Meeting Matthew (Mother's Ring)

Uncle Kirk, Lauren and Katelyn met Matthew for the first time on Saturday. You can tell the girls' have had experience with babies because they do so well! Matthew enjoyed his cousins!

Of course the kids got horsey rides and "one for the money" bed tuck-ins with Bumpa here! Our kids had a blast with their cousins and we're hoping to see them again soon! We tried some family pictures (some day everyone will look AND smile at the same time)! Jesse also surprised me with a mother's ring!

Max's 2nd Birthday Party!

We had a "Cars" themed party for Max yesterday. It was so much fun decorating (even though we didn't hang outside much) and making the treats...spare tire cupcakes, stop-light cookies and dipsticks, yum! Max enjoyed playing with his friends, singing Happy Birthday, and opening his gifts. Thanks for sharing his special day with us!

Last day of gymnastics

The girls had their last day of gymnastics on Friday. They get to choose what equipment they want to go on and show us what they learned. After the gymnasts show us their moves, each child gets to go on the podium and receives a medal and certificate! What a great way to end a fun 4 weeks! They even gave one to bring home to Max, even though he just made it to a couple.

9 years!

I know the pictures didn't turn out the greatest...my attempt at taking a picture of our wedding picture! We celebrated 9 wonderful years of marriage today! It is hard to believe that it has gone so quickly, and we have 4 kids under the age of 5! We enjoyed a nice dinner ALONE at Ishnala, and dessert at Cold Stone. Thanks to Robin and Megan for helping us to get out together for our special day! Matthew also is 4 weeks today so I got another picture of him with his bear (compare to the 1 week pic).

Dutch Hollow

After the train musuem and gymnastics, we ventured with the Bauer's and Olson's to Dutch Hollow Lake. We were able to get in an hour or so of swimming before it started to sprinkle, so we were unable to play down by the beach. The kids and adults had so much fun, and dinner was fun as well. Funny how this table FULL of kids is from 3 families (and Matthew and Evelyn didn't even make the picture)!

Mid-Continent Railway Musuem

We went to the Mid-Continent Railway Musuem in North Freedom on Friday morning. All the kids enjoyed looking at the trains, and going for the ride. The musuem showcased some engines, and some had fake people in them. We went into one with information to read, and a biker had stopped by to take a look. Madison kept looking at him standing still and said, "Look, there is a real one in here!" We all had a good chuckle. The train ride was also fun and relaxing. There was a real conductor who even punched our tickets for us. After the ride, they even toured the caboose, which was like a first class back in the day with their own "observation deck" and wood burning stove. Max was scared of the whistle the first time, but then loved it!

Pre-School Players Performance

Madison was a part of the Library Preschool Players Performance on Thursday. They did "The Enormous Turnip." Miss Kris does such a great job with the kids, they all have a blast! They practice twice for 45 minutes, and then one more quick run through before the show on Thursday. Madison was a clever cat. They also performed a song they learned in sign language from the librarian Laura. Madison did such a good job, we were really impressed! Macy is excited to try a play next summer for the first time.

Block party and concert in the park

Last weekend, we attended the Jaz Circle block party in the neighborhood. We had a great time, and got to enjoy MORE fireworks at dusk. The "Big Kahuna" water slide, as you can see from the pic, was about as tall as our friends' house! On Weds. evening, we went to our first concert in the park. The kids loved dancing to the music, and we even got Max to leave the park for awhile and dance with the girls! Even Matthew liked the music while Clayre was trying to get him to dance.

More of summer activities

Madison is all done with her basketball camp, and only has 3 days left of gymnastics (they had watermelon for a treat one day). The kids have been LOVING sidewalk chalk. We always have mermaids (with very small shells), and Madison was working on a white house picture with a sunrise in the back! She was upset because she used up the entire piece and would run out of the color, and then was so sad when it started to rain. They also worked on a very detailed girl, with toes, and fingers and curly hair! What artists!