Family Fun in the Summertime

Boy were we spoiled this summer! My brother and Susan lived here in Minnesota with their sweet boy Henry. My parents bought a summer home here and spent all summer here. Mark's parents, sister and brother live within 30 minutes. Mark's sister Sarah and family came into town for 2 weeks.

Now Sarah and family have left. My parents left. Paul and Susan are leaving at the end of next month, and I can't believe how fortunate we were to share the first few months of Dean's life with our family!

We went to the cabin with the entire Aronson side of the family (except for his brother Chris and our nephew Tyler) and for the most part had a great time! Unfortunately Deany and I got sick. (His first cold!) And that spread to Steve, Nancy, Marcella and Jayce, but OTHERWISE we had a wonderful time. The weather was cool, but we still enjoyed beach time, boat time, a little bit of swimming "the rocks", walks, campfire and rainy day relaxation. It was so nice to have so many people there who wanted to hold our needy boy Dean.

It was also very fun to see all the kiddos together and the boys being boys! They loved Dean and he LOVED them! Some of my favorite quotes from the weekend:
Maxwell (3 year old nephew): "Sandy do you remember when Dean was in your tummy?"
Me: "Max who is my baby?" Max pointing to himself "ME!" (He's a little jealous!)
Jayce: (6 yrs old) "Aunt Sandy why does he have to be under the blanket when he eats? He doesn't get distracted, he can't even talk!"
Peyton: (8 yrs old) (Putting his baseball cap on Dean) "Here Dean, take my hat, that way you won't forget about me! And then next summer you will remember me!"
Marcella (9 month old) "SCREECH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ok maybe that wasn't may favorite :)

Now for a bunch of pictures of the lake and the Johnston's Visit!

Peyton

Jsyce

At the beach

"the rocks"

The end of the Johnston's visit was bittersweet. Mark and I got to go to a family friend's wedding and we didn't have baby with us! My parents watched him and we got to have an evening of fun and dancing like a real couple again! We were so thankful.

We also got to enjoy a lot of time with my parents and family before they left. It was fun to just live in the same place again! We had lots of surprise visits, walks and dinners together. Deany misses his Jimpa and Grame! We are also going to miss his cousin Henry and Paul and Susan when they move back to NC to start a new job and home!

As far as normal life goes, the end of summer is arriving and that means work for Mark and actually a little bit for me as well. Mark and I went into his school today to set up his classroom and I'll be going back to teacher week at the end of the month even though I won't be starting until the end of October. I'll also be getting back to teaching fitness class, and actually have quite a few lined up! I was able to attend a new fitness training Les Mills "Body Flow", which is an athletic compilation of yoga, pilates and tai chi. (THANKS MARK FOR WATCHING THE KID ALL WEEKEND!) It is great and might be my favorite class to teach! I will be continuing to teach at the YMCA's around our house-Eagan, West St. Paul, Burnsville, Southdale and Woodbury.

Dean is continuing to grow and is already more than 2 months old! He is really coming into his personality, smiling a ton, giggling a little and continuing to try to stand, hold himself up and be stronger than he should :) Mark and I are worried for what the future may bring.. walking at 8 months like his mom?

Like usual a few pictures below to show his growth (and cuteness of course).
Until next time!

Daddy's flip

First viking game

He wanted to watch

Talking