Happy 6th Birthday Anniston!!

Sweet Anniston woke up 6 years old on July 25!  As tradition calls for, we woke her up with her candle in a pancake while singing to her.  

 So excited to be 6 !!!

 The kiddos did all of their morning "chores", then came downstairs to eat their pancakes and open presents before school.

 What makes her all warm and fuzzy ?  Bubble tape, folks ! HA!

 She asked for new jewelry

 And the #1 gift ----a baby that goes potty !

 Her new alarm clock.  I'm telling you, this little angel is precious.  On school days (days that Mommy works) she sets her alarm (it's set for 6:30).  She gets up when the alarm goes off, gets dressed, brushes her hair and teeth, and makes her bed.  She will then come downstairs ready to go.  It's amazing, but doesn't surprise me.  Anniston is such a rule-follower and pleaser.  If this is what she thinks she's supposed to do, then consider it a done deal.

 Reading her card from MeMaMa

Happy Birthday sweet girl !  We cannot believe you are already 6!! Where has all of the time gone?  You are such a sweet, loving little girl.  You have so many friends who love you dearly.  You have made lots of friends in the neighborhood this summer, and you love to ride bikes and play in the backyard with all of them.  You are such a little Mommy to Treyson.  You've always got his back, but you also aren't afraid to correct him when you know he's doing something naughty.  You are getting more comfortable saying your own prayers (versus the traditional meal and bedtime prayers).  It is precious watching you talk to God.  You are constantly referencing God, and that is exactly the way we want you to be---doing all you do and saying all you say in God's name.  (Example:  Treyson told you he didn't like sleeping without the new "dream light" your Nanny gave you.  You said, "It's alright Treyson.  Remember, God is always with you.  And don't you worry buddy, you will never let us down.  We are so proud of you."  Seriously?  Melts this momma's heart!

We love you the mosty wosty!
Love,
Mommy and Dadoo

To Grandmother's House We Go!

In July, we took the kids and headed up to Decorah, Iowa to visit my Grandmother.  She will be 97 this November!  She looks amazing, and I look forward to spending more time with her soon.  Both of my brothers and their families went too, so it ended up being a family reunion while we were there.  

There are lots of pics, so I'll keep my rambling to a minimum ;)

Anniston with her cousin, Osa who lives in Minneapolis

Silly girls!

The group met at Mabe's pizza for dinner--dad's favorite pizza place.  We go there every time we go to Decorah.

Even the littlest cousins approved of Mabe's !  (Caleb (l) and Calvin (r) )

Treyson took a pic of Dadoo

The kids went over to my Uncle's house to play in the little pool while the ladies went shopping in town....it was actually a pretty chilly morning

The little great grandkids with Grandma

Then we got the twins in....these are 7 out of 14 great grandkids!!

Cousin Michael, Osa, and Anniston

Again, Treyson took this

Dad with all of his cousins

Can you see how strong the genes are on my dad's side of the family??  This is dad with Uncle Ron (who helped officiate our wedding) and Uncle Lee in the middle.

Then we headed out to the trout farm on Sunday morning

CJ was SO EXCITED to be at the trout farm (this was actually after he spilled a ziploc with a gazillion quarters all over the place--ha)

Throwing out some food

This face on Tay is priceless....when you throw food in, the once calm trout flop around like CRAZY !

Stocking up on fish food (I love the disgusted look on Mel's face--Todd was filling his hat with food to avoid multiple trips to the food machine )

Dadoo thought the fish were hungry for T-Man!

There was a HUGE eagle nest, and this eagle was truly a few steps away from us.  He has a sensor on his back.  You can actually go online and watch these eagles--it's pretty neat to see up close.

MaMa and PaPa with 5 out of 7 grandkiddos!

After feeding the trout, we headed out to Grandma's farm.  She owns 360 acres of land that she leases to a gentleman who grows corn and soybeans.  We got to walk around and learn all about the corn/soybean process from PaPa.

Then we drove the perimeter of the acreage...........with Treyson as our driver!!

Isn't this barn amazing!  It is about to be redone, so I can't wait to see how much it will change!

Jerry was "the cow" as PaPa was explaining how the cows were brought in to be milked

Scott had to clean up Jerry's, er, the cow's mess !

Sweet boy !

Upstairs in the barn (where the hay was once stored)

Anniston then took a turn behind the wheel

Treyson forced encouraged everybody in the car to pretend we were on a roller coaster by throwing our hands in the air and screaming !

Here's a view of the farm that my dad grew up on

This is the best shot I could get of the house he was raised in....so many trees that were blocking the view :(

Madison Lutheran church and cemetary. . . . . more Fretheim's here than one can count !

PaPa showing the kids where Great Grandpa is buried

What a wonderful trip to Iowa we had.  I love having dad show us the farm and give us history.  I seem to pick up on more and more each time we're here.  Can't wait to go back!