Road Trip to Chicago

We took a road trip to Libertyville, IL (north of Chicago) with Jared's parents and sister last weekend for Jared's cousin's wedding. The drive was long, but we had some good bonding time and lots of laughs in the van. The wedding & reception was so much fun too. The food was amazing and they had a really fun dance. Brenna was a hit on the dance floor! I think she danced more than all of us! :)

Jared's Aunt Jo Ann and her sons, Josh & Jeremy. Josh (left) is the groom.

Josh and his beautiful bride Maggie with his mom, brother, and Jo Ann's boyfriend.

We had prime rib, sauteed chicken w/spinach & mushrooms with a yummy sauce, green beans & carrots and mashed potatoes. Doesn't it look so gourmet? My favorite was the chicken even though I'm a big beef fan :)

Brenna dancing with her grandpa.

Jared's parents cutting a rug!
Brenna enjoying a slow dance with her daddy. So precious!
Myself and Anna (Jared's sister).
Brenna was a trooper during the entire trip. She did great in the car and at the wedding and reception....and we didn't even leave the reception until after 10:30.
She was winding down at this point and I thought she looked so cute!

Weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Bohlen

Brenna and I took a road trip to visit my parents and grandma last Thursday and stayed through Sunday. We had a wonderful time with them. Brenna's favorite part was playing outside with all of the outdoor toys my parents found at garage sales this summer: Little Tykes purple convertible, mower, and trike.

Besides playing outside, we went to the farmers market (which was on the riverfront so Brenna really enjoyed looking at the "waber" and boats)

played at a park,

browsed through an outdoor puppy show,
went to garage sales, and went swimming.

Another highlight for Brenna was receiving and riding her very own Dora Explorer 4 Wheeler! One of my mom's co-workers wanted it out of her garage, so she just gave it to Brenna. How generous!!! Brenna definitely needs assistance, but she caught on pretty good and didn't fall off once (see video below). I think she'll have it down by next summer.

Brenna got to see her uncle Ryan & aunt Dana too since they were in town for Ryan's 10 year class reunion. Brenna loves her uncle Ryan!
We had a great weekend with family, but we were ready to get back home and see our "main man" who was working hard all weekend on house projects.

4th of July Fun! I know it's late :)

We took a short road trip to Minneapolis last weekend to celebrate the 4th with my brother and his wife, Dana. We had a great time! Friday night after dinner we went on a walk by the lake and then got ice cream at this cute little parlor. It was the best ice cream we've had in a long time.

Brenna enjoyed helping herself to Dana's mint chocolate chip ice cream!

While we were eating our ice cream a police man came up to Brenna and gave her a sticker. She was cautious at first, but then warmed up to the guy.

Somehow the sticker ended up on Dana's back...without her knowing :)

I think the culprit's name starts with an R and ends with an N and he's sitting to the right of Dana in the picture below. There are always lots of laughs and not many dull moments with my brother around. I love it!

Saturday morning we casually got up and ready. While the girls were getting ready, Brenna "helped" uncle Ryan water the lawn.

Then we headed to Jamba Juice. The girls enjoying their smoothies in the back seat.

Brenna downed hers in about 10 minutes. Just kidding...she is taking sips from her daddy's :) It's crazy how huge the cup looks in her hands though! We then went shopping for a while. That afternoon the boys went golfing and the girls relaxed. That night we grilled burgers....gotta love the all American meal on the 4th! Then we tested out Ryan & Dana's new fire pit. We enjoyed smores and then watched the fire works from their yard....I guess it ended up being in their street since that's where we could see them the best.

My handsome husband!
Sunday we went to a little diner for brunch and then watched the Wimbledon tennis match. I'm not a big tennis fan, but it was a really good match and we all got into it. We then headed back to Ames. Thanks for a wonderful weekend, Ryan & Dana!

Van Cleave Baby #2

In December, we will introduce a new baby GIRL into our family. We are super excited that God has blessed us with another child and I think Brenna will love having a sister to play with. Of course Jared would have loved a boy, but he is such a great dad to little girls and Brenna just adores him like I'm sure our new baby girl will as well.

I had my cerclage surgery 2 weeks ago and it went well. I had a little bit more bleeding than they expected after the surgery, so I ended up being on bed rest for a week unexpectantly. Thankfully our parents and friends were able to help out since I couldn't lift Brenna or do basically anything on my feet. This pregnancy has been a little bit more stressful than my last pregnancy because of some bleeding I've experienced five different times...four of those times were unrelated to the surgery. Thankfully, the baby has been fine each time and I haven't had any cramping or contractions along with it. Each time it happened though, I thought it could possibly be the end of the pregnancy. God has been so good to protect the baby through these times and to give me peace to get through the times of uncertainty.

We would appreciate your prayers that the rest of the pregnancy would go smooth and the baby would be healthy and strong when she is born.

Camping Trip

Last Saturday night our connection group camped out....like REALLY camped out. Tents and no bathrooms in the middle of no where! I'm not a big camper, but it was a lot of fun! There were a lot of fun things to do while we were there too...canoeing, fishing, swimming, outdoor games, etc. That night we grilled and sat around the camp fire and ate smores and played the game Psychiatrist. It was hilarious! Camping was a lot of fun and I'm already looking forward to next year's connection group camp out....which will probably be the next time we camp. :) Thanks Raul and Lydia for hosting and organizing the weekend!

Andrew & Shantel

The Crawford Family

Payten, Brenna, & Ky...the kids did awesome and had a great time too!
Bridget & Caitlin

Raul, our master griller! He made a mean pork tenderloin.

Florida Fun!

We made a spontaneous trip to West Palm Beach, FL last week to visit Jared's sister, Lydia, and her family. We had an awesome time! The highlights were going to the beach four different times, snorkeling, eating Lydia's yummy meals, watching movies, shopping, and just hanging out and spending time together. We had a lot of laughs and good times while we were there. We also got to meet our niece, Bea (8mo.), for the first time. She is such a precious little girl and Brenna absolutely loved her. Every time she saw her, she would go up to her and say, "Hi baby Bea!" usually followed by a kiss on the head or a hug.

Brenna also had fun playing with her cousin Micah (4yrs). They would chase each other around and think it was the funniest thing. They also liked to hold hands while they were sitting in their car seats. It was super cute!

Brenna checking out her new bikini....a garage sale find from last year :)

Lydia had to work one of the nights we were there. She works at a really neat restaurant. After Brenna went down that night, Matt graciously stayed home with the kids so we could go visit her. We got dessert and drinks and listened to the live music....a guy who played the piano and sang. It was awesome. The atmosphere was great and it was so nice to have a night out on the town :)


Brenna wasn't too fond of being in the ocean, but she loved playing in the sand on the beach!

Some more fun pics on the beach....

Thanks, Matt & Lydia, for hosting us last week. We had a great time with you and are looking forward to the next time we get to come visit.

Come to Our Garage/Estate Sale!

What: Garage/Estate Sale

When:
Thursday 1-6
Friday 8-4
Saturday 8-4

Where: 2114 Greenbriar Cir, Ames...near the ISU stadium

Who: Everyone!

When we moved into our new house we automatically inherited A LOT of stuff that was left in the attic, basement, garage, workshop, etc. So we hired someone to do an estate sale for us. They organize, display, price, and run the sale. We have something for everyone. Antiques, tools, furniture, antique frames, kitchen stuff, gardening tools...and much more! Hope to see you at the sale! Below is a sneak preview! :)