Home from the DELLS!

Home sweet Home! We just got home this afternoon from spending five days in the Dells! We arrived on Wednesday at River Bay campground, which is located just outside the Dells. We stayed two night before my parents and sister arrived for the second two nights. Our cabin was located right next to the park which was perfect for the kids. Jaxson even met a little boy Caleb, every time he was at the park Jaxson went running! These two pictures were taken the first day after set up camp. Jaxson was so excited to be on vacation.

"what mom?- did you know that a princess never does anything wrong!:)"

Thursday, we spent the day at Pirates Cove. The had a large adventure area with tons of things for the kids to do. A huge jumping pillow, sand area, peddle bikes, a big playground. We brought our picnic lunch and then discovered the ice cream shop for desert!

After Pirates Cove a little nap we headed down to the pool!! Jaxson was a little fish! He is so confident in the water now and can now be completely independent as long as he has his tube!

His favorite part - taking a running start and jumping into the pool!

Vada having so much fun with daddy!! Throw me higher!!

Vada is our little cleaner!

Vada- taking a little snooze....This is not normal for her- she typically does not sit still for 5 seconds, so to fall asleep on me probably has not happened for over a year-or more!

Jaxson telling ghost stories..oooooo......doesn't he look scary!

Morning pancakes..YUM!

Jaxson taking a break from playing ball with Katie and posing for a picture!

Our plan to go to the outdoor water park sort of got eliminated due to the crazy July weather. Instead we went to the indoor water park which was just as much fun! Jaxson even went down the water slide all by himself!! He was so proud of himself!

Here he is posing with auntie Katie!

All in all it was the perfect summer vacation! I think that we will be on diets for the next two weeks, but what's a vacation without a little splurge! Grandma and Grandpa had a lot of fun playing with the kids. Jaxson and all his silly faces and Vada being Vada..... Now we are all exhausted!

Happy Summer! the Bean's

Happy Fourth of July!

This Fourth of July we decided to take a day trip down to Red Wing, Minnesota. It was a gorgeous ride through the bluffs. When we got into town we stopped at the Smokey Row Cafe for lunch.

Vada loves drinking out a big girl cup now- except mom doesn't like it so much when she decides to carry it around the house....as Jaxson would say :) .."what did she do this time?" The entire time at lunch she just wanted to walk around the restaurant and talk to other people when they were eating their lunch. Oh and she found the garbage can too..up, down, up, down...hi, hi, hi

Right next door to the cafe there was a cute little candy store- of course we had to stop!

Here is Jaxson peeking his head over the candy!


After lunch we met grandma and grandpa at Colvill Aquatic Center. What a beautiful park! We spent the afternoon swimming. Jaxson and Vada are such litte water bugs. Jaxson is so comfortable in the water- he is going to do great at swimming lessons!



Here Vada being Wacky with her Wacky Noodle!

Jaxons blowing me kisses!

After hours of swimming we went down to the park area within the grounds. Grandpa found us the perfect spot! We grilled up some brats while the kids played at the park and then had a quick dinner before the rain came in. We planned on staying a little longer, but mother nature had other things in mind. It actually worked out okay because then we were able to get home in time to go over the grandma Vickie's and grandpa Steve's to celebrate the last part of the fourth with them.

Vada and Jaxson blowing bubbles..Jaxson may be having a little more luck!

Vada trying to go swimming in the cooler!

Now the boys are doing it - with Vada trying to shut their heads in the cooler!

Vada's favorite new hobby- dumping, pouring, splashing..really anything that has to do with water.

This past week I went into Vada's room- thinking the kids were downstairs. I was surprised to find them in Vada's crib. I asked Jaxson, "how did Vada get in her crib?" He says. "oh she just climbed up and I flipped her over- that was the funnest part!"

They thought that they were soooo funny!

Summer is just flying by!! We are really enjoying our new van too- well maybe everyone except Vada. She has had a couple cases of getting car sick while riding in it..we are hoping that passes-SOON!. Presten started in the Buffalo branch this past week and he is doing great there! He was ready for a new adventure and I think he got one! My job is keeping me very busy this summer- there are some days I think I need to remind myself to breathe!

We hope that everyone is doing well- have a great week!! The Bean's

Beach Time!

It has been a couple of weeks since our last posting. It is SUMMER and our days seem to be jam packed- with a whole lot of fun of course!!

We have been spending a lot of time at the beach. Lake Bebe is fairly close to our house- it is nice for weeknight evening beach trips. Elm Creek is in Maple Grove and we also really enjoy going there too. It is a man-made pond that is chlorinated. The grounds are gorgeous and supply hours of FUN!

Jaxson getting ready to build his sand castle

Two little water bugs!




Jaxson started T-ball this summer. Presten is coaching and really loving getting to know all the kids. Jaxson does have a little bit of a hard time that Presten has give his attention to all the other players on his team and not just him. We have had a couple sad moments- but at least they were short lived.

Jaxson at bat!

Vada sitting on the bench with all the players...of course she would not have it any other way. We call her the cheerleader! Here she must be giving a pep talk to one Jaxson's teammates. From behind it looks like it could be Jaxson, but it is not.

