Bloomington, Minnesota
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| Grandma and Grandpa Ranheim |
We were excited to get to Minnesota so Kate could meet the rest of the family! Dave had just arrived as well. We were so excited to meet Paul and Kathy's newest additions- two adorable Maltese puppies. They were so cute and so much fun!
Kate was shy for about five minutes and then we barely saw her the rest of the time as she was off playing with everyone. It was so nice to have so many built in babysitters!
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| All of the cousins Sophia, Kate, Erik, Ingrid, Juliana, Mila the dog, Brennan, Usher the dog (missing is our dog Zamboni) |
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| Mila and Kathy |
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| Usher was Brennan's favorite puppy |
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| Another critter Brennan caught |
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| Brennan and Usher |
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| Julianna and Usher |
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| Dave and Brennan going for a bike ride |
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| Cool new app- Hipstaprints |
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| Kate is helping grandpa |
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| They are so sweet together! |
There were fifteen of us for dinner- nine adults, six kids, and two puppies. I wish we would have got a picture of everyone, but I guess it was a pretty busy house. LOL.
Dave has two brothers and a sister.
Kris (his sister) is married to John and they have two kids- Erik and Ingrid
Craig (his brother)
Paul (his brother) is married to Kathy and they have two kids- Sophia and Julianna. They also have the new puppies.
The kids had a sleepover at grandma and grandpa's with all the cousins for two nights and had a blast. Kathy and the girls left on Monday to spend some time with Kathy's family in Calgary. Kate and Brennan were sad to see Sophia and Julianna leave, but happy they had some time together! Brennan needed to fit in some fishing so Eric, Dave, Ingrid, Kate, and I went fishing for a little while. Kate looked tired so Ingrid and I took her for a walk. She fell asleep so the two of us decided to walk the mile back home. The boys had fun but didn't catch anything. Meanwhile Ingrid and I enjoyed some air conditioning when we got back to the house! It was REALLY hot!
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| The girls |
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| The boys |
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We went to Kris and John's house on the 11th for dinner and then Brennan slept the night at their house. Kate was worried when we left without him. She doesn't like to be anywhere without "Bennan". The kids had played outside most of the evening and Ingrid carried Kate around the entire night. Kate had a blast because on the fifteen minute ride home she kept telling me about the night in Cantonese. I could pick out a few words in English too. From what I could gather, they were playing a game of chase or hide and seek and everyone would scream when they saw each other. It was very funny and cute listening to her animated story!
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| Princess Kate and her attentive and sweet helpers |
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| Having fun in the backyard |
We went to pick the kids up on Tuesday morning and took them to the Mall of America. Kate was able to enjoy her first cotton candy and her first rides! Brennan and Erik went on the ropes course, which looks really cool! Next time I'm in Minneapolis I have to try it! Ingrid and Dave went on a few roller coasters and then Ingrid took Kate to meet Sponge Bob. Kate LOVED that. She also went on her first ride with Ingrid and smiled the whole time. Kate wanted to go on the little bumper cars too so Ingrid buckled her seat belt and showed her how to do it. Kate was on her own and managed to move a little, but not much. The operator of the ride let Kate try again since she didn't get far. She did a little better on the second try but got stuck in a corner. We were laughing so much and Kate seemed to enjoy the ride, even if she didn't get far.
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| Mall of America |
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| The ropes course- that's Brennan way up there! |
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| The first "roller coaster" |
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| Another picture that Kate took= the camera still keeps her very entertained! |
We went back to Grandpa Ted and Grandma Jan's house because a good friend of theirs was meeting us to give Kate a very special doll. Grandpa Ted took Erik back to his house because he had a baseball game.
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| Lee and Kate |
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| This will always be treasured! |
Lee and Jan have been friends since they were about eleven years old. It was nice to see her again and she gave Kate the most adorable Chinese doll! Kate was excited and I know it will become a treasured doll in the future. We visited with Lee for awhile but then had to go attend the kids. Both Brennan and Kate were exhausted and super tired. They both decided to have a little melt down at the same time. Good thing Dave was around to help! They recovered in a little while. Overall I am amazed at how both of them are handling all of our traveling! We have stayed at seven different places during our vacation so far and have been on the go constantly! They are little troopers! I am hoping they take a nap on the ride to Eagle River on Wednesday though!
We then took the kids to a good friend of Dave's. Kate fell asleep in the car but wasn't going to miss anything when we arrived. His friend "Collins" and his wife have a three year old and two cute dogs. Ingrid went with us and had fun playing with Kate for awhile and then joined Brennan in the basement for a game of pool. Kate had fun in the princess jeep. It reminded her of the bumper cars she was on earlier! She figured out how to push the pedal to go fast but didn't quite understand the steering. She would squeal with delight anytime she crashed into something. It was so funny! I had to help her steer after awhile or "Collins" backyard would have been destroyed! Kate played in that for over an hour! She was very sad to leave!
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| Mike, Kate, Ingrid, his niece Brooklyn and his two adorable dogs |
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| Dillon- Mike Collins' daughter |
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| Another picture taken by Kate on the car ride to Eagle River |
Ingrid spent the night and I put Kate to bed early. Ingrid and Brennan enjoyed watching a movie and drawing pictures. Brennan was getting sad that we were leaving the next day. Dave picked up Erik so the cousins could have the morning to spend together. They took a bike ride and then decided to have a picnic in the park. Brennan was so sad and had a hard time saying goodbye. His cousins truly are the nicest, sweetest, and kindest kids I know! After sad goodbyes we loaded the car and headed to Eagle River, Wisconsin.
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| We love being a family of four! |
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