August: Minnesota's showcase month

I was always disposed to love the month of August.  My birthday is in August, I usually vacation sometime in that month, and it's still summer.  That being said, I didn't know how great August could be until I moved to Minnesota.
Where August can a kind of hot, sticky month in many places, here in Minnesota it is GORGEOUS.  I'm talking 80-degree-sunny-blue-skies weather.  There are parks open, beaches open, playgrounds to be used, picnics to be had, trails to traverse, chicken to be barbecued, homemade ice-cream to be made and eaten with friends.  That's August.

This August I discovered Theo-Wirth Beach.  It's such a great little beach, I think we went once or twice a week throughout the entire month.  We often went with friends, which made a good time even better.  Here is Claire with two of her little buddies, Olivia and Chloe.  Such styling young ladies!

One Saturday in August, we went to Stillwater as a family.  For those of you unfamiliar with the area, it's a little tourist town on the edges of a river (I should know which river, but I don't).  There are steamboats that provide river cruises, fun bike paths, a cute shopping district, really neat restaurants and antique stores, etc.  It's kind of a blend of Park City, UT, and Hannibal, Missouri.  Anyway, it's home to lots of fun things, including a playground that we had to check out.  Logan discovered these nets, and as you can see, he thoroughly enjoyed himself.  We ended the day walking by the river and eating the most enormous ice cream cones I've ever had.  

The Minnesota Zoo was a favorite destination this month.  Normally I avoid places like this during the height of the busy season, but this zoo is so large that we were able to see what we wanted without feeling over-crowded.  This ladybug is at the entrance to the zoo, and the boys have to sit on it every time we go in.

We were lucky enough to have our awesome Aunt Marissa come and visit us in August!  It was so much fun having her all to ourselves this weekend.  We started the week off right by picking her up from the airport, then swinging on by to Mall of America where we went through the Aquarium, did some of the rides in the Nickelodeon theme park, and did a little shopping.  I love this picture, because both Marissa and I are posing, and Mckay and Logan are totally too cool to pose with us.

We took Marissa to Elm Creek Reserve, home to the coolest park I have ever seen.  As you can see, the equipment here is fun for young and old.  Mckay was thrilled to have a climbing buddy!

Theo Wirth beach.  While the beach is always fun, having an extra pair of hands for three little kids made it especially fun for me!

One of our last outings with Marissa was to the mighty Mississippi.  Here's a good shot of what the Mississippi looks like as it goes through downtown Minneapolis.

One Saturday afternoon our good friends invited us to go boating with them on Medicine Lake.  Chase had fun on the water-ski, and I was even brave enough to attempt wake-boarding (and was semi-successful, which is huge for me!)  This was Mckay's first time ever going on the tube.  I was amazed, first of all, that he even went on the tube, and was so happy that he had a great time.  It's moments like these that I realize my little Mckay isn't so little anymore.

The last weekend in August we went to the Minnesota State Fair.  I didn't know this before I moved here, but the State Fair is a big deal here.  I guess it's like the #1 State Fair in the nation.  My expectations were pretty high, and it did not disappoint.  We got there super early in the morning and were able to do all the fun kid things without the big crowds.  I think our favorite activity was the Little Farm Hands, where the kids got to do real farm things, like milk a cow, feed chickens, plant a garden, etc.

Logan was too scared to go on the "boats" at the fair, but Mckay was willing to help us use the tickets we bought;)

I love this little girl. She's such a great sport, even when Mom makes her pose in these silly pictures.

I think Chase's favorite part of going to the State Fair was getting a gyro.  We didn't think we could say we got the whole State Fair experience without getting some type of yummy food, right?

This month was such a great bookend to our summer, we had a blast.

Where I discuss what turning 30 felt like

I remember turning twenty.  I was at an extended family reunion at Martin's Cove.  I remember my family managed to get cake an ice cream to the middle of nowhere, and they did a good job of making me feel special in my pioneer bonnet and skirt.  I also remember going to my tent the night of my birthday and just thinking, "I can't believe I'm 20 and I still haven't figured out so much of my life.  I thought by now I would have had a better idea of who I am and what I can do."

