Winding Down

The last few weeks of summer have been busy.  We have enjoyed a few firsts for Delainey along with a few annual activities. The Brown County Fair was in town, so we took Delainey to her first rodeo.

She enjoyed watching the horses and sheep; especially when 4 and 5 year olds rode the sheep. She kept saying "they fall down", and she was right, those kids all fell down. When Daddy asked her if she would like to ride a sheep, she said "nope"!  We have a few more years to work on her. :)

The next day we went to a salon and had our first real  haircut.  Delainey didn't crack a smile until the beautician asked if she wanted a sucker. Then a little smirk came on her face.

We went to Rosholt for the annual Threshing Bee where we spent some time with the Rosholt class of 2001. We crashed the 10 year reunion and spent some time on Lake Traverse on a pontoon. It was a beautiful day, and Delainey and Delilah had a great time getting to know each other.

The girls got to take turns honking the pontoon horn.  It was a big hit!

Next up was the Threshing Bee parade!  The three musketeers put on their shades, grabbed their buckets and were off to collect some candy!

We have also enjoyed some fun nights of playing piano, singing with music books, playing with babies, purses, glasses, cooking in the kitchen, swinging, sliding, and just having fun!  She entertains herself so well, that I have to go check on her when the house gets a little quiet. The picture below is what I found one of those times. She was getting out her diapers to put one on the baby. She will be so helpful someday!

Delainey loves to sing songs... some favorites are Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle, ABC's, and Row Row Row Your Boat.

The picture is a little blurry, but it was too cute not to post.  Delainey grabbed some piano sheet music, sat down in the foyer, and started singing. What a joy!

A Month Gone By...

Crazy how time flies!  It has been almost a month since our last post, but it seems like two days ago.  I will sum up our last few weeks in a nutshell.

Towards the end of July we took a trip to the cities to visit our snuggly baby cousin and have Delainey meet Max for the first time!  She was very excited to see a "real" baby, but she was more fasinated watching her older cousins and trying to keep up with them. While we were there, Delainey showed her shy faces and timidness, but as soon as we get in the car or we're at home, all we can talk about are Maya and Elliot!

Love it!!!  Playing in the sunshine!

Sweethearts!

Future gardener!  Loved picking strawberries at Maya & Elle's house.

The next weekend landed us in Rosholt where we attended a family wedding up by Ottertail, MN, and a wedding dance later in Rosholt where we caught up with a lot of old friends.  I guess I have no pictures from that day... it was about 100 degrees at the family outdoor wedding... we were a little sweaty, but we had a great time! :)

During the week Shaun and I did a thorough swipe through the house and finished some partly done house projects so we could put our house on the market.  We found one for sale that we would love to buy, but first ours has to sell... cross your fingers for us!  We also need to thank our families for helping us watch Delainey while we tried to get as much done in as short time as possible.

The following weekend we ventured to Roy Lake where we attended my 11 year reunion.  Yes... you are correct... it took a class of 9 people 11 years to plan our reunion! haha  It was great and worth the wait!  We all gathered at Cory and Chelsey's cabins and had a fun day/evening. The kids played, swam, and the adults chatted and played horseshoes.  Then in the evening we chatted some more around a campfire... it was so good to catch up with everyone again!

More fun in the sun!



Smokefree Class of 2000

 This week we are preparing for a rummage sale that we are having Saturday morning. Hopefully no one wants to see the house today, it's a bit unorganized.  However, by Sunday at 1pm we better have it cleaned up again; there's another showing scheduled!

This week I was working in the garage and in the back yard.  In the meantime Delainey discovered her very own entrance to the garage...

And... I'm out again! 
(Notice the over-sized shoes. They are a few sizes too big, but they used to be Elliot's
so when we find them, they are our favorites!)

woof woof

Heat Wave

We started a week long heat wave this weekend.  We also had a house that needed some attention, so it worked out alright!  Delainey only asked to go outside about 47 times... the girl loves the outdoors!  I actually overheard Delainey on her play telephone saying "go outside? Not today, too hot"  hehe :)   She's spreading the word! 

Taking good care of her babies.

We did managed to go outside for a few quick trips, but for the most part we remained indoors enjoying the central air we are so lucky to have.  We went down the street to a free concert by "Point of Grace".  It was Presentation College's 125th Anniversary, where they had a day full of free activities.  Mom and I have always enjoyed music by "Point of Grace", so we really wanted to check them out.  We packed lots of water, bug spray, and sunscreen, and headed to the park for a concert! 

We enjoyed the concert under a tent with a little breeze! 
We all had a great time!



"Point of Grace"

 I love having a full weekend with no plans!  Today we stayed in our pj's until mid-morning, Daddy made us a delicious breakfast/brunch, we all went for a walk before lunch, we danced to some new tunes, we took turns hugging Dags, and the list goes on. What an awesome day together... now on to the next thing!

Finger painting!!!
(See Dags on the kitchen floor... he's loving the air conditioning too!)

