Blessings and Curses on the road

On Friday night we left Brainerd, MN at 5pm. We stopped two hours later to pick up our babysitter Rachel who was hitching a ride back to CO with us (which turned out to be a blessing). Then hustled on our way, hoping to arrive in Denver around 9AM. At 2AM we hit Little Sioux Iowa and our Tahoe's alternator blew and there we were, 5 of us with a dead car in the middle of nowhere. Our first blessing was that we broke down three miles from a dangerous Indian reservation. Although this doesn't sound like a blessing, if we would have broke down three miles later we were told by numerous people that we very likely would have been robbed by Indians!

It turned out that there were too many mosquitoes outside to be out of the car, so we had to keep the doors and windows shut with all five of us in a dead HOT and SWEATY car. Mason and Jackson were overheating so we were taking turns running through the mosquitoes with them to cool them down but keep them from being bit. Our second blessing was that both boys were miraculously calm and good. Also that we had a cooler full of cold water from my parents, which I had been reluctant to bring with. The next blessing was that we had a AAA membership, but that only allows for 5 miles of towing. But... they made an exception and for $100 allowed us to upgrade to "platinum" on the spot which meant we could be towed 100 miles. Typically it takes 72 hours for a platinum upgrade to take effect. At $4 a mile, this saved us $400! But... it did take over two hours for AAA to dispatch us a tow truck.

Our next blessing was that Rachel's aunt and uncle lived about 45 minutes away so she was able to call them and her uncle came and rescued us. Matt went with the tow truck, and planned on getting a hotel room in Omaha, and we went back to her aunt and uncles house. It was amazing, at 4AM her aunt had made us all beds, prepared breakfast for us, and even had toys for Jack to play with. The next blessing was the tow truck driver. He drove Matt from hotel to hotel with no vacancies. It turned out to be the College World Series and there was no vacancy ANYWHERE in Omaha. The tow truck driver said he even brought him to the sleaziest hotel around and not even a vacancy there. He did this at absolutely no charge and treated us great. So Matt ended up sleeping in the Tahoe at the dealership with doors open, being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

The next series of blessings was that the dealership opened up 1 hour earlier than advertised, they were open on a Saturday, they pushed our car to the front of the line after hearing our story, they fixed it in 2 hours, and they gave Matt a $100 discount purely for asking. We did still have to spend $457. Ugh.

The next morning we were blessed by Rachel's Aunt and Uncle who fed us breakfast, and drove us to meet with Matt, saving us 1.5 hrs on our trip home. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we rolled in the driveway around 6pm, 26 hrs after leaving Brainerd.

Although we were exhausted, bug bitten, tired, and now broke, it was impossible to not see all of the ways that God blessed us through this experience. What a trip.

Boating Adventure

Yesterday a family friend took us out boating on the lake, and we had a BEAUTIFUL day. Jack got to drive the boat, Mason snoozed for the whole ride, and we all got a nice tan!

Britt's Wedding

On Friday my baby sister Brittaney got married to a wonderful guy named Brian. We are so excited to have him in our family. Her wedding was beautiful, and we were so happy to be a part of it. Jackson was the ring bearer, and threw a tantrum right before he was supposed to go down the aisle, so there was no aisle for him. By the end of the night he ended up falling asleep on my uncle's shoulder. While here in MN Mason has earned the nickname "the peach", as he has been a perfect little peach for the majority of the trip.

Mason's 3 month Pics

Before heading to MN, we got Mason's 3 month photos done. We got a few great ones of Jack too! We attempted a family picture with no luck.

The Bachelorette!

Last night was my sister Brittaney's bachelorette party. Her friend Abby and I planned it and we all had a great time. It involved everyone in black dresses, a pink light up blinking sash, pedicures, dinner at her favorite restaurant Chino Latino, drinks, a game where she ended up with LOTS of dum dums in her mouth, a piano bar, lingerie, some "bachelorette party dares", a fancy hotel room, and a stretch limo! Only 1 more day until she is a married woman!

Brotherly Love

Jack just got a new "sprinkler ball". It is heaven for him on a hot day!

He thinks that he can just go in and out of the house at his leisure!

While Jack plays outside Mason chills in the bouncer. He loves the covered patio!

Jack loves his cozy coupe so much that it is the only toy that he hates to share!

Today was crummy outside so I got lots of snuggle time with my boys!

Mason's Two Month/ Sleeping Through the Night!

Although Mason is now two and a half months old, I have been meaning to post his stats from his 2-month visit and just hadn't gotten around to it. I am sad to say that's what happens when you're the second baby!

He weighed 11lbs 7.5 oz. He was 23.5 inches long, and his head was 40.7 cm. around. In comparison at Jack's 2 month he weighed 14.12 lbs. he was 25 inches long, and his head was 41 cm. around.

Our newest development around here is that Mason is sleeping through the night! For the last four nights now he has made it from about 10PM to 6AM!!! I am feeling much more rested and it is so nice to not be up in the middle of the night!

Our Little Handyman

With our friends moving across the county, they decided not to take Jadon's tool bench with them, and gave it to us! Jackson LOVES it and can be heard drilling, hammering, and sawing all the time!

Bittersweet BBQ

Our close friends the Minnick's are moving in a week, so our Fellowship group decided to have a going away BBQ at our house. We had a great time but we are sad to say goodbye to them! It was also the first party of many to come in our backyard and patio!

Jack and his friend Warren had a great time in the pool, even after dark!

Look at that good lookin' man behind the grill!

Jackson, Jadon, and Warren enjoying the BBQ. When they move Jack will be losing one of his best playmates!