back to normal

i have finally created a blog.... after many promptings from my friends and family, i've decided to give it a try! hopefully it will keep you updated on our life, especially samantha and ryan!

it has been a busy 3 1/2 weeks and things are now back to normal. my sister, heather, came for a vist on friday, june 20th. she was here for about a week and a half, then on july 1st the kids and i went back to minnesota with her. i stayed at my parents' house for a week. it was so nice to see family. i got to see my sister, becky, and her family, and my dad's side of the family had a big family reunion while i was there. then, on july 8th, we headed back home. heather, my mom & dad, and the kids and i drove to st. paul, MN. we went to the como zoo for a few hours, dropped heather off at the airport (she was flying to alaska), then continued on our journey to kansas city. we got home at about 12:30 am. it was a LONG day! my parent's stayed at our house for a week, and went home yesterday, july 15th. ben didn't have to work so it was nice to spend the day with him and the kids. so life is getting back to normal now. it's weird not having people around now, but it's nice to get back into a routine.

a lot has happened in the past few weeks; samantha turned 5 on july 27th, ryan had his first birthday yesterday, and we were busy with family. i'll write about all that individually and post pictures later. i didn't want to cram it all into one post! see you soon!