Severtson Sisters

It is quiet around here, so I guess I better be productive, huh? :) I hope everyone is having a good start to their July! I haven't posted anything since our first official weekend of summer vacation! Time goes by so fast. We have been trying to enjoy the nice weather here and have had some trips to go on as well. This month should be pretty calm and we'll be close to home for most of it, and then its already August. Wow!

At the end of our very first week of summer vacation, we got the very sad news that one of my dear college roommates, Breanna, suddenly passed away. This was a very big shock and is still really hard to take. She would have been 29 years old last Saturday and leaves behind a wonderful husband and 15 month old daughter, Karley. We headed to MN to go to the funeral, so Julia and Lauren got some unexpected fun time at Grandma and Grandpa Jepson's farm. Grandma and Grandpa were so helpful as we got ready for Breanna's visitation and funeral. Lauren and Julia even spent a night there while we stayed in St. James between the visitation and funeral. It was a very sad week for all of us, but the girls did enjoy some play time, and I'm pretty sure Grandma and Grandpa were glad to have them there, too. :)

That weekend, we headed from St. James to Elgin, IL where one of David's cousins, Emily, got married. We were all a little exhausted from the week, but it was fun to enjoy a happy occasion. The wedding was on Friday night, and on Saturday we made a trip into Chicago to visit the Shedd Aquarium with Grandma and Grandpa Severtson and Uncle Andrew and Aunt Tammy. It was a quick visit, but the girls had fun! David and I were on the verge of losing it, I think, as it was hard to be sleep deprived and feeling sad while trying to keep our energy up for this fun excursion, but we survived. Sometime we'd like to go back on a day when we are in a better frame of mind to enjoy the beautiful fish!

We spend the next week hosting Grandma and Grandpa Jepson at our house. Dad and David have been plugging away at trying to get our basement finished before the baby comes. They got everything they needed to sheet-rocked! Dad has been so helpful with this project and we are so thankful! We are going to get it taped and plastered soon and hopefully get the rest of it done before the little one arrives! We'll need the extra space, that's for sure.

Our last trip came over the Fourth of July weekend, when we drove to Galena, IL to attend the wedding reception another of David's cousins, Andrea. Her reception was at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, IA. It was a GREAT place for the girls to explore, and we had a fun time seeing David's extended family. We got home around supper time on the 4th and were so tired, we didn't even try to see any fireworks. :)

Finally, then, we had a "normal" week of summer! :) Julia started swimming lessons on the 5th, and she is enjoying them. Lauren tags along and watches. Today I took her to the baby pool during Julia's lesson, and she really seemed to like that! We'll have to do that every day--it helps the time pass a little quicker for us both, I think.

This last weekend, we took a day trip up to Door County. I just LOVE it up there. We have discovered that the Lake Michigan side is a lot quieter in the summer than the Green Bay side, so we hit up Whitefish Dunes State Park and its beautiful beach! The girls had a great time swimming and playing in the sand. On the way up, we stopped at a county park and had a picnic, and then after the beach, we went to another park called Cave Point. We've been there before, but it is always fun. The girls were really good and we had a fun time.

Last Thursday, the 8th, we had our ultrasound for our little baby on the way. We found out that we are having ANOTHER girl! :) I was actually really surprised! I thought there were enough differences in this pregnancy to warrant a boy, but I was wrong I guess! Everything looked healthy and we are thankful for that. It will be nice to know that all of our clothes are in place already, so having another girl will be just fine. We're both a little worried about the teenage years... but we have a bit of time until then I guess. :)

Well, that's the update from here! There are some pictures below from swimming lessons and Door County. I managed to be a bone head and not take ANY from our travels to MN, IL, or IA, so sorry about that Grandmas and Grandpas! Have a great rest of the week everyone!

fun in the back yard

the closest to a smile I could get on this day. :)

Julia's class pretending to be trees. :) Aren't they cute?

Jumping in!

Snuggle time. (trust me-this is not happening all the time...)

Our picnic. Julia BEGGED for Cheetos, so she is showing

off her Cheeto fingers.

Lauren liked the Cheetos, too. :)

Now, showing off plum face.

Attempting to teeter-totter....

Fun at the beach! We really had to hold on to Lauren-

she wanted to RUN into the water!

Loving it!

Sand castle fun! We were about 15 feet from the water.

Both Julia and Lauren made countless trips to get more water.

Cave point.

Hanging out on the rocks!