10 Years Out of Luther...What?!

Like I need more reasons to feel like time is flying these days! Dave and I graduated from Luther in 2004 and so it should not have been a surprise to us that our 10-Year Reunion would be this fall, but wow - it feels like it came out of nowhere:)

My girls (Jenny & Cass) and I talked about it early in the year and we decided we had to go, if nothing else, we would get to see each other and our families, which is honestly what we cared most about:) We headed into Burr Oak late on Friday and ended up staying up talking with Mom and Dad until midnight! What?! We were all so tired, but we had such a nice time sitting and talking:) So silly, we should know better when our children are "sleeping" in the house.

We got up early on Saturday morning and headed to Luther to grab some coffee and meet at the bell. It ended up being just an absolutely beautiful day, thank the Lord, it made it so much easier and especially pretty for pictures. As soon as I grabbed my "big" camera, we realized my SD card was in my laptop at home:( I was so mad! Good thing our phones have great cameras, but I still missed my big one. Campus wasn't as busy as I was expecting it so we were able even pick up some warm weather gear at the bookstore with the kids.

Love this pic. Sporting some new Norse gear:)

We weren't sure where we should watch the parade (I was thinking it came through right by the library lawn...oops, that's been a few years!) So we walked down by Koren and just found a spot that was sunny and let the kids run around in the grassy hill by the CFA while we waited for the parade. Kate and Collin did really great and were super excited to see their best buddies. The dynamic is getting interesting as they get older. Kate and Waylon have been such a team, but now that Aniyah is getting older, you can see the girls wanting to be together maybe a bit more. Collin and Lawson still pretty much ignore each other. And the older ones:)

Our two young leaders...

I kept trying to to take selfies of Collin and I all morning...

The kiddos waiting for Aniyah to arrive...

She's here! Look at those faces:)

I had pretty low expectations for the parade (had never really watched it before!) but it was surprisingly good.

Had to convince the girls not to cover their ears the whole time, that first fire truck always gets 'em!

The Nursing Department float:) Lots of yells from our section for them!

The kids liked all the flags, I think they were watching a dance team perform

It was getting busier and more crowded as it approached lunch time and the football game. We headed over to the bell to take pictures (hmmm..kids were not at their peak of cooperative at this time, but oh well) and then we headed in to the Union again. Cass, Jenny and I shopped in the bookstore while the guys took the kids out on to the balcony to climb the railing, pick up feathers and run around like crazy people. We then broke for lunch, we all ended up running to the Oneota Coop to grab some lunch to go and then met up at Phelps Park.

Just a gorgeous day on campus

I forget which float was giving out crowns, I grabbed Kate's as we walked back to the bell

Another one! He loves it doesn't he:)

Me and my girls. I should put our pics at the bell together from the last 10 years...

Checking out the football field

They were being so cute, I couldn't stand it

We ate lunch (most of us, the little boys napped in the vans with doors open at first:), the big kids played for awhile, then we had cupcakes and presents for Kate's (Oct. 30) and Aniyah's (Nov. 13) upcoming birthdays. It was a very sweet little time and I know the kids had a blast. The Peterson's dropped off their boys with Cass' mom for the night and Swoboda's and us took our kids back to Mom and Dad's to put our kiddos down for a nap (Kate stayed up) and to rest a little. Cass and Kris joined us there later and we just hung out for awhile, got dressed for our reception that night and said goodbye to Kate, Collin and Aniyah. A huge thank you to Mom and Dad for watching the three kiddos and tackling bedtimes for us:)

A little tired after the morning activities

A small birthday celebration

Fun in the leaves at Phelps

We adults started the afternoon/evening off at Toppling Goliath and we were able to get a table for six, but sadly they had no other beverages besides beer/water and they wouldn't let us bring anything in. So, Jenny and I were a little left out, but we survived:) We (now joined by our friend Andrew Haugen and his girlfriend) decided to go to Corner Bar next and had fun there. It was empty! and we sat ate a ridiculous amount of the most salty popcorn I've ever tasted in my life (was it always like that?!) and a few strong drinks.

