Minnesota!

Paul, Hannah and I flew to Minnesota last weekend to visit Paul's parents. Paul's sister, Julie, and her husband, Matt, and their son Ashton also flew into town so it was a great family reunion. We ate lots of yummy food, went on beautiful walks, visited with Paul's aunts and uncles and grandfather and even took a short trip to the Minnesota Zoo. One special tradition in Paul's family is that we spend some time praying for one another as families and couples. It was a sweet time and a tradition that we hope to continue.

Paul's parents live in the beautiful town of Northfield, MN where Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges are located. We had the privilege of meeting some students and recent grads whom Paul's parents work with in their ministry to the students at Carleton. The town of Northfield is beautiful with wide shaded streets and trees that grow much taller than in Texas! The houses in the neighborhood bordering Carleton where Paul's mom and dad live are just beautiful....none of them look the same. His parent's "Cottage" is just a few blocks from the main street in town that has quaint artsy shops, coffee houses and places to eat.

It was so much fun to see our nephew Ashton again. What a cutie! As an almost 18 month old, he is full of energy and has a fun sense of humor. If anything was wrong, whether he was hurt or just sad he said "owie!" It was fun to see how he and Hannah interacted. He was very gentle with her. Do you think Hannah and Ashton look like cousins?

Another highlight of our trip was visiting with our friends Tim and Natalie Campbell. Their friendship is especially precious to us as it was their wedding where we met. For those that don't know our story, Paul was one of Tim's good friends from high school and Natalie was one of my college roommates. We were both in their wedding and they paired us up in the wedding party since we were both tall. The rest is history... Tim and Natalie have two adorable sons, Ian and Isaiah. It was fun to meet Ian for the first time and to see how much Isaiah had grown since we saw him a few years ago...he is 4 and a half now! Isaiah just loved Hannah and so sweetly played with her and even fed her lunch! He was so curious asking all sorts of "why" questions.


I must say that I was a little sad to leave the much cooler and greener state of Minnesota...it was so beautiful in July!

Isaiah feeding Hannah

Paul, Hannah and I with Natalie, Ian, Tim and Isaiah Campbell.

Hannah and Opa-pa

The whole fam...notice it is very difficult to get a 6 month old and 18 month old to look at the camera with a happy face!

Cousins with Oma and Opa

Cousins going for a walk on a gorgeous day in July

Ashton and Hannah hanging out

Matt and Paul were wonderful about hanging out with the babies...and even had fun doing it.