Making Spirits Bright...

For E's birthday, Rob asked her on her 1st date. He bought tickets to the Making Spirits Bright Lori Line Piano concert and the promise of a special supper.

He wrote her a nice card on her birthday and asked her to give him her answer by giving him a big hug and kiss. I caught it on video, but the quality is very poor and didn't think it would be worth the 10 hours it take to upload on blogger :)

It was a very special moment, one that held great anticipation for the next 2 weeks.

The week of, we took her to get her hair cut, painted her nails and bought a special coat to go with her darling velvet dress she chose to wear.

She felt like a princess, and was treated like one too.

Her daddy is such a gentleman and opened doors for her (which she had a hard time being patient for :) Dates with dad are good for this...

They both were so excited to get going, but did allow me to take some pics and I am so glad they did; this is a priceless moment!

Needless to say, she had the time of her life! And was able to go up on stage with Lori Line to participate in the 12 days of Christmas! The pic is super small, but she is in there the 3rd Leaping Lord in the front right.

They both are looking forward to their next adventure together.

Pure sweetness! A blessed start to her 8th year!

My Gift To You...An Update! Ha :)

Merry Christmas Eve!

I am waiting for my husband to come home from Fargo picking up my BIL and 3 of the 4 cousins from Virginia. So while I wait, I will NOT try to catch up on that past 5 months, but I will upload some very special moments of the past couple of weeks.

On November 13 Creed cut his sucking thumb on a sharp object down in the basement (we have a vague idea...but the story is still unclear.) What is clear is that after 1 1/2 hours of intense bleeding we took him to the ER where he received 4 stitches. He had dressings on his thumb for 3 weeks and never once complained about not being able to suck his thumb. We thought he was finished and I mourned :( But...after he realized that it really was healed (4 weeks later) he sucked that thumb like was never bandaged. I was glad!

On November 14 Micah turned 9...9...yah, 9! So. Hard. To. Believe! We got 2 pictures and they both turned out BAD!

On December 3 Emma celebrated with her girlfriends her 8th birthday at the:

The girls got to choose from a mug, a bowl or a small plate. They each painted their pottery and then helped Emma paint her birthday plate. One week later I delivered the finished product to 4 every eager little girls.

On December 10 our baby turned 3! My, how time flies! He awoke that morning gifts a pourin from his big brother and sister. He knew all day that it was HIS special day and he was in the FUNNEST mood! We went to school and it was wonderful how his little friends greeted him with a happy birthday and sang to him even.

We had his friend birthday on the 12 after church with 2 of his favorite buddies, EriK and Andreas. Later that evening the family came out to celebrate with us.

Because I had been asking M and E about what they wanted for their birthday and what kind of party they wanted; Creed had his all planned and he told me he wanted a John Deere birthday and for Erik and Andreas over. So that is what he got. :)

Hometown Heros

M's team was in 1st through out the season, on the night of the championship game M's team played the team in 4th place. The underdog came out on top that game. Slipping into 3rd place got this team down, and unfortunately, during the double header they sealed their fate and took home the 3rd spot. They had a good time and the lost wasn't taken too hard, the kids came away with awesome skills and a hunger for next season! The coaching was fantastic this year! We could really see growth in M and his skills.

Outside Fun!

Rob moved the hanger to the north side of the farm, we had an extra piece of cement slab and so the boys put their heads together and came up with this,

and I got this! Set in stone forever 8,7 and 2 ♥it was a good idea that they came up with because it has provided a lot of outside fun! We have even seen a couple of the teenage boys that work with Rob sneak a couple of shot in on their break! Gotta love that!

Half ways to a Big Boy

After our trip to Utah, it had obviously been a while since C was able to sleep in his own bed (the crib), so I took advantage of that and we moved him right into a Big Boy bed. We had toyed with the idea of the boys bunking, but there is such an age difference, within a couple of years M is going want his space. So we switched the boys rooms. M is now in the larger room (old nursery) and C is in M's old room. I did have to repaint M's room because it was the nursery it was babyish, so we had him pick colors from our stash and it came together really nice. We only had to by M a new mattress; we had an old head and foot board in the shed, so I cleaned that up, repainted it and there we have it.

Here he is, such a big boy. He has done pretty well. Last week was a struggle, but this week has been perfect. I did have to threaten to take away his Ollie if he got out of his bed again, but after that he has stayed tucked in like a big boy.
So, first "big boy" thing down 1 to go and he is NOT interested in the next "big boy" thing...at all! So, potty training is not gonna happen just yet. I will enjoy not having to be by a bathroom at all times for the next little while. He may take his time, but I am not going to press him too hard. Both M and E were done at this age, but I know he is a different kid and he will go eventually.

July, where did you go...pt.1

We waited and waited for our trip to Utah to visit Grandma and Grandpa, Tio and Tia and now I can't believe it has been a month since the trip!

I didn't take many pics in Utah, but shot a lot while in Oregon.

We arrived in Utah, rest for a day and then hopped in Jay's pickup and drove for hours and hours to Roseburg-Myrtle Creek Oregon to attend the wedding of my sister Brandie and Donnie. It had been 16 years since I was in Oregon, defiantly too long! The day before the Wedding we took a drive up to Golden Valley to visit the Mystery House of the Oregon Vortex. It was so awesome and amazing and whether it was a fluke or what I can not tell, but I say if you are able to visit one of these sites, do it! Quite the experience.

