Dutch Oven Cooks

Let the Dutch Oven Season begin!!!! Jerry & Brooke were nice enough to invite everyone (like the entire ward) over to their place tonight for the 1st Dutch Oven Party of the year. Yummmy! There were so many people- maybe like 65 people. Crazy but fun!  The Cooks backyard is so much fun. Kids & adults (seriously anything kids can do the adults can do as well) enjoyed the Zipline, the swings, the trampoline, the sandbox, the food, home-made rootbeer, friends, bubbles and an all guy game of Lightning on the basketball court. What a great night! Let's do it again soon.

We LOVE Dutch Oven Season!

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

The weather perked up a bit so we took our chances and headed up to Turtle River State Park for some camping with the Larsens. The original plan was to have 6 or so families come up for the weekend but due to moving and weather circumstances our numbers dwindled to two. We had a blast though! Turtle River is beautiful. We'll definitely have to go again especially because we recently bought a Popup trailer from the Babcocks.  We have never been big campers but let me tell you... plug that baby in, plug in a heater and some bedtime music and we are SET! We might even make this a Camping Adventure Summer. We'll see!
Back to our Memorial Day Camping...

We picked the best two sites in all the Park. We totally lucked out. If you ever go with a group, make sure you get sites 15 & 16, then 13 or 23. They are Perfect! We got up a bit late so we just had time to set up camp and eat a bit of dinner. The kids all wanted to help setup the Popup. Sorry Ryan- you're tent is cool too! LOL

We did Hobo dinners again (love them!)

and what camp fire is complete without Sh'mores? Yum!

Some of the kids were dying to go fishing. My amazing hubby braved 4 kids on his own in the DARK, mind you to take them. What a guy! They even got a couple. They were <-----------this----------> big! Literally! Like 4 inches. LOL. But Brett cooked one up over the fire and most the kids tried it. They loved it! Nothing like fresh fish. Too funny!

In the morning, we had breakfast burritos and headed for Church in Grand Forks. Nothing like Camp-Smoke Visitors in Sacrament Meeting! LOL When we got back we cleaned up camp while McKenzie played Old Maid with the kids. (The Larsens stayed another night) Then, we had lunch at the Playground. The winds had picked up and the temps were pretty chilly but the kids always have fun together.

We did a bit more fishing before we left. All the kids caught something. Maggie and Lilly think fishing is fun and easy! Oops! Sorry Ryan! (Gotta love beginners luck!) Glory carried her fish everywhere. She made sure he got a drink once in a while (even though he was long gone by then ;) The river was beautiful and protected a bit from the wind. Perfect fishing for little kids.

Thanks Larsen for inviting us! Let's do it again soon. Happy Campers are we!

Going with the Flow

We are supposed to be camping this weekend but Fargo's Mother Nature always likes the last say and today she said- "No way!" Mean Mama! LOL So.... we are going with the Flow! (literally because flow has to do with water and rain is water, right?)
We were all craving Hobo dinners so we made them anyways. The kids helped make them and Brett cooked them up on the grill. So yummy!

In the evening, the Larsen's invited us out with a few other friends to Casselton's Governors Inn for a bit of swimming. We had lots of fun! Thanks for inviting us, guys!

Then since we weren't eating breakfast in the woods, we did the next best thing. A bike ride to Sandy's Donuts with the Larsens! We love family bike rides, we love the Larsens and we LOVE donuts. It was a perfect substitute.

Bummer 'bout the weather but we had a blast anyways! Take that, Mother Nature!!

Christmas Couch

AKA Brotherson's Christmas Eve Partay
For several years now, we have joined the Brotherson family in a Christmas Eve Celebration. This year, everyone brought either a soup or some pie. It was all sooooo good! We ate like pigs! I love food around the Holidays! Yummy!

They had tons of people over this year. We thought it would be WAY squishy but it was just perfect! It was really laid back and relaxing! The kids scattered all over the house- playing with toys & friends, games on the XBox, and playing the Piano while being accompanied by an ANGEL singing (aka Elder Krupa) LOL! The adults just enjoyed eating and eating and eating and visiting. What an awesome evening! Thanks KBro & Sean. We love you guys!

 Here's some of the fun:

It has been a tradition for several years now that a Family picture be taken on the Christmas Couch! It has been some of my very favorite pictures of my little fam & the Brothersons. I LOVE it! Thanks for the memories, Christmas Couch!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Chillin' with the Cooks

We LOVE being invited to the Cook's around Christmas! There's always vast amounts of delicious food and fabulous people to be with! Thanks for having us out guys! Merry Christmas!

Oh and it was "Chillin' with the Cooks" because most of the kids and the guys went out back to try out the Zipline in the snow! I didn't brave the many FEET of snow so I didn't get any pictures but they loved it! They came in soaked and frozen but who needs feeling in their limbs, right? Thanks for the fun memories!

Water Fun @ the Cooks

To enjoy the last bit of our Summer, Brooke invited everyone out for a little Water Fun at their place. The kids had a blast! The Potters even brought their waterslide. The kids played on the tramp and in the sand, had waterfights, slid on the slides, and the older boys even tried to catch the garage on fire. Oh, the fun we have when we are all together!! LOL! The adults and some of the kids enjoyed our Potluck lunch- man those are the best! And it's always fun to visit with these ladies!

This has been a perfect Summer to enjoy the outdoors. I'm so gonna miss it! (Unfortunately, I am all too aware that Fall is soon approaching followed by the famous Fargo winter- oh joy!)

Thanks Cooks for having us out!

At the Lakes with the Cooks

Our dear friends, the Cooks are the most giving people we know. They are some of the hardest workers and are always sharing all that they have with others. We love them!
Since they have no other way they could spend their limited time already (LOL!), they ended up renting a lake place for the month of August. Today, they were gracious enough to invite us out for a day at "the Lake". We had a blast!
They got a place with a small little cabin with 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a sitting area and a screened porch. It was just perfect for their family and having friends out during the day. The beach property was fabulous! It was a perfect day for it too- the lake was like glass for most of the day. A huge shade tree, lots of sand and tons of things to do! We got to spend the day with the Cooks, Liz & Bryant Zollinger, the Tuckers, the Brewsters, and the Mausolfs. What a great day!

We all got a turn out on a tube or at least pulling a tube. It was Liberty's absolute favorite! (In fact, she paid for it for several days after! Oops! The back of her legs got fried!) KTuck, Julie & I got out together. What can I say?- I AM A Whimp. My arms are still sore and Brett was actually very kind in his driving. It was a crazy ride but lots of fun!

Justice's favorite had to be the Kayaking. He was in them every chance he could get. Conner & him would go out pretty far in the lake. I wasn't sure they would be able to get back. LOL!

The Cooks bought a water Trampoline to bring to the lake. It wasn't very bouncy but the kids loved swimming out to it (or getting a ride to it in the kayak- thanks Emily) The older kids loved taking turns jumping off of it into the water. A very fun addition to the Lake experience.

Last but not least, Brett was in love with Jerry's Jet skis. Theses things were like race cars on water. They were super fast and mega powerful. Wowzers! Brett even tried his luck at Slalom Skiing. After he finally got his size 13 foot into a size 10 boot (LOL!), he was off. He looked awesome! You are amazing, Honey! What a hottie you are! Some of the younger boys tried their hand at raft skiing. They looked pretty cool as well.

Thanks so much to the Cooks for sharing their place with us! We had a fabulous day! Thank You!