Play Ball!

Mark has been having a fun time playing ball with the kids outside. He's pretty excited because he sees some athletic potential in Ella which is amazing since she is half my kid! Here's a pic of Ella in mid swing.

James is very proud of his attempts at swinging a bat.

The video is of Ella doing a little batting practice with Mark pitching. She does really well with Mark pitching. She doesn't do quite so well when I am the pitcher.... I wonder why?

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband, Mark! My kids are truly blessed to have such a wonderful daddy and I am lucky to have a husband who strives to be an awesome father. Hopefully, we made him feel extra special today! We all really had a nice day today. We had a relaxing morning at home and even ate breakfast out on our front porch. The weather was perfect all day. We enjoyed the sunshine while we watched the Pine Island Cheese Fest Parade this afternoon. The kids actually got so much candy that they grew tired of picking it up! They each came home with a huge bag full and now I will have to ration candy and find a way to make some of it disappear... Later in the evening, I grilled Mark some steaks and veggies and we spent the remainder of the day playing outside. The kids didn't want to go to sleep as the sun was still shining brightly at bedtime.... I love the long days of June!

The picture above was taken this morning right after Mark put on his brand new T-shirt. James was very, very proud of the hand prints that he made. He was extra careful to point out which hand prints were his to anyone who expressed interest in the shirt Mark was wearing.

Happy Father's Day to all the great fathers in our lives! And, extra special Happy Father's Day wishes to my dad who, because I am the youngest in our family, still introduces me to people as his "baby". I love you, Dad!

Sleepy James

This is what James looks like at 11:30 a.m. when he wakes up at 3:30 a.m. and doesn't go back to sleep. This is what James sounds like when he grabs his blankies and crawls up to cuddle with daddy for just a minute when he is really tired.

Fortunately for Mark and me, he was sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa's when he decided to wake up at 3:30 in the morning and stay up for the day! James has been having trouble sleeping through the night because of all the thunderstorms we have been having. He is very scared of thunder right now. At the slightest crack of thunder, he is standing up in his crib holding his four favorite blankies and yelling very loudly, "Scared, scared, Mommy, Daddy!" When we get into his room, he promptly tells us he would like to look out the window and then go to our bed to cuddle. In his defense, we have had a string of pretty loud and scary storms in the past week. I think we will be in for some more storms tonight!

Fun at the Park with Hal and Great Great Uncle Tom!

On the last day of May we enjoyed a beautiful picnic and playtime at the park with Hal and my Great Uncle Tom. I think Hal had an especially good time playing at the park! Enjoy the pics! Mark and my Great Uncle Tom

James just had to ride the zip ride ring thing just like big sister Ella. He had a lot of help!

Monkey Mark!

A Visit From "Great Uncle" Hal!

We were fortunate to have a visit from "Uncle" Hal who was visiting family in Minnesota. Since Hal lives in California, we really look forward to the time that we get to spend with him. Despite the miles, Ella has a special bond with Hal. She and James get very excited when they receive mail from Hal and Sharleen, so you can imagine how excited they were to see Hal in person. Here are Ella and Hal in the midst of a very intense game of UNO.

Best Buds!!!

A BIG SMILE from James!
Hanging out on the swing!

A Visit from Jenny and Kate

We were lucky enough to have one of my former college roommates and her daughter here for a visit May 17-18th. Ella and James love having company and Ella gets especially excited when someone spends the night. We spent time playing, catching up and we enjoyed trips to two different parks. Ella also discovered she likes to eat wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. Kate is only three months older than James, so it was interesting to see who played with who. Ella spent a fair amount of time with Kate trying to dress her up. But, all three kids have a huge love for the outdoors and that is where the real fun was had.



Jenny...hope you don't mind my posting this cute pic of you! I am sure that Stacie & Jen will enjoy seeing it!!

Memorial Day and Lilacs

We hope you all had a happy Memorial Day Weekend. We enjoyed many activities, but stayed pretty close to home. It was really nice! Mark almost finished planting his garden and the kids and I spent lots of time outside.

Ever since I can remember, my family has always taken time to attend the ceremony to honor Veterans which is held every Memorial Day at the little cemetery very close to my family's farm. A prayer is said, there is a 21 gun salute and Taps is played. It feels good to take a few moments to pause and remember what the day is all about. We actually went down to the local Veterans' Memorial and observed most of that service as well. (James wasn't bothered by the noise at that service, but he was pretty startled by the guns at the cemetery.) After the service, we found the paver that belongs to my great uncle. Then, the kids had fun playing at the nearby park. It was an absolutely beautiful day!

The Color Guard

James and his beloved blankie.

Ella pointing at her Great-Great Uncle Chuck's paver.

Getting a better view from Daddy's shoulders.

My favorite flowers of spring...lilacs!!!

I love lilacs! I love their smell and their colors. I wish they would bloom multiple times in the year. Unfortunately, they are only in bloom for about a week in late May. It wouldn't be Memorial Day without a fresh bouquet of homegrown lilacs. I usually bring home a big bunch from the farm and let them perfume my house. So, I cut a beautiful bunch and enjoyed them for several days. When those wilted, I realized the bushes at my house had finally grown enough that I could cut another bouquet of my very own lilacs. They are sitting in the center of my table right now! I also decide to try out the macro setting on my camera and I took these photos. Now I can enjoy the sight of these tiny flowers during the remainder of the year...if only I could successfully bottle their sweet scent... Enjoy the pics!