Strangest thing! I have tried 3 times to upload my pictures from our outing to the Oregon Vortex and they will not show up. It is really too bad, because there were some awesome shots.

I am bummed!

July, where did you go...pt.2

Our reason for the 14 hour drive up to Oregon was to be present at my sister Brandie's wedding. She married this wonderful man in a beautiful park outside of Myrtle Creek. I wish I had time to download all the great shot I took, but that would just take too long. Here are some of the high-lights.

Grandpa and Creed, the very best of buddies!

The beautiful Bride

The charming couple,
Dad walking daughter down the "aisle",
handing her over,
this ceremony lasted a scooby snack, literally. I opened a scooby snack for C right before dad walked Brandie down the aisle and he finished it right after they kissed and were pronounced hubby and wife. Gotta love that!

WhOot!
My "one of a kind" brother, who didn't wear what his wife bought for him to wear to his sisters wedding, oh no, he had to wear the biker wear.
Jay and Ang
Dad and his kiddos
Grandkids on Tio Jay's Harley. Jay and Angie took about 2 weeks and made a road trip of the occasion. They rode thru Nevada, California and up the coast to Oregon. What fun! I wouldn't do it tho. My sister in law is the best!
Jay took this pic with my camera, what a beautiful surprise for me.

July, where did you go...pt.3

Saying goodbye to Tio J and Tia Angie as they ride back to Brigham from Myrtle Creek, Oregon
Cousins=Drake and Micah-This was the first day these two met and they made a lasting impression on each others lives for ever.
Brother and sister=Dad and Auntie Peggy-They hadn't seen each other in 16 years, since my grandma passed.
My cousin Rich and his beautiful family. Drake is his 8 year old son with the goofy face.
My cousin Shara and her family. She was the baby of the group and now we have so much in common; you have to love time.
Dad, thank you for a wonderful trip. It was so awesome to make those memories with you. xoxo
Driving home, I had to snap a pic for Rob to see the beauty Oregon has and to hopefully entice him to wanna take a trip :)Back home the kids didn't waste any time planning their next pool trip. Grandma would stay with C while I went with M and E, it was so nice and relaxing. Swimming lesson for the last 5 years really paid off this year :)

Happy Father's Day

My Love on Father's Day-We Love You!!!

I am a mixbook.com fool. Rob's Father's Day book was the first book I made, I had to sit on it the longest too--I am horrible about keeping things I do a secret--I was successful and so was the gift. I also made one for my mom for Mother's Day and one for my dad for his birthday.

He was in desperate need of a new watch, E picked out a beautiful Citizen Eco-Drive.

He was very pleased!

He wanted to watch Toy Story 3 so after C's nap we went to EGF to dine at our fav Blue Moose and enjoy the beautiful day by walking to the movie. I don't know what is up with me lately, but I cried during Shrek and now Toy Story! Both movies were great in my opinion :)

I truly am a blessed woman, I have a wonderful husband that loves God with all his being and therefore, knows how to love me the way I need to be loved. He is a man of integrity and honor, a wonderful example to our children. I am so proud of him and thankful that God saw fit to bless me with a true love.

Another Bug Bite

While we were at Church on Sunday cousin Josh came looking for me to let me know C got a couple of mosquito bites, I didn't think anything of it until he woke up from his nap that afternoon. It was swollen, but not bad...then when he woke on Monday morning this is what he looked like. Poor, baby!

He couldn't even open his eye. I called the ask- a- nurse hot line and they said it was nothing to worry about and that it could be swollen up to 7 days!

I am glad to report that when he woke this morning it was down remarkably and you can see the bites, in this pic you can't even see where they bit him.

WE LOVE YOU GRANDPA & GRANDMA

Can't wait to see you in 1 week!!!

xoxo!

Proof...

...that my husband does sit down during the day to enjoy a nice evening with the family in the middle of the week.

I don't know how much of this is for you or for me ;)

Our dog is even a bit surprised.

*Note* Look at the window on the left, can you see the reflection of what he is enjoying?

MidWest KidFest

I don't feel a HUGE need to entertain my children during the Summer, but once a month or so we like to take a trip and enjoy some things outside the local area. Last week there was this wonderful event in Fargo that provided a wide variety of educational elements along with health/fitness activities. The most fabulous thing about it was that it was all FREE! We enjoyed the beautiful day with good friends of ours, Lisa, Noah and Ella.

Creed couldn't really enjoy any of the large blow up fun things, but he enjoyed watching his big brother and sister have fun, what a sport!

This was located at Island Park and the whole park was filled with "stations" like this hula-hoop station.

The big kids were totally up for spending some time at the "kiddy" park to let Creed run around and play.

There was a "music" section where you could play guitar hero or sing karaoke. This was M's opportunity to play something like guitar hero for we don't have this in our home.

Here Noah is showing his balancing skills,

They had balloon clowns that would make whatever you wanted,

We did find a small section with age appropriate activities for C,

The highlight of the whole day was the train, made from barrelled cans and pulled by lawnmowers.

Here E and Ella are playing human bumper cars.

Nice shot of M and Noah.

We really had a nice time and were so blessed with gorgeous weather and no bugs!

We are already looking forward to returning next year.