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!

Fogo de Chão

We had a fun dinner last night with Brad and Bobby! Bob will be out of town for most of the next month. So, it was fun to see him before he leaves. I have also wanted to experience Fogo de Chão for a while now. It was pretty spendy, so it will not be something we do often (that's for sure), but it was fun....and very good! Check it out:
Fogo de Chão

They have a huge salad bar and then pretty much all the meat you could possibly eat! They bring the meat around to your table and cut a piece off for ya. You just turn your little circle card over to the green side to signal that you're ready for more meat. Turn it to red when you need a break. We had a lot of great food and were VERY full for the rest of the evening.

Happy Father's Day!

We just wanted to say "Happy Father's Day!" to our Dads and Grandpas...as well as all our friends who are Dads or Father figures in our lives and the lives of others!
We hope you have a great Father's Day and a great year!
(I couldn't resist posting a few photos...
...especially of our cute Grandpas)
Grandpa Johnny ...getting ready.Mindy & Grandpa Bob

Off he goes!!

Mindy's dad with the family.

Erik's dad and grandpa in the Chevy!

Grandpa Bob's Birthday!

Twins Game!

Wednesday we surprised Kellie for her birthday (with a little help from Shane). We met them at the 508 restaraunt for apps and then headed over to the game. It was a fantastic game with the Twins coming back in the later half of the game to clinch it.


It was also Dollar Dog night, and Shane showed us his proper Dog Eating Technique.

Courtney's Wedding

Erik's cousin, Courtney got married on Saturday evening. It was a very nice wedding and we got to see a lot of family -some of whom we hadn't seen since our wedding! It was a great evening. Luckily the wedding was right before it started to rain and hail outside! Erik's sister, Amy all of these pictures (she just got a new camera and is great at taking pictures).

Florida

So we're a little behind on the blog....we went to FL last week. We met my family in Fort Myers and spent the week at Bev & Leo's condo in Marco Island (Thanks Bev & Leo!). We tried to relax and spend as much time in the sun as possible. The weather was amazing! And we got to spend Kya's Birthday in Florida. We celebrated with an Ice Cream cake and a few gifts (although her main gift was going to Disney World with her Grandma and Papa -and mom & dad before we (aunt & uncle) came down). We also got to see my Aunt Brenda & Uncle Jack. They live in Naples and my Grandpa was staying with them for a few weeks also! So, we hung out with the whole fam!! (sorry if it's kind of confusing)
Enjoy the pictures: