Twins Weekend, Mother's Day, and Everything in Between!

So I didn't exactly make the end of April as I had hoped :)
In fact, the way things were going, I was thinking I would be lucky to get something up by the end of May!

I am more or less done with my 2nd semester of grad school! Yipeeee! I take one more test this week and then I can pack it up....until June 3rd. That's the sad part. The idea of summer school right now makes me want to run away, however, it is only 7 weeks which will breeze by compared to our 14-week semesters! Then we have about 6 weeks off before fall semester begins!

I have had my head buried in papers the past few weeks---quite literally! Lots of deadlines, lots of stress. Glad those are past me!

So we spent a great weekend up in Minneapolis with my family that I wanted to be sure and mention, even though it was already on April 16-17-18th! My parents got us tickets to the Twins game, in the brand-spanking-new stadium, that we used for a Saturday afternoon game on April 17th. Jerrad, Nicole, Tyler, my dad, Travis, and Loo & Emily and I went. My mom stayed back in the hotel with Isaac (6) and Nolan (2.5) and Emersyn (2!). Bless her heart! I was relieved to hear the kids took it easy on her and behaved beautifully.

It was GOR-GEOUS out and a perfect day for outdoor ball! The new stadium is sweet!






The Twins won in the very last inning! GO TWINS!

After the game, we went to Rainforest Cafe for a little birthday celebration. My mom's birthday is April 9th, one day before Emersyn, and my little brother's is April 24th. He turned 26. We attempted to get a "grandparent" photo. This is as good as it gets:



We attempted a family pic:


Who needs Dora the Explorer when you have Isaac the Explorer? He loved the birthday bags from Rainforest!

Emersyn thoroughly enjoyed herself:


And we all enjoyed the Chocolate Volcano cake! YUMMY!!



We had a great day! The next morning, we did cake and gifts in the hotel room before everyone had to go home. Fun weekends always go by too fast!

Emersyn got this water table from Jerrad, Nicole, Tyler, Isaac, and Nolan for her birthday. She LOVES it! We had an unseasonably warm April, and she tested things out this 80 degree day. She was a little upset with the realization that water tables have different purposes than swimming pools do.




This girl would swim all day long if I would let her! She loves it!

Ready to go out for supper one Saturday night. Before we left, she decided to stomp on some of my school papers. I know the feeling, Emersyn!


She also got to play at the playground at the mall while I shopped! :)


We have spent some time down at the elementary school yard playground. It is about 3 blocks from our house. Her favorite thing there is "bawketball".





Travis also spent some time trying to relive his Glory Days. I won't embarrass him by telling you who won this game of Pig. Let's just say, it wasn't him...and you can bet I had fun with that one!


The weekend of May 1st was our Girls Weekend. Travis was back in Fargo to visit his Grandpa, who isn't doing so well. I took Emersyn to a petting zoo they had set up at Leashes N Leads. She absolutely loved it!



Her favorite thing there was the chicks. They were just 2 weeks old. In Emersyn's mind, the smaller = the better. She was afraid of any animal larger than her. Especially the sheep, who "baaaaaaad" as loudly as he could when she was standing face to face with him. So I can't say I blame her....I would also be afraid if something that stood eye level with me yelled like that. And humans don't count! Ha!



Local 4H kids were the owners of these animals. They were all so proud to show them off! I miss those days sometimes!


We had a really fun mommy and Emersyn day!




Whew! Now we are at Mother's Day weekend. My parents ended up being here, somewhat unplanned--but not really--if that makes sense. They came late Wednesday night and just left this morning. It was great to have them with us for the weekend! Emersyn helped Grandma open her gifts.


And then helped me open my gift. She got me a really cute Precious Moments mommy figurine. I collect them. I love it!



We attempted to get a picture under the big tree in our front yard. Emersyn, however, was more interested in breaking free and getting to her swing, so we had zero luck.


Possibly a hint of luck with a pic done inside:




We had a wonderful brunch at Green Mill for Mother's Day. I gained about 30 pounds in one sitting, it was amazing!! We then took Emersyn out to Oxbow for awhile before her nap. Later on we grilled kabobs and had a great dinner.

I just think that Mother's Day is so incredibly cool, especially since becoming a mother myself. What a beautiful gift this little lady has been...I love her more than life itself and thank God each and every night for giving her to us.

Today, Monday, I have a day off. What a way to start the week!
Hope you have a fabulous week! I know I will -- wrapping up another busy semester for good!