Water Park of America

So Lola had decided to buy us all tickets to the Water Park of America because she had decided not to go to Kalahari Resort in WI Dells this Summer. She usually goes there for a Doctor's Convention but there was too much going on the weekend it was scheduled for. So she felt bad that the grand kids didn't get to go this year. We bought the tickets a couple weeks or so ago and she got a room too. Well, she decided to go visit Lolo in Florida this weekend instead of going to the water park. Everything was paid for so we all went without her. The kids had a ton of fun and so did the adults. We got there at 10am and we didn't leave until 6:30pm or so. It was a really nice water park. Nicer than than the one in Brooklyn Park. The water was cool but not as cold as as the one in Brooklyn Park. Right away when we got there Jon and Nicholas played in the zero entry area with the smaller slides and fun water stuff. It also had the lazy river, and basketball pool, a wave pool, the bigger slides and the surf thingy. I don't think anyone tried the surf thingy but it was cool to watch people. The big hit was the big family tube slide. All the kids loved going down it. I was able to get some good pictures of that slide. Enjoy the pics and videos.

Jon on the Lazy River




Daddy & Nicholas was right behind him!


Marisa hanging out with Uncle Tom




Nick going down one of the kiddy slides




Bella's turn!


Isn't she cute?!

The big family tube slide. These pictures are of Mike going on with Jon, Anthony & Nicholas.






Here is a video of Auntie Tesa going down with Maria and Bella. They came down right after the guys. It is really dark at the end but you can see the yellow life vest jumping up and down and hear the kids cheering, "Again! Again!"


This time Mike went down with all the kids!









They had SO much fun on this ride!

Marisa and me hanging out at the kiddy pool





She didn't mind the water being cool. She didn't even make a funny face when I put her in! I think she is going to be like Jon and how he loves being in the water!

Here is a video of Mike, TJ & Noah playing basketball

Here is one of Jon swimming

Videos

So today we went to the Water Park of America ( I will post those pics and videos later), and I had brought my good camera and my point and shoot because I wanted to take videos to post on this blog. Well, when I went to download the videos I took today I found these as well. The boys love to take my point and shoot and take pictures. I guess they didn't realize that it was on video mode. I thought it was too funny to not post them all! They thought they were so sneeky! I didn't even know they had it. You can hear me in the background talking on the phone with someone! LOL! Enjoy!

Look Who Visited Us!

We got a surprise visit from Mike's cousin Chris and his wife Kellie and their daughter Andie! It was so good to see them! I haven't seen Andie since she was a little baby and she just turned 1 already! Boy does the time just fly by! She just started walking too so she was all over the house chasing after Ace! She liked to play with a few toys we had out for babies too! Below are a couple of pictures I took while they were here. Isn't she adorable?! I can't figure out who she looks like more, Chris or Kellie? I love her lips in the picture below.



The family with Marisa. Mike had taken Jon to go see the Stillwater HS football game in Roseville so they weren't there and Nicholas was busy playing with his cousins Maria, Bella and Gen.

MN State Fair 2008

So I forgot that I had taken a few pictures when we went to the State Fair on Opening Day.....So here they are! I didn't take many because I wanted to enjoy it with Mike and the boys and didn't want to worry about getting a good picture. We left Marisa with my sister Marie. Thanks Marie for watching Marisa! When we usually go, we go straight to the Kids Workshop at the Home Depot stand, but for some reason on Opening Day they do not have the Workshop. In the past Jon & Nick have made a tool box, A race car, a helicopter and couple other things that I cannot remember, but it is really fun to do! So we just kept on walking and we actually went to a few places that we have never been before with the boys. We stopped at the U of M area and I ended up getting the boys these two bags because I knew we were going to be coming home with a few things from the Midway. The boys loved them and it helped us out carrying all of our stuff. We also stopped by the DNR area and we walked through a few campers and some fish houses. The boys and Daddy enjoyed that. Daddy is already thinking about upgrading to a better fish house! :) We also went buy the Pet Center and the boys got to see Huskies and a few different breeds of dogs.

We took a few pictures at these made up stands. Nicholas thought it was cool.



Here are the boys waiting in line for the Sky Ride.

We had a fun day and we were able to make it longer than usual. Mike doesn't really enjoy going to the Fair because of the crowd and how the boys get tires so fast, but this year went great! We didn't go over board at the Midway, we bought the big sheet of tickets and that was it. We didn't buy any more which is good for us! Last year we bought two sheets! Jon ended up winning that Sponge Bob basketball. We always come home with at least one of those b-balls from the fair! The boys also won a few stuffed animals. Its amazing how they enjoy winning those things! Mike and I did pretty good eating there too! We had a Prunto Pup, we split a bagel sandwich, got a large french fries to share with the boys, and we each got a strawberry smoothie. The boys ate cotton candy and ice cream! Oh! I also got a corn on the cob! I love those! I didn't get my usual cheese curds, but I didn't want to go over board on the diet! :) The MN State Fair is the best!

