Simply Blessed

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Easter & Bowling

Friday night was a wet, rainy night so Farm Grandma thought it would be fun to go bowling. I honestly wasn't sure how we would manage Kate during that time, but she did a great job of entertaining herself and obeying the rules. :) The older three had a blast (and so did the adults).

Our little drama queen :)

Jaren did great with a score of 125

This shows the craziness of our group minus Grandpa - Erica lounging on the floor, Bethany making sure the balls go the right way (adult on one side/kid on the other) Jaren & Grandma discussing the scores and Kate coughing. :)

Kate LOVED playing with the hand dryer

Best Friends

Look at that form - too bad I still beat him :)

Now we move on to our blessed Easter day. There were lots of kids running around so full of life and just plain having a great time making memories with their cousins. Looking at the picture below I'm surprised no one was run over with all the ride on toys & scooters.

The kids table

Klayton & Kate enjoyed eating together at the "toddler table"

HAPPY EASTER!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Pine Wood Derby Races

A couple of weeks ago, the kids got to participate in the pine wood derby car races at the mall. A huge thank you to my dad who took the time to cut out each can and get them ready for the races. The kids had a great time painting their cars and also racing them.

Giving Grandpa bigs hugs of thanks.

Showing off their medals & trophies

All their cars - starting with the pink (Bethany, Drew, Lauren, Erica, Erica, Reagan, Reagan, Luke, Luke, Jaren, Jaren, Bethany). Drew, Bethany & Jaren also won best of show for their cars - Bethany's pink on and Jaren's Angry Bird cars.

A fun race where the winners were facing off - Lauren, Reagan, Bethany, Luke & Jaren

Watching their races

Enjoying their front row seats

Kate enjoying her snack :)

Loving her daddy :)

Boys: "We want money for some food."

Me: "If you let me take a nice picture of you I'll give you some."

This is as good as it got. :)

Lining up to race their cars in the PreK category

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Spring Break

Spring break is coming to a close and the beautiful weather and relaxed schedule has us all very anxious for summer vacation. We did not do a whole lot over break, but did enjoy getting lots of fresh air, attempting some geo-caching (not something easy to do with a 1 year old) shopping and best of all playing with cousins (and even getting to have a slumber party with them)! They all got a taste of the beach in preparation for camping in Michigan this summer also.

Pure bliss!

We were trying to get a picture of the kids all together...guess who didn't want to participate :)

The one time we allowed Luke to act goofy for a picture

Aunt Jennifer & Kate

They LOVED this spinning toy

My two ADORABLE models :)

Enjoying a lovely picnic...I foresee many, many more of this coming up this spring/summer

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Gymnastics Adventures

Bethany was blessed to be able to participate in gymnastics the past 3 months and once again LOVED every minute of it. She couldn't wait for the one night a week she went and it really helped build her confidence all around. I could see a lot of improvement over the past three months. She excelled on the balance beam, loved the bars and did an excellent job of trying her absolute hardest in everything that was asked of her.

Walking the balance beam - she really liked the high beam the best

Showing off a little :)

Our flexible little girl

Playing their "front of the ship/back of the ship" game during warm-ups

Upward Basketball

Jaren had the opportunity to participate in the Upward Basketball program sponsored by a local church and he LOVED it. It is such a wonderful program that incorporates basketball fundamentals along with Christian teachings. The program was extemely organized and included 1 night of practice and then a game on Saturday. Jaren's team became such good buddies throughout the season and it was so fun to watch that friendship grow along with the basketball skills improve. Encouragement could be heard throughout the entire game by the coaches, refs and other players which was so neat to witness. Each practice included a time for devotions and each game started with a time of prayer with both teams, the coaches and the refs. How awesome is that?!?! Right now we have 3 kids wanting to play next year and I am all for that! They had a celebration tonight to celebrate each child and had a couple of very special guests - Steven Staggs who is a wide receiver for the Iowa Hawkeys spoke about courage & listening to God and your parents.

Steven Staggs & Tyler Sash's autographs on Jaren's jersey

Jaren & Steven Staggs

Jaren & Tyler Sash

Jaren's team receiving their trophies and other fun items

Jaren's cheering section at his last game...

...and the rest of them.

Going up for a shot - and he made it!

I love this picture - Jaren & Annika are good friends and this picture shows that teamwork that they have learned.

Getting final instructions from the refs before the game starts.

Sledding Fun

This winter has not been a good sledding winter with the lack of snow, but we did manage to go to Grandpa & Grandma's one Saturday for a lot of fun. The weather was picture perfect with warmer temps and no wind. Our wonderful Aunt Arlene, Mackenzie & Levi joined us. And of course we finished the sledding party off with a trip to Happy Joe's for pizza & games (thanks to Aunt Arlene for the quarters!).

Like Father, Like Daughter - so much for a nice picture of them before heading down the hill. :)

Erica knows the smart way to come back up the hill.

Kate watching the fun. Kurtis took her down one time, but it was not a success. In her defense though, she was sick but it was too perfect of a day not to go. (Bad parenting I know.) :)