our house, not just because I needed the kids out of the way, but as chance for Emily and Sam to play with them one last time before we moved.

Here is Emily and Tessa. Such pretty girls!Here are handsome Abel and Sam. Of course, we had to have the silly pose picture! Sarah, why didn't I take a picture of the two of us?
It was so hard to say goodbye to my friends. Thank you Hillary for emailing me these pictures. Look at us with our cute baby boys (Jared and Ben)! Sam with his good buddy Blake.There was a slide that belonged to the swing set we gave to Blake and his family. (Brad never attached it in our yard-long story). I'm glad Sam got a chance to use it and that Mark attached it for Blake. I'm so glad that Emily, Sam, and Ben had a great last day in Minnesota playing with their friends.Stay tuned for the moving pictures.