Baby moon or two or three...

 

 Mike at Hair of the Dog Brewery in Portland. His cocktails and mine



 So it's been a while since I updated the blog...whoops! I promise to get better once the baby comes to keep people updated with what's going on in our lives...but I'm sure it will only get harder to update once the baby gets here! Mike and I could not be more thrilled to be having a little one. We have both dreamed of being parents, and we feel so blessed that this dream is becoming a reality for us. We have a lot of friends and family who have shared their little ones with us, and a lot of good advice, and the one piece of advice that remains consistent is that our lives are going to change big time once the little one gets here.





Top of Multnomah Falls.



One of our favorite things to do is travel together so we figured we would take this opprotunity before the baby comes to do just that. With my new role at Target, I get the opportunity to travel to some pretty cool cities. In June, I had a work trip to Portland, OR, and we decided that this would be a great opportunity for Mike to come and join me on the trip and we could turn it in to a babymoon of sorts. It was amazing! We really enjoyed Portland (Mike definitely enjoyed the craft breweries of Portland) and the scenic part of Oregon was amazing. Little bean (what we call the baby) and I even made it all the way to the top of Multnomah Falls. A 1.3 mile hike straight up...it only took me an hour...but I thought that was pretty good for a 5 month pregnant gal! 



Overlooking Lake Union in Seattle.



 After Oregon, we headed up to Seattle and enjoyed the sites there. It was another beautiful city with great beer for Mike, and Pike's Place market, where we enjoyed trying tons of local foods. Mike especially loved this place, particularly the salmon that he brough home! We also enjoyed catching up with friends who moved out there and showed us around Lake Union and the house boats there! It was just like sleepless in seattle! 



Lake Sybil on the 4th of July



As if that trip wasn't enough, we followed it up with 2 amazing long weekends up north! We again spent the 4th of July at the Johnson cabin and it was once again a great time! The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed the lake, the new pontoon, and the annual lawn Olympics!

After the 4th of July, we headed up north to Alexandria with the McQuillan Family. We spent time at Mary Kay and Doug's cabin which is always a blast. Lots of boat and sandy beach time, and a little fishing...the lady rod was not as lucky for me this year as she was last year...but the kids had a lot more luck on their fishing trip with uncle Doug! 

We again stayed at Arrowood resort in Alexandria with my family in an amazing condo overlooking the lake (or "vacation" as Kensley like's to call all hotels and cabins). Mike and I love every minute that we get to spend with our nieces and nephew. It is so hard for me to imagine that we have a little one like them on the way, and the that we could possibly love something more than them. We are so blessed to be able to spend time with our friends and family, and we can't wait to travel with them all again next year, with our own little one!  It was a great (couple) of babymoons, and now we are just so excited to get things ready for our family to grow!

Emma loved the boat!

Uncle Mike teaching Kensley how it's done...or not!

Mason's favorite thing to do was reel it in!



2012 Year in Review

So, I'm a little behind on this one, but thought what better way to kick off 2013, then with a quick year in review of 2012! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the Harper Family Top 12 of 2012!!

1. January - We kicked off the year with some fun winter activities. Including teaching Mike and Kensley how to skate on the McQuillan family back yard rink and teaching me how to Ice "fish" at the Kramer cabin up north. Turns out ice "fishing" is just about drinking in a warm shack with a few holes in the ice below...turns out I'm a pro :)

 2. February - Mike and I celebrated our Honeymoon with a trip to the Dominican Republic. It was AMAZING. Our resort (Iberostar Grand Bavaro) was the most amazing hotel and the service and beaches were unreal. We truly enjoyed the time together celebrating being married, relaxing by the pool and hanging with our bartender Nicolas at the swim up bar. We cannot wait to go back some day!

3. March - In March, we celebrated some great birthdays and my Irish heritage. Our Godson Mason, turned one, and we continue to be SO blessed to have him in our lives. His smile can light up a room! We also celebrated friend Amy and cousin Erin's birthday on St Patricks day in the "homeland" (aka St Paul). Another great year being Irish (you can change the Irish girls last name, but you can't take the McQuillan out of the girl :) )


4. April - We got to spend a few long weekends watching Kensley and Mason this year. We even successfully navigated the zoo with two kids (actually 4 since the Henrys and Bartletts came with us) So much fun!

5. In May, we headed to Mexico to celebrate the Wedding of Nick and Brittany Davis. It was a great time, with great friends, celebrating one beautiful couple!




6. June - We got an amazing chance to travel a few times this year for weddings, including a trip in June to Greenville ,South Carolina for the Conzett wedding. Another beautiful spot and another beautiful couple!

