Our Weekend Getaway

This weekend Livi, Joey, and I went up north to Bloomington for a mini vacation. Our weekend started with a family picnic at Aunt Kelly and Uncle Rick's house. June is a busy month with family celebrations so we try to get together for a picnic to celebrate EVERYTHING (Uncle Jake and Grandpa Sennott's birthday, Father's Day, and Kelly and Rick's Anniversary)! We were going to have our picnic at Miller Park, but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate; so Kelly and Rick were kind enough to open their house up to everyone again.

Livi, Joey, and I stayed with Kelly and Rick the whole weekend. They opened their spare bedroom to us and we had a two night slumber party! Livi and Joey LOVED it! On Sunday, we started our day going to church with Kelly and Rick. It was really nice to go back to Holy Trinity and see people we hadn't seen for awhile (my first teaching job was at Holy Trinity Elementary School in first grade. Believe it or not, my class will be in 8th grade this year!) After church, Kelly, Rick and I brought Livi and Joey to the Miller Park Zoo. Olivia and Joey loved walking around and getting up close to all of the animals. I think their favorites were the "talking" tiger (he had a lot to say when we were standing in front of him), and the "noisy" monkeys (who also had a lot to say to Livi and Joey).

After Miller Park Zoo, we stopped for a quick lunch, and then went to visit our friends Pat, Debbie, and Jane. They are long time family friends that we had not seen for quite a while. Pat just fought a courageous battle with cancer and won! She is now in remission... praise God! We were happy to see her doing so well! Livi LOVED Debbie. Debbie has a lot of energy and Livi and Joey loved playing with her!

We stayed and visited for awhile, and then we headed to the Children's Museum...no rest for the weary!!! Livi and Joey were in heaven at the museum. It was three floors of games and activities! By the time we explored all three floors, all of the adults were pooped, but the kids were still going strong! Some of their favorites were the pizza kitchen, the train set, painting on windows, the life-size peg board, the doctor/dentist office, and the outside water maze.

In between activities, Kelly and Rick treated us to meals, the "book store," and ice cream treats. A BIG thank you to Kelly and Rick for opening up your house to us, and all of your generosity! We had a great time!

On Monday morning, Kelly, Rick, Livi, Joey, and I met Great Grandma and Grandpa Sennott for breakfast at Panera before we headed towards El Paso. It was nice getting to visit with grandma and grandpa again, and of course the food was delicious! After visiting we went up to visit dad and Uncle Dave at the farm. Livi and Joey love running around the farm and riding all of the "toys." We also went to Great Grandma and Grandpa Dressler's house so I could show Livi and Joey all the places I played when I was a little girl. I really hated being there without grandma and grandpa, it made me long for the old days.

Finally, after playing at the farm and grabbing a bite to eat for lunch, the Heiple trio headed south towards Rochester. The car was very quiet the whole way home with two exhausted kids in the back. A sure sign of a great weekend!!!