Verenika

Breven, can you tell everyone what Verenika is?

Verenika is yummy goodness in a pocket!

But it definitely tastes better if you enjoy it thoroughly

(Editors note: in case its hard to see, he has it up to his forehead)

Great pic of my parents! Love you guys!

Sharing our love of verenika with Lori.

My love...thank you for working so hard to give me a great bathroom! I love you!

Family, projects and love part 1

We did so much while my parents were here, we often joked that we got 5 years worth of projects done in a matter of days! The days flew by and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye.:( But we're looking forward to the next time we'll get to see them-hopefully soon!

Educating Papa on the importance of watching Super Why.

Giving the little boy a haircut and having to hogtie him for the process.

And look how much older he got! I think he grew up 6 months in a matter of moments!

So...story time:

I was letting Noah play in the sandbox in the backyard while we were working on projects and when I went back to check on him, this is what I found. And unfortunately, this doesn't begin to show the true damage. The sand was E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E! I made him clean it up and it took quite a while. And let me tell you, it was extremely hard letting him do it and not completely take over...okay, so I took over a little bit. But he still did most of it:)

Okay, everybody. Smile for the camera!

Family, projects and love, part 2

Getting some quality snuggle time in with Papa.

This is as close to the action as B could get. He wasn't quite satisfied, but throw a couple puffs his way and he calmed down:)

Looks like we wore big boy out!

Finished up the shed. Doesn't it look beautiful? Okay, so its only a shed, but if you could have only seen a before picture, you would know just how much this shed has improved. Too bad I don't have a before pic...

Starting work on the sandbox. Originally, Aaron had asked Dad to help out with building the sandbox, but we did so many other projects, it kind of fell to the wayside. They didn't start until late Wednesday night.

So they worked late into the night to try to finish. Thankfully, they were able to finish 3/4 of it and after Aaron finds his garage again, he'll be able to finish it:)

Nonni loved it when B got snuggly

Where did B go?

Hold me, Papa?

And the best part of the week-Breven started saying his first word (ball) and pushed away from the toy to stand all by himself! He's starting to walk all over the place!

And to finish it off, here's the list of all we got accomplished:

- made verenika (69 of them-traditional mennonite dish we love)

- painted laundry room doors

- painted bathroom

- put hinges on the new toybox Papa made for B

- filled holes in entertainment center

- painted garage door

- painted all the house trim

- painted shed

- replaced and painted new shed doors

- painted new shed trim

- painted outside doors

- finished 3/4 of the new sandbox

I sense a theme...

Who knew a theme would begin when my parents helped us move into our new house. But as I uploaded the pics from their recent trip, I realized that my mom and I seem to always get a picture taken in the kitchen whenever they are here. It's kind of fun to see the changes that happen and to think about where we were when they were visiting and that we're not always cooking in the pics, although most of the time that's true.:)

Enjoy my trip down memory lane...

July 04

Moving into our house!!

Nov 05

Thanksgiving dinner. They came to install a new kitchen floor.

July 06

Mom came to help get Noah's room ready for his arrival

Dec 06

Coming to help out just after Noah's born

Sept 07

We went on vacation to Missouri together...still in the kitchen.

Feb 09

So we're not anywhere near food, but we're still in the kitchen. Here to help after Breven was born.

Nov 09

Crazy, but we didn't have any big projects to do while they were here!

April 10

Painting the master bathroom and what turned into 5 years worth of other projects!

Love you Mom! Look forward to many more pics in the kitchen together!

Cool dudes

Yeah, thats right...we're cool dudes!

Even when my motorcycle doesn't go where I want it to,

or I'm using my baby swing,

while chilling on the couch with Uncle Flip Flop,

and using a hand to walk,

Daddy, are you a cool dude too?

Yeah, that's right. We're cool dudes!

The train museum

All aboard!

I'd like to introduce you to our train crew for the day...

Noah, "The Speedster" engineer

And Breven "The Cool Cucumber" brakeman

We're on a busy line today, so be sure to keep all hands and feet inside the train at all times.

Looking good, Speedster, let's get this train crusin'

And later we'll have a photo opportunity available to those that would like it:

Easter and time with Uncle Flip

Bunny kisses!

Can you see the blue lips? Yeah, thats the M & M juice from all the M & M's he ate:)

Uncle Flip Flop wins for finding the bunny first!

What's on your mind, Mr. Bunny?

Oh, wait! There's a second bunny. And this bunny looks as grumpy and thoughtful as the last bunny. Where did all the happy bunnies go?

Helping Uncle Flip Flop brush up on his art skills.

And looks who's starting to walk. Definitely not on his own, but he's finally interested in trying it out

One of Noah's favorite things, playing a game!

And its finally time to get back into the sandbox! Noah has been asking for weeks and he was in heaven!

And we're introducing it to Breven now who loves it just as much! Except for when Noah dumped sand over his head.