Fun In The Sun

It was in the upper 90's today. It was the perfect weather to set up the little pool in the back yard. The kids had a blast! It is funny how a little bit of water makes things more fun!

An unnamed 5 year old just dumped a bucket of water over her head. Lucky she had her goggles on.

Rachel is Officially A Swimmer

Rachel completed all 10 levels of her swimming lessons this week! For her final test she swam 20 laps. I don't think I could swim that far! We are very proud of her!! They have been talking about putting her on team for the last couple of months, but I think we are going to wait until the Fall for that.

Look What Luke Can Do

Yeah, Lukie!! He made it all the way across the big pool at swimming lessons.


This is Miss Annette. She is Luke's favoite swimming teacher.



The back stroke is Luke's prettiest stroke. It is Rachel's too.

The Egg Hunters

The kids had multiple Easter egg hunts this weekend. Kate really caught on to the whole idea. She thoroughly enjoyed eating the candy. The big kids will have some competition next year. Rachel and Luke have a few lessons to learn about egg hunting etiquette. Rule #1: If another person gets the egg you want it is okay because there are many many more eggs you can find. Rule #2: You are not entitled to all the green eggs because your favorite color is green. Rule #3: Keep your hands out of other people's baskets. You would think these rules would be common sense but trust me they were not.

Nothing Short of a Miracle

What do you get when you cross six adults, three very active one year olds, a stubborn three year old, a silly little boy, teacher's pet, and a GREAT photographer?

A picture of all the kids and grandkids in Chris's family.


Tah-Dah:

Aren't they just precious? And all six of them are smiling and looking the same direction!!

We even had time to get a family picture taken.

Thank you so much for setting everything up Johnnie! It could not have gone any smoother, and we could not have asked for better pictures.

PS. You can double click on the pictures to see them larger. I will work on improving my scanning skills.

Easter Eggs

This afternoon, during nap time, Rachel, Luke, and I dyed Easter Eggs. We had so much fun coloring and decorating them. This year is the first time I have been brave enough to attempt letting the kids color eggs. They had a blast!

Happy Easter Everybody!!!!

Luke

Luke and I played a little this afternoon while Kate was taking her nap. He gladly let me take his picture while he hit golf balls. All the golfing pictures below were taken while he was actually swinging at the ball. I was surprised at how clear they turned out.

You can even see the dirt flying up on these last two. They were taken on two different swings.

He actually agreed to pose for the camera for a little bit. I was pretty pleased with the results.

I think he looks particularly ornery in this one:

Happy Birthday Dena!!!!

Today is my little sister's birthday. I won't mention how old she is, but it rhymes with thirty! I hope you had a great day even if you had to work!

We Love You!!

Alanna, Chris, Rachel, Luke, and Kate

Mama's New Toy

I got a new toy this week. A new camera! Officially, it's a really early birthday present. Now I will have it for Easter and the kids' birthday pictures. I am still trying to figure it out. I think it will be really cool once I learn all the bells and whistles. It has a super cool zoom on it. Here is a picture I took of the moon:
You can even see the craters. I was pretty impressed!

Kids Say The Darndest Things

Our kids are always saying things that make us laugh. I thought I would share a few of our recent favorites:

Rachel and Luke were arguing about a baseball while we were coming home from church. Rachel said to Luke, "Be nice! Luke, we are just coming from church where they teach you to love one another." She might have heard that one before from me. At least now I know she can hear me even if she does not listen to me.

I go over the kids Bible verses on our way to Awana on Wednesday nights. I asked Luke what his verse was. He said, " I don't know." I said, "Come on. You do too." He then said, "I don't know. Is it Praise the Lord Matthew 28:20?" Let's just say he had part of it right. Of course, he had a big smile on his face!

Luke has been thinking a lot about heaven lately and asking a lot of questions. He told Chris, "We are probably going to have to take an airplane to get to heaven." A few days later he told me, "I don't want to go to heaven unless you are there too." Rachel has said something very similar to me before. It made me cry when they said it and I start to tear up every time I think about it.

Luke and Rachel have a new saying, "It is like Kate has button, and every time we touch her she screams!" That is about right. She knows how to get your attention.

Not to leave Kate out. Although she is a child of few words she has a few choice phrases. She yells, "Give it me! and No, Amo!" Amo is our dog Amos who always tries to get her food from her. She does, however, gladly share with the dogs once she is done eating by throwing her food on the floor. This is a habit we are really trying to break.

Kate also runs to her Daddy and hugs and kisses his leg when he comes home. It is so sweet! She does not have to say a word, but you know what she is telling him, "I love you Daddy!"