weekend of family

What a whirlwind of a weekend! Friday morning, Jared and Corinne arrived to Minneapolis after another year of teaching in Doha, Qatar. We lunched with them and my parents, and then I had to get back to get the house ready for our Johnson family visitors. Brett's parents and sister, Sonia drove from Ohio, and Brett's sister Brenda flew from Nashville for the weekend. They stayed at a nearby hotel since we don't have room here.

Stella and Grace had so much fun with their aunts and grandparents!

Meeting Corinne! Sorry so blurry, Corinne.

Meeting Jared

She turned 8 months old on Friday!

Waiting for family to drive from the hotel to see us on Friday night

We hung out on the deck a lot!

Grilled peaches with cinnamon

Excelsior/Lake Minnetonka on Saturday; Sonia and Brett's mom, Elaine

Relaxing on Aunt Brenda

Browsing the flea market in Excelsior

Cuddling with Grandma Elaine

We ate lunch at Spasso after church

Boat ride in Excelsior/Lake Minnetonka Sunday afternoon

Stella was under the impression this would be a speed boat ride; she was a little disappointed when she discovered we were going on a slow, steamboat ride, so she just wanted to snack on veggie straws

Grace conked out in her aunt's arms

She woke up after we got off the boat!

A little disoriented when she woke up

Hanging out in the yard on Monday

Ben and Jerry's ice cream in Wayzata

Watching the train pass by

The flower beds in Wayzata are always so gorgeous

Cooling off in the pool on a very hot day

It was nice having Brett around for a long weekend (he had Monday off), and to have other adults to talk to, and to play with Stella and help with washing dishes. Today I have been getting caught up on loads of laundry and other household tasks. Brett's parents and sister are driving straight through to Ohio as Brett's mom and Sonia have to get back to work tomorrow. I hate that trip (14 hours), so I am praying for their sanity and perseverance as they drive all day. 

Once Grace wakes up from her nap, we are going to hang out with Jared and Corinne for the afternoon. It has been so fun catching up with family we don't get to see very often, and I'll be looking forward to spending the rest of the summer with J and C, and then seeing Brett's family again in October when we make a visit.