Ellie's "friends"

Here are a couple of videos of Ellie and the horses.  In the first one, she turns and yells (to anyone who will listen), "my friend, my friend."  She seriously loved that thing!  And in the second one (after about 30 mins of quality time with the horse), she finally lets her buddy go off and be with some other horses.  But lucky for her, she was only alone about 5 minutes before the other (white and brown one) horse came along and she found another "best friend."

Vacation, Part 2

Monday and Tuesday were by far the best days to be on the lake - hot, calm, and just perfect.  Wednesday- Saturday were a bit different . . . much cooler, sort of rainy (only spotty rain), and not so perfect.  So with the lake out for a few days, we had to find other things to do to keep us busy, and lucky for us, we were able to do just that.  After morning showers on Wednesday, the day cleared off and Trav and Ryan hit up the golf course while the girls and I stayed back at the cabin and had some "girl time".  Ryan loved golfing and couldn't stop talking about the really good hit he had (I'm not sure if that means he had only one really good hit, or if that hit was so good, he just couldn't stop talking about it), while the girls did their best to put on a doll fashion show, and then burn off some energy doing some tricks on the trampoline.  By the time evening rolled around, we had just enough energy to set up a camp fire and make some smores - always a tasty treat after a day of fun!

On Thursday, I packed up everyone and headed to St. Peter for the kids' gymnastics class.  Originally Ryan was only going to do the class, but after watching him have so much fun in the past weeks, Lauren asked if she could join the class as well.  I agreed to let her if she promised to try all the things the coaches asked of her - she agreed, so she was in.  And as it turns out, she might actually like it as much, if not more than Ryan!  With only two more classes left, I'm wondering if this gymnastics thing will be a phase, or if they'll actually like it enough to try it again next summer - we'll have to wait and see.  And, I'll be sure to bring my camera next time to capture some pictures of their new "skills".

On Friday, we opted to take it easy and enjoy a little time in St. Peter (we spent the night on Thursday).  We had a late breakfast of donuts and hot cocoas (who doesn't love that), then walked over to the "neighborhood" park to do a little playing.  After the kids had run around enough, it was time to head home, but becasue the park is actually at the church where Trav and I got married, I took the opportunity to show the kids inside the church and tell them a little about our wedding day.  Ryan could have cared less, but Lauren seemed genuinely interested and asked way too many questions about why we got married there, who was with you, how old were you, and most importantly, where was she when all of this happened?  I gave her simple answers, and told her she was hiding in my stomach the whole time and wasn't ready to come out just yet - she seemed satisfied with that answer.  We finished off our St. Peter stay with a quick visit to Waseca to see Grandma Erwin, and then headed back to the lake so Trav wouldn't be too lonely without us (in reality though, I'm sure he more than enjoyed having some quality alone time with just him, a bottle of beer, and the Play Station).

For our last full day at the lake, we decided to take the kids to the "A Maze N' Farmyard".  We've gone a couple of times in the past and they always enjoy it so with a bright sunny day ahead of us, we packed up and headed out for some more fun.  There were animals, slides, bounce houses, mazes, more animals, and most importantly, lots of good times!  This was Ellie's first time being there when she could actually do things on her own, and she proved that she might just be a little farm girl at heart.  Her two best friends were some miniature horses.  She would walk with her arm around them as though they were her own pets, and even got so comfortable with them that at one point, she took one by the reigns and led him around the yard while other visitors watched - it was pretty cute!  We ended up spending about 4 hours there so by the time we left, we had three sleepy kids and two very tired adults!  Here are some pictures of the day.  I also have a video of Ellie and her horse friends that I'll try and post tomorrow so you can see the little lady in action.

The perfect end to a vacation . . .

