Niagara Cave

Another activity of our vacation was a trip to Harmony, Minnesota, to visit Niagara Cave.  It was again a wonderful experience and something even the adults really enjoyed!  We did a one-hour cave tour, played a short round of mini-golf, and the girls even "mined" for some gemstones.  The cave tour was beautiful, slightly chilly, and some decent exercise!  Since the girls are still talking about it, Jeremy and I are both really glad we did it!

The mining for the gemstones was also a lot of fun, especially since Audrey has become slightly obsessed with a rock collection this summer.  Jeremy was skeptical about the cost of the bags used in mining, but in the end, he surprised us all and bought the most expensive one!  The girls loved it, and Audrey quickly added the rocks to her collection.

It took me over halfway through the cave to figure out what setting on my camera would take good pictures, and by this time, we were on our steady hike back to the beginning!

Why can't Kate take natural looking posed pictures right now?  Audrey's got it down!

Vacation

We took a very simple vacation to Decorah this year, and we loved it!  The girls are at such a special age, and everything is exciting to them.  We stayed at a beautiful cabin out in the country and were able to explore a couple new destinations that we loved.  We also loved having Geeka and Grandma there to explore with us!  On our first day, we visited Dunning's Spring, which is a beautiful waterfall in Decorah.  The girls loved hiking around it, touching the cold water, and looking for special rocks.  Somehow Audrey ended up with a wet sock and shoe, which isn't shocking for her.  Here are a few pictures of our wonderful afternoon.

Jack O' Audrey

This little lady lost a top front tooth and is looking very pumpkin-like.  It wouldn't be a tooth experience for Audrey without a little drama, but it worked out in the end.  Now, it's onto the next wiggly tooth!

Jack's Party

A couple weekends ago, we all got together to celebrate a sweet little boy who turned two!  It's hard to believe it's already been two years since Jack joined our family!  He continues to grow and change so quickly, but we love any chance we get to spend with this sweet, kind, car-loving little boy.  Happy Birthday, Jack!

Jack had A LOT of girl cousins watching the cake-cutting process unfold. 
Hopefully Aunt Coke was going to give everyone big enough pieces!

Jack's party gave us another chance to hang out with Elizabeth.  We loved seeing her, too!

Officer Audrey

The streets of the city became just a bit safer after Wednesday when Audrey graduated from the department's Youth Academy.  She was a bit nervous to go, as she did not know any other cadets going, but she ended up having a wonderful time.  We received rave reviews about her behavior choices during the class, and it may have helped to have her dad looking in at her a couple times!  We're not sure if this has swayed her away from being a teacher when she grows up, but she did have a great time!  Way to go, Officer Audrey!

Although Audrey did well with her defensive tactics training, she was disappointed not to receive the "Most Physically Fit" award like her dad did!

Playing

If I could sum the current play interests of these girls into three words, it would be: Barbies, babies, and school.  Yesterday, Jeremy and I were vacuuming the whole house, which included moving furniture and doing the baseboards.  Since that took awhile, the girls got quite an independent game of babies going.  When I came up from the basement, this is what I saw:

It was amazing to see how quickly these two bounced back to their pre-baby bodies! :)

Fireworks

We ended our 4th of July in Jeremy's truck, watching fireworks in our pajamas/comfy clothes.  We munched on popcorn, listened to patriotic music, and enjoyed a simple and memorable ending to our 4th of July.  We love spending holidays with these loud, crazy, and loving girls!

Happy 4th of July!

We had another wonderful 4th of July this year.  We again attended the parade in Monticello, and minus the guns firing at the beginning of the parade, the girls had a great time.  They waved constantly, and Audrey was even able to turn to put candy away in a bag and keep her other hand waving at the same time!  It was pretty impressive dedication.  We gathered way too much candy, saw countless tractors, and had sweat dripping down us the entire time.  The girls' happiness is more than worth the sweat, and we were able to hang out with Jade and Grandpa Tom, too!