Memorial Day Weekend Part 1 { ZOO }

Memorial Weekend we decided to venture out on our first family mini vacation with all 6 of us!  After our long winter and brutal spring I was really looking forward to getting out.  The weather was still a little too unpredictable for camping in a tent so we decided to get a hotel and enjoy a weekend in Bismarck.  Our first stop was the Bismarck Zoo.  Our zoo in Minot finally opened this year, the first time since the 2011 flood, but it still hadn't opened as of Memorial weekend.  So a trip to the Bismarck zoo sounded like fun for everyone. 

Right after we got there and had a little picnic lunch it started to rain.  And not just a light rain, we had a nice little rain shower pass through.  We debated on leaving and decided to stick it out and we sure were glad we did.  After the cloud passed it turned into a beautiful afternoon!  It was a great time to visit as there were lots of new baby animals to look at and the kids had a great time running all around!

 

A Special Mother's Day with Friends

It was an extra special Mother's Day this year as I got to spend it with a very precious friend and her family! 

I wanted to do something a little different this year for Mother's Day so we started making plans to head to Bismarck for the weekend.  Thankfully we didn't go through with any of those plans since I got a call from my friend Sharla asking if they could stay with us for a couple nights on their way to a family event in Minnesota.  Their time with us happened to fall on Mother's Day!  Best Mother's Day gift ever!

We had such a wonderful day together catching up and watching our kids play.  They have 4 little ones all close to the same age as ours so the kids had a blast together! 

We headed to the park for the afternoon to let the kids run around and enjoy the beautiful weather and had fun roasting marshmallows in the evening.

Talk about a couple who knows what we've been through, as they are in the process of building their own home up in Canada, aside from the fact that our similarities are numerous!  We love them so much and even though our visits are few and far between it's a sweet friendship that just picks up where it left off, plus a few more kids each time!

Papa and Grandma Visit to Meet Elijah

So you might think this post would be filled with photos of Grandma and Papa holding Elijah and ooing and aweing over him.  Well you would be wrong. 

That's how we thought it would work out too.  But life seems to have a way of happening unlike how you planned it.  Funny.

Nathan's mom and sister and family were the first to visit after Elijah was born.  And my parents were scheduled to come almost two weeks later to meet him and help out.  Then my Grandma passed away.  The Lord's hand was upon the whole situation as the timing worked out just right for me to be able to go to the memorial service between visits.

And because I flew to California with Elijah, who was only 5 weeks old, before my parents made it out to North Dakota, they met him in the midst of the memorial service for my Grandma. 

The timing was perfect as I just scheduled my return flight home on my parents flight, and the Thursday after the memorial service we all flew back to North Dakota. 

Now let me just interject here and say that this past winter was brutal with a capital B!  It was long and bitter cold and long and horrid and l-o-n-g!  I was done with it!  I was desperate for a change in weather.  I was desperate for California.  The trip, though very bitter sweet, was a blessing for me as well in the fact that I desperately needed a break from our harsh, lingering winter weather and I got it.  The weather in California was beautiful while we were there, although that doesn't even need to be said as their weather is almost always beautiful.  The break was wonderful.  But then I had to come back home.  I think if someone would have offered Nathan a job while I was down there I would have solidified his position and planted myself put and made Nathan come and join me with the rest of the family.  I wasn't ready to come back.... to snow.  That's right, it was April 25th and there was still snow on the ground with no hope of it leaving anytime soon.  Nooooo!  At least my parents were coming back with me.

Thankfully while they were visiting our weather decided to finally warm up for the first time this year.  And even though it was much cooler than California, it felt incredibly warm compared to the temperature it had been just days before.  So while my parents were visiting we made it a point to get outside and play. 

That's why this post is filled with pictures of us playing at the park in the snow in short sleeve shirts.  You do what you gotta do when you live in the North. 

And when my parents visit there never seems to be a shortage of craziness in this town.  Not only did it warm up, but the swing in weather was sudden and quick which resulted in flooding, again.  The flooding resulted in the loss of water to the house.  Go figure.  But we made an adventure out of it and headed to a hotel for the night where the kids enjoyed playing in the pool. 

I know I'm in total catch up mode and these pictures are from quite a while ago but I hope you enjoy!