Pictures

Just a couple of cute pictures that I wanted to post of the kids. Bath time, which is INSANE! They are getting too big and ornery to bathe together anymore. And them working on a wrecker truck together.

Karaoke must start early

Like any really fun, cool person... my kids love to sing and dance. The Easter bunny brought Ellie a pop star get up and she and Jack like to get dressed up and sing with the radio. Here is a particular funny evening when they both had "microphones" and were singing it up in their jammies after bathtime. Jack is sporting some fairy wings. Hilarious!

I wish I had the picture of me when I was about 8 years old, singing on a table in my living room with a similar wig on. You'd probably see a very close resemblance of Ellie & I. I'm sure my mom remembers that picture.

An evening in the park

After dinner, when the weather is nice, we try to get outside with the kids for about an hour or so before bedtime. We did this last summer/fall, and are so happy to start the routine again. Sometimes we just take a walk, or play in the backyard. If we have enough time, we try to get to the park. This particular night last week, the kids got a special treat and we went over to Slater (5 miles away) and went to the big wood castle park at the elementary school. We all had a blast! Unfortunately, I'm not as mobile these days to run and crawl after the kids, but we still managed to get dirty and wear the kids out before bed.

Couple's Baby Shower

Some friends of ours recently had a Couple's Baby Shower for Billy & I. As a first time parent, I didn't want Billy to miss out on the festivities, even though I've had my share of showering. We asked guests to bring diapers, wipes, or frozen meals... as most of the other catagories are covered. Everyone was very generous. Thank you again to those that attended!

Here are a couple pictures: Billy was pumped that one couple brought wine w/ their meal for us. And then the other is the fabulous "diaper cake" that Sarah Burnett made. I hated taking it all apart! It was done so well.

Let's play ball!

Jack, all boy, thru & thru... has become quite the little ball player. He's had an amazing arm since he could throw. And then a few weeks ago when we got the T-ball set out, we found out he's quite the little hitter too.

At a garage sale this past weekend, I was able to purchase regular sized baseballs, softballs, and basketballs at a quarter a piece! What a steal! He's pretty attached to the basketballs. We have a shorter kid-sized hoop in the garage that he can get those big sized basketballs into and every time he proclaims triumphantly, "I did it, Mama! I did it, Billy!"

Warmer Weather!

The other day when I picked Ellie up from school, I told her that she didn't need to put her coat on, and that it was nice out. She asked if the weather was going to stay warm, and are we done with the cold? I said, "Yep! I'm pretty sure." She exclaimed, "YES! Now we can wear dresses!"

I've been telling her for a couple weeks now that it's just a bit too chilly to wear dresses, and she's been anxiously waiting to wear them and flip flops. How exciting!

Can you say....trim!?!

The west side of our yard got a much needed haircut a couple weeks ago! A row of VERY overgrown honeysuckle bushes were trimmed down to a more manageable height! We were tempted to trim them all the way back, but we do like the bit of privacy and border they create between backyards.

Here is a picture of Billy in the midst of it! We burned it all the other day in the garden and we are anxious to get the ashes tilled into the dirt this next week....I guess that can make really great garden soil. I'll believe it when my tomatoes and potatoes are bursting forth!

Some Easter Fun

We had a blessed Easter this past weekend! My sister and her family were able to come and stay a couple days with us. Ellie was thrilled to have her best friend, Lilah, here to share in all the festivities. Friday and Saturday we had a successful garage sale...and are happy to be able to get both cars in the garage now after eliminating some things.

On Saturday, we took the kids to a carnival and egg hunt here in town. We are very lucky to have a community that does things like that and makes it a great opportunity to meet new people. The kids had a blast! Nicki and I were tired. But we still managed to get the eggs dyed before supper.

Easter morning, after finding eggs and baskets that the Easter Bunny brought, we all went to church at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines with Lutheran Church of Hope. Lots of great things about spending Easter morning with over 12,000 other worshippers...but also kinda hectic too! We enjoyed the service, but we hope our little satellite of Hope, Northbranch, will have it's own service next year in Ankeny.

We hope your family had a blessed Easter weekend! Jesus has Risen! Alleluia!

Jack Turns 2!

Little man, Jack, turned 2 on March 31st! We had a party for him here on that day...with people coming in and out on Friday and Saturday. A busy weekend for many people. But we were blessed to have so many stop by and say hi to the birthday boy. Of course, he was given lots of great boy gifts, like trucks, "guys," and outdoor fun things. I'm anxious for the weather to get nice again so we can be outside more to ride bikes and play T-ball. Which Jack is already showing up his sister in. He seems to be a natural at the throwing and hitting of balls.

We had to wake him up from his nap to do the cake and presents thing...he was so shy and cute when we sang happy birthday. And then he couldn't get up the nerve to blow out candles...so Ellie and Lilah helped. He didn't have any problems busting into presents though!