Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's

We had a wonderful weekend visiting Grandma and Grandpa. There was an assortment of activities including:

bike ridding,

bird watching, tree identification,

reading and just hanging out with family.

The most standout memory for the trip was definitely our time at Build-a-Bear. Although there were no bears built, the kids were overjoyed with their selections. Josiah picked a Triceratops that he named Dino-Mite. Elise picked a pink Cheetah and named her Princess Aruzia.

They took great care filling the huggies.....

Giving them baths.....

Combing their hair.....

And hugging them up and down! Thank you Grandma for such a fun date!

On Sunday Michael was the guest speaker for Trinity's Confirmation luncheon. The whole family was there, so we snatched a quick picture. Don't we look good?

He Has Risen....He Has Risen Indeed!

This year's Easter celebrations have been shared with many friends and family. What a blessing it is to be surrounded by such a great group of people who love and trust and believe in the same Lord Jesus Christ as us! May we share his name and life with all people...

Our dear friend Anne called up and asked if we would like to partake in an activity that she remembered her grandfather doing with her when she was little. Always up for adventure and celebration, our response was YES! Here is the account of our efforts of this new skill...Decorating Blown Eggs.

The first skill to master is the appropriate size hole to 1. blow into the egg through in order to get the yolk and whites out appropriate sized hole #2. When either hole was inadequately small, this would be the appearance of the blower:

If the blower, in frustration, tried to enlarge either hole too much...the dismal result would be as follows:

Josiah took a try and did quite well. Out of a baker's dozen he completed 2...

Elise and I did one (together)

and Michael and Anne got the awards for stamina as they successfully finished the rest.

We all enjoyed dyeing them together:

And here is the outcome of the hard labors:

Unfortunately we still have one unsolved problem: How does one get the needle and thread through the little holes to turn these hollow shells into decorative ornaments?

On Maunday Thursday, we drove down to Grandma and Grandpa's house and enjoyed a party with all of their friends and special guests Uncle Charlie and Aunt Barb. The next morning we continued south to visit our family's great friends. Lou, Christy, Destiny, Moses, Hannah and Chaco were great hosts! We played all over the city and had much fun continuing friendships. Destiny was a love, so caring and ready to help with all the kiddos, they really look up to her.

Moses and Josiah acted as though a day had not past since their last playtime together. Superheroes and PowerRangers were in full action.

Elise enjoyed all the delights of having a girlfriend her age, and Hannah was always sweet and ready to take part in everything.

We all enjoyed an egg hunt at the YMCA, but the true excitement came when finding the baskets that were hidden around the house in precarious places. After that the children hunted for the eggs that were meticulously set about the house.

We also praised the Risen Lord together on Sunday at their church. It was a great church that is so fitting for their family. We got to visit with past friends from Fairchild, the Shiftlets, in the bible study that we attended. Josiah especially liked that he was picked as a volunteer to help lead the "Shake a friend's hand, shake a hand next to you" song. Elise loved the candy in the little egg and basket she received from her teacher!

Happy Easter!!

A moment to share precious moments...

Last post: January 6, could that really be true? Unfortunately my computer does have a better grasp on time than I do, so I must admit that it has been a while since the last post. Feeling the urge to share the events in our lives, I will gasp no more, but will rather get to the pictures that encompass some of the life lived lately.

First we have Elise's doll station. For a few months before Christmas she had located this toy in a magazine, and every time we recieved the magazine she would say She cherishes it, and the 10 babies that usually cram on to it for bath time.

We have seen our fair share of cold weather here this year, but a new experience for me and the children was the outdoor ice skateing rink. The boys lasted a lot longer than us girls...

After one good ground cover of snow, the kids and I made some snowsculptures...they are supposed to be self-sculptures of what the kids think they look like. I am not sure if Josiah truly envisions himself with a mustache....or if that is in the future.

Biscuit also enjoys the snow, this last time it snowed I had let her outside and forgot about her. After about 2 hours and 2+ inches of additional snow, I went to go get my puppy....she was chomping onto a freshly fallen tree branch and had 2+ inches of snow on her coat. She couldn't have been more happy.

We enjoyed making our Valentine's day cokies and eating them. For dinner that night we had Fondue, you can see by the kids faces how much it was enjoyed!

Well, that is all for today's documentation. I have a date with my

love and our laundry! Till next time:)

Shedding a little weight

After I got my New Year Do, Elise wanted hers done too! So, I cut as much as I was willing to let her shed, and she likes it a lot. When I needed to even it out a little bit, she said I didn't need to take any more though. She also wanted to show her Mimi her hair, so here it is!

New Year, New Hair

This is for my fan club, so that they all can get their hair styled like mine! In fact, I think that Katie Holmes recent pictures taken for InStyle magazine were modeled after my cut. Just kidding, this is for my mom:)

Walk'n in a Winterland...

For it being as close to Christmas as it was, the weather was exceptionally nice. We desired snow, but kept getting sunshine mixed with rain. We decided to decorate our house for the holidays, even though it seemed too soon.
Upon Josiah's request, we set out the deer that he had asked for on his 3rd birthday, yes the lawn ornaments that we affectionately know as "Teek" and "Tank". Michael had to develop a way to rig up the lights as we have no outdoor outlets, but he was up to the task.






Then, the snow came and so did the play outside. Papa helped build a home for Elise and a bomb shelter for Josiah.


Luckily for Josiah the walls were firm, because Papa didn't hold any of his throwing force back! The dugout wasn't fail proof though!



Josiah took a few in the noggin like this one! But he survived and was out for more.

This war ended peacefully.



Elise wanted to modify her 'home' and then invited Mimi in for a tea party! Girls are so different than boys!


Lastly, Michael and Biscuit share a good wrestle in the snow. This is truly Man's Best Friend. :)

Two days later is rained some more resulting in the over-use of rain boots this year, but we are thankful for the brief time in the snow. Hopefully we will have a little more snow in these next few months, we have to take out our Tube-boggin for its maiden run of the year! Love to you all.