Duck Race Goes to PLAN B

Had it not been for the 2.5 inches of rain the night before, as well as the abundance of rain at the beginning of July, we would have surely been in the creek for a second go at our duck races. However, once I stepped in the creek to test the levels, I knew there wouldn't be a way to make it work; the current was just to strong, especially once it caught your torso. Had you wanted to put in your inner tube, throw yourself in, and start racing that way, it might have worked... but not for our precious three inch plastic ducks!

We needed to quickly move to Plan B as people were arriving shortly. Jon, being quick on his feet, thought we should get some plastic and race down our backyard slope. With a little improvising, soap, and water, we had our duck race!

I recently paired down the pictures I have for Carl's birthday and I still have too many (62) to be able to share all of them on the blog. Here's a few of the highlights!

We had bubbles, a small parachute, and face painting for added activities at the party. I was prepared for an indoor party as well, thinking we may have more rain, but it stayed mostly sunny and beautiful. Inside I had a small train scavenger hunt, a Carl picture slideshow running, and a bunch of train books that we got from the library that week scattered on end tables. I hand cut a banner that said Happy Birthday Carl but never got a picture of that... It was also trains!!

As you can see, I was trying to help wet down the plastic and spread out the soap to help with the slippery factor. It was slippery. I believe I stayed on my feet the entire way down!

 Everyone was pretty excited for the races! Jon and his dad stood at the top with two hoses spraying the ducks down the tarp. If they caught one of two currents they most definitely medaled... but you had to hit the right spot!

Did I mention we used soap?! Yes the ducks needed to be hosed down after the races. Soap was everywhere!

Uncle Jeff got off easy this year and didn't have to brave the creek. Like I said, creek levels were just too high. I'm sure he would have done it anyway for his fabulous nephew!

Our mid-range age group winners. The duck that got Gold in this picture won it all with a final race between all three gold medalists! He was pretty excited!

After the races we moved onto food and opening gifts. Carl was very thankful for all of his friends being at his party, and for the loving gifts he received.

Carl opened one gift from his Uncle Dave and Aunt Betsy pretty early on. It was a cool matchbox truck and a snoopy jr. ranger t-shirt. He loves both! I asked Carl to go say thank you and he also asked Uncle Dave to open the truck. The awesome Uncle Dave opened it! So after that, Carl decided that every other gift he just needed to bring to Uncle Dave and he would open it for him. It was really cute!

One gift item I thought Carl would enjoy was a bubble lawn mower. My sister had one, and C just never wanted to leave it. Well, he got one for his birthday and it's a good thing he opened it last. There was no stopping him. All of his friends and cousins were trying to check it out, but he carried on mowing the back yard, just as daddy does!

Lastly, the cake! Did I mention it was a train themed party. I was thrilled with how it turned out. I had a chocolate cake and yellow cake in there, both delicious and everything gluten free: cookie wheels, animal graham crackers, and coal chocolate chips. He turned two... choo, choo!!

Carl liked it too but did not want to touch the frosting. Silly boy! Happy Birthday Carl. We love you very much!

P.S. He also was wearing a special choo choo train shirt. He couldn't wait to put it on!

Two Tractors...

This happened Friday morning, November 22 around 6:30 am...

A short story, as told by Carl Bonkoski through two tractors:
Tractor 1: Hi.
Tractor 2: Hi.
1: How you doin'?
2:Um... I like my church.

The End.

Carl's 2nd Birthday

I was told once that I should have been a party planner. That might be true, because of how much I enjoy planning events/parties, but that also might be because it's usually for my family. 

Carl's birthday and the following day party were so much fun. We were so blessed to have such a great turnout this year for our Second Annual Rubber Duck Race (you might remember the first ever race!). But before we get there... let's go here...

Picture this with me, the day before the big party, also Carl's actual birthday. I was busy making Carl's birthday Choo Choo Train cake when I noticed the sink backing up. Yes, backing up, as in not draining and I can't wash pans and utensils I need to continue making more cake. This issue was not easily solved by simply running the garbage disposal, no we had a major problem. I almost freaked out but I called Jon instead to tell him my predicament. He came home to help solve it. 

Finally, just before close of business on a Friday evening, we called in a plumber. My mom had been watching the kids for me that day so I could prep, so when she came to drop them off around dinner time, we piled back in her car to go out to dinner. (the kitchen was already a mess, there was a plumber in the house, and I'm pretty sure it was easier to just go out at that point)

So grateful for Chipotle and the many meals it has served us over the years. Carl and Brianna were excited to eat out with Gammie and the bonus, eating outside!

We came back to a working sink, to which I am extremely grateful we called when we did so we wouldn't have had to pay for plumber overtime. AND that we'd have a working sink for the big party. Although it was getting late, we decided to make one final adventure before shuffling everyone to bed. Jon was promoted to a Manager's position this year and with that comes a company car which just happened to be ready for pickup that day. We are so proud of Jon and his accomplishments, this was well deserved!!  Plus he moved desks and now has an awesome view which we just had to check out!!!