Jon's Eat, Meet & Greet

Yesterday morning Jon had his Eat, Meet and Greet at school. This is when we go in to meet his teacher and bring all of his school supplies. Jon is really excited for school to start again and so am I. I can't believe he is already in first grade. When we got to the school there was a lot of kids and parents walking around. Jon knew exactly where his new classroom was. It is just a few doors down from his Kindergarten class. We walked in and we were the only ones in the class. Most of the kids had already stopped by. Right away Mrs. Graupner had us do a scavenger hunt. First thing to do was to introduce yourself to Mrs. Graupner. Than he had to find his desk with his name on it and put all his personal school supplies away. He than had to put all the optional items we bought for his classroom on the counter. He had to find the Restroom tags hanging by the door (they need to grab it and put it on their desk if they have to use the restroom). He had to find his name on the C.A.R. (Crazy About Reading) bulletin board (every time they fill out a C.A.R. sheet they get a sticker on their car). He had to find his name on a magnetic red circle so he could mark if he was having a hot lunch or cold lunch and he had to find his hook in the hallway to hang his coat and backpack. We also walked around to see if we recognized any of the other students in his class. He knows a couple boys from T-ball this summer and there are about 3 or 4 kids from his Kindergarten class. He has a total of 21 students in his class. Same as last year. He thought it was pretty cool. After we met with Mrs. Graupner we stopped by Mrs. Ritzer room before we went to the Cafeteria for a snack. Mrs. Ritzer couldn't believe how big Jon had gotten and how big Marisa & Nicholas was! When we got to the cafeteria Jon also had to make sure his PIN number still worked for hot lunch. For snack they had Nutri Grain bars and milk. While we were there we saw our neighbor's the Welch's. Colin has Mrs. Dahl for a teacher this year. They also had other people there from PTA, Boy & Girls scouts, and the Kids Adventure Club (Before and After school program). We hung out for a little bit longer and than went home. Nicholas was a little jealous and thought we were going to his open house but his is next week. He had gotten a postcard in the mail from his teacher Ms. Terri and he was so excited. He starts a week after Jon. I am SO looking forward to school starting! Summer is almost over! :(

Aren't They CUTE?!?!?!

Jon was holding Marisa this morning and he got her to sit up on the couch. So he wanted me to take a picture of the three of them. Aren't they adorable?!?!?!

Grandma Makes Marisa Laugh

I forgot to add this video to the blog! This is when we went to go pick up the kids at Grandma's house after the wedding. Grandma got Marisa to laugh! SO CUTE! We finally have sound on our computer so I had to put it up! Enjoy!

Look What We Found!

This morning while the boys were eating breakfast this bird flew onto our deck! The boys got excited (Noah is here too). They even walked out onto the deck and the bird didn't fly away. I grabbed my camera and as soon as I walked out there it flew to one of our trees. This was the only good shot I got. We all thought that it was a pet bird that escaped from it's home. I even put out sunflower seeds for it! :) Maybe it will come back! We are all keeping our eye out for it today!

Mike's Fantasy Football Draft

On Sunday Mike had his Fantasy Football Draft at our house. It is always so fun when he has this because we invite all of the families to come out and spend the day together. Normally the winner from the previous year hosts the draft, and I think it was my brother Paul who won it last year, but Mike offered to have it at our house. So, lets just say we had a ton of kids over and they had such a great time! Here is all who attended: The Cardenas' (TJ [12] & Anthony [5]),The Ramos' (Maria [6], Bella [4], & Lorenzo [4 1/2 months]), The Dehne's (Noah [7] & Gen [4]), The Johnson's (Tyler [4], Owen [I think he is 2] & Cole [5 months]), The Torgeson's (Grace [I think she is 4], Hannah [15 months], a boy due in Nov), The Pedersen's (Callie [2]), The Larson's (Kalvin [I think he is 5] & Lauren [3], The Christensen's (Carly [9], Colby [6],& TJ [3]) and our family! A total of 21 kids! So much fun! The boys didn't want anyone to leave and a lot of the kids felt the same way too! Some of them we don't get to see until the next draft and it is always great to see how big they have gotten! I meant to take more pictures than I did, but I did manage to take a few. See below-


Here is Carly feeding Marisa. She always wanted to be around or hold Marisa. She was such a good helper! I remember when she was that tiny and I can't believe she is 9 already! Isn't she just gorgeous?! Both her and her sister Colby are just beautiful! I don't have a picture of Colby but she is just as pretty as Carly.


