Our Crazy, Yet Wonderful Summer Schedule

We've been absent from blogging for some time now and have decided to update our blog by letting you know where we've been and what we've been doing.

We traveled to Tyler, MN the last weekend in July for the Bovbjerg Family Reunion. (This is Dana's mom's mom's maiden name.) We met many relatives we'd only heard of. The kids enjoyed running around with cousins (and 2nd and 3rd cousins). Altogether there were over 100 people in attendance. Our highlight was the variety show on Saturday night during which people showcased their talent (or lack thereof :o) There were 2 professional opera singers (mother and daughter), a banjo player, violinist, a weapons demonstration, dances (Sarah and her cousin, Elysa, made up a special dance on the spot), singers (Dana sang "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash with his brother and an extreme falsetto version of "Bread and Butter" with his cousin and brother), skits, etc... Hannah even brought Rudy up on stage to showcase his tricks.

We left the reunion minus Ethan and plus Elysa. Ethan went to Crookston for a week to stay with Aunt Jessica and her family. They went camping, picked juneberries, butchered chickens, and played games at Grandma's house. He loved his time with cousins, Evan (6) and Katelyn (3). Ethan said Evan was a "sleeper inner" so he played with Katelyn every day until Evan woke up. Evan and Ethan mainly played superheroes - their own made-up game where body parts become weapons. When we picked him up on Sunday, their fingers were knives and they were playing that if they touched each other, the place they touched no longer functioned. Ex. If Ethan touched Evan's eye, Evan had to close his eye and continue to play without that eye...you get the idea. Funny how the games we played around our house that week were quite a bit different...

Elysa (8) came home with us so we had all girls for the week. We even had a couple of extras when Olivia (8) and Sidney (9) came to stay for a few days at the end of the week. We went to the pool, experienced a day at the Patenaude spa, sewed ponchos, made friendship bracelets, rode bikes, picnicked, performed dances, and judged a fashion show. Nedra even got to get away to scrapbook for a couple of days while Dana was the only man among the 5 girls. The week was fun for everyone, but unfortunately there seems to be a major bug that is making its way through both of our families now... Sarah just came down with it tonight.

We left Mankato on Sunday afternoon (the 2nd), drove to Alexandria to pick up Ethan, and were at Nedra's parents' house near Worthington by 9:00 that night. Nedra and her sister canned beans the next day (37 quarts) while the kids went with Grandma to VBS and Dana helped Grandpa with a roofing job. Nedra, the kids, and Grandma went to Sioux Falls on Wednesday to go to the doctor and do some shopping. We drove back to Mankato on Wednesday night.

On Thursday, we took a somewhat spur-of-the-moment trip to Valley Fair. Some quotes from that day:

Sarah -
"I thought you said we'd only get a little splash, not a big soak!"
"The Scrambler is a 10!"
"Are you going to talk to me to make me try that ride too?"
"I'm ready to spend some money now."

Hannah -
"My favorite is the Wild Thing!"
"Mommy, don't scream on the rides. It embarrasses me."
"Why can't you go on the rides without shorts on?"
"I was brave enough to try the Power Tower!"

Ethan -
"My favorite was the water park. The Raging Rapids is AWESOME!"
"I don't care if it takes all my money - I'm getting a funnel cake."
"I don't want to eat anything else that smells good."
"Oh no! The icee places are closing. When can we get my Icee?"

Nedra -
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"Bring on the Mini Donuts."
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"Where did the kids go?"
"We're just going to shut our eyes for a 5-minute rest."
"I'll take Sarah. You take the other 2 and we'll meet up in a little bit."
"I've got a headache."
"I need to go to the bathroom."

Dana -
"I just want to try Steel Venom."
"You'd like it, Honey (or Ethan...or Sarah)" Hannah doesn't take much convincing.
"We should wait to do the water park when it gets hot out."
"I thought YOU knew where the kids were."
"We should have made them share a cotton candy."

On Friday, Nedra tried to get the house in order while Dana went to work and the kids went to the pool. Saturday brought us back to Tyler for the Elsing Family Reunion (Nedra's mom's maiden name). Sunday was Camp Patterson with our church family. Today, Sarah is under the weather and Dana and Nedra are exhausted. Plans for homeschooling have begun. (They better begin as we're starting next week.) Summer is fun. Gotta take advantage of it while you can. Right now, I think we're all just longing for some sense of routine...

Closing down the park at Valley Fair