It was a sobering, almost sad evening, but a very powerful one for me.  I wanted to become the person I thought I would have been by 20, and I left that vacation feeling very motivated.  I tried to be very proactive over the next decade, and live life "on purpose".  I think that it worked, with the help of a loving Heavenly Father who helped me to accomplish many of my goals.  Here are some things I did while in my twenties:

1. I determined that I would study Elementary Music Education
2. I decided to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I served for 18 months in South Africa, which was a huge life-altering experience for me.
3. I met and married Chase.  The biggest blessing and best decision I'd ever made.
4. I graduated from BYU with my degree.
5. I taught for a year as an Elementary Music Specialist in a school in American Fork.  Such a challenging, wonderful, growing year that was, too.
6. I had my first three children: Mckay, Logan, and Claire.  They have shaped and molded me incredibly well, and I love them beyond what I can ever hope to express.
7. I taught piano and raised our kids while Chase finished his undergraduate and graduate degrees in business.  The pursuit of his education took us from Provo to Orem to Salt Lake, to Plymouth, Minnesota.  In the six years (almost) that we've been married we've lived in 6 places, served in 3 wards, and met many wonderful people from whom I've learned so much!

Interspersed with these major milestones, there have been many highs, several lows, and a lot of day-to-day life.  Now that I'm 30, and have left this decade, I can't help but see Heavenly Father and Jesus  Christ's hand in every major decision and event.  I know that the good I did was only through His help, and the trials I faced were only overcome with His assistance.  The many mistakes I made were erased as I tried to change and repent.

So I am entering my thirties with a sense of gratitude and peace, knowing that by the end of this decade I will have a new list of milestones, events, accomplishments, victories, and tragedies.  My 4 gray hairs that I have right now will probably be closer to 40 grey hairs (if I'm lucky), but I'm optimistic that the memories I carry between those hairs will be worth even last one.

July Part II: Celebrating on

After we said goodbye to our England side, our family headed south to West Mountain, to began the Reunion Tour part II: the Sainsbury Reunion.

 One of the things I'd really wanted to do while in Utah was say hello to a few friends.  So one morning I met with some high school friends at Payson Park.  It was so fun to see everyone, and kind of surreal to think that more than ten years have passed by since we all went our separate ways. I hope I can do this every year I come home.

 Mckay and Logan loved spending time with their cousins.  The older they get, the more they remember and value these family ties they have with one another.  I think that a trampoline is such a great place for family bonding.

One morning some of us were able to go to the temple, thanks to Grandma Sainsbury volunteering to watch our kids!  Now that we have three kids and live about 40 minutes from a temple, Chase and I value these opportunities so much.  I loved being able to go with my family as well, it made it even more special.

We went to Seven Peaks one fun afternoon.  I wasn't sure how much my kids would be into the water slides, Lazy River, etc., but I needn't have worried.  This place is a kid paradise.  Mckay was super into the water slides, and Logan and Claire found their own version of Splash Pad Nirvana.  

Family pictures again!  Since Chase and I had done our own family portrait in June, and did another session less than a week earlier, we opted out of taking our individual family shots.  But it wouldn't be a true Sainsbury picture without a picture of all of us on the fence.  This family is grown so much!

One day Chase and I took the kids to the Bean Museum.  We met Grandma England, Cole, Courtney,, Garrex, and Jax there.  I didn't know they'd been remodeling the Bean Museum, so I was very pleasantly surprised at what we found there.

 One hot summer day we were surprised with a typical summer rainstorm.  The kids, of course, were all about using umbrellas at a time like this.  They got soaking wet, so I think the umbrellas were more for fun than function.

Family reunions with lots of kids are fun, but I am a huge fan of a girl's shopping trip.  I love the chance to talk with my sisters and sisters-in-law, and loved that Talia is now one of the big girls and gets to come with us!  I had a lot of fun with my Mom, Rachel, Jaime, Julie, Courtney, Marissa, and Talia.  With their help, I got some cute clothes and good conversation, which equals an awesome afternoon.  Love these ladies!