Then it was time for the 10-Year Reunion reception at Nob Hill. I was the DD for the evening and we played some fun tunes on the way and my girls were in the back and dancing and I think we laughed the whole way there:) I think we were all wondering how fun/awkward this event would be! As soon as we walked in we were screeching when we would see people and there were a lot of hugs:)

I can honestly say, I think I saw all the people I probably wanted to see and was surprised at how much fun I had. There was a presentation of a check from the class to the school (Whoa! We definitely have some people giving a lot to Luther in our class!), some trivia and the new President stopped by. She walked through and Dave and I chatted for a quick bit with her. Nice woman!

After awhile, it was clear we were all getting tired.  Though some tried to hide it (Dave!) others admitted that we were just getting older:) Most of us had kids (some brought with to the reception) and some had to get back to them. I was texting Mom about the girls...Jenny and I were concerned about the girls getting to sleep. Dave refused to let our party go home ("We are all together, without the kids and we are dressed up....we are not going home!") and so after much debate and eventual confirmation that the girls were sleeping, we headed to Rubiayat for dessert (for me! I couldn't drink and the dessert at the reception left much to be desired). We got a table by the window at the bar and had some yummy dessert, one more drink and then headed back to Mom and Dad's. [How did we not get pictures of us adults from the night?!! So maddening, as Dave said, we were all together and looked great, had a wonderful time together and didn't get one photo! Argh.]

Collin went down easy for the night and the girls had a fun sleepover, eating popcorn and watching Tangled and then sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor in the guest room together. That was the first real "sleepover" for both of them:) When we got home, we debated leaving Kate in there with Aniyah, but decided to bring her up to our room for the rest of the night. In the morning, she said, "Mom, Dad! I went to sleep in the room with Aniyah but when I woke up, I was with you!"

We weren't up long and with six extra adults and three extra kids sleeping over, it was a full house! The next morning, we had breakfast and said goodbye to our beloved friends. We had a wonderful lazy Sunday and before we left town and we stopped by Andrew's new place. Kylie's folks have moved on to their amazing new house (down the road from the farm and I can't wait to see it finished!) and so Andrew and Kylie are working on making the farm house their own. Many people are working hard and though I was pretty exhausted and was worried the kids were not up for a stop on the way home, we arrived to find Andrew hard at work. It was crazy to see the house that way! Some changes are already done and others are in progress. I just got really excited for them and can't believe they will have such an amazing place right away...spoiled!! :) It was hard for the kids to be downstairs with the tools, floors, debris, but they had a blast running around the bedrooms upstairs with the new paint and carpet - so nice! I was joking about them staying there when we come to visit in the future, there is a room for each of them, the baby can stay at Mom and Dads with us:) Right, A&K?  :)

When they got antsy, Mom took them outside to play with Bailey and then they came back in and Collin was rather upset when we had to take him away. He had grabbed a tool and was pretending to work and didn't want to leave, so cute. Can't wait until he can really come over and help his Uncle Andy!

We had a nice trip back, Kate passed out cold. Slept the whole way home, her eyes opened a few times but she went right back to sleep. Didn't even wake to eat. I can't remember the last time she did that! Collin, who I expected to sleep, didn't sleep one bit. Just sat there talking, singing and even laughing at himself. He would put something (empty pouch? toy? I can't remember) on his head and then just giggle. Then he would struggle to get it and then do it again. He also had his blankies (cuz I thought he'd sleep) and he was playing peek-a-boo with...himself, until I turned around and played. He thought he was pretty hilarious.

What a weekend! Another great time with family and friends. I will say we were pretty exhausted after the last 10 days, we are definitely happy to be home (Collin just sleeps better here!) but so glad we were able to make it all happen.