Movin' on up

We decided it was time to get K3 out of the toddler bed and into a new twin-sized bed now that he is finished potty training. This was very exciting for him, and it also meant big news for K4 as she became the new owner of K3's toddler bed and moved out of her crib! Everyone is doing wonderfully and enjoying the new arrangement, but I have to admit that it does make me a little sad to be putting away the crib for the last time...

K3 is giddy as we tuck him in to his new big-boy bed, complete with 'Yankee blankee' from Dad, of course!

K4 tests out her new bed under the watchful eye of her big brother.

Yep - she likes it! All smiles for now...night-night, K4!

Happy Easter!

We hosted Easter at our house this year with a total of 16 people present for a family meal after church and an Easter egg hunt in our basement family room.

Our Krew in their Sunday best...what a good-looking bunch!

Nine kiddos lined up and waiting for the signal to start hunting.

A Touch of Color

We decided to try our hand at dyeing Easter eggs this year, and it turned out to be a lot of fun...Dad even jumped right in and made a couple of his own!

Dad gives K1 and K2 a quick lesson on egg-dipping.

K3's first egg turned out pink instead of red, but he had fun anyways!

K4 spent most of the time rolling around on the floor with plastic eggs...

...but she finally decided to join in and help Mom make an egg or two.

What fun!

Hunting for treasure

Easter weekend kept us 'hopping' with 3 Easter egg hunts; 2 on Saturday, and 1 at our home on Sunday. Our Krew had a great time, and by the second hunt, K4 finally had the hang of it, although K3 refused to pick up any eggs without first opening them to make sure there was candy inside! At the church egg hunt, the eggs were filled with 'money' that the kids could spend on candy and prizes at the 'store,' and since that was somewhat disappointing for him, he made sure that he was getting candy at all future egg hunts! One of the highlights was a petting zoo at our church, where they got to get right in the pen and feed the animals. Having the animals gobble up the food right out of their hands really gave K3 and K4 the giggles!




K1 waits for her hunt to begin.

K2 proudly returns with a full basket.

K3 pauses to show off his bag filled with candy; he cracked open every egg he found and left it on the ground, but put the goodies in his basket. Eggs just get in the way of the good stuff!!

K4 snags an egg and quickly spots another!

Feeding the animals at the petting zoo...

...and giggling, too!!!

The Big 5-0!!!

My Mom and Dad both hit the big 50 this past week, so we put together a surprise dinner party for them at a local restaurant with family and close friends.

K1 helped us by sending her own birthday invitations to Grandma and Grandpa, saying that she had chosen this particular restaurant for HER birthday, knowing all along that the party was for them! They had no idea!

Grandma and Grandpa totally bought it and showed up at the restaurant with presents in hand, telling her, "Happy Birthday!" Enjoy the pictures; we had a fun time.

The gang's all here...

A serenade from the restaurant staff!

The 10th Birthday!!!

Yes, you read that correctly; my daughter turned 10 earlier this month! Seems so hard to believe that my teeny-tiny 2 lb 15 oz baby girl has been around for a decade, especially since the doctors told us that she wouldn't be around at all...

Anyways, while I didn't mean to get all sentimental on you, having your firstborn move up into double-digits definitely necessitates a walk down memory lane!

Here are some fun photos of her "High School Musical" birthday. She had a great time having 4 of her friends over for a slumber party, and we are learning that our once rough-and-tumble tomboy is slowly but surely becoming a soft, silly, giggly girlie-girl! After all, her favorite color is PINK!

K1 and friends at her slumber party

K1 opens presents from us on her actual birth-day

K1 reacts to her final gift...

...a brand-new bike!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Sorry it took so long!

Don't know why I didn't do this sooner, but with extended family in South Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Virginia, and Texas (did I miss anyone?), it only makes sense to have a blog so that everyone can see what's happening in our family. Please check back periodically as I will be working on adding pictures and more fun stuff from our most recent special events. Welcome!