7. July - we spent another fabulous 4th of July up at the Johnson cabin! The weather was great for another year, the lawn olympics were a hit, and the Lakes Cafe provided fantastic breakfast everyday. We were so lucky to be able to spend sometime enjoying northern MN this year thanks to our friends and family who so graciously hosted us at their cabins. We can only hope to repay the favor some day by inviting them to our future cabin!


8. August - Amy and I again spent 20 or so summer nights cheering on the Twins. Another disappointing season for the team, but another amazing season spent with great friends, great drinks/foods, and a beautiful stadium! Better luck next year!

9. September - FOOTBALL!

 10. October - October was a month of firsts, including our first 5K and our first Anniversary. Mike surprised me with a trip to Chicago. It was amazing! Great food (pizza), shopping and entertainment (Second City)!

 11. November - We kicked off the holiday season with a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with both the Harper and McQuillan families. So much amazing food!!! Not only did we celebrate with Family, but the Nielsen's hosted the Annual Friendsgiving at their house, and as usual, it was a blast!

12. December - Finally, we spent much of December celebrating Christmas with family. We took a trip to Wisconsin to celebrate with the Harper and Eng sides of the family. Despite a monster storm in WI the day before we left, we made it without a hitch and had a great time! We then came back to MN to celebrate Christmas Eve and Day with our immediate families and ring in the 2013 with friends and family.

All in All 2012 was an amazing year. Mike and I continue to feel so blessed for the wonderful people in our lives, and the amazing time we have spent with all of them. We look forward to what's to come in 2013!! Happy New year from our house to yours!

Fall in photos

This fall has highlighted how truly amazing this season in Minnesota can be. The colors have been amazing and the weather could not have been more beautiful! We have had some time to take in some fun fall activities including tailgating, football, walks and jogs near the water, picking out pumpkins, and time spent with family and friends! I love all of the seasons in Minnesota (yes, even winter) and this fall has proven itself to be a favorite!

Mike and I watched Kensley and Mason for a weekend while Frankie and Gretchen were traveling. We had so much fun playing with them!

I am slowly learning more about landscaping, gardening and maintaining (maybe next year I'll move past maintaining and start cultivating) potted plants. I love fall colors and mums! I even bought a fall welcome wreath from Michael's for our front door and got really excited about it...I'm officially old!

 The McQuillan family all headed up to St John's University for Joe's last homecoming as a college student. It is so hard to believe that he is already a senior in college. Sometimes I still feel like I am just leaving for college, and Joe is just heading into 5th grade...hard to believe how fast time flies!

Joe and Leah sporting the Johnnies gear.

Mike and I in our borrowed Johnnies gear! Thanks for hooking us up Joe and Frankie!

One adorable family!

The best parents a girl could ask for!

Mike and I also headed to Stillwater, MN to check out the fall colors and enjoy the last days of the historic lift bridge as it exists today.

Summer 2012

It has been a long time since I blogged, and I will try to be better going forward! It has been an incredibly busy and fun summer. Mike and I have had the chance to go on some fun vacations, enjoy the beautiful Minnesota weather and scenery, and make amazing memories with friends and family! We feel so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives and so fortunate that we are able to travel and enjoy making memories that will last a lifetime! A special thanks to all of our family and friends who have traveled with us, and hosted us in their homes and cabins!

Mike and I kicked off the summer with the MS One Day Ride to Stillwater

We went to Riviera Maya Mexico in May to Celebrate the wedding of Nick and Brittany Davis!

We went to Alexandria with the McQuillan Family in June. We had a great time in the cabin and on the lake!

 

We were in Greenvill,e South Carolina in June for the Conzett Wedding.

We again went up to the Johnson's cabin for the 4th of July and continued our Lawn Olympics tradition!

Not as many as past summers, but we still have enjoyed a couple weddings of good friends this summer!

Kicking off the fall and football season with a little tailgating!!

The honeymoons not over :)

Mike and I decided to delay our honeymoon a few months after the wedding to go somewhere warm and beautiful when it was cold in Minnesota...and some where beautiful does not even begin to describe where we went!

We stayed at the Iberostar Grand Bavaro in Punta Cana, Domincan Republic and it was amazing!! We loved every thing about this place. The staff, the property, the beach and pool, it was all such an incredible experience! We got into a pretty great routine of laying out by the pool, reading books, snacking, enjoying some cocktails, playing bingo, going to dinner, and meeting some great peope! We are dreaming about going back some day!

After returning from the DR, it has been a busy and exciting spring. Plus, we brought the warm weather back frowithm us, and it has been a great spring! We celebrated some birthdays, including our little god son Mason's 1st birthday and Amy and Erin's St Patrick's Day birthday bash! We will have one more birthday girl in our house this month, when Piper turns 2 (or 14 in dog years) on March 29th!! Happy birthday friends and family!!