The Boehm Family: August 2014

Meeting Evan

On Saturday morning my friend Sarah and her two boys Tyler and Evan picked us up for a play date. Sarah took us to an amazing park called Chutes and Ladders - so cool! She's determined this park will get us to move back to Minnesota so we could spend every Saturday together. I wish!

Sarah's boys are completely adorable and I so enjoyed seeing them, and especially meeting baby Evan who was born in April. Tyler has the cutest personality, and I still smile thinking about his cute little ways. And the best part is watching my friend be a mom. LOVE!

It was the perfect way to spend the morning.

This is Tyler being shy. OMG. SOOO Cute!

Sweet Baby Evan.

Hello up there!

If only I could put her in lock down mode at home.

Such a cute little trio!

The happiest little guy.

How did the two of us end up with 5 kids? So fun to be together.

A Rainbow

A rainbow from our hotel room window. Always a good reminder that everything will be alright.

Shortly after it appeared Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Charlie called to let me know they would not only pick us up and take us to the airport Sunday morning, but also come to watch the kids so I could visit my friend Rachel whose 2 year old son was in the hospital recovering from brain surgery.

The Hotel

After the morning at the Fair, my parents brought us to the hotel the kids and I would be staying at the next couple nights then hit the road for home. They had a couple previous engagements they had to get to.

The kids settled in quite easily, and we had some much needed down time before hitting the swimming pool. I did a bit of stressing after I learned the hotel shuttle's first run to the airport wasn't until 5:30am. The only reason I stayed at the hotel was so the shuttle could get me to the airport to make our 7am flight on Sunday morning. Getting there at 5:45 (at the earliest) with 3 kids by myself was not going to cut it. Alas, I could take a cab - but I was still irritated.

Anyway, the kids were so excited to go swimming. I, on the other hand, was not so thrilled about the idea of being in the pool with 3 kids by myself without life jackets. But once again, the kids proved there was nothing to worry about. Kendall and Ryan totally rocked the deep end - 9 feet of water - and they were little fish. I guess those swim lessons are paying off. I was so amazed - and proud. Kendall would jump into the deep end and swim to the side. So fun to watch! Natalie was pretty darn brave, too. We spent as much time there as we could, then enjoyed a movie and room service.

And then the kids totally passed out.

The Great Minnesota Get Together

On Friday morning, we met up with Aunt Mary and Uncle Steve to attend the Minnesota State Fair. The Fair is a big deal in Minnesota. It's huge and amazing. There is so much to do and see, even if you don't do the rides (which we didn't!).

My Uncle Steve worked at the Fair for years. He is now retired, but still works during the Fair each year. He knows the place like the back of his hand, and was such an amazing tour guide. He knew exactly where the ICEE stand was per Ryan's request!

Our first stop was at "Little Farm Hands", which Steve started quite a few years ago. It's an interactive experience for kids to learn about where food comes from. It is really cool. There was a sign as we were leaving that said, "Have you thanked a farmer today?". A good message for us all.

After going through Little Farm Hands and surviving the first down pour of the day my mom and the kids went in the butterfly house, then we ventured past the fish ponds to the Birthing Barn. The moment you see the new baby chicks being born, you completely understand why this place is so popular. I'm not one for watching cows and pigs being born, but I could have if I wanted to. We saw lambs that were born the day before and calves that were only 2 days old. It's a pretty remarkable place, too.

We could have spent the entire day there, but just spending the morning there was perfect. We can't thank Mary and Steve enough for the fun adventure!

The crew at Little Farm Hands.

Natalie plowing the fields.

Collecting eggs.

The Fair!

The Birthing Barn.

Go Gophers!

I was so excited to attend my first University of Minnesota Golden Gopher football game at the new TCF Stadium. I watched Gopher football games in the Metrodome when I went to college at the U of M, and while it was great fun there is nothing like an outdoor stadium right on campus!

The best part of the new stadium is that my Dad's name is on the building! Pretty cool.

Aunt Jeannie was with us, too! We enjoyed watching Grandpa Ken and Uncle Charlie from the sidelines as they are part of the Chain Gang crew.

Kendall turned around after the first series. Not the first quarter, the first SERIES and asked if it was time to go. I have some work to do. Grandma Sue did a great job of keeping her entertained.

Jeannie also treated the kids to their FIRST EVER cotton candy. Such deprived children, I know. The first few bites were delicious, but the novelty quickly wore off. Oh, darn!

We ended up making it to the end of the 3rd quarter, which was not too shabby. The Gophers had a big lead at that point, so it wasn't too hard to leave. We definitely enjoyed our first experience at TCF.

M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A! Minnesota! Minnesota! YAAAAAY GOPHERS! RAH!

Consequently, the Minnesota Rouser has been the song of choice since we returned home. If you want to learn it, come by at bedtime. I sing it at least twice every night!

Tons of Lake Fun

I took over 600 pictures on our Minnesota vacation. With 12 kids roaming around, there are so many cute faces to photograph that pictures pile up quickly. I am in awe of how well the kids play together and how much they love each other. I feel so grateful I can witness it all from behind the lens (with help from Jenny and Gina, too).

Here are the last "few" favorites from our time at Tulaby Lake:

Taking it all in.

The kids kept busy catching frogs.

Being in the water is so mesmerizing.

Pure entertainment.

Gabe's lizard smile. It's very similar to Kendall's lizard smile. Must be a 4 year old thing.

I just adore this face.

Sweet Grace.

Looking for shells.

The hair and the lip. Gabe looked so cute with his white hair standing straight up after being on the tube, but there was no way he was going to smile for a picture.