Mindy Went Short!

This post is for Natalie, who wanted to see a picture. Last week I finally got my summer hair cut! (too bad summer is about two-thirds over
already)
I love it! I have gone short before but this is a little different. I have not seen too many of my friends this week yet, but here is a sneak peak for those of you who check this blog. Thanks Rachel!

Sorry Rachel & Billy!

We were sorry to hear that Erik's sister, Rachel and her husband, Billy had to put their dog down. Veda was only about a year or two old but started having seizure like episodes that they could not stop. So, early this week they said good-bye to their puppy forever. We're sorry guys! She will be missed.

Target Employee

OK, so I dressed for work this morning. Mindy mentioned on the way out the door, "boy, you sure look like Target today...." Well, it just so happened that I needed to stop at Target on the way home to pick up some ground beef. Upon checking out, the cashier asked if I would like to put it on my number. Although confused at first, I realized that he thought I was an employee.... Mindy just LOOOOVED that.....

Extreme Dining Room Makeover

Mindy did a great job of bringing a little bit more red in to our dining room. She used some curtains from Target and a vintage Birchwood, Wisconsin "tree branch curtain rod."

Cabin Nature

We finally got to the Molin cabin this past weekend. I think it was our first time this summer. It was a great weekend (aside from some rain on Saturday). We went to the Bluegill Festival/Dance on Saturday, but I regret that we did not bring the camera. It was a sight to see! But we were happy to have our camera on Sunday when we saw loons and eagles on the water. Two loons came right up to the dock on Sunday morning and Erik took some pictures of them.

(this is when we wish we had a camera with better zoom)

Later we took a boat ride and saw this eagle posing for us!

Erik got to bond with Gracie. She's a sweet dog!

Us.

Off to Morocco

No, not us (at least not yet). Our friends Kirk & Sarah and their son, Oliver, are moving to Morocco next week. We are very excited for them but also sad to see them leave. They have been busy packing, but we were able to meet them at Dunn Bros. in Owatonna last Thursday evening. It was nice to have time to catch up with them and say 'good-bye.' I'm excited to see what their new surroundings will bring. It sounds like there are many things that they will be learning and encountering. I hope and pray that all goes well for Kirk and Sarah! You can check out their blog also: http://kirkandsarah.blogspot.com/

Maybe we will be visiting them in the future! The first thing Erik said when we got in the car after saying good-bye was, "We should really go to Morocco." So, maybe that will be our next big trip...but don't worry, Kirk & Sarah, you'll have plenty of time to get settled as we save our pennies!

White Water Rafting in CO

We didn't bring our camera to the white water rafting part of our trip because we didn't want it to get wet. Luckily Dan brought his waterproof camera case and took some pictures for us. This was July 3rd, the day before our big hike (posted below).

Don't we look cute in our wet-suits!?! Even better with helmets!

Our raft

The other raft.

Note: We could only take pictures during the calm parts of the river. These really don't show what it was really like. Just ask Erik and Bill how wet they got!

On Mountain Tops

The 4th of July was amazing! This year we took a last minute trip to Colorado. We camped, went white water rafting, and hiked to the top of Mt. Bierstadt with friends from church! Our total trip was only four days long (two of those days were driving). But we had a fantastic time. It was so fun to be with friends and to actually make it to the top of the mountain!

Our campsite was about a mile from the trail head at the base of the mountain. It was actually outside of the official 'campground' but that made it just more beautiful (but no bathrooms/out-houses).
Oh well....it was worth it!!

The mountain you see here is the one we climbed.

Just before sunset

This is the "saw-tooth" we all hiked to the top of the mountain on the right, but three members of our group hiked across this saw-tooth to the top of the mountain on the left. So they actually climbed two mountains that day!We started our hike early...5:30 am!Off we go!We made it to the top!!You can tell from the smile on my face that this is on the way down...
but you can see how big the mountain was
(this was probably about two thirds up the mountain).
On the way home we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park
(Estes Park). It added about seven hours to our return trip
but the views were priceless.

Twins Win...again!

We had a fun (& busy) weekend of... hanging out with friends on Friday night, going to Valleyfair and our first ever Grill Out/Baby Shower for church friends on Saturday, and then the Twins vs. Brewers Game on Sunday afternoon! We only have photos from the Twins game...but overall, we had a fantastic weekend.

Before the game started, all the MN mascots played a game of softball.
(I think that pink blob was a liver!)
(This is for Scott & Amanda -who love mascots!)

Mindy & ErikJake (& the whole group) harassing Adam (Brewers fan)
when the Twins scored!
By the end of the game Jake & Adam were able to sit by each other
-and were both smiling.
But...I must say, the Twins had a great game...Sorry Adam! Tomorrow we're leaving for a last minute trip to Colorado!
It will be a short trip, but we're excited!