weekend of the 4th

I'm FINALLY getting around to posting about the Fourth of July! At least I made it before August! Which unfortunately is right around the corner. 

Per tradition, we went to Maddi and Zevlen's in Faribault for the holiday weekend. This is a weekend we all look forward to! Time spent with family on the lake, doesn't get much better. 

This year Maddi had a little blow up pool for the kids to swim in while not on the lake. It was a great addition and they were all able to cool down in it, as it was a hot weekend! 

The boys were the most excited to get out on the boat and go tubing. 

I was still a little nervous letting them go by themselves so Maddi was happy to hop in with them. Hudson definitely loved it! And I'd say Paxton just liked it. He was just as happy to be inside the boat watching other people tube. This surprised most of us that know Hudson and Paxton well. Paxton is usually more of the wild one, more willing to try new things, never timid and content doing anything. It's Hudson who offers to sit back and watch, but not this weekend! He was always begging to go tubing or jet skiing. 

Jet skiing was something else he really only liked doing with Maddi. I think he felt most comfortable with her. And trusted her. When you see Zev whip around on that thing, you know better than to hop on with him! Although, Jamie and I both got on, and both of us were first timers! 

Love that genuine, happy, having fun smile!

I think Hudson was in heaven when we walked into the pool area of our hotel and there was a claw machine!!! All of his dreams came true. This kid loves nothing more than playing the claw game. And as if that weren't enough, it was defective and allowed many, many games for just 50 cents. His day was made. 

And what's Fourth of July without matching shirts, right?!? 

Cruising the lake with Dad. 

                                 

The kids got "rides" on the paddle boards. Again, another first for all of us. 

                          

                             

And Hudson talked Grandma into going on the tube with him! I'm not sure she'll ever get on again. You know she loves her grandson an awful lot! 

Like every year, we had an awesome time!!!! Thank you for EVERYTHING Maddi and Zev, Grandma and aunts! We love you. 

nashville/illinois family

(I hate that I am posting things out of order, but I took pictures with my real camera over the July 4th weekend and I haven't uploaded them to my computer yet, so that post is yet to come. Now we jump forward to the week of July 6-10.)

Our family from Nashville, TN and Johnston City, IL came to visit last week and I decided to take the whole week off to spend with them and the rest of the family and kids doing many, many activities. It was a FULL weekend!

Monday we headed up to the metro area starting with the Mall of America. We stopped by Lego Land, Build-a-Bear Workshop, Nickelodeon Universe, and did a little shopping.

All the kids made a "bear"- Hudson's was a minion (no surprise there- obsession!), Tucker's was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (I think another obsession!), Harlow's was a sparkling bear fairy, and Paxton's a flying dragon.

After building their new friends, we went to Nick Universe for some rides.

That's Tucker on the left, face painted as a ninja turtle.

Our hotel had the biggest swimming area with a HUGE pool that that teeny tiny little girl on the left had all to herself. 

Tuesday we went to Como Zoo. Despite the high temperatures, a lot of people decided to go to the zoo that day!

Wednesday we took a shorter trip to Mankato and had lunch at Friesen's Bakery. There was A LOT of delicious baked goods- pastries, muffins, cupcakes, cake but.....Harlow and I shared this veggie and hummus plate, which was still delicious, but a very different kind of health delicious.

After lunch we went to the Children's Museum. It was a first for all of us at their new location and it was really cute. I absolutely LOVED the Tree of Forts and explored the entire thing from bottom to top with Harlow.

Supper was at Dino's Pizzeria that evening. Aren't these two the sweetest!?

The kids ate all/most of their food and wanted to show off their growing muscles.

 I was actually a little surprised to see that Paxton does have a tiny little bicep in there!

Thursday we went to the Sleepy Eye waterpark, again, with a lot of other kids! This was the only picture I managed to get that day.

Friday we stayed local and went to Schell's Brewery and climbed Hermann the German. Harlow was over the moon excited to ride the trolley into the brewery!

She's so pretty.

We sure got used to having the extra family around. We already miss you Bill, Sandi, Mark, Dana, and Tucker! Thanks for visiting. Love you!

Thunderbirds Airshow

When the air show came to Mankato a couple weeks ago, all of the Johnsons went! Grandma Sharon wanted the whole family together and we had a great time and made some great memories. The boys were in awe of the planes, the tricks and the parachutes. They didn't stop talking about it for days and keep asking to go back. Harlow looked up from her ice cream or frozen lemonade every once in awhile. 

Thanks for a great time Grandma and family! 

a minion party

Hudson has become somewhat obsessed with the minions from Despicable Me and he knew months ago that that's what he wanted for his 7th birthday party. And boy were we impressed with the cake! I wish I could take credit for it but I have most all of my cakes made by a lady in Sleepy Eye. She's so talented and they are always delicious!

It's still hard to believe that my first baby is SEVEN years old already. 

We had another minion pinata!

Hudson and his godparents, Maddi and Zevlen.

And his most favorite person, Grandma!!

And his parents, I'm pretty sure he thinks we're just so-so. Ha! But we love him like crazy. And everyday I am proud of him for something, whether it be something small or big. This morning, Hudson, Harlow and myself were all in bed, he was awake. I told him he could do downstairs and he said, "No, I want to wait for Harlow to wake up." Then he brushed the hair out of her face, put his arm around her, and told me how cute she is when she's sleeping. Proud mom. 

Hudson's Friends Party

We hosted our first ever friends party (back on June 20th) and I think it will go down in the books as a hit. Hudson had fun, his brother and sister were included, and his friends had a blast. There were 13 kids total, THIRTEEN!! We ordered pizza, had minion cupcakes, opened presents, and played inside and out. We had a minion pinata and lots of water activities (sprinkler under the tramp, pool, water squirters, and slip n' slide). I really like all of the friends Hudson made in kindergarten, and am almost sad to think that those friendships probably won't last through the school years. These really are some great kids. 

Hudson is 7

(Pictures of Hudson's friend party and family party to follow....eventually.)

SEVEN...how could I possibly have a 7 year old?? Seems just unreal. But with that said, this seven year old is one mature dude. He can take care of himself, find solutions to problems, debate issues and love deep. He's self sufficient and I find myself being so proud to call him my son. And now with that said, he has a mouth on him and uses it for the worst. He can argue, talk back, use curse words (the worst!), and even though he has that maturity, he still finds words like butt, poop, and fart to be the funniest words in the English language and nothing is more irritating, especially with a 5 year old brother that feeds right into it. But I love this kid and he's seriously awesome to have around. I know he'll be smarter than me one day, if he isn't already, and I'm honored to be his mom.
I took the day off on his birthday hoping we could fill the day with fun things of his choice. Of course first on his list was opening presents. He knew they were hiding in my closet and offered to bring them down himself. He thought of using the step stool upside down all by himself....see.....solutions to problems!

He was also kind enough to let his brother and sister help open a few.

The three kids and I went to the matinee showing of Inside Out, great movie! We all really liked it, and I LOVED it! I think its the perfect movie for young girls too. Lots of understanding on how our many emotions work. Highly recommend it! After the movie, the cloud parted and the sun kind of came out, so we headed to Flandrau. I snapped this picture because thats all these two think about....snacking!

And all birthdays end at Happy Joe's for pizza....ah.....I mean games! I'd be ashamed to admit how much money Hudson spent on playing games. He's saving tickets to buy some lava lamp thingy he really wants but will be 10 years old before he earns enough to get it. And even at 7 years old, he still plugs his ears while the horn and sirens blow in his honor.