a week at the ranch

We arrived in Hutchinson at about 11:00 p.m. on Monday night. Colton was fast asleep and ready to get into his bed. Monday was the windiest day in the midwest! It was gale force winds out there! The drive up was super windy, so it was nice to finally be out of the car and into our beds.

On the ride up to Hutch, we were telling Cole that we were going to see Great-Grandma. He kept calling her, "Big Mama!" I thought that was SO funny, because she is so tiny! By mid-week, he was saying, "Great-Grandma!" He loved to be around her. It's funny that when he says, "Great-Grandma", he actually says Grandma, but when he says, "Grandma", he really says Mama. What a funny guy!

Billy spent nearly every day of this past week at the ranch helping his Dad get things cleared, burned, and mowed.
The old red barn and silo.Colton even got to have his first ride in a tractor! He loved it. All he could talk about for the next week was "BIG TRACTORS!"
Colton with Grandpa H in the big tractor.Watching with Daddy as Grandpa H puts rocks into a deep mud hole.Even Billy got on the tractors to work.Billy mowed much of the yard on this tractor. I drove it ... keeping the wheel straight is actually a pretty complicated task!Here are some pictures of the ranch and of Colton hanging out there in the beautiful weather we had ... and the wind!Colton and Grandma H.Driving the tractor ... just hanging out for a while.In the grass. He actually hated sitting in it, but he disliked the thought of putting his hands down on it to get up more ... so he just sat there and picked blades.Colton with his "big Daddy stick", as he called it.Colton with an apple tree that Grandma and Grandpa H. planted on the ranch. They will grow together.
The winds blowing us away!

Billy and Grandpa H. were burning some trees and old wood from some buildings that they tore down, so we decided it would be a great time to roast some hot dogs and marshmallows. It was a delicious meal! Colton must have had seven or eight marshmallows! He loves them! Look at how big the fire was!It's huge!Roasting our hot dogs over the fire! Mmmm .... mmmm ....Grandpa H. enjoying his roasted hot dogs for dinner.

Every day we were at Great-Grandma Ellstrom's house, Colton enjoyed playing outside in her yard. She has a huge yard, so he was really having fun exploring. He found rocks, sticks, leaves, weeds, seeds, and more ants than he knew what to do with! He even helped Grandma H. in the garden a few times. He learned how to pick out weeds. Cole finds some weeds and seeds to occupy his time.Taking a walk with Grandma H.Playing in the yard by the garage.He found some "BIG STICKS!"By the tulips that blew away by the next day. They were beautiful, though.Running around the back yard. His favorite place at any house!Finding his favorite toys--rocks!Throwing rocks!

Here are some more pictures of the Ellstrom house and property. It's just so pretty there!



On Thursday afternoon, we went to visit Billy's cousin, Taya. She had a baby girl, Aliyana, about 5 months after Colton was born. We had never met her before, so we wanted to stop in and say 'hello'.Colton (18 months) and Aliyana (13 months).Aly with me! Isn't she cute? Poor baby fell down some stairs just before we got there, but she couldn't have cared less ... she's such a brave girl!Billy and Aly playing.Aly tackles Colton with a hug.Colton found some bunny ears in Aly's toys. Isn't he cute?

Of course, we couldn't go to Hutch and not see Steph and Andy! I found out while visiting with them that Lindy moved there, too! We were so excited to visit with them. Steph is due in the next week. I can't believe it! She's having a baby boy. I'm so excited to meet him. If I'm lucky, she'll have him while I'm still in MN.Steph and me ... both pregnant! She's 38 weeks, and I'm 25 weeks. Is it sad that we look the same size? It's my second, people! You get bigger faster with #2. I tell myself that.Lindy, Steph and me. I miss these girls!The Heinrichs and the Larsons.Steph and Andy with Cole.Lindy and Cole.

On Sabbath, we went to church, and I found Steph ... we were wearing the SAME dress! Not the same color. Not a similar dress. The exact same dress from the exact same store. There are a limited number of cute outfits for pregnant women. I guess great minds think alike! We sat outside on Sabbath afternoon, because the weather was so beautiful! Colton and I played a peek-a-boo game. Isn't he so cute!

That night, we went to feed the geese and saw some deer at a conservation area in Hutch. Colton had so much fun chasing the geese!




The last day we were there, Colton and I made sure we hung out in the back yard one more time. He found some dandelions, and we blew the seeds everywhere. It was so much fun! I'm glad that we got the chance to visit with Great-Grandma Ellstrom and Grandma and Grandpa H.




We had a fun time in MN with the family, and we look forward to our next visit. I won't be there ... since it'll be Dad H's 60th birthday at my 38 week mark, but Billy will take Cole up there ... and hopefully, Sissy Wally will stay inside until they get back!

From here ... we headed out to Chicago to see our great friends Mark, Steph, and Monroe Murrill. The next blog will tell all about our Chicago trip.

a weekend full of fun!

After being without internet (except for my 3G wireless) for about a week, I can finally sit down and catch you up on what we've been up to since we began our trip!