On the last day of our family reunion, I had my birthday!  To celebrate, my mom and dad threw a party not only for me, but for everyone.  Since all but one of their grandchildren live out of state, this was their way of celebrating everyone's birthday at once.  We did sack races, the water balloon toss, and other fun games.  It was such a great birthday party, and a perfect way to end the reunion.

We left Utah full of fun memories and experiences.  It was so great being able to spend time with family and friends, we felt truly blessed as we drove home.  

July: A study in celebrations

I have always said that Fall is my favorite time of year, and while I think that is still true, summer is starting to give it a run for it's money.  Especially July.  

This year for Independence Day, we had an early morning breakfast with some friends.  This is a tradition my parents have always done, and is something I think we'll try to do every year.  It was fun visiting with friends and enjoying the beautiful day!

 Later that day, we went to another friends' house for a barbecue.  

 Our annual "4th of July" family photo.

 I was pretty proud of my ability to color coordinate the kids' outfits this year.  I think Claire's little dress is just about the most adorable thing in the world!

While we were at the barbecue, we got a chance to go tubing and jet skiing on Schmidt Lake.  I feel like I have the dumbest expression on my face in this picture, but I felt like I needed to document the most wild, crazy tube ride I've ever been on!

Here is a picture of Claire and I in July.  I just love this little girl, she is so sweet and loves to give her mom and dad lots of snuggles and hugs.

Apart from the 4th of July, the big event of this month was driving from Minnesota to Utah for the England and Sainsbury family reunions.  I wish I could have captured on camera just how long and difficult, yet also fun and interesting, the trip was.  We saw the woods and lakes of Minnesota fade to the prairies of South Dakota, to the sage brush of Wyoming, and finally to the mountains of Utah.  It was a really fun experience . . . that I wouldn't mind waiting awhile to repeat!  That being said, the trip was well worth it because we got to spend a lot of time with our wonderful families.

Our first stop on the Reunion Tour was England cabin in Kamas.  One of Mckay's favorite activities was painting with Grandma England and Cole.  He let me help him paint this mastery, and told me to title it "King Mckay".

 We spent a lot of time at the pool in Kamas.  This year Mckay was NOT afraid of the water, and had so much fun!  Logan also enjoyed himself, and was happy to splash in the toddler area, and Claire had her first exposure to a swimming pool.  It was so nice for us to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather, and I'm so grateful for the many aunts and uncles to helped watch my kids so I could relax too!

Claire and her Dad loved swimming together.  Claire especially liked being able to splash and splash.

We went to Temple Square one day as a family.  We had so much fun wandering around the Visitor Center and learned some great things about our heritage.

Claire was a little shy at first with all of these new people around her.  But, by the end of the visit, she began warming up to her usual, happy self.  Grandma England was especially good about breaking down the "stranger danger" anxiety.

We took family photos one beautiful evening.  Large family photos shoots are kind of hilarious events.  It is no small thing to get young kids to look at the camera and smile at the same time!  But we managed to capture some really beautiful shots of this wonderful family.

Time doesn't stand still when you move away.  It was fun to get to know Marina and Kelsey better on this trip.  I also loved catching up with my three fabulous sister-in-laws, Courtney, Chelsey, and Cassidy.  Family really is the best!  Sometimes, even though I really love where we live and what we are doing now, I really miss these people, and I wish we didn't live so far away.  However, I know that I am so lucky to have so many wonderful people to miss!  Thank goodness for family reunions:)

We loved this trip, and even though July isn't over yet, I think I will stop posting at this point.  I wish I could have put in every picture that I took over these fun days, but I feel like this post is bordering on too long, so I will continue with the rest of our July adventures in another post.  

June = Summer, and Summer = Party!

Let me just start out by saying that this post has a LOT of pictures. I tried to narrow down which ones I chose, but I just couldn't leave any of these out.  Sorry in advance!

I dreamed and dreamed of summer, and after what seemed like forever, warm days and blue skies came to Minnesota! It is so green and beautiful.