. . . Urgent Care - yes, that's where we finished up our week long vacation.  We arrived back in Shakopee on Sunday a little after noon.  As we finished up our lunch, Ryan kept complaining about itching.  I really thought nothing of it because he had gotten some bug bites at the lake and had complained about those itching so I assumed this was more of the same.  But when he showed me where it itched, I took one look at him, and realized something wasn't right.  He had big almost welts on his butt, and around his waist.  The welts were raised, red, and hot - not a great combo.  So I immediately jumped on the internet, did a little research, then came to my conclusion . . . he is having an allergic reaction, but to what?  That's when it hit me.  His "rash" reminded me an awful lot of the "rash" Lauren got when we found out she was allergic to penicillin and because he had just finished up a round of Amoxicillin (for strep) on the Thursday, I started to think maybe he was experiencing the same thing.  The only part that sort of threw me off was the fact that Ryan had had penicillin (Amoxicillin) before and never had any issues.  So there I stood debating with myself and then with Travis as to what I should do - bring him in immediately (my first thought because the internet said if it was an allergic reaction to penicillin, he needed to be seen immediately), or wait until Monday (I think Trav would have preferred this option because Urgent Care is a bit more costly than a regular doctor visit).  When it came right down to it, I decided whatever additional cost and however long the wait would be (Urgent Care is always busy), we would do it anyway because I didn't want Ryan to experience the worst of all the allergic reactions . . . death by suffocation because his throat swells shut (I'm pretty sure that is very rare, but even having it as a possibility was enough to scare me - damn the internet and all of it's information!).  So off Ryan and I went to spend the majority of the next 2 hours waiting to be seen by a doctor to confirm what I already assumed was the case - he is indeed allergic to penicillin.  After we finally were seen, we got the prescription, went to Target, and waited some more.  By the time we finally got back home, a good 2 and a half hours were wasted (but not really because Ryan got the meds he needed to help him be a little less itchy, and hopefully, a little less "rashy" in the days to come).  Here are some pictures from today.

The rash that was on his butt and waist had disappeared, but now it seems to be spreading down the back of his leg - the steroids they prescribe only help minimize the reaction, they don't actually completely prevent it so this could go on for the next few days.  The poor kid can't catch a break, strep, Fifth's disease, and now this - can't wait for him to be 100% again!

On a side note . . . I asked if this penicillin allergy is a genetic thing (although neither Trav or I are allergic), and two doctors have told me no.  The doctor at Urgent Care however, said 2 out of your 3 kids already have it, not looking good for the other one (the other one in this case in Ellie).  So is it genetic then or not?  Ellie has never had penicillin yet so I guess we'll wait and see?

Quast Family Vacation 2012

It's always nice to end a busy summer with one last family vacation, so that is exactly what we are doing.  Trav was able to sneak away from the office for the entire week so we packed up and headed west (or maybe northwest, I'm not sure) to Grandpa and Grandma Quast's cabin for a week of fun, fun, fun!  And so far, so good.  The weather has been gorgeous, the kids have had a blast playing on the swing set, jumping on the trampoline, playing with some "lake friends", and most importantly, staying cool in the lake.  The past two days have been absolutely gorgeous on the lake.  Imagine this . . . so their we are cruising on the pontoon (another perk from Grandma and Grandpa) on a Mon and Tuesday late afternoon with our 7 year old at the wheel (yes, Ryan did a lot of driving, but it's not too hard when there isn't another boat in sight and the pontoon is just chugging along), Trav and I are sitting with the girls (we even brought out the dog one day), and the lake is, to quote my dad, "just like glass."  And even though we always made fun of Dad when he said that, there really isn't a better way to describe how absolutely perfect it really was.  We took advantage of the great conditions by doing some swimming in the "sand spot", and Ryan took a few rides on the tube (and they were rather easy rides considering there were no waves, no wind, just calm).  And clearly the kids (as well as the adults) are tired because each night, we come in, shower up, eat a late dinner, then head to bed by 8:30pm for the kids and around 9:30pm for the adults - apparently not working and having fun takes a lot out of a person!  Here are some pictures from the first two days.  Five more days to go . . . can it stay this great until then?