Grace hiding behind her Daddy, Steve.


Some of the men hanging out on the deck before the draft begins.


Lorenzo! Isn't he getting big?!

Playdate With The Bjellos' and Pelowski's

This morning we had a playdate with Graham, Gunner, Sylvia, & George. We had so much fun! Mommy was even taking care of Callie and Noah today so we had a full car going over to Sylvia and George's house. When we got there Mom's friend Serena and her two boys were already there and all the kids were playing outside. Serena was talking to George and Sylvia's mom, Amy who is also one of Mommy's friends from college. We all got out of the car and started to play in their cul de sac. They decided that we were going to go to a near by park for awhile and than come back for lunch. We all piled back up into the car and drove to the park. It was a really cool park! When we pulled in, we all saw a basketball court and 2 tennis courts! We were bummed at first because we had brought just a football and a soccer ball but than Mommy told us that there was a soccer field too! We all jump out of the car and ran to the soccer field. We had so much fun playing there! Some older kids had biked over to the park and played soccer with us too! They were really nice.

After playing soccer we played on the play set with the younger kids for a little bit and after awhile it was already time for lunch. We piled back up in the car and went back to the Bjellos' house. We played inside to cool off while the moms got lunch ready. We had sandwiches and Macaroni and cheese! Yum! We played a little bit more and than we had to leave so Callie and Marisa could take naps. Thanks Amy, Sylvia, George, Serena, Graham, & Gunner for the playdate! It was FUN! Here are a few pics of the kids.


Callie on the swing


George hamming it up for the camera!


Sylvia. Isn't she a doll?!?!


Gunner - What a cutie!


Jon and Noah walking back from playing soccer


Nicholas on the swing


Graham & Gunner


All the kids @ the Bjellos'. L to R: Jon (6), Noah (7), George (2 1/2), Callie (2), Nicholas (4), Sylvia (4), Graham (5), & Gunner (1)

Bath Time!

Auntie Missy was over when Mommy was givingme a bath so she decided to take some pictures. Here I am getting ready for my bath.




This is a great picture but the lighting was really bad. Mommy tried to fix it with her Photoshop Elements but she really doesn't know how to use it. She did her best.


Love this picture!


All done!

Marisa is 3 Months!

Marisa turned 3 months on Saturday! She is such a big girl! She has been doing great as well! She is now down to 4 bottles a day with 7 oz. The best part is that she is sleeping through the night too! She has been sleeping through the night for a while now. She actually sleeps for 12 hours! Sometimes I have to wake her up in the morning so her eating schedule doesn't get messed up! Here are a couple pictures I took of her on Sunday. Enjoy!


She has a great smile!


I love her big eyes!

Marisa's Baptism

We finally got Marisa Baptised! We could have done it June but we had to take a Baptismal Class (even thought this was our 3rd baby and would be our 3rd Baptismal Class). We didn't want to get signed up in June because we would have had to host the class in our home. So we waited for July's class and after that I scheduled it as soon as I could.

Marisa Angeline Ramos Koehn was baptised on Sunday August 3rd at Saint Ambrose of Woodbury. Her Godparents are Paul and Teresa Ramos.

It was a busy day at the church. During mass there was 3 baptism and after mass there was 5 which included Marisa's! The ceremony went well and pretty fast which was good because we all started to get hungry. Thanks to Mike we took pictures before the ceremony started and than just a few with Father Tom afterwards. Below are some pictures. Thanks Auntie Missy for taking pictures and thanks Uncle Doug for taking the video!


Marisa's Godparents, Paul & Tesa


The whole family with the Grandparents and Lola


Papa and Grandma. Papa thought he was going to drop her because she was "slippery" in her Baptismal Gown.


We received this Baptismal Gown from my cousin Kuya Edel in the Philippines. He got it for Nicholas and now Marisa got to wear it


The proud parents


A better picture of the gown


During the ceremony


Great picture Auntie Missy!


Blessing Marisa


She did so good with the Holy Water, she didn't even cry. Although she probably thought she was getting a bath! She loves to take baths!


A close up




Father Tom said she was so alert! He thought she was listening to every word he was saying to her. Can you see how she is focused on him?!


Jon started cheering for her! I actually don't know what he was doing


Daddy's Little Girl


All the cousins


The proud Lolas


The family, Godparents, and Father Tom