Wordless Wednesday ~ A Whole Lot of Pizza

VDL Vacation 2011

This past week we were lucky enough to spend on vacation at a beautiful lake resort.  We had a fantastic time, great weather, great food, great entertainment, and most of all awesome quality family time.  I never in my life remember needing a vacation more than I needed one last week.  I missed Jon, I missed the kids and I need to unwind with no distractions.  That is exactly what I got.

Grandpa Al and Grandma Mary along with Uncle T also joined us for the fun.  We had lots of game time, laughs, and memory making.  We could not have asked for better weather.  We were on the lake everyday with the Pontoon we rented.  We saw some amazing sunsets and met some incredible people and one special dog.

The kids had fun tubing and skiing (or trying to ski) behind Grandpa Al's new boat.  Jon and I even got in on the tubing action along with Uncle T and Grandma Mary.  A was the only one that got up on water ski's but they all tried.

We were all so thrilled for A that we were jumping up and down.  She felt pretty special about that.  K made two news friends on the trip and he as so excited to meet some boys his own age.

They had great fun playing tether ball, swimming, and even tubing together.  
We are all tan and relaxed before this busy school year takes off and I head back to work tomorrow. 

Wordless Wednesday ~ We Love Sunsets

Fort City

Tonight when I got home from work, I found a huge fort in the basement that Jon and the kids built today.  This is something they like to do every so often and the kids LOVE IT!  Jon took it one step further and promised the kids they could have a sleep over in the basement. 

Of course as they were all getting tucked into their beds, I had to grab the camera and take some photos.  It is a little lonely up here with the whole family in the basement but I decided I was not going to sleep on the floor tonight.  Even the cats are sleeping downstairs. 

I am sure I will hear lots of stories in the morning of the big camp out.  In my eyes, Jon gets Dad of the Year award once again.  He is truly such and AWESOME father to our kiddos. 

Introducing....our new Pup!

A few weeks back for our Wordless Wednesday Picture, I gave a hint about what was to come.  If you have not figured it out, we are going to become dog owners.  Our nanny, Erin, helped her parents raise puppies from their yellow lab.  We went to see the puppies the day they were born and we have been back weekly ever since. 

At first, we (I) had no intentions of getting one of these puppies but after much debate, discussion, and prayer, we decided that if we are ever going to get a dog, now is the time. 

The kids are at a perfect age and well, Jon has always wanted a dog.  Our puppy will be put through extensive training to be a hunting dog.

I would lie if I did not tell you that I am VERY nervous about bringing a puppy into our already crazy world but I can say that the more I go and see these puppies, the more in love I have become. 

Tonight we went to pick out our puppy.  There are five girls puppies to choose from and well, it is not an easy decision.  We do plan to go back one more time before we make the FINAL decision but we are 99.9% sure we have picked her...well she kind of picked us. 

Below is the note that we sent to our extended family tonight:

Above is the puppy that we selected tonight.  HER name is Gracie!  She is really sweet and loves to play.  Gracie kind of picked us tonight.  Every time we sat down or turned around she was right at one of our feet.  When we were getting ready to leave and could not decide, I looked down to her sitting at my feet looking up at me with these eyes.  When Jon sat down she came right over and snuggled up to him.  It was really hard to pick because we had all five girl puppies running around in the grass with us.  They are all great puppies and all of them would make great hunting and family dogs.  However, we are only taking ONE and we had to decide.  We did not tell them who we were going to take when we left but we discussed in on our walk home and we all said the same thing....Gracie!  So here she is you will all fall in love with her. 

Wish us luck! 

The Erickson Five

Wordless Wednesday ~ We're Gonna Be In Trouble Some Day

Wordless Wednsday ~ Grandma's Garden

Reunions and Birthday Celebrations

It was a crazy, busy weekend for The Erickson 5 as we were up north for Jon's high school reunion.  It was a ton of fun, especially, golfing on Saturday.  Jon got to see a lot of old friends and catch up.  I managed to have some fun myself.  The kids were in high heaven spending time with their Grandma, Grandpa, and cousins for the weekend.  They were spoiled rotten as usual. 

Sunday was my Birthday, so we headed to brunch with Grandma and Grandpa before we hit the road for home.  It was a long drive but when we got home, we went over to Grandma Mary's for a Birthday Celebration. 

We had King Crab Legs, Steak, great wine, AWESOME cake and ice cream and then I was showered with gifts...needless to say, I felt spoiled and had a blast celebrating my birthday.  The kids sure enjoyed it too.  Especially the cake and ice cream.  Another year has flown by and more and more I realize how quickly that time goes.  I feel so blessed as I turn another year older.  Thank you lord for an awesome weekend and the extra special love that I felt today and I turned yet another year older.  God Bless. 

U2 360 Tour

A few weekends back, I was lucky enough to go to the U2 360 tour.  It was AWESOME!  My Brother bought me a ticket to this show last year for my Birthday.  When Jon caught wind that I had a ticket to the show he then decided to take matters into his own hands and buy himself a set of tickets. 

As the concert approached, we started to learn that a ton of people we knew where headed to the concert.  We then made plans to car pool down to the show and have a little pre-party beforehand. 

It was such an incredible night.  We got poured on as it started to rain shortly after U2 came out on stage.  It did not matter though because the show was that good.  I have not been to a concert in years and it felt GREAT to go to a show again and get caught up in the moment.  Such fun memories for my brother and I and the best part is that just last week on my Birthday this year, he gave me the U2 360 DVD so we can relive the concert all over again.  Thanks T for knowing what I love.  You ROCK!

Water Sking Fun

Last night, we were lucky enough to get to spend sometime with an old sorority sister of mine that lives very close to us.  They invited us out on their boat.  We had a blast.

They are big time water skiers and my girlfriend used to be on a professional water ski team so you can imagine that they were anxious to get us out skiing.  They had a great beginners board for the kids and K and E decided they wanted to try it and they did it each twice. 

Jon had the opportunity to try wake boarding and he LOVED it.  A and I just opted to swim in the lake and take it easy.  We are so much alike. 

What a beautiful night it was with great friends, great weather, good lessons, and a beautiful sunset to end our time together. 

Thanks H family for the great memories.  We can't wait to hang out again sometime. 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Slip N Slidding