Two Birthdays and A Wedding

Wow! We had a busy, but fun-filled weekend with family. Our trip started out in Sioux Falls at Hubby's sister's house. Our great-niece, Emma, turned one on July 3rd. Here she is planting one on Gracie...

And here's Gracie cleaning up after...

The big girl and her cake...

Dressed up in the outfit she got from their foreign exchange student, Jiwoo, who sent it from Korea...

The other birthday girl. Ella turned 2 two days after her cousin turned 1...

Me and one of our nieces, Amanda...

After Emma's party we headed on to my mom's house in Edgerton. We spent the night there and then got up bright and early Saturday morning to drive to Minneapolis for my cousin, Chris', wedding. Here are the girls right before we left for the church (dresses, hats and purses courtesy of Grandma Genie)...

Ella with the groom...

Chris and his bride, Erin, cutting the cake...

Chris and Erin Fransman...

Ella dancing with my Aunt Deb...

The girls with Erin...

The day after the wedding was Ella's second birthday! We celebrated by heading to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. Right after a quick trip to IKEA. The girls had a great time on the rides and just exploring the mall. Our good friends, Dan, Rachel and Emma also happened to be in the cities for the weekend, so we got to meet up with them for a short time.

Later that night, before heading to the pool, Ella opened her presents in the hotel room...

Thank you, Lord, for Ella. She has been such a blessing to our family. We look forward to continuing to watch her grow in the years to come. She truly has the sweetest heart!

Monday morning we headed for home. The girls have gotten some much needed sleep and are getting back into the swing of being home. It's been a summer of travel.

Next, we look forward to Grandma Genie and Uncle Daniel's visit in August!