Henry's Woods

It was so nice out today that we decided to go for a hike.

There is a little place called, "Henry's Woods" about two minutes away from out house. It's a wooded area filled with paths- perfect for a little nature hike.

 



 

This Mama is loving the cooler weather...

MN Children's Museum

This past weekend we headed to the children's museum with Hannah and the Adolphson family.

My friend Anne is temporarily living down there in "medical housing" as she endures the last few weeks of her pregnancy. So we joined her family for a little fun. (And being the good friend that I am, I wanted to watch Anne be pushed around in a wheelchair.....but then half way through the day, I grew very jealous of her and wanted nothing more than a wheelchair of my own!!) Hannah LOVED the museum, there was SO much to do and see there. We arrived at 10am and didn't leave until 3pm, needless to say, Hannah didn't even make it out of the parking ramp before passing out. We are short on time and there is lots to do before we prepare to head out of town for the week so I am just going to dump my photos off quickly with no time to edit!

Enjoy some photos from our day at the museum!

I am Almost There...

...My goal is to be caught up with photos/posts by Christmas Eve Day. Lord knows that when Christmas hits I will have about a zillion and three photos...so here is another little photo-dump. Another little holiday tradition. Justin and I decided that each year we will both take a day off of work and celebrate the season with Hannah. This year we found ourselves at the the Macy's 8th floor exhibit followed up by a little action at the Mall of America enjoying Underwater World. Hannah loved every bit of the day (especially running around in the endless skyways downtown). Okay, I take that back....she did not love every bit of the day...she hated sitting on Santa's lap (which we all witnessed) as well as eating at the Rainforest Cafe. (Those huge gorillas and thunderstorms are very scary to a small child.) ....we learned the hard way and ended up torturing poor Hannah for an entire hour as she clung to us burying her face in our neck. On the bright side- I have not had the chance to cuddle her like that in forever...so selfishly it was kind of nice. :)

On with the photos:

I know that we go to the Underwater World a lot. (Enough to know that it is not called "The Underwater World" anymore...but hey, "Camp Snoopy" will always be "Camp Snoopy" so back off.) But we get in free and Hannah is more and more interested every time that we go.

...just for giggles, I'll leave you with this:

Happy Short Week Everyone!

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Oh and SO EXCITED! Brad and Andrea found out the sex of their little one today...but they are not sharing until Christmas. I think I am most excited for that "gift!" On top of that, their little one's due date is May 18th!....That was Hannah's...until she decided to come two days late.

A Lesson For Everyone

Our lives have written a story line for us that has forced us to slow down, take a deep breath and be thankful. Unfortunately we have been on "cruise-control" with life being so busy- but we cannot ignore much longer. So this weekend was dedicated to family. Spending time with Justin and Hannah and do anything and everything- with one rule: live in the moment.

No distractions but each other.

So we packed up the car and headed to a little treasure hidden in Maple Grove.

Elm Creek Park.

One of twenty-two reserves in Minnesota. The reserves cover over 27,000 acres and are connected by over 200 miles of bike, hiking and horse trails. We biked and we biked and when we were tired, we biked some more- because we knew that our final destination would be worth the hard work.

At last...we arrived at the most amazing playground I have ever seen.

Not only did Hannah have a great time, but this playground was made for adults too. It was awesome. We played, we slid, we climbed, we swang. And when we were tired, we had a picnic.

A picnic in the shade was the perfect ending to a long afternoon of playing and biking.

There is never a bad time to sit back and reflect. This weekend we kept in mind, that above anything and everything...

Nature Walk

Tonight we took a nature walk through a local Prairie Restoration Park. It's filled with long grass, tall trees and colorful wildlife flowers....the cool breeze kept the mosquitos away and it was the perfect evening for Hannah to explore.
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Keeping in the "nature" theme, after dinner on the deck, an all out Johnston wrestling match ensued after Justin chucked a football at my head. (Another episode for our poor neighbors to witness.) Hannah and I full out pinning Justin down on his back while we all screamed out wrestle-mania-lingo at one another. Phrases like, "Get her!....Go for the knees!...and Pin him!!" were echoing from our backyard. (And obviously all appropriate phrases to be teaching to your toddler.) While Hannah and I pulled off an obvious win as we held Justin's shoulder blades to the ground for three whole counts, he screamed, "something bit me on the butt!".....(yeah, it's Minnesota and we're rolling around in the grass, of course you're going to get bit.).....but then he screamed again. As he rolled over onto his side- there laying on the ground was the hugest hornet flailing about. I did what every good wife would do.

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I dropped to my knees and cried as laughter overwhelmed me and I could hardly breathe...but still managed to gasp out the words, "You just got bit on the ass by a bee....not once, but twice!" The laughter continued over Justin's poor humiliation. But seriously, it was hilarious and I do not doubt for a second that he wouldn't find humor if the tables were turned.

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Now I don't want to leave you all with the visual of Justin's naked butt- so here are some photos from the prettier parts of this evening.

I decided to get a little artsy-fartsy on this last photo and add a watercolor layer to the portrait...I like the added texture.

Weekend Review

We had this weekend on the calendars for a while now. We planned on going somewhere with Ang and her family. We didn't care where...just somewhere. Well our busy lives got the best of us and so did our "old-fart" attitude so we decided to be cheap and have a "staycation." So we packed up and headed to Belle Plaine, MN to stay with Ang and Jeremy. We still did some fun things including the Underwater World at the Mall of America, some shopping, dinner out and adventures to the park. Thanks for hosting us- we had a great time!

We made the Dads push the strollers. hehe.

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Then on Sunday Grandma and Grandpa just had to see their grandbaby. (They can't go a week without seeing her...so they were way over due.) Since Grandma Kahler is all about ice cream and candy shops (see where I get it) she was anxious to treat Hannah to a cold treat and watch her play in the foutains....

Well that was a great staycation...and we saved some money too! (Which makes Justin happy) Have a great week everyone! Mine is filled with the unknown of having to potentially report for jury duty at any moment! Bleh.