Lake Life

We headed  "up north" last weekend with my parents, sister, and Curt for a long weekend. My parents always rent a lake home for a week in the summertime, and we were finally able to go along this year! It had been many years since I had been able to go "up north" with them because I've been living in different states for so long-- I was really happy to be able to go and take the kids and Adam along, too!

Bavarian Blast Parade

Today we took the kids to watch their very first parade with Auntie Kelsie, Curt, Kirra, Annie, Liz, and Talon. I think they enjoyed it-- Ryker's favorite things were the horses and the little cars that zoomed all over. Makaylin liked the music and she loved seeing the puppet wagon!

"I'm a big kid now!"

M has reached yet another milestone... she is now in a toddler bed! We had no intentions of moving her out of her crib at 15 months, but because of safety concerns, we decided to try it out. It has been going REALLY well... much better than we anticipated!

The morning of the big switch, Mak and I went to Wal-Mart to pick out things for her new bed. I wasn't surprised when I held up to blankets for her and she immediately grabbed the DORA blanket. She is Dora obsessed, but it's cute. :) We got her a pillow and some cute yellow pillowcases to match her blanket. We also stopped in at the bakery to see Auntie Kelsie and Auntie Brei...and pick up a treat! It was a GREAT morning with her, and I'm looking forward to more one-on-one time with her... as well as with Ryker!

Livin' the Minnesota Life

We are enjoying our life in Minnesota-- always surrounded by family and friends! We aren't too fond of the mosquitos or the ridiculous humidity, but everything else trumps those. :) Here are a few pictures from the last month or so!

M at Lisa's house for 4th of July

R exploring in Lisa's front yard

The flag on the front of our house after a weekend of severe storms.

One of these days I will start blogging again! The biggest hurdle will be having the time to remember everything from the last 6 weeks and to find all the pictures!

Where in the World are the Hester's?

We've been MIA for the past month roadtripping across the country and finally reached our destination-- New Ulm, Minnesota. We traveled from California to Tulsa via Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. We were able to stay in Tulsa with Adam's family for a week and we had a great time! We were able to meet our new neice, Addyson, and our new nephew, Ryley, who are both such happy little babies! Adam was able to spend a little time with old friends, play golf with his parents, and finally relax and enjoy the "civilian" life. I spent my time catching up with Kimberly, clicking pictures, and seeing my BFF's from college-- Lynnsey and Lauren. I was ecstatic to finally meet Lynnsey's son, Beckett, when I took KK and Ryker over for a playdate. I think B & KK may have a future together... we'll see how things pan out!

Once we left Tulsa, we drove through Missouri, Iowa, and then FINALLY arrived in Minnesota! It was so nice to see the "Welcome to Minnesota" sign. If I hadn't been driving, I would have a picture to post, but I should note that I honked my horn and Adam rolled down his window to wave his arm around (we were driving seperately)! :)

The kids had fun exploring their new house... and so did Adam! I was the only one who had even seen it, so it was new for the rest of the Hester fam. We are still working on getting things kid-proofed, unpacked, and organized. We're seeing some progress and hopefully in the next few weeks we can feel a little more put together.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from our roadtrip. I'll have a lot more seperate posts soon!

After being delayed 2 days, we were finally able to leave San Clemente! Here is Adam updating his facebook status to let everyone know he's a civilian!

Saying good-bye to "Auntie" Vanessa. We miss her SO much!

R finding new hiding spots at the hotel.

Discovering new things at the hotel!

Lions and tigers and bears... oh my!

Today we took the kids to the San Diego Zoo. We weren't sure how well they would behave or if they would even be interested in any of the animals... but it turned out to be a pretty good day! We left early so we could beat the crowds and hit the kids zoo right away before there was a line. Makaylin and Ryker got to hang out with some goats... they were a little unsure at first, but they warmed up quick!

Ryker loved watching the flamingos-- probably becuase they are bright and there were so many of them to see. Makaylin really liked the elephants.

Adam thought this would be a funny picture. I tried to snap it quick because we were in the bird atrium...and basically, that place is my worst nightmare! I absolutely hate birds so we got in and out of there fast! Of course, it didn't help that about 30 seconds after we entered the zoo, I had a near miss with a random bird. Ahh!

We didn't get to see everything, but we spent a good 4 hours walking around...which was much longer than we planned! The kids were even able to sneak in a little nap!

We are counting down the days until we leave California and call Minnesota home. We will miss so much about California, and I know it will a place we will visit often. I am looking forward to the day when we can bring the kids back and show them where they were born and the places where they spent their first 14 months of their lives. We will definitely be soaking it all in for the next 11 days!

Time Flies!

Wow! I apologize for my lack of posts... I swear it isn't laziness-- we're just BUSY! Between all of us, there is always someone with some sort of appointment at least twice a week. Then when you add the house and moving on top of that... it makes for a lot of running around and not much down time. I'm going to make this update quick and then get on with the pictures... so here we go!

First and foremost: We are FINALLY moving! I won't go into detail, but it Adam's findings came back and we had a tough decision to make. It took us a few days, but in the end we had to do what was best for us and our family... so we are preparing to leave California behind and call Minnesota our new home. Things I will miss about California: Vanessa. Pefect weather all year long. Beach. Ocean. Amazing photography spots. The Starbucks and Quiznos off Pico in San Clemente. Three Dog Bakery. My hairdresser (good ones are hard to come by!). California will ALWAYS be a part of me... I love it here, but moving to MN is what is best for us at this point in our lives. Maybe when Adam and I retire we can buy a beach house... in my dreams!

Secondly: Amongst all the craziness the last few weeks, I managed to make a major investment in my photography business. I made the leap and switched my gear over to Nikon... and so far, I'm extremely happy with my decision. The D700 is amazing! I have a lot to learn about the camera and how to maneuver around the menus, etc., but I'm really lovin' it. The set up is a bit confusing since I'm used to Canon's... but eventhough I find it confusing now, I think their set up is a lot more user friendly. Not to mention I get crystal clear images straight out of my camera!

Ok-- enough already. The kids are doing great! Ryker is a walking fool and Makaylin just wants nothing to do with it!

Enjoy the pictures-- they are from Tuesday evening. The light was amazing, but the kids don't stay still for pictures... I have to get them on the go! It was my first time really using the camera, so while they may not be my best photos... I was just trying out the camera. I'm so amazed by the quality I get out of it! These came straight out of my camera-- no edits. :)