Can you feel the love?

I am physically exhausted. I believe that is one of the many signs that you've had an AMAZING weekend!

We had a very super, duper special weekend planned with Dad and Thomas. They celebrated their anniversary together with a special blessing at church on Sunday and all were in attendance (Great-grandparents and Great-aunt included).

We ate, drank and were merry and in between all that I even squeezed in a trip to IKEA! Does it get any better?

We left the house around 5 am on Saturday. The kids did well. It was a long trip and by the time we got to Albert Lea, Lauren was ready for a break from the confinement of her car seat. So Dad filled up the gas tank and Lauren got to crawl around the van for awhile.



Josh didn't want to give up his reign over the laptop so he stayed put and watched Spongebob Squarepants for almost the entire 4.5 hour car ride.

With so many friends and family in town we ended up staying in a hotel. The kids were in heaven and the beds made it feel like we were in heaven, too. Lauren loved the big, bulky comforters and loved playing "Find Daddy" in the covers.




Josh made a new "best friend". Her name is Emma. And he misses her terribly. They were chased by monsters, trolls and had more jumping competitions than one could stand. While running away from the monsters in the backyard they were too busy trying not to get eaten...and ended up running through every piece of dog poo there was! So...that lead to a much quieter activity...



Then they each made a trophy and spent the rest of the night glued to each other's side.





It was so sweet and I certainly hope that that isn't the last time we can get these two kids together. She is such a sweet little girl and I was so glad he had someone to play with.

Then Sunday. The church service was amazing. The string quartet brought tears to my eyes. I think I could listen to a cello play all day long and not get tired of it. I enjoy worshiping at Dad's church very much for so many different reasons, but since we don't get to worship with our extended family that often yesterday was beyond special to us.

The whole day was amazing. Dad and Thomas hosted a lunch afterwards at the St. Paul zoo for all their family and friends. The food was delicious and we were honored to be included in their day.






We didn't get home until 10:30 last night so today was a bit of a reality check and the exhaustion is setting in. Lauren was very hesitant about getting back into her car seat this morning. But as you know...Mama always wins!

I'm sure they'll each be going to be early tonight...I wish I could say the same.