Minnesota!

We made it safely to Minnesota and Grace was once again a wonderful little traveler! We made it the entire way and didn't even have to stop once! Friday evening we spent some time with family before and after the wedding rehearsal. Here are a few snapshots of Grace and some of her cousins!

Grace enjoying her first visit to Minnesota!

Grace with cousin Nicole

Where's Carson!?!

There he is!

Such a cutie!


Cousin Ryan!

Grace in her new play center!

Here are a few snapshots of Grace testing the new play center that Aunt Kari found for her!

A lovely picture of Grace sticking out her tongue. :o)

Lookin Cute! :)

Looks like she's got some growing to do!

Our stop in Iowa

Well, Thursday evening we finally got on the road around 7:30 p.m. That meant a late night to Davenport (we got there shortly after midnight!) Grace was wonderful and slept the entire way so we made it there in great time! We visited with Kari and Roby for awhile and then caught some zzzz's so we could be well rested for our trip to Minnesota!

Friday morning we were able to visit with Kari, Noelle, and Kyle for a few hours before heading out. We never did make it to Trinity...but that's okay...maybe next time!!

Cousin Noelle holding Grace

Cousin Kyle!

Minnesota here we come!

We're soon on our way to Minnesota! Heather is in a wedding this weekend and Dave will be giving the message at the wedding. We're heading out tomorrow evening after Heather is finished up with everything at school. We'll be stopping in Davenport, Iowa to stay with Heather's sister and her family. Then, Friday morning we'll hopefully make a pit stop at Trinity, the school that Heather taught at during her first two years of teaching. Her former 2nd graders are already 6th and 7th graders! Wow, how time flys! She's anxious to see them again! Then, Friday we'll head to Minnesota. Grace will get to meet her Grandma and Grandpa Greseth for the FIRST time! She'll also get to meet many of her aunts, uncles, and cousins for the first time as well! The wedding is Saturday and then Sunday will be a long day of traveling so Heather will make it back for school bright and early Monday morning!

Daddy's Little Bronco's Buddy!

Grace next to her new Bronco's pillow :)

A gift especially for Gracie...from daddy!

Dave's determined to make a little Bronco's fan out of Grace!

Yay for Weekends!

Well, Heather survived her first few days of school and rediscovered just how much energy first graders have! This weekend we're looking forward to just staying home, relaxing, and hanging out with our sweet little Grace! :)

Mrs. Larson's First Grade

This is the place that Heather's been "living" this past week. Her new classroom! She had Open House earlier this afternoon and met her new group of kiddos. (They're Adorable!!) The new school year begins Thursday with a half day...and a full day on Friday.

Too bad she didn't take any before pictures...the room has come a long way in the past week!!

Testing out the new Bumbo!

See ya later!

Now that most of us have moved back...we had a get together to say "See ya later" to seminary friends Duane and Elizabeth who are heading to Germany for the year. It was a fun afternoon with socializing and food! =)

Grace with one of her new friends- Ellie :)
Our small group (minus Daisy, Andrew, and Miriam)

We look forward to seeing lots of pictures Duane and Elizabeth!! :)

She's a Drooler!!

Wow! It's already Friday...where did the week go!?! Heather finished her first week of meetings and was busy getting her classroom ready for the start of a new school year. She enjoys her new staff and besides being exhausted...is doing great! Dave had a great time spending lots of time with Grace this week. She's such a great baby! :)

Just check out the droolage from her little chin :)

Busy...Busy...Busy!

This week marked the beginning of Dave's month long adventure as a stay-at-home dad and Heather's first week back in the working world! Heather's sister Kari and her two children Noelle and Kyle came for a quick visit Monday and they left early this afternoon. Heather has been busy preparing for the start of school NEXT week and Kari was an enormous help for Heather in getting her classroom to look like a classroom once again!

An attempt to get a good picture...
Kari's expression says it all...:)

Grace standing tall!


