The Minnesota Chronicles: Episode 5 - June 24, 2012

It's Sunday in Minnesota, and what do you think we did? That's right, we got up and went to church. 
One of my favorite authors is that pastor of a church in Minnesota, so we drove to Bethlehem Baptist Church to see if we would get to hear John Piper preach that morning.  
Unfortunately, Pastor Piper was not there, but we heard from head of LifeWay Research preach on what it truly means to be a part of a church body. 
After church we all had lunch at at El Torro. I had the shrimp taco special. Not Bad.
After lunch we went back to Kevin's house for some backyard family fun.

 Basically, I wish every Sunday was like this one. 

The Minnesota Chronicles: Episode 4 - June 23, 2012

The wedding day has arrived! The day we'd all been waiting for was finally here. My little nephew was getting married. I still remember him as a baby dressed in his cute sailor costume, who knew some day he would become an United States Marine. 

Below you see the Bride and the Groom walking down the isle to "Stuck Like Glue" by Sugarland.

Above you can see the family have a good 'ol time at the reception.

Groovin...to the tune!!!

Below is the ENTIRE Bettelli Family:
Top Left to Right: Louise, Ethan, Tim, Josh, Trent, Kim, Kevin, Kelsey, Jon, Alex, Katie, Jenni, Mary (Grandma), Maria and BradBottom Left to Right: George, Tate, Carson, Landon, Rick (Grandpa), and Bianca

Congratulations Jon & Alex. We pray God's blessing on your marriage as you begin this lifelong journey together. & Tim

25 weeks

Here I am interrupting my husband's play by play of our trip to Minnisota to do a pregnancy update.

Well, here I am at 25 weeks in . . .

and 25 pounds heavier.

This girl likes to pack it on.

Otherwise, things are going really well.

Like I have said in the past, I can't complain about my pregnancies.

I don't particularly love being pregnant, but it has nothing to do with problems and everything to do with getting fat and uncomfortable.

I went to the doctor this week, and her heartbeat is still faster than either of my boys' ever was.

I know it is an old wives tale, but it has rung true for our family.

I also has an ultrasound a couple weeks ago.

They needed to check on her cord to make sure it wasn't wrapped around her neck like it was in the first one . . . and it wasn't. 

Praise. the. Lord.

But something else cool happened while I was there.

The ultrasound tech asked me if she could "test" out the 4D machine because she wasn't too good at using it yet.

Of course I said "yes."

We never got a 4D ultrasound with the boys, but this was a really special treat.

I felt bad that Tim wasn't there, but I did get to come home with some cool pictures of her sweet little face.

It is so cool that I could see all her features.

So that's about all the updates I have on little Lexi.

15 more weeks until I get to kiss that little face . . . AND I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!

The Minnesota Chronicles: Episode 3 - June 23, 2012

June 23, 2012 was the day before my nephew's wedding. He and his family were very busy preparing for the big day on Saturday, so we decided we would go to the MALL OF AMERICA while they prepared and hosted the rehearsal dinner. I don't know if you've ever been to the Mall of America, but it is the largest mall in the United States. It has an entire theme park inside the center of the mall with all the stores and restaurants surrounding it. I have been to MOA many times, but this was the first time George and Ethan had ever been there.  The theme park was new to all of us. The last time I was there it was called Camp Snoopy. It is now called NICKELODEON UNIVERSE. The park had three times as many rides as I remembered.  So we decided to check it out... The boys faces were priceless . . . they were in total awe that an entire theme park fit in a mall.

 

We met a bunch of characters from Nickelodeon Kids.  First up, George and Ethan met Pablo and Uniqua from the Backyardagains 

The whole clan of cousins met the Wonder Pets, Diego, and Dora, Dora, Dora, the Explorerrrrrrr (if you know the tune to that song you are definitely a parent of small children).

Later, George and Bianca went back to see Dora one more time because Boots had joined her.

George and Ethan met Sponge Bob Square Pants.
This is one TV show we don't actually let them watch, but we didn't want to discriminate against sponges on our vacation.

As you can see in the photos, George and Bob did the ROBOT dance together.

And on to the RIDES!!!

We literally spent the entire day at Nickelodeon Universe riding the immense amount of rides and never actually went shopping in the Mall of America.

I am sure Mommy would have rather shopped, but sometimes the boys get to do what they want. 

                                                                                             

Everyone left the mall at different times, but Brad, Maria, Bianca, George, and myself stayed till 7:00 pm.

We went back to the hotel and got ready to go out to dinner.

That evening we all decided to go to Kami Japanese Steakhouse which was across the street from the hotel we stayed in.

It was delicious, and of course, we got quite the show from the Japanese chef.

Another great day of our Minnesota Adventure. 

& Tim

The Minnesota Chronicles: Episode 2 - June 21, 2012

Day two of our summer vacation began with a hearty breakfast in our hotel. I took the boys downstairs to the breakfast area around 8 AM while Louise took a shower and got ready back in the room. 

Little did we know we were about to have a small feast for free. The hotel had eggs, sausage, bagels, donuts, waffles and more.  Then we went over to Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jenni's house to hang out and jump on their trampoline. George and Ethan had a blast. 

Later that day we went to the neighborhood park and played for a while. After that, back to Kevin's house for some basketball. Uncle Kevin was going to lower the hoop for George, but George wouldn't have that. He wanted to shoot the ball at the highest level. Kevin and I told him that he wasn't going to make it, so you know what he does...He makes it on his FIRST shot. 

Ethan decided that basketball wasn't for him, so he and a neighborhood girl, Andrea, played with sidewalk chalk...no, don't think I have a little artist, sorry. A little later, we went to the airport to pick up the rest of the family. My brother, Brad, and his family arrived first followed by my parents and my sister's family. 

Then we went back to Kevin's house for more trampoline fun. 

My niece, Katie, decided she wanted me to take a few profile pics for "ChristianMingle.com." So if you're interested she likes long walks on the beach, and really hairy guys. :)

We ended up hanging out at Kevin & Jenni's house that night just having some fun with the entire family. We ate wings and pizza and watched the Heat win the NBA Championship. 

We ended the day with a bonfire in the backyard. 

It was a great day, just spending some quality time with the FAM. & Tim