Stay cool everyone!

Delainey is TWO!

July 1, 2011 marked Delainey's 2nd birthday! She is such a joy, and we all had a great birthday weekend! 

We started it off right with Mommy taking the day off from work and spending the day with the birthday girl!

We made cinnamon rolls for breakfast!

And cupcakes for dinner!

We took Dags for a walk, played around the house, and took a long nap.  The plans of going to the waterpark will have to wait for another day.  We had grandma over for dinner and cupcakes! 

Cheese!

More baby accessories! Hurray!!!

 The fourth of July weekend started off great and continued to be a fun time.  We went to see Grandpa and Grandma Aadland along with other family at the lake. The weather was perfect, and we even got a boat ride!

Grandpa got a lot of exercise that day at the lake.

Hold on tight!

Snacking on popcorn with great-grandma! Life is good!!

We spent the fourth of July at Chad and Anne's with several friends. The kids ran all afternoon and played until they were exhausted. We lit some fun tanks and chickens before the sun went down, and the beautiful fireworks came later in the evening!

Happy 4th of July everyone from our little firecracker!

Fun With Cousins

Last week we had a busy week with all of the Falken's in town. It was loads of fun, even if the weather didn't cooperate until the last few days. We spent evenings together catching up, and the kids entertained Grandma and Grandpa all day long. I think everyone was exhausted by the end of each day!

We had an early birthday celebration for Delainey! We had hotdogs, cake, and presents...

Mickey Mouse cupcakes! Hotdog!

I have never seen two kids so interested in the card! haha

A my little pony - sweet!

A new baby... our little mommy is in her glory!

Then came the entertainment!

Thursday the guys went fishing with the little boys, and the girls stayed in town and went to the park. Friday was the day for Storybook Land! Everyone had fun in the sun on the swings, slides, little houses, and more!

On Saturday we had a Bucklin family reunion in Wahpeton. We had a good time catching up with more cousins, aunts, and uncles. We even had time for a few family pictures...

Hehehe I couldn't resist! :)  We filled up the day with visiting, playing on the slides, going to the zoo, and feeding the geese and ducks!  Needless to say it took about two blocks down the road for Delainey to catch some zzz's on the way home.

When we got home on Saturday night, we got the call that our newest cousin was born!  Maxwell Joseph was here!  What a week!!!

Celebration Summer!

Every summer is full of excitement as we spend time with family and friends! The weather gets nice and the planner fills up. Soon each weekend gets filled with activities, and less sleep than the winter months.  But we love it!  We love the memories we make, we so enjoy the love shared between those who mean the most to us, and we long for more hours, days, and weekends to do it all over again!

June has been great to us; it is certainly not over yet! We have celebrated many things in this month. Last weekend we took a road trip to help Maya celebrate her 6th birthday!  We were able to take part in Maya's friend birthday party. We all had a blast, but Delainey was the most exhausted.  She watched, she listened, and I think she took note as to what a six year old birthday party is all about!

Having a blast painting some caterpillars!

Fantastic party!

Beautiful girls!

Road trip!

This past week our Grandpa Keith turned 60! We missed his surprise birthday party as Delainey was a little under the weather, but we heard it was a great time with several great friends! We will have to continue the celebration another day!

This coming week we get to spend time with all of the Falken clan!  Shaun's brother Scott and his family are here from Rapid City, and Grandma and Grandpa Falken are in town for the week too.  There will be a lot of excitement as the five Falken cousins spend days together giggling, coloring, swinging, and the list goes on!  This week we will also start Delainey's birthday celebration even though her big day isn't really until July, but why not start early. :)

New picnic table for the girl who is almost TWO! Happy early Birthday Delainey!

Delainey helping Mommy make broccoli salad. Broccoli can turn from one floret to millions of little pieces very quickly! :)

As June comes to an end we prepare for one more joyous celebration! We wait for another cousin to be welcomed into the world! We are so anxious to meet the little blessing who will arrive in the weeks to come.

Hurray... let's celebrate!

Relay 2011

I am a few weeks behind on giving updates of our wonderful, busy, fun-filled lives!  Let's go a few weeks back to June 3rd.  It marked the Brown County Relay For Life event for 2011!  Our Red Llama team worked hard to earn some funds for a great cause. It wasn't the most we have ever raised, but that is not the point.  We try to come up with new fundraisers where everyone has fun and others benefit in the process.  If those two things are accomplished than we are successful!!!  And this year, we were successful! 

Go team Red Llamas!

Our family and teammates stood with honor as we watched and applauded the many survivors make their survivor lap around the track.  Delainey had outgrown her homemade llama shirt from last year, so we had to go to work making a new one... she sported it well!

Another successful relay event under our belt.  We all had a great evening walking laps and fighting for a cure! 

SUPPORTING THE FIGHTERS

ADMIRING THE SURVIVORS

HONORING THE TAKEN