Father's Day

After a busy 24 hours on call, Andy finally fell into bed at 6:15 a.m. on Sunday morning.

 The kids let him sleep and we enjoyed a relaxed Sunday morning reading books and putting puzzles together.

When Andy awoke at noon we made him one of his favorite breakfasts complete with coffee, scrambled egg skillet with sausage, and toast.

After a bike ride we decided to go to Sheldon to visit the puppies. We are only 2 weeks away from taking our little Maya home with us. 

We put the 3 little girl puppies out on the grass and let them run around. It was so much fun watching them explore Gus, the kids, and the outdoors.  

We have narrowed down our choice to 2 of the girls but it's so difficult to pick one!

While on the farm, Andy got to drive the tractors around with Bennett while the kids played outside with the dogs. 

It was a simple and fulfilling Father's Day for our family.

We are so blessed to have such a good Daddy in our home.

He works so hard at his job and still finds the energy to be Dad.

8 years

Today is our 8 year anniversary.

What an 8 years it has been!  

We have 2 children who have brought us so much joy.

We have loved, raised, and trained our dogs to be members of our family. 

We have experienced adventures and trials with school, careers, homes, and new cities.

Once again we face a year that is ahead of us which will bring us change and new adventures.

And once again we will make it through with love and humor.

 

Happy Anniversary to Us! 

Happy 5th Birthday, Marie Beth!

Marie is 5!  

She woke up this morning claiming she felt older, bigger, and taller. 

She requested french toast for her birthday breakfast and wore her brand new maxi skirt and tank top to school - an outfit from Grammy & Papa that she had been wanting for soooo long.  

What a big girl.

During breakfast I gave her a birthday interview and here are her answers:

Favorite color - "blue, no pink, no yellow, well really I love rainbows so I guess rainbows are my favorite color!"

Favorite food - "pizza, no tacos, no watermelon. Well I like all of those things, and cheeseburgers."

Future career - "a mommy...but if I want to do 2 things like you do then I should be a speech teacher and a mommy because it looks like you are having fun, mom"

Best Friend - Alissa, Abby, Lauren, Bella, and Sophie.

Favorite Movie - Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Frozen, and Despicable Me

Favorite Toy - Baby Aurora

Favorite Dessert - Ice Cream

Favorite Summer Activity - swimming and boating

 *******

For her birthday she invited 6 friends from preschool. They had a blast at our house doing an obstacle course designed by Dad which included throwing water balloons at him.

She picked out a castle birthday cake which was constructed by dad, mom, and Marie. 

It turned out well with help from all of us.

 

******

Marie, you are such a sweet girl who truly cares about others feelings. You have such great empathy for your family, friends, and animals. You are bright, silly, humorous, smart, inquisitive, and kind. 

We can't wait to experience age 5 with you as you continue to grow!

Boat Birthday Party

With Bennett and Marie's birthdays so close together, we decided to have a joint birthday bash with family this year. Immediately Marie suggested a boat party at Okoboji.

After a few gifts at Grammy & Papa's house, we went to Arnold's Park to ride a few rides. 

 

Next we enjoyed dinner, campfire, and presents with everybody at Cutty's.  Both Chris & Mindy and Paul & Keri were camping there for the weekend which gave us the perfect place for our little get together.  

The kids were spoiled like crazy with presents and lots of attention.  It was a little cool that day so the campfire was definitely needed!

On Sunday we all met on the lake with 2 boats, 1 lily pad, 1 tube, and lots of snacks!

The kids and adults had a blast swimming, eating, relaxing on the lake.  

The weather was perfect for the boat party!

First Bennett took a little snooze - the boat always puts him right to sleep

 

We ended our night with dinner at Braco's and ice cream at Arnold's Park. 

It was a long day but so much fun!

We drove back to Sioux City that night with a car load full of gifts and tired kiddos.

Vacation Time

Andy took a few days off to end May so we have been enjoying a little vacation time.

The kids have loved having Dad around all day. 

It became hot very quickly so we had fun playing in the water in our backyard.

 

Marie and Andy also got to spend a night in the tent until it started to rain on them.  At 12:30 the 2 of them came back into the house. Marie loves to camp in the backyard. Before they fell asleep, she took the flashlight and checked the yard for "dangers."

We also took a trip to the Omaha Zoo.

 Even though it was a hot day we still made sure to see just about every animal we could find. 

Marie loved the tigers and Bennett had so much fun seeing the fish in the aquarium.

 These kids love carousels...

 

At the end of the day - ice cream was in order!

Poor Bennett couldn't even finish his treat before falling asleep. 

It was a great day!