Spring Fun

Memorial day at a playground.

Faith of course liked the slide the best.

For Nick's birthday I got him a basketball hoop. We are finally getting around to installing it. Grace's hand print in the cement.

Faith had fun playing in the mud while Nick was working.

The other night Grace fell asleep while looking at books. This is how I found her when I tucked in her in.

Enjoying a beautiful day outside.

Smelling the flowers.

Faith going for a ride.

Gracie likes the Fancy Nancy books so we did Fancy Nancy hair the other day (that meant trying to put as many hair ties and barrettes in their hair as I could:)

Grace holding cousin Benjiman.

Meeting Benjiman for the first time. Faith loves babies so she enjoyed hanging out with her cousin.

The girls playing 'baby'. As you can see Faith was the baby.

Easter and other random pictures

For Easter this year we went to Chuck and Jo Ann's house for dinner. That morning we had Easter breakfast at church and Gracie sang during the service with her Sunday School class.

Nick took some of his old toys home for the girls to play with. This was his old pig barn with all the pigs. I think he had about as much fun playing with it as the girls did:)

Grandpa and Grandma with two of their grandchildren on Easter.

Faith and her Easter basket from Grandpa and Grandma.

The girls checking out their Easter baskets.

The girls looking through their basket from mom and dad.

The girls and I all got colds and strep throat. It took us a few weeks, but we are finally all healthy! Nick was trying so hard to not get sick before planting. One day he came home from work with a mask and gloves on as a joke!

The farm got a ranger this spring. We've taken advantage of having it around and have also used it some for our yard work:)

The girls usually like to help me unload and put away groceries when we get home from shopping. I try to keep a good eye on what they are doing, but some things have gotten past me (like fridge biscuits exploded in the cupboard). This day I asked Faith to put things away in the bathroom. I went to check on her and found that she had put everything on or by the toilet.

The girls thought Nissa needed a blanket. She puts up with a lot from the girls even though she is not the nicest to other people.

All Better

Stories with dad before bed.

Nick's birthday.

Grace trying to push Faith around in the doll stroller with a broken collarbone.

Grace with her with her broken collarbone

For anyone that doesn't know; Gracie broke her collarbone on February 11th. We went in for our final doctor appointment for it on Wednesday. She had an x-ray taken and got the final news that it is healed! It was completely broken and overlapping so it was interesting to see how it had grown back together. Glad to be done with appointments for that! Hopefully we won't have an ER visit and broken bone in our home for a long time!

Nick is starting to finish up his city league basketball season. He has a tournament this weekend and will be done. We celebrated Nick's birthday on the 6th. Just cake after supper. When I was getting supper ready Gracie asked "when is everyone else coming to the party." I had to explain to her that we were the party. Apparently she assumes everyone should get a big birthday party like she does!

Other then that not too much exciting going on here. Just waiting for all the snow to melt and warmer weather to arrive (and stay)!

Here are some pictures from Arizona. The post about Arizona is below because for some reason I couldn't get pictures posted on that blog.

Not in Arizona. Just a cute picture of the girls at home They were both dressed up for a tea party.

The whole group in Sedona.

Skipping rocks in Sedona. Okay, so Faith and Grace's rocks didn't skip much. Faith would get as close to the water as she could without falling in or steppin in and then set her rock into the water.

The girls in Sedona. Cute picture except for Gracie's crazy colors. I guess when I got her dressed that morning I didn't think that her coat and pants together would be too much color.

Nick on top of Silly Mountain.

The Silly Mountain hikers plus one (Faith). Nick's uncle is in his seventies. I couldn't believe how in shape he was. He made it almost all the way to the top!

Petting the goats at the Phoenix Zoo.

With Grandma and Grandpa at the zoo.

So they aren't looking at the camera, but I had to include a picture with their hats on. They insisted on wearing their hats for most of the trip.

Looking at the monkeys.

Nick trying to get some sun at his aunt and uncle's place.

The girls playing with blocks outside. This was our second day their and one of the warmest we had.

