Fun In The Arizona Sun

After the kids got out of school I surprised them with a trip to Arizona.  I had found really cheap tickets to visit good friends.  We decided to see if we could keep it a secret from the kids.  They were so cute when we told them.  Eric said, "We have a surprise for you! Mommy and you are going to do something special!"  Alexa thought we were going to the park.  Shane was sure we were going for a bike ride and Emma thought it might be ice cream.  Eric said, "No, it is really special!"  Emma said, "Are we going to a movie?"  They were beside themselves with excitement when they found out in a couple hours we were going to be boarding a plane and flying to see our friends in Arizona!

Bailey and Emma are two blonde buddies!! 

Shane looks like quite the swimmer here doesn't he? The kids were loving the warm weather and the warm pool.  We spent a lot of time swimming at Grammy Peggy's pool! 

Alexa turned in to a fish overnight! Jumping of the board and swimming across the pool.  She was pretty proud of herself.  

Life at Grandma Peggy's pool is pretty sweet!  The kids had Popsicles in the pool, ice cream cones in the pool ....

 and strawberry short cake poolside.  What a life!! What a shock it will be to be back in South Dakota. 

Shane loved going down the slide and jumping off the board.  He was a crazy man in the water and enjoyed every minute of it!! The kids slept like rocks after our days at the pool!

Caden and Alexa enjoying some time floating in the sun!  

We had such a fun time with friends.  We feel so blessed to have built life long relationships with our Arizona friends and it is fun to see our kids developing these relationships too! 

Scrubbing Those Streets

The kids love scrubbing the streets at Tulip Festival.  Before each parade they need to get the streets ready for the queen and her court.  The men and boys fill buckets of water and pour them on the road and the girls come behind and sweep them clean.  I do think we get stuck with the tougher job.

Shane and Papa are off to fill their buckets with water.

Here we come busily sweeping the streets.  My mom, my sister-in-law Alissa, my sister-in-law Ang, myself,  Alexa, Emma, Darby Tyra and Mia are all in the above picture.  Baby Bailey took a stroll in the stroller but I'm sure will be eager to toddle the streets with us next year.  We sure had a clan of girls.

Shane was a little entertainer my dad said.  He was waving, giving people high fives and posing for pictures.  I may be a little biased but I do think he is a pretty cute little Dutch boy!

Alexa and Darby have such a neat relationship.  I don't think that I have ever seen them fight and they just can't get enough of each other.  They actually held hands while they scrubbed the streets for the majority of  the parade route.  That was some tough work one handed. 

Of course the boys love dumping their buckets in the tank and getting a little wet while they are at it!

How full can I fill it?

Emma and Mia are hard at work!

Tip Toe Through The Tulips

In May we went to the annual Tulip Festival in my home town.  It is something my kids look forward to each year.  They love going to Papa and Grammy's house first of all that is a treat in itself.  They also love the rides and the food that come with the festival.  One of their other favorite things is scrubbing the streets.  A lot of the local people dress up in their dutch costumes to scrub the streets.  The streets need to be scrubbed before every parade before the queen and her court come through! The kids love getting their costumes on that grammy had made and head to the park to scrub the streets.  I'm not sure they love all the pictures we make them take before the festivities begin!

The tulips were beautiful this year.  You never know with the unpredictable weather of the mid-west if they will be blooming at the right time.  They were amazing this year!

Shane knew just how this picture thing was supposed to work.  When we got to the park he laid down and this was his pose for his first photo.  Look at those eyes do they look like trouble or what?

Emma is our 100% looking little Dutch girl!

Papa and Grammy with their six little Dutch girls and one Dutch little man! 

My three little Dutch blessings!

Alexa smelling the tulips in the tulip beds.

I love this picture of Emma! 

Who couldn't love that little Dutch face?

A Good Lesson Learned and Time to Catch Up

I have fallen way behind in blogging.  I thought Blogger was having a problem because it would take forever for me to post pictures.  I would get frustrated at the amount of time it was taking that I would stop.  I soon realized after a couple weeks that it must be me and not blogger.  I soon realized what the problems was.  I had way, way too many pictures on my laptop.  First of all I take a crazy amount of pictures and I should be transferring them to my extra drive but haven't done it for awhile.  I spent some good time organizing and moving them yesterday and wouldn't you believe it blogger worked just fine.  I also feel better that all my pictures are now on an external drive in case my laptop crashes.  The new goal is to transfer them every month.  We will see how it works.  Now I have some major catching up to do on my blog! Here we go! 

The Big Graduation Day

Alexa Grace,

I can't believe that your Kindergarten year is over.  It has been so much fun to watch you grow in so many ways this year.  You were so excited to be a Kindergartner and that excitement continued through out the year.  You even said that Kindergarten was so much fun you would go back again next year.  Your teacher said you were a model student.  She said you listened well and were very respectful.  You were kind to others and eager to help her and others out.  You are very artistic and creative.  Your Handwriting is very neat probably because you practiced so much.  Your favorite past time for awhile was copying books.  You have moved into writing your own stories.  I loved reading your journal and seeing how much you grew in your writing this year.  You also have become quite the little reader.  I love that you love books and love to read.  I loved watching your grow in your understanding of God this year. It was fun to hear all the Bible Stories that you learned more and more in depth.  I loved listening to you pray for your day and your brother and sister on the way to school. I also love it when you pray for our whole families hearts and that Jesus will live in all of us!! Alexa it was fun to see you develop a wonderful friendship with Caitlin this year.  I know that you will miss her but I also know you will make new friends at your new school.  Alexa Grace we are so proud of the sweet girl that you are and way you have grown this year.  Am I really going to have a 1st grader next year?

