Daddy and his girl!

Think they look alike?!

Fun with water!

Isaac loves playing with water in our backyard. Lately he enjoys taking the hose and changing out the sprinkler for the sprayer and vice versa. He waters the entire yard and garden during an afternoon of play, but this can keep him entertained for hours and he gets so much joy from it! We love watching him have such fun!

Egg Hunt at Home (and Inside!)

Then I guess they decided to hide themselves...

Amimal in his house!

Last week, Elise was playing with her necklace, a silly band, and a toy pig (which she calls her "amimal"). I was sitting at the table with Isaac and Elise said she wanted to show me something. I looked down on the floor and saw this:


She described this as her "amimal in his house". Cute!!

Resurrection Day Blessings...

2012
Isaac 4 years, 4 months old
Elise 2.5 years old

Resurrection Weekend 2012!

We had an incredible time celebrating Jesus' resurrection and all that it means in our lives today. The weekend started out with the kids spending Thursday night with my parents so that Steven and I could have a date night. On Friday we went to get the kids and then invited my parents to come with us to Carowinds. After a lunch at Captain Steve's Fish Camp (something about having fish for lunch just makes you feel like you're on vacation! Ahhh!), we headed to Carowinds. The kids love the kiddy rides, and Steven and my Dad love the roller coasters. I used to be a roller coaster rider, but I'm not sure I love them the same ten years after my last ride. Steven did get me on the Vortex (an old fave) and the new Wind Seeker (swings that go 300 ft into the air and then go 30 MPH once they get there.) I would have enjoyed the swings better if there weren't teenage girls behind us screaming at the top of their lungs, saying things like "It's gonna snap!" and "We aren't even halfway up!" I think they kinda disrupted my zen or something like that. Maybe next time I'll request being seated around quiet grownups. ;)

After an exhausting and wonderful afternoon there, we dropped my parents off and dropped the kids in bed. We did too! Thankfully we got to sleep in the next morning. Ahhh... we didn't even wake up till 8:15!

Saturday was a glorious day of errands, resting (everyone took naps!) and then dinner at my parents' with my grandparents and Kati and Ray. We stayed till dark and my Dad brought out sparklers and smoke bombs for the kids to play with.

The next morning, we enjoyed a Resurrection Day service and then had lunch with my parents. We ended up staying the entire afternoon and heading home in time for bath and bed. We all fell into bed, completely spent but completely full at the same time.

Some pictures from our weekend...

Saturday night, Isaac was pumped to be able to help with the homemade whipped cream!


What a blessing to have my grandparents there, telling stories, giving wisdom, and laughing with us!


Back to the whipped cream... Gramps and Isaac getting it set up:


YAY! It works!


This was the highlight of Isaac's dinner:


Elise mainly enjoyed eating it:


And smiling for the camera, of course!


What a gift this past weekend was for our family. God has a beautiful way of shining glimpses of real hope into even the darkest seasons. Thank you for this weekend, Lord. And thank you for Jesus.

Tent adventures!

My Dad bought us this great tent at at yard sale, and the kids love to get it out every so often to play. It fills up most of our living room, but that is okay! The kids just get all the blocks and toys out and dump them out into the tent. Then they go inside and play!

First Pedicure for Elise!

This past weekend, I painted Elise's toenails for the first time! She was very patient while I painted them, and then she let me use the hair dryer to dry them with cool air. However, once I put her down and she was free to play, she sat down and started scraping the paint off, saying, "I don't want it! I don't want it!" I told her that it was supposed to stay and that she didn't need to scrape it off. That seemed to help and she stopped with the scraping. She told several members of our family on Easter, "Look at my pretty toes!"

Giving Elise her first polish:


Happy girl!


Ta-dah! Such pretty little piggies!

Fun with Elise!

Maybe her idea of hiding eggs is tossing them out of the laundry basket?


"If I close my eyes, you won't see me! Where's Elise??"


"Of course, I'll smile Mommy! Cheeeeeeeese!"

Cuteness Part Two

Ahhhh! This is so sweet I think I taste sugar!

Cuteness Part One

First Zoo Trip of 2012!

On a very warm and sunny Saturday in March, our family decided a trip to the zoo was in order. We headed to Asheboro to see the elephants, zebras, gorillas, giraffes, and other fun animals we don't see everyday. We took our double stroller, but the kids walked most of the park. On the way back from "Africa" to "North America", they were worn out, so we strolled them as Steven and got our exercise. The kids especially enjoyed seeing the elephants, the grizzly bears, the sea lions, and the honeybee exhibit. Oh, and Isaac's absolute favorite thing to do was ride the tram!

Our sweet babes looking at the elephants:



Steven and the kiddos:


Sweet girl, who loves smiling for the camera! (unlike her brother, who would prefer to be off camera most of the time.)



Isaac, watching the Grizzly Bear!


Elise, at the Sea Lions:



Isaac thought the Sea Lions were way cool!


We had a blast! Wonderful weather, fun animals, and priceless family time!