"Me Drive?"

Anyway, so we drove down to work to pick up the new ride. Carl and Brianna were eager to explore the new car. We briefly discussed a birthday dessert but thought it best to get home for bed... there would be PLENTY of dessert at the party! Also a special treat, is that he got to be with bot sets of grandparents on his birthday. It's not every year you can say that!

How's the View From Up There??!?!?

Because I have a hard time waiting, I'm overcoming my deep seeded need to keep posts in order and bring you a few more pictures of our new place!

One thing that surprises people as the look around the new house is that there is a tree house in the back yard. You might be thinking that, yeah that's not that unusual, but the surprise comes from when they look at the distance it takes to even get up to it! Yes, our tree house sits a good distance from the ground, above our roofline. I have yet to venture up, but Jon and his brother Jeff went up to check things out. Both Brianna and Carl were disappointed they couldn't make the climb, but that's another problem to solve in a few more years. Feel like conquering your fear of heights??

Rounding out the Fourth Weekend

After the fireworks and after we all tried to regain some sleep, we headed to the cabin to spend more time with family. Everyone was already there, so we just added to the full cabin fun! Brianna and Carl enjoyed searching for rocks, pinecones, leafs, and flowers. They also thoroughly loved getting in the water to go swimming! Brianna has been getting more and more confident in the water - which is awesome. There were times out in the lake that she was all by herself swimming (meaning no one was touching her, but generally close by).

We always love being with cousins, uncles, aunts, and even the added bonus of Cody being along for this trip!

Just before bed, Brianna loved listening to her cousin Elissa read to her. So blessed to have older cousins who love on their younger cousins!

Before leaving for home, we went into town to watch the water show! The jumps and tricks were fun to watch and (mostly) kept Brianna and Carl's attention. Carl enjoyed hanging with his Uncle Jeff for a while! And no, he's not wearing pants... It's how we roll!

Leading up to the Fourth

I'm behind... but enjoy looking at warm weather clothes and reminiscing about what once was!

We had a fun summer. It was busy but it was sure fun! As mentioned here, we were thankful to have Dave and Betsy in town this summer. One morning, Betsy and I thought it would be fun to go to a nature center and walk around a bit, you know, run off some energy. I invited my nephew Oliver to join us as he and Justin are close in age and thought it would add to the fun. We walked and talked, explored and discovered, ran and chased, and even had some lunch (with dessert!) when it was all done. What a wonderful day to spend the morning!

Just a couple days later was July 4th! A fun and exciting holiday! Our day started off with a roughly 13 mile bike ride from our house to my parents. Now that was a fun challenge! Once we arrived, everyone was already enjoying the ginormous inflatable that was gifted to us by someone from our church, so we quickly joined in. It was an awesome way to cool off and keep the kids entertained!

We watched fireworks that night from the park near their house. The kids enjoyed the show, but everyone was ready to be in bed after a fun filled day!

There was a Little Free Library on our way to the park and they happened to have a couple kids books. We gladly took a couple and returned them after the show. It was fun to lay out and read books before the fireworks. 

My sister was snapping photos before it got too dark and had all the kids lay in a row. My isn't as nice but it's fun to have a picture with the kids together (check out what she captured).

Carl was being Carl. He was running away and stealing Daddy's hat. Oh man, he keeps us on our toes!

My sister also brought sparklers for all the kids to enjoy. Carl definitely needed assistance, so my sister tried one with him. This was just a second before they both got burned... thankfully we had water bottles with ice in it and everyone recovered!

Here's the lineup... photo taken by Margaret.

Hoping for an All Star 2014

Back at the beginning of July, Brianna was able to go with Daddy to a Twins game. She was so excited to go - and they had a ton of fun! Although it wasn't the best season, we were still able to create lasting memories AND share our love of baseball in our little B. Here's to many more games together... and hopefully winning seasons too!

As I mentioned, she was so excited to go she packed her own backpack to bring with. Although I emptied most of it's contents out, because of how full and heavy it was getting, we left the essentials so she could still bring the backpack with. Even decided to sport a Mortenson shirt for daddy - She is so thoughtful! I had wondered if she would come home with a little kid jersey... maybe next year!

Goodbye Rice. Hello Oak!

If you haven't guessed, the silence lately is because we've had A LOT going on. Two words: We moved!

As of October 24th, we sold our house and purchased a new home. It's not brand new and definitely needs some work, but there is room for personality touches that will make it uniquely ours. We've already taken care of 97% of the boxes and a good chunk of the main living space painting is done. Now it's on to hanging pictures in the new space and sitting back to soak it all in and take... a deep breath. We're grateful for everyone's prayers. This was a journey for us to get here, but we're thankful we are now on this side of it. We'll share more but in the mean time, if you're curious, stop on by! We'd love to give you a tour!