Love Mom 

Alexa getting her Kindergarten certificate from the Principal and hugging her teacher!

Papa and Grammy came to celebrate Alexa's big day with her!

We gave Alexa a special heart necklace with  pink cross engraved on it to let her know how special she is and how proud her mom and dad are of her! 

Last Day of Preschool ... Kindergarten Here I Come

Emma Faith,

I can't believe that your are done with preschool.  You have grown and blossomed so much this year.  You have a love for life that is contagious.  You are smiles from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed.  There was not one day that you didn't want to go to preschool and everyday you said you had a great day!! That's just who you are Emma, life is good! You are a good friend to others in your class and people are drawn to you.  You loved to play dress up and store with your friends Liv and Kara.  You also loved to help Jordan the days he was in your class and you knew that he loved numbers so you would play numbers with him.  Emma you pick things up so easily and often times I catch myself saying "Where in the world did she learn that!"  It was fun to see you learn to write all your letters and learn all your letter sounds.  You have started reading and it comes so naturally for you.  You quickly memorized your address and phone number.  You loved learning about plants, animals, space, the rain forest and people in the community.  You also loved the days you had dance and karate.  What a great year you had Emma! We are so proud of you!  I can't believe my little girl is going to Kindergarten next year! 

Love 

Mom

Off To The Zoo

For Alexa's end of the year Field Trip we headed to the zoo.  It was a beautiful spring morning and we had a great time with her class celebrating a wonderful year in Kindergarten!

A highlight of the morning was seeing the 2 new baby cubs that were born this winter.

Also, the kids always love feeding the goats.  Shane was pretty excited he got to join Alexa on her last field trip too! He felt like a big boy with all the big school kids! 

The other little cutie that got a lot of attention was the baby monkey!! We can't wait to go back to see how the baby animals have grown! 

Alexa made a special friend at school this year.  Her and Caitlin were like two peas in a pod!! They were best friends from Day 1!! 

Emma's Preschool Celebration

Emma's preschool class spent one of their last days at the park.  It was a beautiful morning and a great way to celebrate the end of the year.   Often there are fun field trips or parties to celebrate the end of the year but this was a perfect way for the kids to enjoy a great morning together.  There were lots of smiles and laughs.  Emma had a great year!

Emma was all smiles on the swing!! I caught this picture of her while she was swinging!  I love my new camera! The color of these pictures is so amazing! 

For the past two years Emma and Kara have been best buddies.  They met at preschool last year and have developed a wonderful friendship.  Emma is very sad she is moving in July so we will have to plan some play dates before she goes! 

I usually find a place for Shane when the girls have field trips so I can just have a special time with them.  Shane thought he was pretty special that he got to join Emma and her class at the park! He had fun too!

Swinging at the park!!

Liv, Kara, Emma Shelby!! Four sweet girls that became good friends! 

Mother's Day Post A Little Late!!!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.  I feel so blessed to be a mom to 3 wonderful children.  It is so much fun to watch them grow and blossom.  I also feel very blessed that I have a wonderful husband who supports me, encourages me and loves me on this mom journey.   I am so thankful that he shares the same passion for me being home with our kids.  

My 3 Blessings and Me on Mother's Day 2009! 

My weekend started with Starbucks in bed on Saturday morning.  As I relaxed I had so much fun listening to Eric and kids making a yummy breakfast for me.  They even made fresh squeezed orange juice! They were so cute and so excited to make a Mother's Day breakfast for mommy!  I enjoyed some family time with them and then enjoyed a wonderful pedicure.  We enjoyed the beautiful weather in the evening and Eric grilled some Halibut and grilled veggies.  

Alexa made this darling card for me.  She drew 8 of her favorite things to do with me.  Some of them were cooking, cuddling, fixing puzzles, reading books, shopping and going for bike rides.  I hope she never grows out of loving to do things with her mommy! 

Emma made a place mat for me at preschool.  She had to fill in some blanks.  I love that she thought I was only 16.  The colored words are the words she filled in.  

My Mom

My mother is the most wonderful mom in the whole world.  She's as beautiful as a mother.  She is also very pretty.  He favorite food is salad and her favorite TV show is the weather.  She is 16 years old.  In the good old days when my mom was a little girl she used to ride a gator.  I think my mom looks funny when she puts make up on.  My mom can do many things! She is the best at being a mom.  I wish Mom would go to the mall with me everyday.  I wouldn't trade my mother for candy.  I Love You! Happy Mother's Day! 

Love 

Emma

On Sunday the kids sang in church.  What a treat to watch them sing their hearts out!  

We tried to hit our favorite brunch spot after church but the wait was over an hour.  Chef Eric decided to make a yummy brunch for us at home.  Eric is such a wonderful cook and it is a treat to not have to think about cooking on the weekend and to have yummy food to eat. Monday was a little shock to the system when I had to think about what I was going to cook.  I got spoiled on the weekend. 

Eric is usually really creative with gifts.  If he asks for suggestions I can usually count on the fact that I won't get anything I suggest.  He likes to be creative and surprise me so I'm not sure why he even asks if there is something I really want.  He came up with a fun gift for me or for us as a family.  He knows my love language is quality time and I love doing things as a family that build memories.  You'll have to wait and see what our new family bonding activity is in some future posts.  

Boys are meant for kisses and hugs, watching rainbows and catching bugs ....

Shane is loving his new bug vacuum! 

Lovin' The Nice Weather

The girls are loving the nice weather with a little hula hoop ...

some softball ....

a little kickball ....

and some cute smiles!