sparkly

oh, this was a BIG day....

Peach had been waiting for about 6 months to go to the dentist

J took her for his cleaning about 6 months ago

We wanted her to see that it wasn't scary, so she sat on his lap and even got to help with parts of the cleaning

Ever since that day, she's been wanting to go back

I needed to get her on our dental insurance and the window for that didn't open until July first

I had the appointment on the calendar and that meant that it was a big deal

J took her while I stayed home with the napping Miss Tulip

I really wanted to go, but J did a great job capturing the event on my camera

The visit lived up to her high expectations

She got to wear purple sunglasses to keep the light out of her eyes

And our hygenist, Patty, used a leopard print set of tools to get her teeth all sparkly

She came home with a bag of goodies and her mouth gaping open

"Momma...do you see how sparkly my teeth are?"

Yes, baby...everything is sparkly when it comes to you :)

farm girls

the trip out to western MN was not complete without a stop at grandma and grandpa's farm

the girls were troopers, napping in the car from one place to the next and staying in relatively good moods despite the heat and in-n-out of the car

we got to cross a few items off our summer fun list
including a visit to great-great-grandma Avis
and the Redwood Aquatic Center

i didn't take any pics at the Aquatic Center, but trust me, we had a blast

before we actually got to J's family farm, we stopped to visit my grandparents, which included a Subway picnic near the "zoo"

this little "zoo" boasts about 6 different species of animals and has been in Redwood Falls since I was a kid

it was fun to take the girls to a place that J and I had both enjoyed as children...long before we knew about each other

Tulip liked the rooster until he started screeching at her :(

the elk was cool, but Peach insisted it was a reindeer that could fly and I just went with it

for a good old fashioned quarter, we fed the billy goats

this one was my favorite

then it was off to the farm

J's uncle just purchased a new farm "tool" which ended up to be more of a toy....

the "gator" (bigger and better than a 4-wheeler) sped us around the farm at high speeds

we had a mini-photo shoot atop a round bale

and J gave us an education on wheat

finally, last but certainly not least, were the new kittens

Peach especially loved the runt of the litter and did her best to get it to drink milk, but was unsuccessful :(

i think my girls would enjoy farm life

and maybe someday we'll fulfill that dream

until then, we will consider ourselves truly blessed to have such an awesome place to visit

relay for LIFE

after visiting my great grandma, we made our way back to J's home town

this is something we look forward to every year....and for good reason

J's dear aunt, Barb, joined the angels after a long battle with cancer

and ever since, we've been celebrating her life by getting together each summer at the Relay for Life

we eat good food

run around after littles

thank the Good Lord that he keeps adding to our number year after year

cheer on the survivors

and remember.....

for one crisp dollar, Peach got a purple ballon that she later released into the sky as we watched it float with the others up to Angel Barb

 can i just tell you how much this little man steals my heart?

a million times over.

it's his grandma that we gather to remember

 her momma...

her aunt....

her sister...

his aunt...

 his sister-in-law...

she was a lot of things to a lot of people

and we miss her terribly

it was so sweet to finally have a cool breeze and a beautiful night to be outside, enjoying each others' company and letting our thoughts settle on a wonderful and dearly loved part of this family