Sunny Arizona

This past week we were able to go to sunny Arizona. We enjoyed the warm weather even though it was a little cooler the last two days. We traveled with Nick's parents. I think they enjoyed the extra time with the grand kids. The girls traveled fairly well. Of course they were totally off on their naps and bedtime. It took me about an hour every night to get them both to sleep. I think we are finally back to their regular schedule again! The only meltdown was going through security at the airport on the way home. Grace had her Elmo and starting throwing a fit when Elmo had to go through security with her shoes and coat. We saw lots of family and did a bunch of sight seeing.

I guess I could recap the entire fall since my last blog was a long time ago. First of all, it seems like we've had a short fall this year since we got some early snow and cold weather that didn't go away. It ended up being very good that harvest was able to start a bit early and once they started they were able to keep going. I even got trained in on the grain cart. I don't think I was much help, but at least I can help out more next year if they need it.

In October Nick and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary and I celebrated my 30th birthday. Two of my close friends from high school and I try to get together every year. Usually we don't go too far from home, but this year we decided to do something bigger since we all turned 30. We went to Boston and a great time. It was the perfect city for us to visit!

The girls had a great time for Halloween this year. Gracie understood what was going on and could have kept going later. Faith on the other hand had enough by the end of the night. Gracie was a fairy and Faith was piglet.

Thanksgiving was extra special this year. My grandma turned 90 two days after Thanksgiving so most of my relatives were able to get together for a big Thanksgiving dinner and to celebrate grandma's birthday. It was fun to get all the little kids together and watch them interact with each other. The downside to the Thanksgiving this year was that the girls got pink eye. Gracie got it a few days before Thanksgiving and got on medication right away so she was able to go with me since she wasn't contagious. Faith woke up on Thanksgiving morning with a very pink little eye so Nick ended up staying home with her. I did bring him home some birthday cake so that made up for it a little bit:)

It seems that Christmas is fast approaching. We begin Advent services this week and I decorated the house some already. I'm looking forward to celebrating Christmas with Nick and the girls.

View of Boston from the bay. We went on a whale watching tour. It was a long and sickening trip out to the whales, but it was a great experience once we got there.

The girls helping to bake Halloween cupcakes. They both love to help out in the kitchen.

The fairy and piglet. Faith got the two things in her hand at the first place we stopped and I don't think she let go of them all night. The one was a candy bar and it was completely melted and crushed by the end of the night.

Nick helped the girls carve some pumpkins.

Nick and Faith getting a ride at an apple orchard. They girls had a blast!

Faith being silly.

Catch Up

Wow, its been a long time since I've posted anything. The big happenings for us: Nick and I took a weekend up in the cities a few weeks ago. We ended buying a new vehicle (Saturn Outlook) and watching a Twins game. The game was great and we are enjoying having more room in our car. Now we're set to take another road trip:) The girls were in swimming lessons the past two weeks. Neither one liked to get wet past their chins, but other then that they did well. We enjoyed some time last weekend at the county fair. We made the usual stop at the pork stand for lunch, saw the animals and got a shake at the diary stand before leaving.

Grace made lunch for Daddy. Faith had to join in, but had a height disadvantage so needed to stand on a bucket. Nick was sitting on Gracie's little chair (surprised it didn't break:) And yes, the sunroon is usually this messy by the end of the day. Lots of picking up each night.

Grace went to Farmfest with Daddy and Grandpa. She was a trooper and got to check out some tractors. When she got home I asked her what she had for lunch and she responded "a pickle and chocolate milk" I did find out from daddy that her lunch was a little more balanced then that.

Checking out tractors with Grandpa.

Visit from some of her favorite people. They brought Minnie Mouse from their trip to Florida. Minnie is now needed every night when she goes to bed.

Faith in the pig barn. She was scared and this was the only shot I got to prove she was in the barn. She clung to me the whole time and wouldn't let me put her down. Poor little girl. She looks terrified.

Faith doing her back float.

Gracie and daddy.

Grace thought it was funny when the pigs were checking out her boots.

Gracie enjoyed seeing the pigs. She had to wear her boots and "farm hat".