Days Filled With Joy

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Fun with Grandpa and Grandma

2/13/09
After the birthday party for Blake and Boaz, we drove to Grandma and Grandpa's house to spend the night. One of Hannah and Ellie's favorite games to play with Grandpa and Grandma is Hide and Seek.

Hannah and Grandma counting.

Grandpa and Ellie counting. She kept saying "1,2,1,2,..." over and over again.

After they found eachother, the raced to base as fast as they could. I just love these pictures!

Zach just loves to watch all of the action!

Hannah and Ellie love to sit in Grandpa's chair.

Birthday for Blake and Boaz

2/12/09

The kids and I were able to go to Cedar Falls to celebrate Blake's 2nd and Boaz's 1st birthday party!

Katie made a Wildcat cake for Blake.

Becky made a bee cake for Boaz.

Blake LOVED blowing out his candles! I think he actually blew them out three or four times!

Boaz seemed excited about his cake.

Blake eating his birthday cake.

Hannah and Ellie love everything about birthday parties...especially the birthday cake!

Zach didn't get to try any cake, but he didn't seem to mind.

Boaz wasn't quite sure what to think about his cake. He sat with his hand in his cake for a long time before he tried to eat it. I think he must have liked the way it felt on his hands.

Boaz got a ball popper for his birthday, and all of the kids had a blast playing with it. It was so much fun to see all of the cousins playing together! I can just imagine all of the fun they will have as they grow up together!

Our Valentine's Day Party

2/12/09

We had a Valentine's Day party at our house this afternoon. Here is a picture of all of the kids. We definitely had a full house! What a fun day! We are so grateful for all of the great friends we have.

Front row: Aubrey, Lauren, Jaclyn, Ashlyn, Alaina, Abby, Hannah, Zach

Back row: Austin, Paige, Cameron, Ellie

Here is a picture of all of the "big" kids.

Hannah and Ellie were so excited about their party!

Zach and Alaina both had their first taste of pizza. They looked so cute sitting next to eachother!

Hannah and Ellie passing out their Valentine's cards.

Ellie and Hannah loved the heart shaped Rice Krispee cookies!

Making Valentine's Gifts

2/11/09
Hannah and Ellie had fun making their Valentine's Day gifts today! I was so proud of Hannah for writing all of her friends' names on their cards! I can't believe how big she is getting! Ellie also did a great job signing her name on all of the cards!

The finished product! They filled the bags with Teddy Grahams and Gummy Bears. On the card, we wrote "You are a 'beary' good friend" and "Have a 'beary' happy Valentine's Day."

Fun at Home

Here are some random pictures of the kids playing around the house.

I can't believe that Zach is 11 months old now! He is such a fun boy!

Hannah loves to play with Jasper (and she is always trying to get him to do things he shouldn't be doing...the other day she gave him her whole sandwich at lunch because she didn't think she would like it!)

Ellie has been "talking on the phone" a lot lately. It is so much fun to hear all of her conversations! She has quite the imagination!

Sledding

2/14/09
We took the kids sledding for the first time this winter, and they loved it! It was so much fun to see the joy on their faces as they went down the hill!

Aubrey, Hannah, and Ellie sledding down the hill.

Aubrey and Hannah went down the hill together most of the time. I could not believe how grown up they acted! They always carried the sled/tube up the hill all by themselves after they went down, and never complained about being tired! It was neat to see them playing and working together so well.