These two pictures were taken after Ellie pooped in her swimsuit - let's just say it wasn't pretty, but, she clearly didn't mind, it just gave her an opportunity to run around naked while I cleaned things up - oh to be 2 again and not have a care in the world!

Very true . . . .

"What the vast majority of American children needs is to stop being pampered, stop being indulged, stop being chauffeured, stop being catered to. In the final analysis it is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings."
– Ann Landers

10 years

10 years - that's how long it seems it has been since my last post, oh, and that is how long we've been married!!!  Holy buckets, that is a long time!  So what did we do to celebrate our big milestone . . . we went out for a "free" dinner on Trav's company (he won a gift card about 7 months ago and we just finally found the time, and a babysitter, to free up some time to use it).  We were gone for a total of 3 hours, and it was 3 of the most relaxing hours we've had in a long time - no kids, no sharing my food, and a LONG time to just sit and enjoy a meal - how exciting!  In addition to our night out, we also had to buy another unexpected "anniversary" gift - a washer and dryer.  Again, talk about exciting!  I guess it is about time though considering our old set was 18 years old, and started leaking water like crazy.  It took some convincing on my part to get Trav to agree to both a washer and dryer (technically the dryer still "works", it's just not real efficient), so after a bit of discussion, we settled on one that we are hoping gets us through the next 18 years - I'll keep you updated on that.  In addition to our anniversary, we've been staying busy, busy.  Between the kids' soccer, play dates, and swimming, I feel like we are on the run all the time.  But, things will be slowing down a bit after this week.  Soccer will end which means we'll have four extra "free" days with no commitments - it will be nice, but also challenging to find activities to keep them busy.  I'm anticipating lots of play dates, more trips to St. Peter to enjoy Grandma and Grandpa's pool, and maybe a few visit to catch up with old friends.  Hard to believe there are only 6 more weekends left before summer is over - where does the time go?  Here's hoping we can make the most of the remaining days of summer, then it's back to school - so not ready for that yet!

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

We've spent a couple of days having fun at Grandma and Grandpa's pool and apparently I have failed to post any of the pictures I took, so here they are . . . the first is a picture of the proud grandparents with all 6 of their grandchildren (#7 will be here soon enough - Sept), and once she arrives, we have all decided that it would be very special for Grandma and Grandpa to have all the grandkids to themselves for an entire weekend - won't that be fun!  Just kidding, no one deserves that kind of punishment - could you imagine, 3 under the age of 1, 2 under the age of 2, and a 4 and 7 year old - not my idea of a relaxing weekend.  

Not sure if Mom and Dad could have ever imagined having so many grandchildren, and so fast.  After Ryan and Lauren, it has been a rapid fire of new additions . . . Ellie, Colt six months later, Charlotte and Avery 17 months after that, and soon to be baby Kleist just 6 short months after the twins - holy buckets can those Loken kids reproduce!

And here are a couple of pictures from this past weekend.  The kids and I spent a day at the pool with some friends on Friday, then ended up spending the night because no one wanted to leave.  Ellie had a "special" look the weekend . . .

The majority of the time she couldn't even see out of the goggles because they were so fogged up, but she sthill insisted on wearing them - whatever makes her happy I guess!  And yes, she is naked.  The girls is a free spirit so again, whatever makes her happy (plus, she had just went pee on the potty so we weren't in any danger of having an unwanted accident in the pool).  And here is what Ellie was sitting and watching . . .

The big kids loved nothing more than having Grandpa Jim give them a "smackdown" in the water.  The "smackdown" was basically Grandpa trying to whip, spin, and toss them off the inflatable chair - not sure what sounds fun about that, but they loved it!  Ellie, on the other hand, was appalled and more than once yelled, "stop Grandpa!"  Give her a year or two and she'll be right in their with her brother and sister.  Overall, lots of fun in the sun!  Planning on spending some time there over the 4th again, what a great way to be able to spend a hot, hot day.