the latest

Jamie and I had a little weekend getaway on June 6-7. We stayed at a golf resort in Ottertail and had a very fun, relaxing time. We met some really neat people, including some 85-year-old pool sharks that managed to beat us twice. We golfed quite a bit, and enjoyed our time together. The girls stayed with my parents, they were mainly at the resort where my parents have their camper, which they thought was pretty fun.

The following week, Violet had eye surgery on June 12th. She had a lazy eye condition that wasn't improving, so the doctor recommended surgery to correct it now while she is young. They went in through the corner of both eyes and cut/stretched some muscles. She was very, very nervous but got through it. The hardest part was getting her to the point of sedation. She knew that they were going to give her medicine so she would sleep during the procedure, so when we got there she refused to take any type of medicine, because she didn't want to go to sleep. Her stuffed animal buddy Olaf kept her company. The procedure went well and she is healing great, which has been a relief. Her eyes will be red for a couple of weeks, but other than that she doesn't have any side effects. She went back to daycare last week. She was afraid that she was going to get teased for having red eyes (oh, my heart broke) but all of the kids have been great and she is no longer afraid. She has to back to the doctor in two months to see if the issue has been corrected. Hopefully it has and then she won’t have any problems in the future.

Nervous before surgery!

Post-surgery recovery

Leaving the hospital in style!

This past Saturday, we celebrated Jamie’s grandparent’s 65th wedding anniversary. It was just a get together of the family members, which was really nice. It was at the party hall connected to the living center in Parkers Prairie where Grandpa and Grandma live. Grandma’s wedding dress was on display, and there were some neat pictures to look through. It was a very nice day, and I think Grandpa and Grandma had fun!

may days

Wow, May was a busy month for us! It was filled with many fun family events, including Mother’s Day, Jamie’s parent’s 45th wedding anniversary, Claire’s fifth birthday party, Nick’s 16th birthday party (watch out on the roads!), Alex’s First Communion, plus the girls had two birthday parties for friends from school. Whew!

Beyond that, Olivia had tennis class and Violet had swimming lessons one day a week. Olivia has been through the 4-6 year old tennis class twice, so when I signed her up this time her instructor moved her up with the 7-10 year olds. She looked so little out there on the court compared to the older kids! She was very intimidated the first week, but has improved and loves playing tennis. She definitely has the drive, if she has a bad shot or misses a ball she can get very upset at herself.

Violet’s swimming lessons were in the afternoon, so Jamie would always take her due to my work schedule. However, this past Tuesday was her last lesson, so I was able to get off work early in order to watch her. Wow, I couldn't believe how much she had improved! Her best stroke is the back stroke, she can easily swim the length of the pool, although sometimes she would go a little crooked and bump into the lane ropes. J I was really happy that I got a chance to see her swim.

On May 25, the girls and I went to the play “The Little Mermaid” at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. It was a fun girl’s night out! We had a fancy meal, followed by the play. The girls were a little confused as to why their meal was served in courses, but they thought it was pretty cool. The play was really good, Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” is one of their favorite princesses so they really enjoyed it. Violet sat and stared in awe most of the time, while Olivia liked when some of the characters came out into the audience. It was a fun way to spend time together!

Easter times

We had a nice (but busy!) Easter weekend. The girls didn’t have school on Good Friday, so we headed out of town on Thursday night. Traffic heading out of the cities was terrible (ugh) – so we were a bit late in getting to Alexandria for my niece Emma’s First Communion. It was a very nice service though, and depicted a reenactment of the Last Supper. Afterward, the girls and I rode with my parents out to their farm. Jamie went to his parent's farm to go turkey hunting. The girls and I spent Friday at my parent’s, it was a pretty relaxing day but the weather was very chilly! The girls had fun playing with their cousins William and Noelle. Despite the chilly temperatures, the kids really wanted to play outside. It is nice that they are at an age where they can play out there by themselves! We also drove to the nearby small town of Hoffman to see the store where my Mom is a vendor. She sells American Girl doll clothes and accessories that she sews. Her stuff is so cute and unique! We also had lunch there, the girls thought it was pretty cool to have a root beer float for lunch. J Spoiled by Grandpa and Grandma!!

We went over to the Suchy farm on Saturday morning, and celebrated Easter with them that day. The Easter Bunny hid eggs both inside and outside so Olivia, Violet and cousin Claire had fun finding them. Then of course we had a huge meal, we all were stuffed afterward. The weather ended up being beautiful that day, so we mostly sat outside and visited. Olivia, Violet and Claire played in the sandbox and ran around outside. We went to church in Millerville at 8:00 that night. On the way into town, we stopped at the cemetery and showed the girls Uncle Jim’s grave site. It was nice to pay him a visit. Then, we headed into church. We left after 1 hour and 45 minutes – and the service was still going! I couldn’t believe it. Olivia and Violet did very well sitting that long, but it was already way past their bedtime since it was 9:45.

Olivia and cousin Chelsey

Outside egg hunt with Grandpa

Olivia: "JACKPOT!!"

Violet: "I found one!"

Cousins - silly face picture!

On Easter Sunday, we went to Rhonda & Jeff’s house in Alexandria. The kids had an Easter egg hunt which was pretty fun. The eggs were hid inside, but their Easter baskets were hid outside. The weather was awesome so the cousins all basically ran around together outside while the adults visited. J They got a little muddy, but other than that didn't get into too much trouble! We also celebrated William’s 5th birthday (which is actually on May 9) and Emma’s First Communion. It was so much fun to see the girls play with their cousins, they definitely had a blast.

Violet & Olivia on Easter Sunday

Family picture

Hunting for eggs

Grandpa & Grandma Thronson with their grandchildren

Happy Birthday William! Happy 1st Communion Emma!

Olivia’s top front tooth has been VERY wiggly, it finally fell out at school a couple of days ago. Well, the one next to it got loose and happened to fall out moments later! So she lost two teeth in one day, which she thought was pretty cool. Here is her new smile!