A DAY IN THE PARK

Nathan had a meeting an hour out of town today, so we tagged along and enjoyed a day at a really fun park. For some reason, it won't let me add the picture of Elli. I'll try later.

MORE BIRTHDAY PICTURES

He's One!!!

We all had fun on Sam's first birthday! We woke him up for pancakes before getting Elli off to school, and once he saw his new tricycle, he would have no part in opening any presents or eating his pancakes. Thanks for the bike Papa and Grammy, he LOVES it!

The pictures of him at Elli school are during "Show and Tell." This week's sound was "S", so it was a perfect time to bring "Soccer Sam." He loved the attention and just had a great time showing off for the kids.

ELLI"S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Wednesday was Elli's first day of school! She had a great day. She and Abby, who she has been friends with since the age of one, walked hand in hand to class. I only cried a little.

She left me with a sweet thought to ponder, "Mom, I won't ever not miss you while I am at kndergarten!"

Poor Janie, that sister of hers has been planning every minute of her life since the day she was born - and as we walked to the car she said in a really sad, slow voice, "I sure wish today wasn't Elli's first day of kindergarten."

COUSINS

I am a bit behind, but last weekend, Sam and I headed to Aunt Judy's for a Heritage reunion of sorts. Uncle Bob was the master chef, and we all sat around and ate wonderful food and caught up on each other's lives. It was great!

HOPEFUL

What a girl...










Elli found a frog at Nathan's soccer game last night. When she woke up this morning, she discovered "Hannah" had escaped. She sprung into action and made a bunch of these signs to hang up around the neighborhood.

I covered up our telephone number in photoshop - nervous about putting it out on the web.

SAM'S TRICKS

Like the shoes? Sam attended one of Nathan's playoff games tonight, and I thought he should dress appropriately.

Sam loves to pull up on everything now, and it causes quite a bit of trouble at bedtime - he doesn't know how to get back down. Tonight I found him standing in his crib with big tears streaming down his face - it was so sad!

He now has two bottom teeth, and LOVES to chew on the end of the Tylenol bottle. He holds it all the time.

Tommorow he will be seven months!

THE RANCH

We spent a few days last week at Aunt Joni's family ranch in Oklahoma. We had such a great time relaxing, feeding the cows, collecting cow skeletons (Elli - she brought one over to a cow so that it wouldn't be lonely - as if it wanted its dead friend for company :)

We also enjoyed riding the four-wheelers all over the property. We even stopped to have a "Cookie Picnic" with uncle Stan along the way. Notice how Janie is so excited to share her cookie with me?

The girls slept in the beautiful loft overlooking the dining room/kitchen. They could climb a ladder to get there, or use the secret passage way in the bathroom. One morning they enjoyed pancakes and strawberries up there!

BEES

Elli is very scared of bees right now. The weather is beautiful these days, and she wishes it were cold so that the bees would go away. The picture of Elli is one I shot when she thought she saw one. It was a mosquito!

I wasn't sure how to handle the problem, so we went to the library to find some books on the subject, thinking that if she were more informed about the little monsters, she might not be so scared. Elli was relieved to find out that males do not have stingers. Now, everytime she sees one, she says, "Maybe it's a boy!" One page in the book described the pollination process and then showed you how to make your own flowers. We made the ones pictured yesterday (Along with the bee - it's a girl - can you tell?) and this morning I found them dripping some sort of sticky substance. On closer inspection I realized it was honey. Elli thought they should be filled with nectar - just like real flowers. What a girl.

EASTER IN DALLAS

We had a great weekend with the Martin's in Dallas. Fyvie was adorable, and the kids all had a great time playing and meeting their newest cousin!

MEMORY LANE FROM '03

I can't believe how much they have changed! I showed Nathan a bunch of pictures last night that were taken about two years ago. He couldn't believe how little the girls were, and had to run into their room to look at them while they were sleeping because he was feeling so nostalgic!

SPRING DAY

Today we went on a pre-school field trip to the Botanical gardens and then on to the playground and duck pond at a nearby park. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun! Elli then spent about 2 hours at home planting pinecones around the yard and landscaping, saying that she was planting "Pine trees." I told Nathan, and he thinks we should plant a tree and surprise her. That reminds me of the time that Elli's pet turtle, Hannah, who was about the size of her palm, was replaced one night with a gigantic turtle the size of a frisbee that Nathan found on the side of the road. When she woke up, Nathan said, "Look Elli, Hannah really grew last night!" She was so surprised! To this day, she still talks about Hannah getting bigger that one day!

MY BOYS

I am in love with these guys!

A DAY AT THE PARK

TRIPLE STROLLER

After two years of owning this stroller, I finally worked out while having all three seats filled by my own children. Why did I buy a triple stroller? After Janie was born and I needed a double, I thought, why not just get a triple if we are going to have more children. Well, now that I have three kids to fill it, Elli is too big to ride in it!

It was a beautiful day today and after church we took the kids to the park to run around. We brought a soccer ball and Nathan proclaimed both girls to be a "Spaz" where soccer is concerned. We had a lot of laughs though. There is still hope for Sam!

HANDSOME MEN

Do you think they are related?

VALENTINE'S DAY

We made heart shaped doughnuts on Valentine's Day. Janie said, "Mom, can I have one more, I only have eaten 5!"

SOCCER BUDDY

Kris and Mike bought us this Manchester United soccer uniform and he finally fits in it. I thought I wouldn't be that interested in having the kids follow in Nathan and my footsteps where soccer is concerned, but as soon as I saw him in those shorts and socks, I could just picture him out on a field!

Along the soccer lines, check out Nathan's new "Hobby" as Friend's University Men's soccer coach. After getting to the Friends site, click on "Athletics" and then again on "Men's Soccer"
http://www.friends.edu/

Fyvie Susanna!

Here is a new picture of the Martins in Chongqing, China. Will's mother, Faith, was there for the big event.

SWEET BOY