Erika {farewell}

Last weekend we said good-bye to our lovely au pair, Erika.

Erika has been with us for a little over a year. Her visa is expiring and it is time for her to return home to Colombia. While we are very excited for what the future holds for Erika, it is very said to see her go.

She knows our family so well, and she can nearly read my mind when it comes to caring for the boys. This is so comforting as a momma! They've even learned an enormous amount of Spanish. The cutest part is that they even have the right accent...

Let's see....my favorite things about Erika that we will miss...her creativity. She made the most amazing art projects with the boys. I will treasure them forever. Her fantastic photographs of the boys...but mostly...her love for my precious babies!

While this seems like a lot of "stuff"... I couldn't imagine how much I would have if I was traveling for 1-2 years!

isn't she photogenic?

erika and mase

P and erika

love this one!

soooo cute!

Your next question is likely....now what!? Did you get another au pair?? 

The answer is YES! I am fairly 100% certain that we could not function with our current careers without one. Aupairs are such an amazing blessing...I could write a book on how fantastic they are.

More on our new au pair later. For now, I want Erika to have her minute or two in the spotlight! We love you, Erika and wish you nothing but the best! Hugs! xoxo

Say Cheese!

For the life of me, I can not figure out where they get this...

[thankfully they are fine with inexpensive cameras...] 

But I'm sure they'll make up for it with their taste in shoes, sporting gear, cars, and colleges...

I'll take this victory while I can!

Saying Goodbye {Frank}

Sending balloons up to heaven

June 14, 2012. Another difficult day. The day we buried our little boy. Thank you to Lindsay at Rock Paper Pictures for capturing the emotions of the day. While they make me very sad to look at them, I'm very thankful to have them. I put the photos together in a video to music - I spent a lot of time choosing the perfect songs...   



My mom asked if she could say a few words at the funeral. She's the most amazing writer so of course I said yes. Here's what she read - it could not be more perfect.

"Love. If love were the only necessity for survival in this world, Franklin John Schultes would have lived here forever.  No parents love their child more than Ben and Kristin love Franklin.  His big brothers, Prior Benjamin and Mason Joseph love him, giving him their favorite name, Baby Fwank.  His grandparents, his great grandparents, his aunts and uncles, his cousins, and all his extended family love him.  This abundance of love makes Franklin’s journey so difficult to understand. Yet Ben and Kristin are strong; this family is strong; and we have faith. “To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven…a time to be born and a time to die… a time to weep and a time to laugh…a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Baby Franklin is positive, pure energy.  We will allow Franklin John to make this world a better place by smiling more each day, by being more kind and understanding of others, by giving to others, by showing more gratitude for all we have, by laughing more with loved ones. We will see him in the clouds morphing in the blue sky and in the corn arising in the Iowa fields; in the fox chasing and the turtle ambling near Amy Drive; we will smell him in the peonies nodding and the Russian olives blooming; we will feel him in the breeze whispering and the sun warming; we will hear him in the thunder rumbling and the cardinal singing. Baby Frank will be with us, and we will be with him."

- Julia Wall (Grandma Julie) 6.14.12

It was a beautiful (but windy) day. After the service we had a very nice lunch at the park in Dedham. 

IA State Fair

We were in Des Moines for our annual Adventureland trip and also made a stop at the Iowa State Fair....

The MN state fair is going on now. I am afraid I may only have one state fair in me per year. We'll see!

Cousins pic. It was actually chilly - first time all summer!

The beloved "butter cow". 

Award winning corn. 

The "little hands on the farm" farming exhibit was really neat. The kiddos got to "practice" farming. They even got to sell their produce at the market and use the proceeds to buy a treat.

Lil' Farmers

Ken and Mase

Allimacke (all one word!)

Checkin' out the mules.

This was Dad's idea...not mine!

watching some dancers

Nothing says "IA State Fair" like a good rhino statue!

Farmer's Market!

I crossed something off my "bucket list" this past weekend. I conquered my very first canning project. Thanks to my sis for all of the help. Not sure if I'll ever do it again but it was fun. The project didn't begin, however, without a stop at two different farmer's markets. One was giving out free sunglasses. These guys crack.me.up!

Free shades from the farmer's market!

cool dude

Waiting in line for their balloon animal

Two thumbs up - from the lefty and the righty

Real tears after the balloon popped...

ta-da! pickles, diced tomatoes, and pasta sauce