March - April 2016

For many years we prayed for God to bless us with a family. For many years we did not know how and when God would bless us, but we knew that he would. Without a shadow of a doubt, God blessed us far more than we could have even imagined. It is such an amazing gift to be a mom or a dad. Aubrey and Avery will bless us more than they will ever know. Please also remind me of this when they are teenagers!

We were so excited to have Tessa for two nights in April. I love living so close that we can have sleepovers! I think it is such a gift that the girls are growing up together. Aubrey and Avery get so excited when they know they will be seeing Tessa...it is truly adorable. Aimee and I always said we wanted to live down the street together and we are so lucky that it is a reality for this chapter in our lives.

The girls and I enjoyed a school field trip to Crocodile Encounter. They have had some really fun days at school and I have enjoyed witnessing all the learning they are doing and the friendships they are forming. Right now, they count 1-100, can count by 10s to 100 and know the months of the year. Personally, my favorite is the songs they are learning. It just makes my heart burst when I hear them signing about Jesus. "There is nothing that my God can not do...." "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine...." It is my favorite part of my day. The big news is that Avery learned how to ride a bike (no training wheels!) in no time. She is a pro! Aubrey is really gaining speed and confidence on her balance bike and hopefully will be graduating to a big girl bike soon too.

In March the girls had a fun visit with Poppy and in April they had a fun visit with Nana and Grandpa. They sure are loved and spoiled!

The pictures are a better summary of what we have been up to these past two months!

March 2016:

Christmas Double Date 2015: Each year for Christmas we go on a double date with Aimee and Israel and try a new restaurant. It is always a great gift to each other. This year we went to Coltivare which is described as an Italian pizza and vegetable garden eatery. It was delicious! We may be a little late celebrating, but we did get it in before Easter!

Easter Eggs: This year the girls dyed Easter eggs and had a blast. We had quite the assortment of eggs!  

Visit with Poppy: Another visit with Poppy in the books. He got to spend time with all three grandkids, surrounded by lots of girls. Unfortunately we didn't get any close up pictures, but we did get an action shot.  

Rodeo Season 2016: It's that time again. One of my favorite traditions with the kids-the rodeo! We not only got our agriculture fill and education but also got plenty of good food in our tummies (com'on, you know that is why I love it!). Last year their favorite area was seeing the new piglets with their moms, as pictured below. This year they said their favorite was the carousel and the food (they have a little mom and dad in them afterall!). They also enjoyed fun on the farm where they were able to grow crops and then exchange it for money at the supermarket. It was the first year without a stroller...we may not be Disney ready but we are getting closer! Poppy got to join us again this year.

Homemade shirts for 100 days of school.

Mommy and daddy get a date night out to recognize Jay for all his amazing hard work commissioning his plant.

The Beginnings of Dance: Ballet and tap dance here we come! The making of stars right here!

I had to include this special picture. Aubrey came down stairs with a big smile on her face: "Gramma got me this shirt and skirt...can you take a picture and send it to Heaven?!" I promised I would take a picture and that Gramma was smiling down from Heaven.

Easter Weekend: A holiday weekend it was--both of us were off to have a full family weekend. It was wonderful! The kids enjoyed an egg hunt hosted by our church and of course Easter morning festivities, but their most favorite of all was camping outside in the backyard. It was such a blast. I had so many preconceived notions of how fun it would be and I had high expectations going into it and it was exactly what I had imagined. They girls had a BLAST! We had a blast. It is definitely something we will do during nice weather weekends as a special treat. Below are some fun memories from the weekend. We got to enjoy some time roasting smores with our wonderful neighbors Pam and John too. 



April 2016:

Weekend with Tessa: We were so excited to have Tessa for a weekend while Aimee and Israel celebrated their anniversary. The three girls were the best of buds the whole time. They adore each other! Here are some photos from our weekend and from their new activity--dance! 



Field Trip to Crocodile Encounter: The girls went on a fun field trip to Crocodile Encounter. Here they were able to see crocodiles and alligators, turtles and tortoises. It was a fun field trip with school.



First swim of the season!

Visit with Nana and Grandpa: As always, the girls love the time with their grandparents. TSo many fun happenings including Froberg farms, visit to Sprinkles, dinners out, going to a playland, and enjoying the normal every day happenings of going to school and activities around the house like playing hide and seek, reading books, painting and so much more. It is always a good week with the grandparents.

We Love You Grandmom and Great Grandmom: In April, we said good-bye to a very special person in our lives, Grandmom to me and Great Grandmom to the girls. I have a lot of good memories with Grandmom  She was not just sweet, but funny! She loved her family very much and I'm so thankful that last summer we had a wonderful family gathering where she was with many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Some of her famous recipes will live on in my house and we will also carry her in our hearts.

Here are some videos: