Minnesota in May and June!!

The day after school got out, Mommy and the kids headed to MN so that we could attend the Kelly family get together the next day and spend some time with Nana and Papa Steve.  We have an unwritten rule started by Nana that we try to not let more than 2 months go by without seeing one another.  Started when we moved to Arizona and continues now with us in Arkansas!  Of course the first thing that came out within an hour of arriving was Sara's old snack shop from when she was little.

On Sunday the troops arrived!  

The Kelly siblings!

Kelly siblings plus significant others!  

Cousins!!!

Cousins, Annie and the littles!

Mommy's MN tribe - pretty much sisters!!!

That night we kept Sam and Elena so the kids could have a sleepover and so that we could head to Owatonna's Memorial Day parade the next day!

We brought them back to Eden Prairie later that day and had a BBQ at Jim and Annie's before heading back to Nana and Papa's for a fun week!

Reading all the library books!

Yellow Mushroom pizza - YUM!

It was super important for Mommy to visit Aunt Alice (Grandma Kelly's sister) in Winona so one day we road-tripped.  It was SO good to see her.  The kids brought her little trinkets from their McDonalds happy meals and she was happy to see us, asking all about things.  Trevor even sang her some patriotic songs for the Memorial Day holiday.  Precious time that our souls all needed.  We got to see Scott and Carmen too.  And thank goodness we went.  Less than a week later she joined her husband Uncle Elmer and Grandma Kelly up in Heaven.  She held on until both of her boys (Scott and Roger) were with her.  So many memories of Aunt Alice - loved her honesty, love of sweets and family and her smile.  We will miss you Aunt Alice, until we are reunited in Heaven. XOXO

After visiting Aunt Alice we headed to a lookout point to see the town Mommy was born in!

Mommy's birthplace!

Then it was back to Owatonna for more fun!

Blast ice cream of course!

Then on Thursday we went up to the Cities to meet Grandma Pauline and Papa John who were in town to help Jeff and Dawn and family move into their new house.  

After that we headed to the MN Zoo.  Annie took the day off of work (!!) and we thought we were spending the day with Nana, Annie and Elena but nope!!  When we got to the zoo Sam popped out from behind a rock and surprised us!  Annie let him skip school (!!) to see us!!!  And what a fun day we had!  We miss the MN Zoo!  Year 3 for the BFF shirts!!!!

Ashley taught Elena her signature pose!  Cuties!

When we got back to Owatonna we stopped at the Blast for one last Dole Whip!  The next day we had to head home to get Ashley back for her dance recital!  Thanks Nana and Papa for hosting us, all the yummy meals, treats and activities.  Love y'all!!!

May Happenings

Not sure where May went but we know there was lots of laughter and fun!  Ashley and Toby - always together!

Trevor's teacher knows how much Trevor loves to craft and how much he loves this particular pair of cutting shears so she went to 3 Hobby Lobbies to find him a pair!!!!!!  Bless her sweet heart.  He was SO excited!!!

Swimming with friends!

Gymanstics!

Play dates with Grant - poor guys always have a 3rd wheel :)

Soccer practices aren't so bad when sister has friends there too!

On Sara's first trip out to see Brian after he was already working at Sam's we toured our new neighborhood and stopped into the clubhouse.  This super sweet girl gave us a tour and mentioned that she works at kids club at a nearby neighborhood.  Sara said something like 'great, we'll have to track you down when we move for you to babysit our kiddos.'  She said 'Ma'am I'm willing to give you my number now.'  Uh ok!!! In less than 2 seconds flat Sara whipped out her phone and had her contact info.  So Miss Kayla turned out to be our first sitter in Arkansas and we put her to work within weeks of being here.  She was really our only sitter because she was always available when we needed someone.  Well turns out that she and her fiancé got pregnant and we were so honored she included us in her baby shower!

We had Cole and Quinn for a sleepover one night!

Dance pictures!

Emmy's birthday party - she loves snakes so she had a snake party!!

Mommy could hardly believe that her kids (especially princess Ashley wanted to touch it).  Ewww!

Gymanstics friends:

Dance amigas:

Trevor, who needs a haircut monthly, wanted to tell the hair stylist how he wanted his hair this time.  Think it turned out pretty good, even if Mommy wanted a mohawk :)

Trevor and his school buddy Harper and his smart watch which he rediscovered and is obsessed with.  He got this after his ENT surgery in Arizona....so glad it is finally getting used :)

Trevor's Last Days of School!

On the second to last day of school for Trevor, the 'bus stop Moms' decided to decorate our golf carts and ambush the kids with water guns when they came off the bus!!  

The kids didn't want to get off the bus when the saw all the Moms and siblings with water guns!

So much fun!!!

Buddies Tommy and Grant!

After that we had a parade down to the pool for swimming and treats!

Then one sleep and it was Trevor's last day of school! 

Of course Ashley needed to get in the picture!

What a year he had!  Thankful for his amazing teacher Mrs. Scott and meeting a lot of little buddies on our street and through his many activities.  Love seeing his transformation in and out of pictures!  

Trevor's Pirate Party at School

Not sure who was more excited for pirate day at school - Daddy or Trevor.  Those two have been sharing pirate jokes all week!!!  'What's a pirates favorite restaurant?  Arrrrrrby's!' Can't believe it's the last week of school!

Kidz Bop!

And the surprise was....Kidz Bop tickets at the nearby AMP!  We took the golf cart over and got rock star parking!  The kids were SO excited!!!!  Lots of dancing in the aisle and smiles all around!  So much fun that the kids kept the dance party going the whole golf cart ride home and while it was parked!  What a great weekend!