Family Update

Well, its been a month or better since the last family update. Since the last time I updated, we have gone to a Twins game with JohnMark, been to a county fair twice, and made plans for our annual trek up to the State Fair. I will take each tale one by one.
First off, the Twins game. It was actually his second, but the first one that he was truely intersted in. Though I am not sure which was more interesting, the game or the lightrail train. The Steele County Free Fair was a fun trip. We found out JohnMark loves lumberjack competitions. Something to keep in mind for the State Fair.
JohnMark has got a nickname!!! He has opted for Bubba. The south is showing through:)
He also has taken to rolling over. This is only funny when he tries to crawl after rolling over.
Well, that is all the updates as of now. I will update after the fair:)

Picture Update

Here we are. Officially 3 1/2 months old. As I am typing this update, JohnMark is watching me intently. Even trying to help as it were. Since I have had so many questions as to when the pics were going to be updated, I figured I would do it now. So here we go.

This has got to be one of my favorite pictures. It shows his true interested side. On the whole, this is our normal attitude with life. Obviously, this picture was taken pre-teething:s


We are totally interested in something here. It is not that I don't know what it is, it is more the fact that there are about three options. The T.V. had something going, Abbi was getting into trouble, and he found the toys-all of this happening at the same time. His favorite sport of late is trying to (and effectively accomplishing the task) get either or both of his sisters into trouble. All it takes is a few words, a grin, and a giggle.....

Camping Update

In the time since the last update was put up, we have been camping once and been out to our church's camp twice. I will start at the beginning.
We went up to Northfield, Minnesota to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. This was our official first time camping together as a family. It was interesting, and overall great. We learned really quick where all our deficincies are. Dependency was top of the list. We depended way too much on our friends to know where the garbage dump was, on fire being built, and thier kids to keeps ours occupied while food was being cooked. Thankfully, these things were no big issue in comparison as to what could have been. Steve was able to get the fire started second time out (and even able to keep it going during a rain shower the next morning!), there was a trail cut thru to the bathroom, the bathroom had family showers, and the garbage was just down the road. It could have definately been worse.
Anyway, once we arrived, and the fire started, I started the task of cooking and setting up eating arrangements, and Steve set to work on setting up the tent. After we ate, Steve and the girls went for a walk while I and JohnMark did the dishes. Once this was finished, we had Smores for the girls, and then showers. The kids went down after we got back, and then Steve and I stayed up a bit later eating our own Smores and then we went to bed. Sometime early the next morning it started to rain off and on. Steve was able to get the fire going, and keep it going while breakfast was cooked. To keep kids busy and parents sane, we waited out the rain while traveling over to Red Wing. We had a picnic lunch of sorts at a park in Red Wing, and were able to see a couple of historical markers in the process. After lunch, we headed back to the park, packed up the tent, checked out of our site, and then took a hike down a trail to see a hidden waterfall. We then went to look at the interpretive center (in the air conditioning).
That ended our camping trip. We have also been to our church camp twice this season, and both times have been great! The girls had fun both times, and both times we were able to hear the Word from a couple of great speakers. The second time out, Abbi managed to overshoot a swing and scrape up half of her face. She cried, and then told people about it as if it were no big deal.
So far that is the update on our camping season. We are not sure if we are going anywhere else as of yet. Hopefully there will be one more joint trip and one more family trip to go. We are already looking into next year and what all we are wanting to do. There is talk and thought of possibly going on a joint week long camping trip with some friends out in Ohio (though camping may be in Wisconsin), and also a week out at familiy camp. Keep checking in for further details:)

Camping Season Has Begun

Camping season has officially begun here. Unfortunately, we dont have any pictures from our first expodition to put up. Our first outing of the year was up to the Upper Souix Agency just south of Granite Falls, Minnesota. We made it up to the campsite in time to catch the first of a few storms that hit the area due to a cold front. The tent made it up in record time, and the campsite missed all the activity. This was not at all a bad thing either. The girls enjoyed the camping as much as they did last year, and JohnMark handled it pretty well for first time out. The next day we again dodged storms as we happened to be in WalMart at the time it hit. Our tent wasnt so fortunate this time around, as high winds blew rain up under the rain flap. This made for a messy clean up as there were more storms in the area. After we cleaned up and packed up camp, we went to a near by swim beach to swim. The girls again loved this idea, and enjoyed the ability to wade. JohnMark and Steve sat on the beach to enjoy the weather. All of this to say, we are heading out this coming weekend for another camping trip. This time around we are going to Nerstrand over by Northfield, Minnesota. We shall see how it turns out, and this time hopefully there will be some pictures to get up:)

The Girls

This is Mackenzie. For those who missed her birth due to graduation or my forgetfulness, she was born February 3, 2004. Those who keep track, yes, she was my birthday present:) At the time of this picture (taken in May of 2006), she was just over 27 months.
This is Abbi holding JohnMark. The fact that she is opting to hold him and is smiling while doing so is a MAJOR improvement from before he was born. She went around telling people that if the baby was a girl we would bring her home. She was a bit suprised to find the baby was really a boy instead. He has quickly become her buddy.
Here is Mackenzie with JohnMark. This was a relationship that I knew was going to be great. She went around telling people that she wanted a brother because she already had a sister. To this day, if someone at church wanders off with JohnMark, she can be heard telling people "my JohnMark is gone".
Here are all three kids together. This was one of the tranquil moments that I am sure will never repeat itself. All three are competitive by nature, so the fact that all three were happy at the time was great. The one thing that hasn't changed since this picture was taken is the kids closeness with one another. They are getting closer every day...which is a good thing:)

Our Newest Addition

This is a picture of JohnMark Kerux Patten. He is number three in our line of children...third time is a charm as they say...and we found that true with this one. After two girls I think even Steve was praying ferverntly for a boy. This was taken right after he turned 5 weeks old. Unfortunately he is in the middle of a growth spurt, so he thought that the camera had food in it. As he gets older, there will be updated pictures added to the site.

Introduction:)

Hey there yall!
This is our first ever blogspot. I am not sure how often it will be updated as of yet, but you will find pics of the kids, updates on our family and family life, and very possibly mussings from Steve on various things he has come across. I hope this site will be informative to all that visit it. Please let us know if you have any ideas on how to better it, and please be patient with us as we get this thing up and rolling.