Minnesota Arboretum

Now that we only have a few days left I've been trying to see more of Minnesota. I've really loved living here! We've met so many new friends, the weather has been pretty perfect for being outside almost constantly with Bracken, and it is so green and beautiful. Yesterday Bracken and I went to the Arboretum with Ligia and her little kids. It has over 1000 acres of trees, lakes, trails, and specialty gardens. We spent all afternoon there and just saw a small corner of it. We saw the Japanese gardens, herb gardens, a sensory garden, and a good old regular garden with vegetables growing. I wish I'd discovered this place earlier in the summer. I would have gone several times.

Chrysalis is only 3 weeks older than Bracken. Aren't they adorable?

Bracken loved touching the flowers (and eating them and ripping them to shreds if I wasn't careful, he's such a boy).

I love our little guy!

Giving Mama kisses...

I love his slobbery, open mouthed "attack" kisses.

The rose garden.
I thought of my Mom a lot while I was here. She's always loved flowers and gardens and tried to help her kids appreciate Heavenly Father's creations. I remember one trip in particular where she talked Dad into taking the scenic route on a family trip. I don't think any of us noticed the scenery but her. My Dad started getting nervous because we were pulling my Grandpa's 5th wheel and we were on narrow, curvy roads. Us kids were too busy complaining about the extra two hours in the car. But Mom thought the trees and mountains were beautiful. Just so you know Mom, I love the landscape and nature too now. These garden's were amazing.

Ligia and Chrysalis -- I've loved becoming better friends with the Huntington's this summer.

Orion couldn't have cared less about the flowers. But I bet he spotted every ant in the park!

Bracken getting his feet wet.

Some of the flowers.

A waterfall in the Japanese Gardens. Being in nature, hearing water running, the breeze rustling the leaves, and the bugs humming (as long as they aren't mosquitos) always makes me feel very reflective and grateful. A good opportunity to ask myself "okay, how am I doing with life and how can I improve?" The Japanese gardens had lots of these good reflecting spots.

Don't you know how tiring it gets riding in a stroller?

So the arboretum was beautiful. Thank you Ligia for taking pictures of Bracken and I, it's fun to have pictures of us together.

Pro Kart Racing, Giggles, and Tiny Frogs

There are tons of tiny little frogs around here. Sunday evening we went on a walk and they were hopping all over the place. I got the camera out and Brian and I caught some frogs to show Bracken but he was completely oblivious. He just looked at me and smiled for the camera and never noticed the frogs. Bracken loves his bumbo chair. I think he just likes being upright so he can see what's going on. Right before I took this picture I sat him in his chair and gave him a toy, but he just dropped it and kept looking intently at all his other toys. So I handed him each of his toys one by one until he had all of his toys scattered around him. Then he was content and just played for a while, going from one toy to the next.

Brian's office won an incentive so we got to Pro Kart Racing last week. We had a blast! The carts went about 40 mph. It brought out the competitive side of me. I love the speed and the adrenalin rush that comes with racing. (It's a good thing our little car doesn't go very fast!) Anyway, we both had a great time and did pretty well in the races. I somehow got covered in some pretty good bruises while Brian came out unscathed. I didn't even get bumped that much, but my back, knees, and sides were black and blue. Oh well, it was worth it. Brian tells me they have indoor go-cart racing close to his family's home in Phoenix, so we'll have to go again sometime. (Don't you love our helmet hair in the above picture?)

Playing with Bracken

Bracken is my little pal! He's learning new things every day, I'm always finding new ways to make him laugh and smile, and he's doing the same for me. We love our little guy!

*When we give him kisses he grabs our face and pulls us to him and won't let go. And if you're not paying enough attention, he'll try to eat your nose.

*He grabs and plays with his toes now. I think that is adorable!

*I'll put the phone next to him so he can talk to his Grandma or Daddy, but as soon as he sees the phone he stops making any noises and tries to grab the phone and eat it.

*He rolled from his back to his tummy this week.

Swinging into my arms and on my head is one of his favorite things to do. Going on horse rides on my legs is his other favorite. And anything else that involves swinging or bouncing.

He is so much fun in the bath! He loves splashing. I comb his hair different ways and he laughs in between each one. So every time he takes a bath I comb his hair like Grandpa Rob, Grandpa Clay, Uncle Seth (when Seth was little he thought a G.Q. hairdo was the coolest), Daddy, and a mohawk. Then when he gets out he gets dried with my blow drier and rubbed down with lotion.

Underwater Aquarium

Bracken and I went to the Underwater Aquarium that is beneath the Mall of America with Ligia and her little kids. I don't think Bracken really noticed the sharks, but we both liked having a change of scenery, and there were some pretty interesting creatures there.Bracken was squealing and hollering so much I had to get his binkie out. I have to hold it in his mouth because he won't suck on it himself. He's been really noisy lately, just discovering his voice and all the sounds he can make. He loves it when I hold him in front of the mirror and he'll bounce and "talk" to himself for fifteen minutes at a time. I think he's pretty cute and like hearing his noises, it just gets a little loud in church or when there's lots of other people around.
In the shark tunnel

This is a long nosed saw shark. I'd never even heard of this shark before but I was facinated by it. The shark will swim into a big school of fish and thrash its head back and forth spearing the fish. Then it just catches and eats the injured, easy to catch fish. I got the following picture off the internet so you can see how long its nose is. Pretty impressive, huh?
Bracken and me checking out the horseshoe crabs. He liked that he could touch the water.

Como Zoo

We went to the Como Zoo with some friends Sunday after church. It was a small zoo, but it was free and we had a nice time. I don't think Bracken really noticed the animals much, but he liked hanging out with his dad all afternoon. Bracken on the turtle

Bracken always breaks into a huge grin when we throw him in the air. I'm not sure if it's because he likes the motion or if he's laughing at the funny faces I make at him.

Bracken and his little friend Chrysalis.

Independence Day

This is my favorite picture of the day. We love our little boy's laugh!

I started out Independence Day by running a 5K with my friend Ligia. We ran through Bush Lake park, which is beautiful, but my favorite part was the end when I saw Brian and Bracken waiting for me as I crossed the finish line. It really made me happy to know I have their support in whatever I'm doing. I really enjoyed the run, and I want to keep jogging and get faster. Brian got off work a few hours early and we went to the park and had a BBQ with some friends. Yummy! And the best part was just having all three of us together (and awake) at the same time.
When it got dark we set off some fireworks with our friends Alex and Ligia. Bracken was a little frightened by all the noisy fireworks, but he liked the sparklers.