4th of July Parade in Ely

Once again, we had the BEST time with our friends up in Ely, MN!

They are sooooo gracious to let us invade their home for the long weekend, and we are super thankful they include us in their fun.  

Here are some pics from the candy fest parade :-).

Our annual group pic prior to the parade.

Red, white, blue and sill-ay.

The definition of cute: Emma.

Our attempt at a kid shot.  Tripp (and his McDonald's minion) wanted nothing to do with it.

Awww.  

I have very few shots alone with this guy, so the next two pics are so special to me.

A creative shot of EJ.

Adorable Megan helping with the Young Life activities.

Erik participated in his first saw dust quarter dig.  He found five quarters!

Dane was an old pro!

Family pic.

The super adorable Madden family.

Tripp ate his first corn on the cob.  And it was a hit.

Check out these cute blondies :-)

Right before the parade...

Ole' Glory.

Mr. John waiting patiently for his candy :-)

Matt's favorite Lawn Chair Drill Team was back.  

Third year in a row...I think they're here to stay.

Sistas!

How cute is this guy?  Those cheeks.  

The local chapter of DD.  

The Madden's and Scott's!

 

We had a blast watching the kids collect TONS of candy from the parade.

But the best part was celebrating our great nation and making new memories with our dear friends!!!

Kindergarten Graduation

Dane graduated from Kindergarten on June 4th!

His "graduation" was really cute.  Four classes graduated at a time, so each class lined up in front of an assigned section of bleachers.  

The kids marched in wearing tie-dyed t-shirts and paper graduation hats.

This is the look Dane gave us after he spotted us :-)

The kids sang 5 songs.  Dane was a little apprehensive about singing in front of people.

In the car on the way to graduation, he asked us if we would still be proud of him if he didn't sing.  How cute is that?  

But he sang really well and did all the hand motions too.  It was adorable.

Haha....another wink to let us know he was doing A-ok,

Here he is after receiving his diploma.  He was the only kid in class who inspected his.  

He stared at it for a good minute or two....everyone else just put theirs on the ground.  

Dane with his teacher!  We had an amazing kindergarten experience because of this woman.  

She was so great with Dane and communicating with us.  We'll definitely miss her next year!

Dane with one of his besties :-)

I snapped this pic right before the graduation.  

Each kid (or parent) had to make one of these paper people at the beginning of the year.  

Dane requested Iron Man, of course.  When I asked him to pose under his little person, he immediately stuck out his repulser rays.  Hee hee.  Love him.

Here's to the Class of 2025!!

We love you, D!!!

A Birthday Party!

Mr. Erik had his 4th birthday party last weekend!

And based on the weather forecast, it should not have taken place outside like planned.

But God came through with beautiful weather!!!

The party started at 11am, and we watched the clouds roll in right around 1pm.

Perfect timing!!!

Erik invited his family and two friends to the party.  

This is Erik welcoming his first friend!  He's just a little excited :-).

He looks so big here.  Waiting patiently for mom to find the candles :-).

This picture makes Matt & me smile because it's SO Erik.  He shows his excitement with body language - he makes cute faces, claps and sort of shakes when he gets excited - so this is classic!

We had such a difficult time keeping his candles lit.  Uncle Josh finally took over and managed to keep them lit while we sang.  But I'm pretty sure the wind blew 3 out of 4 out.  

Oh well, E didn't seem to mind! 

This is another classic Erik picture....trying hard to keep his fingers clean.  He can't stand dirty/sticky hands!

Cousin Benton enjoying the cake!

Tripp confused fiesta with siesta :-)

This is what happens when you interrupt cupcake time for a picture.  

Working hard to open presents.  Isn't the concentration on their faces adorable??

Cutie, cutie.

Ash and I snapped a rare pic together!  We matched too!

Another rare picture!  Left to right: Teri, Ashley, Benton, me, Jodie

The birthday boy!
(don't worry, I bought him some chapstick :-).

Papa, Nana & Pepper came for the party too!!!  

They drove over 8 hours for a quick, 2.5 day trip.  We were so blessed by their visit!!!

A pic of Papa & Nana with their Minnesota grandkids!  

As you can see, it was quite challenging keeping the boys still.  We even let Tripp keep his mag-lite...still wouldn't sit still or look at the camera.  Oh well, capturing the moment is what counts!

We had such a fun weekend!  We are truly blessed to have lots of loving family & friends.  Our cup runneth over!!!