almost Kindergarten

Kindergarten Round Up - 2013

Lucas was pretty nonchalant about Kindergarten Round Up.  We talked about it leading up to the day but we didn't want to hype it up too much and make him nervous about it.  He was most excited about seeing his friends.  

He was happy to find his seat, name tag and a puzzle to occupy his time when we arrived.  A picture by his locker, a kiss for mom and I left him to be a big kid.  No tears from either of us, but I did have an odd feeling of emptiness today.  I so, so wish I could have been a fly on the wall to watch the day unfold.  

At pickup, I was hoping for a talkative boy so I could hear about his day.  

What better way than to have an ice cream date with mom?  

It worked well, too :)  

His favorite part of the whole day was... are you ready?  Recess!  Big surprise, huh?  

He loved lunch and was super excited that he got to bring home his own copy of a new book.  

He didn't have any not favorite parts of the day.  Yay!  

I think the ice cream date was my favorite part of the day.  :)

playing at Grandma and Grandpa's

The kids have a grandma and grandpa that live close and the other set of grandparents lives "far away" (says Lucas).  Even though Brent's parents are only 15 minutes from us (compared to three hours for my parents), we still don't see them all that often.  

The kids get all the attention when we are at their house!  

It's a great treat for the kids, and of course we enjoy the time with them, too.  

Happy Birthday in Heaven

I wish you were here today even for just a little while

so I could say Happy Birthday and see your beautiful smile.

The only gifts today will be the gifts you left behind;

The laughter, joy and happiness...precious memories...the best kind.

Today I'll do my very best to try and find a happy place...

struggling to hide my heavy heart and the tears on my face.

I'll sit quietly and look at your picture thinking of you with love;

hoping you're doing ok in Heaven up above.

May the angels hold you close and sing you a happy song...

and I'll be sending wishes to you today and all year long.

Author Credit

I miss her and love her.

This is how I try to remember Ann.  

  

With the smirk on Ann's face she obviously wasn't sleeping - not sure what mischievous act we were up to.  

Our last photo together - a good week with good memories.  

hopscotch

Playing hopscotch on a warm, sunny day despite the snow cover still on the ground.  

Hannah has to do everything big brother does! 

In case the video doesn't embed, you can also watch here: 

http://youtu.be/AdRLwk2u_GE

what I find

...after Hannah plays with my phone.

Easter

We had fun decorating eggs with Rylee.  Not too many messes and we ended with really pretty eggs.  

Waiting for the perfect color...

The Easter Bunny brought unusually "big" gifts for Lucas and Hannah this year... both got new wheels. 

There is plenty of candy surrounding Easter so the Bunny only brought Ring Pops.  

No training wheels but instead a KICK STAND.

Big stuff.  

It only took minutes to figure this out!

Happy family.

We celebrated Will's fourth birthday!  

Instead of the usual egg hunt outside, we had a piñata... in the garage.  It was so cold, there were still snow piles and the yard is a muddy, sloppy mess.  This was a good compromise.  

Big hitter Abby delivered the candy crush!

Remember, I said there was plenty of candy?  We are still eating it!  

A fun day with family on Easter.  

Little miss fell asleep rocking in my lap (which NEVER happens) at 6:45pm.  Wiped out.  

birthday wishes to Daddy

A son's first hero.

A daughter's first love.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!

road trip: rempt family

Since Mother Nature delayed the arrival of spring, Brent's schedule allowed us to hop in the mini and hit the road to visit some dear friends.  It was very last minute but it worked out great for both families.

Brent's family and Jenny's family have been friends since Jenny's family moved to this little town almost thirty years ago. They share hundreds of memories together and parents and kids alike are still all good friends.  :)  Brent introduced Jenny and I in college.  She moved in with Megan and I for a summer and we've been great friends since.  We've shared hours and hours of cell phone minutes while they lived in Iowa, Florida, Colorado and Iowa.  We've shared wedding planning, pregnancy stories, parenting joys and concerns and we solve most of the world's problems... with hours and hours of cell phone minutes.

We had so much fun just hanging out and letting the kids play.  Despite the sadness in the photo, the kids really had a good time together and got along well.  Hannah couldn't figure out why Campbell was sad, Lucas was worried about her and Sam tried consoling.  No go for a happy picture but a funny moment to be captured.  

A lovely weekend with lovely friends.  

what's been bakin'?

Double layer chocolate with a homemade raspberry filling.

Baseball cookies for end of the season ball team party.

Dora cake for Ella's 2nd birthday.

Farm cake.

Six dozen cupcakes for a fall company picnic.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake for Lane.

Do you remember the TMNT had a thing for pizza?  A special touch for this special delivery.

Lucas' Cars/Hot Wheels cake.  He helped with this one and it was so fun.  

I did have to save the cake from car wheels as he drove one straight through the finish line :)

Cars 2 cupcakes for celebrating.

Angel food cupcakes with multi-colored cool whip frosting and chocolate dipped strawberries.

Precise requests like this can only come from a 13 year old girl. :)  Hannah T.'s birthday treats.

Our Hannah's 2nd birthday with fondant lollipops.

Rylee's horse cake.

Primary colors cake.

Another race car cake!

Bridal Shower favors.

You can't tell, but the silver flakes are hearts <3

Jenna's 7th birthday - she's a dolphin lover.

Which one is your favorite?