 One Friday night we went as a family to the Children's Museum, to be part of the grand opening of the Thomas Exhibition.  I mean, how could we not?  It was Thomas!  My kids absolutely loved the exhibit, with the exception of Logan.  He was completely terrified of these giant trains, and kept running away, saying, "They're scary!"  But there were lots of other things he loved in "Sodor."

 Logan went through a phase where, even though it was a warm June month, he would have to wear his Thomas hat.  He also could never leave the house without a toy for each hand.  He took this very seriously, as you can see.

 Claire learned to sit up this month.  I love this phase of baby-hood.  They're so happy to be able to see the world, and she would play contentedly for hours on end.  She really is such a happy, pleasant baby.

 Our neighbors have a cool inflatable pool they set up in their backyard, and we spent many fun afternoons at their house.  The boys loved it when I would throw them into the pool.  I thought it sounded painful, but they loved and begged for it.

 We got a special visit on Saturday from Chase's cousin Melissa and his Aunt Judy. They were on their way home from a family vacation in Minnesota. It was so fun to see them and their cute kids!  Claire and her second cousin Margot are such cute little babies, and I hope they get to hang out lots more in the future.

 I just had to include this picture.  We are at Pink Berry in Mall of America, and Claire is showing us how dainty she is, while Chase is completely wrapped around her little finger.

 Here is a picture of our spectacularly ghetto basement.  However, it's perfect for kids to play and make huge messes in.  We did a lot of garage and yard sale hunting this June, and there were some great treasures to be found, including this train table and tracks, a kitchen set, and a pirate's treasure chest.

 Our June 2014 family photos.  I love these people!

Claire, age 7 months

Logan, age 2 1/2

Mckay, age 4

May and our Nauvoo Trip

The benefit of having Mckay's birthday on May 1 is that the month starts out with a bang!  This year Mckay wanted a pirate party, so I made my little pirate a cool cake and had way too much fun picking out fun party-ware for the event.  The best part of his birthday was having his Grandma England visit, along with his aunt Cassidy and uncle Cody.  They arrived late afternoon the day of Mckay's birthday, so we met them at Mall of America, rode a few fun rides, went to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, and then headed home for cake and ice cream.  It was so fun to watch Mckay during this whole day, because he knew that it was his special day, and he got so excited by the smallest things.  He really is a sweet, naturally happy little boy.  We love him so much!

 Cassidy, Jeannette, and I at the Rainforest Cafe.

We were sad to see Jeannette leave after two days, but were so happy that Cassidy and Cody were able to stay for almost an entire week.  While they were there, we went lots of fun places.  We took them to the Mill Museum, and, as you can see from the picture above, they were fascinated by how logs were sorted and floated down the Mississippi River.

In no time at all, Claire had wrapped Uncle Cody around her little finger.

This is a picture of Logan reading to Claire.  Being my current two-year-old, this little boy is often the main character in stories of exasperation and desperation.  I'm afraid that because of this, I don't always give him credit for his thoughtfulness and kindness. This picture is a good reminder of juste how amazing and sweet Logan is.

Towards the end of May, Mckay graduated from preschool!  This preschool was such a great experience for both him and I.  It took a lot of work planning and teaching these lessons, but I learned so much, and so did he.  I'm so proud of him and how much he learned and grew throughout this year.

Over Memorial Day Weekend, we decided to head down to Nauvoo.  It was only a six hour drive, and  we figured we should go while we lived so close.  I'm convinced that going over Memorial Day weekend is the best time of all, because it's the weekend that all the summer events open, but it's not overly crowded and it's not too hot.  We had a great time.  Above is a picture of Claire and I enjoying the wagon ride tour of Historic Nauvoo.

One of our family's favorite places to hang out in Nauvoo is the section for little kids.  I can't remember what it was called exactly, but it's where they have replicas of toys that pioneer children played and used.  We stayed there for hours, and the entire time Mckay and Logan had a blast.

Logan decided to rock the old pioneer-styled hats they had for kids to wear.  He also liked the rope-climbing wooden bears.

I haven't been to Nauvoo since the temple there was dedicated.  I wish we could have done a session, or at least gone inside, but we were able to walk around the outside as a family and feel the spirit and significance of this marvelous building.