8th Birthday

Birthday boy looking so handsome and grown up...

Benjamin invited friends over to play football and roast hot dogs and s'mores.  It was the easiest party to date.  They would have played football the whole time.  We had to convince them to come eat.  Eight year old boys are easy to entertain because they entertain themselves.

 The girls spent the entire party snagging s'mores and marshmallows and acting like it was their first one.

I laughed out loud when I looked at this photo and noticed Isa with a magnifying glass 12 inches from the fire.  Safety first.

 Lots of giggling when Kevin led "Happy Birthday" in German.  Thank you, Taylor, for the awesome cake!

Grandma Pam is back from Alaska.  We were very excited to have her back and equally excited to send Liesl home. :)  I chased that dog around the neighborhood three times after kids left doors open or Stella took her stake out of the ground without me knowing it.

It was a cold May 23rd but we had fun celebr(eight)ing Benjamin!  Happy Birthday to my first born.  You're full of awesome sauce, buddy!

Photo Dump

We continue to spend most waking hours outside.  The more humid the air--the more awesome Stella's hair.  

Looking at her always reminds me of the poem: There was a little girl, Who had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead.  When she was good, She was very good indeed, But when she was bad she was horrid.

We are all so excited to actually see things growing in our raised beds.  It is our first attempt at a garden and I think I just assumed we or the deer would kill everything.  Benjamin was looking at the tiny plants that were coming up and said, "God is amazing."  My thoughts exactly.  

 Just one of the many, many trips to Lowes the past few weeks...

 Isa got some sunflower seeds at school to give me for Mother's Day.  Sam and Isa planted them for me.

Sam continues to amaze me with his work ethic. He has faithfully stuck with us working in the yard.

 I bought Sam a shovel for all his hard work.

 I am (was) smitten with this little Azalea bush.  I'm glad I took photos before the deer ate it down to nubs. :(

Beautiful Isa.  I have seen such huge growth in her in the past couple months.  She still has her difficult moments (don't we all) but in the non difficult moments she has been so delightful and funny and helpful.  She is doing awesome at school.  The other night I tucked her in and said, "I am so proud of you, Isa."  She asked why and I told her, "You are kind and thoughtful and so helpful and you're such a wonderful sister..."  She cut in and said, "And brother."  Um, no.

I love, love the view from our living room.  My sister's favorite tree was the weeping willow.  To have one out our window feels like such a sweet gift from the Lord.

 I was so excited to see this tree bloom out front.

 The path we worked hard on.

We all scream for ice cream.

 This hat squishes Stella's eyebrows down just like it used to do with Isa.  So funny.

My growing boys.

Kindergarten and Second grade took a field trip together to the Ft Wayne Children's zoo.  It worked out well for me having both a Kindergartner and second grader.  The younger siblings were excited to go along.

It was a great day for the zoo.  The animals were all very active because it was cool and overcast.

Isa went to a fairy party this week.  I laughed every time I looked at her because she looked like a crazy aerobics instructor.  Our girls don't have fairy and princess dress up clothes and it showed when we got to the party.

Taylor University had their first ever dance two Fridays ago.  The students had a blast.  It was 20s themed.  I got dressed about 5 minutes before I walked out the door and looked more like a hippie.

 Saturday was our 11th wedding anniversary.  So thankful for this man and our marriage.

 Benjamin and I had a Starbucks date yesterday.  It gets more and more fun to go out with him.

Peace out...

Saturday Fun

We had a lovely Saturday together.  Drew had some jazz music on.  I was sitting on the couch staring out the window and admiring the 30+ hours of weeding and planting I have done in the yard.  Drew kept hitting me. It took me awhile to wake up and realize he was trying to point something out without spoiling it.  Benjamin and Isa had started dancing together and it was the cutest.

Mike, Liesl, and Baseball

Our college friend, Mike, was in town to meet with different folks from Taylor about Tiny Hands.  Stella is usually so shy and grumpy towards strangers.  These photos are within an hour of her meeting Mike. They were playing Frisbee with Benjamin.  Mike was quite instantly a part of her inner circle.  

My mom is in Alaska with my brother and so we are dog sitting Miss Leisl.  She hasn't been nearly as annoying as I thought she would be.  The kids love taking turns running her up and down the street.

The boys had their first game last night.  Highlights for me:  1. Sam fielded a ball in the outfield and threw the ball right to his daddy who was standing a couple yards away from him instead of in to his cut off.  Drew almost caught it out of instinct and then threw his hands up to avoid the ball.  2.  Watching Benjamin smile and encourage his teammates even when they threw balls over his head or struck out.  He leaned over in Sam's face after he struck out for the second time and said, "Good job, Sam.  You were so close that time."

 Darling spectators.

 Snow cones!  Always a most exciting free reward.