Happy Birthday Brian!

We had such a fun day yesterday celebrating Brian's birthday! The kids and I made him a big breakfast and then he came with us to sports co-op to watch the kids play flag football! He brought his camera and got awesome pictures of the kids and their friends. It was such a beautiful sunny day! Afterward, we went out for lunch at Carols Kitchen and then went on a nature hike at Springbrooke Nature Center. We saw a bunch of wildlife and Brian had fun taking pictures. 

Brian wanted an Oreo ice cream cake from Coldstone Creamy for his birthday. We finished the day off by going out to T-Box for dinner. He said he had the best birthday. Papa stopped by to drop off a card and check and played catch with the boys for a bit. Karen is watching the kids tonight so that we can go out on a date to celebrate. Tomorrow Kristi, Ben, Karen, and Papa are coming over for a barbecue dinner. 

 

My good friends from sports co-op: Laura, Amanda, and Anna

Their kids and my kids are all good buddies! We are so thankful for good friendships!

Last weekend we went on a hike at Fish Lake. 

The siding is finished on our 4 season porch/living room!

Asa started his first baseball practice this week! He was SO excited!

Greta and her kitty cart.

We have been loving the magnet science experiments we have been doing through our science curriculum!

Brian flying Greta on his knees in the air!

Greta has learned how to ride her bike without training wheels! She is so proud of herself!

Brian finished the flooring and painting! It is coming together!!

Early Springtime

 Asa surprised me by starting on his handwriting morning work before I even told him. He told me that he wants to get better at handwriting and I said the more you do it the better you will be.

Eli wrote out this Bible verse below. His writing has improved so much this school year! I am proud of both of them for their hard work.

The kids enjoyed playing a card game with good friends Greyson and Bella.

Well it was super warm and sunny in MN, then we got a cold front! This was last week with my friends Anna and Laura in our hats as we watched our kids play flag football at sports co-op. 

This was sweet. Asa was playing with Maple Animals with neighbor friends Lydia and Luica. They play so well together. 

We sold our old boat and bought a new boat! We bought it from old family friends of my parents and they gave us a great deal on it!

We had an 80 degree day and took it out on Coon Lake. It ran great! We are looking forward to summer!

Eli wanted me to take a picture of him and his Lego build. He made a Mama bird and a baby bird. He is so creative.

The kids at sports co-op playing a relay game. 

Brian led a fun game of avoid the "laser beams" with our kids and the Wellman kids while Angela and I went out to lunch the other day. He is the best and the kids had fun together!

Brian took some nature pictures of springtime in our yard.

Greta and neighbor friend Nels are best friends! They play happily together for hours! I even saw them do a pinkie promise the other day. Greta wanted to go on the web swing and Nels wanted to do something else first. Greta had him do a pinkie promise that he would go on the swing with her later and he did. That is 5 year old kids working out a compromise together!

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

 We had an amazing Easter celebration as a family. During Lent we read the book Amon's Adventure, which is a devotional story focusing on the Easter story. We were able to express with the kids what Easter is all about in Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and coming back to life to give us eternal life forever with God. 

The weather was beautiful on Easter! It was in the 70s and sunny. The kids woke up and got to look around the house for their Easter baskets, which were new rain boots filled with candy and special snacks. Afterwards, we went to church and then had an Easter egg hunt in our back yard. That afternoon, we got together with Karen, Kristi, Ben, and Papa at my Dad's house. Karen, Kristi, and I made Easter dinner and it turned out great! I continued on Nana's tradition of the Easter Rainbow Jello Cake. The kids love it! Papa brought out our old ping pong table and the boys had fun playing with Papa. Greta loves going on the tire swing. It was great to celebrate with family.

The warm sunshine felt so good!

The kids had a blast dying Easter eggs the other day. They were so pretty!

Asa found his first frog of the year at Papa's house.

Great Uncle Kevin and Great Aunt Laura surprised us by sending some Easter sweets in the mail!