We started our adventure out in Lincoln at Billy's sister's house (Debbie). It was so exciting, because we all hadn't met Elle, yet. So, we were pretty thrilled to be able to meet her and hold her. She is a tiny little one, but she is growing quickly. I look at her, and think that Colton was that small once ... still inside the womb! She is a good little girl, though, and it was so fun just holding her. I miss having a baby at that stage! I know I will again soon ... but I think I'll cherish it a bit more. It just goes way too fast!Auntie Tasha holding teeny, little Elle girl. Grandma Heinrich with her two grandkids ... Colton (18 months) and Elle (1 1/2 months).Sweet Elle Girl.The lovely family ... aren't they a nice looking group?

Colton had plenty of chances while we were in Lincoln to feed the ducks. He even learned about geese on this trip. He loved to go down to the pond to feed them ... and he was so brave! He wanted to touch all of the geese and ducks ... and he nearly fell into the pond throwing food out for them. It was a great adventure!Colton enjoying the ducks with Grandma H.With Daddy ... getting some food to toss into the pond.Grandpa H. gives Colton lots of pieces of bread to throw! They had a great time looking at all of the ducks, fish, and birds.Big throw!

We had fun taking lots of walks. The weather was so nice ... for us Floridians ... that we couldn't resist being outside in it ... even if it was cold and rainy! Grandpa and Grandma H. enjoy a walk with their grandkids ... Elle and Colton.We even enjoyed some playtime outside. Colton LOVES basketball. He could play with a basketball all day long. We couldn't find Debbie's real basketball, so they played with this blue ball. Colton enjoyed learning how to dunk!
Enjoying a lift from Daddy ...

Sabbath School at CVC was really nice. They had a lot going on, and they just kept it going ... which you must do with 20 one to three year-olds! Colton had so much fun riding the horsey. Bouncing, bouncing on the horse!He was getting so sleepy by the end of Sabbath School ... he crashed on the way home from church and slept right through lunch! By Saturday night, Colton's cold that he got right before we left Florida had become out of control. His nose was runny ... no problem. He was sneezing ... not too big of a deal. But that night, he had gotten a pretty high temperature of about 103, and he was miserable. He woke up nearly every 10 to 20 minutes crying, "Mommy! Mommy!" I had him sleep in my bed with me, because he just couldn't get into his deep sleep. Every time he moved, he sat up and cried ... then he would collapse on me and fall asleep again. He was just so hot! I gave him Tylenol twice that night, and by morning, his fever had gone down to 101.2. He hadn't slept really much at all that night. Throughout the Sunday, I gave him some infant motrin, and that seemed to really do the trick. He slept well the next night, and he had a good nap on Sunday. It was one rough night, but we both survived. Another adventure in Mommyhood ...

On Sunday, it was Debbie's birthday. We took her out to get a pedicure and her make-up done! It was a lot of fun to hang out with Billy's sisters. For supper, we went to the Olive Garden--which, I must admit, is one of my favs, too! I was pretty excited. They even gave her a birthday cake! It was pretty tasty.Happy Birthday, Debbie!Colton with Aunt Cherrie.At home, Mom H. had already made Debbie one of her favorite cakes ... lemon with cream cheese frosting! (It was delicious!) We enjoyed it with some ice cream on the side. Debbie's homemade birthday cake.The birthday girl ...Blowing out her candles! Hope you got/get your wish!

Monday morning was Elle's baby shower. It went really well! Brenda and Cherrie made some delicious food, and they really did a great job putting it all together. Debbie got a TON of really cute items. I really like the quilts she got the best.This was a gift from her Aunt Trudi ... it was a quilt made by Debbie's Great-Grandma Lydia and Grandma Heinrich. Isn't it so cute? What a precious gift.This quilt was made by Debbie's Mom. It's from patterns found in Grandma Heinrich's house. So, it has very special attachments to it, as well.This is the quilt that I made for Elle. I tried some new skills out on it. I am happy with how it turned out.Here is the whole shot.A close up of the fabrics used.The embroidery.The back.And the presentation.I had to post up one cute, little outfit. Isn't this dress adorable?And of course, the diaper bounty!While the baby shower was going on ... Grandpa Heinrich was "watching" Colton. I ran downstairs to grab a bag, and here's what I found!Colton watching cartoons, and the babysitter asleep on the couch!

The whole weekend was very fun, and we really enjoyed visiting at Debbie's house. After the party, we visited with some friends. First, we stopped by to see Aubrey and Josh! They have an amazing studio in downtown Lincoln. The Leeker's Photography at 14 & O is incredible. They do really great work. Check them out at www.theleekers.com. Anyway, Aub captured this great picture of Colton ... even though he was at his grumpiest while we visited them. See how good she is!?!BIG CHEESE!I always enjoy seeing Aubrey and Josh. We had fun checking out all that they have been accomplishing in their careers.Me and Aub.

After we left seeing Aub and Josh, we met up with Robert Hiles at Burger King for a quick supper on our way out of town. Robert is such a great guy! I'm glad he's one of Billy's good friends. It's always nice to visit him. I wish we could've seen Peris, too, but we'll have to catch her next time. Colton did LOVE eating the french fries at BK. He found a new skill ... dipping them in ketchup!The little Burger King.He's reaching for his fries.Success! He got one!
Dipping them into the delicious ketchup!Yum, yum!

On our way out of town, Colton showed his true exhaustion from the weekend. He crashed on our drive to Hutchinson, MN. He didn't sleep the whole way up there, but it was nice to have a little quiet time in the car. The sleepy boy ...

Next blog will include our adventures in Hutchinson, MN with Grandpa and Grandma Heinrich and Great-Grandma Ellstrom!