5.13.2012 Happy Birthday to you...and you...and you...and you

We had a gorgeous Sunday in Michigan.  We got up and went to church, then came home to celebrate a whole buch 'o birthdays.

Everyone was there...so I thought I'd take their pictures.

Mom was one of the birthday's we were celebrating...

...and Adriana...

...and Kristi.  We also celebrated Isaiah's birthday, but it's a little tricky getting a picture of him.

This guy, however, always has a smile for you :)

Ryan was there too.

And of course, Grandma & Grandpa.

Mom made the birthday cake, and I helped decorate it. 

Everyone got their turn blowing out their candles.

Fun times :)

The cake inside was a chekcerboard cake.  Super cute.

The cake was delicious!

After lunch we relaxed for a little while.

Parker is just so cute... :)

Eli loves Sam...

The kids played.

Isaiah showing off his new toys.

Grandma tried to teach Eli how to blow up a baloon...he's still got some work to do on that...

He is, however, great a lining them up... :)

We played a little baseball. 

Isaiah showed off his skills.

Adriana's sure to be a softball superstar :)

Rick with his power swing.

Pregnant mommy even got in on the action.

I hit a few.

Dad showin' us all how it's done.

Eli still wanted nothing to do with baseball, but he sure enjoyed the trampoline.

After baseball the kids went swimming for a while, then we all collapsed, exhausted after a very fun day.

5.12.2012 A Well Deserved Party

A few weeks back Jennifer called and told me that Ryan was going up to surprise mom at her surprise retirement party.  After talking to Edgar, we decided that I would go up too and take the kids with me and stay for a bit.  We arrived on Saturday in time for the party.

 Uncle Ryan is always a favorite among the cousins :)  Rick and Kristi and their kids didn't know we were coming either, so it was fun surprising everyone.

 The party planners :)

 SURPRISE!!  I think you can tell she was quite surprised.  Dad had taken her to a movie and then they were going to go out for dinner.  After the movie, dad started dragging his feet and said he didn't feel good and thought they should just go home...he said he felt like he was going to throw up.  He was very convincing :)  I think that's where Ryan gets all of his acting skills from...

 I think this is my favorite picture from the day :)  She was so surprised at the party, and very surprised to see Ryan...

 ...and us too :)

Happy Retirement mom!!  You deserve a break!  I look forward to seeing your many handmade creations that you will do in your 'spare time'. 

4.13.2012 Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

I know, I know. It's been almost a month since I last posted. And A LOT has happened. I'm sure I will eventually get around to 'back-posting' (Is that a word?) but I couldn't resist posting these cookies :)

These were made for my niece who loves Strawberry Shortcake.
When I called her on her birthday to wish her a happy birthday, she said that she had not had a birthday party yet...and when I told her I had made her Strawberry Shortcake cookies she said 'Oh, I've had a Strawberry Shortcake party." Apparently she didn't realize that WAS her birthday party :)I got my inspiration from THESE amazing cookies over at sweetsugarbelle.com. It's websites like these that convince me never to sell my cookies-these professionals are way out of my league! I'm content to just make them for my nieces & nephews :)

3.16.2012 St. Paddy's Day Party

It's that time again...ya know...time to wear green and bake green things...well, almost. I had a little St. Paddy's day party the day before St. Patrick's day. I had made some shamrock sugar cookies and the kids decorated them.
It's amazing how quickly kids can get frosting on their elbows...and everywhere :)

Getting an expert tutorial :)

Eating the cookies is always the best part :)

Actually, the best part for me, was that Eli played so well with everyone the whole time. I kept going out on the back porch in amazement as he played and played with everyone. He is so prone to go off by himself and play alone at play dates. He really had a lot of fun playing with his cars with the kids there.

This little girl was also having fun...

It's so funny to watch these kids get bigger-these little boys can now make a basket :)

Eli had fun making himself into Mr. Potato head.

He's so funny :)

Apparently I need to buy him something green...he doesn't own a green shirt. Oh well. Maybe next year I will have proper attire for him :) Leah, on the other hand, had an amazingly adorable green dress on...but I failed to take a picture of her. Rats.

3.15.2012 Unexpected Park Play

On Thursday I was buckling the kids in the car to go visit Krista, when I realized that Eli had hives all over his legs. I have no idea what they are from, but I figured 6-week old Jacob probably should be exposed to whatever Eli had going on. BUT, we were already in the car, and I hate to waste a good 'strap-in', so we headed to a park. I thought it would be fun to visit a new park, so we tried one about a mile from our house. Leah had fun climbing all over the place.
She had loads of fun.

Eli went down the slide about a million times. Then he braved this ladder. It is always so amazing to me when he tries something new...especially something 'risky'. I always hold my breath and hope that he doesn't plummet to the ground...I try really hard to 'let him be brave' :)

I realize that this is probably not all that dangerous, but since he has just recently started taking 'risks' at the park, this is new ground for me.

I do realize this is only the beginning when it comes to him doing things that make me hold my breath...he's sure to do much scarier things...

...but for now, this is dangerous enough for me.

3.13.2012 Our busy day

Our little day started off a bit 'off'. I've been really trying to get up at 6:00. I feel like that is a good, respectable time to get up. I like to get up, get ready and spend some time reading my Bible before the kids get up...and since they get up anytime between 6:30 and 7:00, 6:00 probably isn't even early enough...but that's my current goal. Today I woke up at 8:00. The kids have been sleeping later since the time change, but I was pretty surprised they slept that late...especially since it was Leah's crying that woke me up. GRRRR. So I woke up super late, but I was determined to have a productive day anyway. So I got up, got the kids breakfast, read my Bible, then managed to back up all of the pictures since last August onto DVD's. (Far, far too many pictures..) Then we loaded up the car, ran some avocados and eggs to Ryan & Jennifer's house, and went to the park. This is one of Eli's new 'favorite things to do' at this particular park. It's been fun watching him get a bit more coordinated. A few months ago he wouldn't have been able to do this. Crazy kid is growin' up!
Leah, on the other hand, is probably TOO coordinated. She wants to climb on, in and through everything. Always with a smile.

'Stop taking my picture, mom!'

The kids like playing the instruments at this park...though I think Eli is trying to box Leah out...

We had a lovely lunch of PB&J.

Some of us were messier than others...

Then we headed to the grocery store for sweet potatoes and milk.

We got home and I put Leah down for a nap, and Eli and I went outside so I could rake leaves, and Eli could play (Don't worry, I had Leah's window cracked so I could hear her if she cried). I raked leaves for an hour and a half, and our front yard is now oak leaf free. HAHAHAHAHA. Yeah...that's pretty impossible. But there are 10 bags fewer than there were yesterday.

When Edgar got home we had (per his request) chicken and sweet potato fries. Cuz, ya know...IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY :) Happy birthday baby! We'll have a big 'ol celebration later on this month...whenever I get around to picking a date.

After dinner we went to another park and played for a while. I was so mad that I forgot my camera, cuz when we got there, there were FIVE squirrels eating acorns on the picnic table. I thought Jennifer would have enjoyed seeing that...

We got home, put the kids to bed, and I have been updating this glorious blog ever since.

SO, in the end, the lost 2 hours this morning didn't ruin my day. But I really hope I don't sleep in tomorrow. We'll see...

3.12.2012 My little girl

Enjoy a little video of Leah chasing her daddy around (and please excuse the attire. She had just finished dinner and had made a mess).