Wow, where have the last months gone? Summer has just flown by!
In June, Olivia and Violet had their first sleepover at a friend's house. They stayed with their friend Sylvia and had a blast. They made a fort and apparently slept in it, they came home pretty tired the next morning so I'm not sure how much sleeping they actually did! They had a lot of fun.
We had a great July 4th weekend again this year. We spent July 3rd at the Suchy farm. We had a cookout, went for tractor rides, and just relaxed. The girls had a lot of fun, especially when Daddy let them drive the tractor!
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| Cookout at the Suchy Farm |
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| Tractor ride at the Suchy Farm |
On July 4th, we headed into Evansville for the parade. The girls and their cousins really enjoyed running for candy this year. This was the first year as long as I can remember that my Dad didn't march in the Color Guard, so it was nice to have him join us as spectators.
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| Red, white and blue! |
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| Evansville Parade (a.k.a. the battle for candy!) |
After the parade, we went to the Thronson farm. The cousins played in the pool and on the water slide, went on four wheeler rides, put on a talent show, and we even played a family baseball game. In the evening, we had a bonfire. It was a very fun day!
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| Thronson Family |
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| Family Baseball Game |
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| Annual Thronson Cousins Photo |
On July 5th, we went to my parent's camper. William and Noelle were there too, so they had fun playing together. They went swimming, played on the water slide and water mat, and most importantly, they caught frogs. That is one of Olivia and Violet's favorite things to do at the camper. They had a great time!
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| The camper |
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| Catching frogs |
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| Water fun |
In July, the girls took a golf class. They enjoyed it but often got frustrated when they didn't hit the ball very well. I don't know where they get that from....ha ha.
I also was able to do some fun things in July. I spent a weekend with my sisters which is our annual tradition. We stayed at a hotel in the cities this year. We did a lot of shopping, went on a Lake Minnetonka boat cruise, visited a tap room, and just relaxed. I always enjoy that time with my sisters every year! Also, on Sunday, July 27, I met some of my college friends for lunch. I hadn't seen a few of them for many years, so it was really fun to catch up!
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| Sisters!!!! |
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| College friends!! |
In August, we celebrated niece Noelle's 3rd birthday, Aurora's 3rd birthday, and Emma's 1st birthday.
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| Noelle's 3rd birthday at Rainbow Play Systems |
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| Emma's first birthday |
In August, we also went to the Douglas County Fair and the Minnesota State Fair. This was the first time the girls have been to the Douglas County Fair in Alexandria, most of Jamie's family joined us which was fun. The girls went on rides with cousin Claire, saw pigs shown by cousins Nicholas and Chelsey, and visited Auntie Jill at her company's booth. After the fair, we went over to my sister Nikki's house and spent time with my whole family. It was kind of an impromptu family get together, but it was a lot of fun!! The cousins spent most of their time in the pool that they just had put in their backyard. It was a great day!
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| Ready for the fair! With cousins Claire and Emma |
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| Fair ride with cousin Claire |
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| Klimek's New Pool |
Olivia and Violet spent the week of August 17 with their grandparents because we didn't have child care. They spent time with both grandparents, and came home with all sorts of stories. They really enjoyed the time with them and didn't seem to miss us very much! When they came back home, we went to the state fair on Friday, August 22, with Grandma Suchy and Uncle Joey. We rode the city bus from the U of M campus, which the girls always think is fun. The weather was perfect, warm but not too hot. We were able to see Chelsey show her pig, she advanced from the county fair level to the state fair level. She won a red ribbon at the state fair, so we were very proud of her!! We also met up with William and Noelle for some rides. Our girls have been pretty nervous about trying any bigger rides, but we finally convinced them to try the Tilt-a-Whirl, which they rode with Uncle Joey. On the first fast spin, I thought Olivia's eyes were going to pop out of her head! They made it through though, and after they got off the ride they said it was fun. Among the favorite parts of the day for Olivia were going through the horse barn (she asked me to take a picture of every single horse) and the rides. Violet enjoyed going down the Big Slide and riding on the Tilt-a-Whirl and the kid roller coaster. They both enjoyed the Lumberjack Show, Little Farm Hands and were thrilled that they got to eat cotton candy.
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| Waiting for the bus |
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| Entrance to the state fair |
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| Tilt-A-Whirl Ride |
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| Bumper cars with Noelle and William |
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| Chelsey showing her pig |
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| Fun with Grandma Suchy |
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| Lumberjack show: Log sawing competition |
Violet also had her follow-up appointment with her eye doctor in August. The checkup went well, and at this point we believe her surgery was successful. Yay!
The girls spent their last week of school vacation at a YMCA Day Camp near Monticello. They rode a bus each day from the Y near our house out to the camp and back. They did many fun camp activities such as tie-dying, group games, horseback riding, canoeing, swimming and cookouts. Two of their friends from preschool went with them, so they were very excited to see Evan and Avery again!
With the end of summer came the shift to school mode. We had a great summer, but it was very busy so we are looking forward to getting back to a regular routine and schedule.
On August 28, the girls met their first grade teacher at their school's open house night. Her name is Senora Michelli, she is very nice and even has twins of her own. They were able to see their classroom, organize their supplies in their desks, and learn a little bit about how things will go in first grade. They are in the same class again this year by our request. They were pretty devastated at the thought of being apart, so we decided to keep them together. As long as they are not dependent on each other, we are fine with them being in the same class. At some point I'm sure they will want to split apart, which is just fine with us too! We'll take it on a year-by-year basis.
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| Violet and Olivia with Sra. Michelli |
We are just finishing up the first week of school. The girls have enjoyed first grade so far, Olivia said her favorite part is lunch and Violet said her favorite part is recess. Pretty typical kids, I guess! They have really enjoyed seeing their friends again and usually don't want to go when we pick them up. They have been riding the bus to school in the morning which has been working out really well. Their bus ride is a little longer this year than it was last year, but they don't seem to mind.
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| First day of school |
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| First day of school |
