4th of July!

I think the 4th of July is moving up in the ranks to be my favorite holiday.  Jed always gets the afternoon before and the day of off, the weather is usually warm (though sometimes too warm), there are BBQs and who doesn't love some patriotic colors, parades, music and declaring our pride in the greatest country on Earth?

We started off our weekend (along with nearly every other resident of Des Moines and the surrounding areas) at the Yankee Doodle Pops concert near the capitol and enjoyed a picnic dinner.

As you can see, we all had a good time :)  Love those smiles!

Lainey's friend Oscar and his dad joined us along with several other friends.  It was really a perfect night... until the fireworks started.  Not only could we not see them behind buildings and porta potties, but the my kids didn't really appreciate the sound of them without a view to go with it so we sceddaddled quickly.  It was waaay past bedtime anyway.

The next morning we decided to take it slow and eat pancakes (definitely a good choice) and go to a later parade.

Wyatt really got the hang of the fetching the parade candy thing preeeetty quickly.

They even caught a popsicle and shared it very nicely.

The kids took extra late naps (so did Jed and I!) and so we just grabbed a quick dinner near our house and then wandered around our new favorite place, Easter Lake.  

Then we captured probably the best family picture we've ever taken.

Cannot put into words how thankful I am for these 3, their smiles, hearts and love.  Can't wait to add another sweet one to the mix at the end of the year!

June Minnesota Trip

We traveled to Minnesota in June to visit my parents and my sister and niece and nephew who had just arrived.  They are staying in MN for most of the summer as my brother in law is currently deployed.  We had a fabulous time.  I'll let the pictures tell the story of our trip.

These two were attached at the hip for all 4 days we were there.

Even sleeping together each and every night in the living room.

And these are just the two most handsome toddler dudes that have ever been!

One reason we traveled up that weekend was to take my Dad and Jed to the Twins versus Brewers baseball game for Father's Day.  We left the boys at home with Emily's mother-in-law and took the big girls.  They had a FABULOUS time and lasted until the 7th inning!

Their favorite part may have been the light rail rides.  It was a late night but well worth it!

We took advantage of our Blank Park Zoo membership and went to the Minnesota Zoo the next day (tickets were half price).  I have many memories going here as a kid.  It's a really nice zoo, much bigger than ours :).

I think Jed likes the zoo as much as the kids.  

It was a great trip over all.  The kids are awesome travelers and did a great job being flexible with sleeping and napping.  Can't wait for our next trip up north!

Enjoying June

I know I say this every month but June really did fly by.  Summer is in full swing for the Johnson family!

We've enjoyed many trips to the splash park so far.  In my opinion, if it's going to be hot and sunny, I'd most definitely prefer being by the water.  I'm loving watching them play and enjoy the shallow pool.

Summer is perfect for picnics.  We enjoyed a beautiful morning and lunch time with my good friend (and former roommate) Haley and her girls, Harper and Willow.  I moved in with Haley almost exactly 5 years ago and lived with her for that year (in the house she and her family live in) before I was married.  It's always so funny to think about how fast life changes.  I never could have imagined back then that if I could fast forward 5 years, this would be my reality.

I remember a few times growing up when we would travel down to Iowa to visit family, visiting Classic Frozen Custard.  Now, we're lucky enough to live very, very close to the delicious spot.  We could not believe the size of these "junior" cones. Let's just say we threw the kids in the tub right when we got home!

One of our favorite spots downtown is the library and outside the library are these walking water fountain paths.  I've now learned my lesson to make sure I have full changes of clothes for both kids if we stop here and they LOVE it.

We've enjoyed getting the pool out a few times.  Always need to enjoy a freezy pop too!

Lainey helped me plant some flowers too.  She was so proud and LOVES helping me water them!

Our builder provided a little landscaping in the front yard last year when we moved in but I had no idea what any of the plants would look like come spring/summer.  These were a pleasant surprise!

Lainey is quite the helper in the kitchen.  She loves to stir and scoop up everyone's plates.  This particular night we enjoyed a cold tuna pasta salad and fresh canteloupe.  Love super easy and fast summer meals (especially since I'm still not a fan of actual cooking and raw meat these days)!

We're still using and loving our zoo pass to the best of our ability!  It's always more fun with friends!  Lainey and Oscar love Member Mondays with free train rides!