So-long Daddy's Truck! This past weekend we went down to Rochester and traded in Presten's truck for a mini van!!

Saying Good Bye to BIG RED!!

After the mini van was purchased we headed down to the Rochester Fest Parade. The kids did really well- it was a two hour parade, but I should of known that they would be fine. When there is candy involved the kids always want to be there!

Cheese!

Auntie Katie was also in the parade! She plays on the historical society's baseball team. Jaxson thought it was pretty cool to see her there!

After a busy weekend in Rochester we are all exhausted! We are already looking forward to the 4th of July! I can't believe that it is next weekend!

Have a great week! The Bean's

and the winner is......Team Vanderhorst!!

Happy Birthday to Chris!! We celebrated Chris's birthday Vanderhorst style on Saturday night -
filled with a fabulous dinner, maybe a cocktail and of course a little competition! Team Vanderhorst came out the winners of our Wii bowling tourney. They brought their "A" game and tied up the score as Team Bean took the pumpkin carving contest back in October. Don't worry we are ready for the tie breaker......lawn bowling!! Team Bean has this one in the bag!!!

TEAM BEAN!!

of course we had to take a picture of what Vada does best! She could not be happier!

This past week we decided it was time for some tennis. Jaxson has been working so hard it..he's getting it, but it does take some hand-eye coordination which is a little tricky. He did not get discouraged at all- he just kept trying.

Here is a picture of Dianna and Jaxson


Determined!



My other little tennis pro!



Sometimes you just have to figure out another way!

This week we are looking forward to a week of projects! Presten and I both have some time off this week. We are going to finish some painting projects, stain the deck and possibly on a day trip with the kids.

Have a great week! The Bean's

Wedding Day!!

Tanya, Presten's cousin married Chad on Saturday afternoon in Elk River. What a day for a Wedding! Tanya was gorgeous! The ceremony took place outside overlooking the Mississippi river.

Jaxson had the time of his life at the reception - playing with his cousin Tyler.

Vada, our little turkey didn't sit still for two minutes all day! I don't think that all the sugar Tanya was feeding her had anything to do with it ...do you?

So sweet!

"hi mama" Love the hair Vada!

Presten, didn't work this weekend so really enjoyed some family time this weekend. Saturday morning we went down to the Mpls farmers market - what a busy place! If you haven't been go! There are so many vendors selling plants, fresh fruits and veggies, oh but of course we couldn't leave without the mini donuts!

Jaxson's last day of preschool was on Thursday. I can't believe how fast the school year went. He will be going to Sarah's with Vada until fall when school starts again. We are looking forward to a summer of camping, BBQ's, family and friends!! We are officially ready for summer!!

We hope that everyone else is doing well..we all seem to be kicking around a cold here! Have a great week! Krista

Summer - here we come!!!

Jaxson and Vada- taking a break this afternoon after playing hard on this gorgeous day!

Finally a day with no WIND!! We played and played and played outside today!! I even had two little helpers plant my garden with me this afternoon. I sure hope I have the same vegetables in each row...it is questionable:) Jaxson has done a lot of planting at school so he was talking to me about the soil and the worms...it was quite educating! Vada was covered in dirt from head to toe after we were done.

We decided to do our first bonfire tonight and of course broke out the smores! This was Vada's first real experience with them. As you can see...the chocolate was her favorite part! Mine too!

Jaxson testing out his smore!

On Saturday, I had a girls day with my college girlfriends and Lacey stayed over at our house. This is baby Hayden and Jaxson. She is so sweet


Since I am on every other weekend blog update - I thought I would include some pictures from mother's day. After Jaxson did an awesome job singing in church we headed over to the Kelley Farm to the farm animals.

Here is Vada checkin out the chickens

Mr. Jaxson posing for a quick picture

Love birds!

Mommy and my sweet boy

Jaxson, Vada and I went on a nature hike one morning and this was taken during the hike - Jaxson hiding in the trees!

Vada decided that she wanted to be 20 steps behind us at all times because she wanted to do some exploring on her own.

We had a great couple weeks! We are getting really anxious for summer..it is amazing how fast the weekends fill up!

Have a great week..or two:) The Bean's

Potty Time!

Vada has decided that she wants to start using the potty! She is so funny, she started going to the toilet in the bathroom and standing next to the toilet, lifting her shirt up and pushing her hips forward.....this of course is what Jaxson does when he goes potty! We decided that was time to get her potty out and see what happens. ALL she wants to do now is sit on it- she hasn't gone in it once, but that doesn't seem to bother her! She would rather sit on her potty than sit at the table for dinner...This was very new for us because Vada NEVER turns down FOOD! We'll see how far this goes:)

Vada deciding that she needs to the baby in her baby dolls pack-n-play! Na-night:)

Jaxson and Deanna playing on the swing set. They played and played today...What a gorgeous afternoon! Presten and I even broke out the Rollerblades today....and the training BEGINS!!

We also celebrated Ella's (our niece) first birthday on Saturday, but my camera was not

working:( -hopefully I can get some pictures that I will be able to post.

Have a great week! The Bean's