South Dakota Trip

We had such a great time on our trip to South Dakota despite a somewhat rocky start (see post below!). After staying in Detroit Lakes on Wednesday night, we headed to Pierre around lunchtime on Thursday. Paul did really well on the car ride but I'm so glad we had the DVD player because it was a lifesaver! He didn't really nap at all in the car so it was nice to have the movies AND a stop at the John Deere store in Jamestown to keep him happy.

It was so nice to see Laura and Shane and meet Sierra who is such a doll! She is a precious little thing with lots of dark hair and long slender fingers. Laura and Shane also have a dog which Paul really warmed up to after a couple of days.

We went to many different parks around town which was really fun for Paul who is a HUGE park fan lately! Shane also took us on a boat ride which made Paul really excited and happy...we were discussing when to go on the boat ride early that day and Paul caught on that a boat ride may be in his future so I told him he'd have to ask Uncle Shane. He found Shane and said, "Uncle Shane, boat ride, please" which was pretty cute! The pontoon is awesome and we had a great ride!

We really had a fantastic time visiting with Laura and Shane and seeing them as new parents to baby Sierra....can't wait to see all of them again! The trip home was uneventful and I'm so glad we made the trek to Pierre! Thanks for being such great hosts, Laura and Shane!

Uh-Oh

Look what didn't make it to South Dakota! It was waiting for me at the top of the stairs when we got home...oh yes, it's MY suitcase and oh yes, it wasn't ME that didn't put it in the van!!

P.S. Sara, thanks a million for lending me clothes!

Paul and Baby Sierra

I was able to snap a few pictures of Paul and Baby Sierra during our trip to South Dakota...he was a little tentative around her but we were able to get Paul to sit with Sierra a few times! I don't think he knew quite what to make of this new baby and wasn't always thrilled when we/or Grandma would hold Sierra..."Baby, down"! However, he loved playing in her bedroom and checking out all her new toys and books! He really did quite well with Sierra and was really gentle when she was near but he was way more interested in playing in his new surroundings.

I love the expression on Paul's face in the last picture!

Big plans

I signed up for the Twin Cities FULL marathon a few weeks ago which will mean a pretty big change in my training program...longer runs (duh), a little stricter schedule, and oh yeah, longer runs. A woman who lives in our neighborhood is also running the full in October and we plan to do some of the really long runs together which is great! I've taken a glance at the training program we're going to use and I'm wondering what I've got myself into! Looks like quite a jump from training for the half.

I won't post about every single run but will mention any noteworthy ones OR new playlists!

Time with Auntie Marissa

Marissa spent the weekend with Paul while I went to run the Fargo half-marathon and Ryan went fishing. It sounds like they had a fun weekend together! Marissa took Paul to visit her friend who has a little girl close to Paul's age. I love the pictures of the two in the pink car....Marissa said Paul would steer the car while Grace would press the gas. Ah, teamwork. We are happy to report that Paul is getting much better at sharing with other children and not quite so territorial!

Thank you, Marissa, for helping out that busy weekend! Looking forward to our next visit!

Congratulations to the Prunty's!

Laura and Shane welcomed their baby girl, Sierra Elizabeth, into their family on Wednesday...looking forward to seeing pictures of her! Perhaps on Laura's future blog?!
We are going to South Dakota to visit over Memorial Day and I'm really excited to see the new family! Congratulations Laura and Shane!

Here's some photos from a recent photo shoot we had...Sarah, the photographer, did a GREAT job taking pictures and was really patient with Paul. He wasn't exactly in the mood to sit down and pose but she really captured some cute shots! I'm so happy to have an updated family picture, it's so rare to have a picture of all three of us! Thanks for doing such a nice job, Sarah!

Children's Fair

A few weeks ago we took Paul to the Children's Fair which was held at the arena. I couldn't believe what a huge event it was...one side of the arena was informational booths which Paul tolerated because there were free balloons but the other side of the arena had all the different emergency vehicles and games so we quickly finished up on the "boring" side!

I think it was a little overwhelming for Paul to see all the big trucks up close because he was pretty clingy to Grandpa Bob! He liked looking at the fire truck, bus, police car, etc. but he didn't want to stray to far away from Bob. I didn't really get any great pictures but here's a couple...I like the one of Paul in the fire hat he got at the fair. It was a pretty fun event but I was really happy to have Bob and Diane there to help...thanks for a fun day!