All snuggly after bathtime!

Two Months Old!

Grace is officially two months old today!

New Stats!

Grace went in for her two month appointment today. We were fortunate to find a new doctor here that we really like! Grace survived her first set of shots although she seemed pretty traumatized. =( She slept most of the day, but by the end of the day she was back to the happy baby that she is!

Latest Stats:

Height: 23 3/4 (90th Percentile!)

Weight: 11 lbs. 4 oz. (60th Percentile)

She's a tall girl! She certainly doesn't get her height from her mother....she was a shrimp!! :)

Grace's battle wounds =(

All better!! :)

Visit with the Larson's

Grandpa Larson and Aunt Eden made the trip from Colorado for a quick visit. They got here last evening and will head back to Colorado bright and early tomorrow morning. Grace had a great time with Grandpa and Eden! Dave's Uncle Mark and Aunt Debbie also stopped by and we went out for lunch this afternoon. Mark and Debbie live in Saint Louis as Mark is also studying at the seminary.

Debbie, Mark, and Grace

Lunch at Mimi's Cafe
Eden, Debbie, and Grandpa Larson

Mark and us

Grandpa Larson and Grace

Grace having a good time with Grandpa

Grandpa wore her out! =)

Aunt Eden and Grace

After such a fun day- Grace is ready for a bath!

She loves bathtime!

Top things we miss about Seymour...

Grace sporting one of the new outfits

given by Pastor and Jan before we left.

Well, we've been busy unpacking boxes and are are ALMOST unpacked. YAY!!

Heather has one final week left of vacation...and then she starts up with meetings and classroom preparations. She's not quite sure about leaving Grace...but knows she'll be in good hands with dad! We've been able to see some of our seminary friends and familar faces at Saint Paul's- our field work church...so that has been nice. This week we look forward to having Grandpa Larson and Aunt Eden visit.

And here it is....a few of the things that we already miss about Seymour...

In no particular order :)

1. Traffic! Saint Louis traffic is crazy....oh how we miss Tipton :)

2. The commute! How we loved just walking across the parking lot.

3. Our house! Moving from a spacious two bedroom house to a one bedroom apartment can be quite interesting. We've had to be creative in finding places to put things!!

4. The people! It's sad going to Wal-mart and not seeing a single person you know.

5. Our mailbox! Yeah that's right...I miss my mail coming by 9:30 every morning. All I would have to do is open my front door and there it was! Now I have to walk a ways to get my mail. (I'm not at all lazy:)

6. The ladies in the office! Grace misses all the snuggle time.

7. National City! The one down the street from our new place just isn't the same.

8. The ringing of the church bells! Oh what a lovely sound we had coming through our windows. Now we just hear the thumping from the people upstairs.

9. The eastern time zone! It gets dark here by 8:30. Way too early if you ask us!

And the list could keep going....

Just look at that sad face...

The New Place

The outside view of our apartment.

Ours is on the lower lefthand side.

One of the two pools

Basketball courts just down the street

The playground....can't wait for Carson, Ryan, Kyle, and Noelle to come play!! :)
And...Patrick too if he makes the trip from Canada :)

One of the lovely views...

Of course I had to throw in a picture of Grace!

Back in Saint Louis

Well the dreaded day came....moving day! Thankfully we arrived back in Saint Louis safely. I am delighted to say that we have a nice strong internet signal in the comfort of our own living room...so it will be much easier for me to keep the blog updated than I anticipated!

We left Seymour around 10:30 after attending staff devotions one last time. We said our goodbyes, turned in our keys, and were on the road. Grace was an excellent little traveler! We stopped once to feed her and one other stop for a quick diaper change. What a trooper! :)

Our truck was packed to the absolute brim!

We will be getting a bigger truck next year!

And...it's time to unpack!

Grace all dressed for the occasion!

Yes, we have our work cut out for us in the days and weeks ahead!

Pizza after a hard days work!