Last Day of Preschool!

August 2009

May 2010

And this picture is for my sister... The kids are playing with moon sand - so there you go :) (and they are outside and Grant is not wearing pants and there is thunder in the background because the storm is about to rain and clean it all up for me... :)

On a Hot Day

Popsicles!

Pine Lake Weekend

Leaving the house -- everyone gets an apple to snack on :) Riding bikes to the beach: At the beach: Throwing sticks in the water (Grant said this was his favorite part): I'm surprised this wasn't his favorite part... :)
After Grant was done with his s'more he asked me to finish it for him. This was probably the funniest part of my weekend. :) After I declined he thought maybe Grandpa would finish it for him - that part didn't make it to the video.

Grandpa telling a story to the kids: Playing at the beach: Riley buried in the sand: Riley :)

Preschool Graduation

Reagan's preschool held a "graduation ceremony" complete with a cap and a lengthy performance of songs... :) I say "lengthy" because that's how Riley and Grant would have described it. Riley and Joel spent most of the hour in the hall and Grant spent it taking pictures with the camera. With all the photo flashes it looked like the paparazzi was sitting in the second row.
Getting her "diploma" from her teacher, Mrs. Long:

They had cake with all their names on it:

Reagan with her other teacher, Mrs. Schafbuch:

With Mrs. Long:

After its all over -- eating cake with friends:
One of the songs they sang was called "Tootie-Ta". Its a silly "Father Abraham-ish" type song. I only taped the last verse and it makes me laugh - especially since Reagan taught it to Joel. :)

Short Hair and Other Pics

Yesterday became haircut day. I messed up while cutting Grant's hair (mostly due to the thrashing-fit he was throwing, but whatever) and ended up just buzzing the whole thing. I'm not a big fan but Grant could care less and I know it will grow back (quickly!) :)


Reagan and I got our hair cut also. Mine is about 6 inches shorter and I can't even tell how much Reagan got cut... 6 inches at least... :)


Playing in the dump truck is fun until your crazy-fast brother runs your feet into the kitchen cabinets, or the couch, or the wall... (and yet she gets back in for more...?)

Grant's favorite swing:

Riley's first Oreo cookie last weekend:

Playing outside:

Daddy's new invention. The car is tied to the wagon. Fights have erupted because there is only room in the wagon for two. I don't know what will get tied on behind the car when there are four of them... Stay tuned, I guess.

It's a Boy

Today was our ultrasound and we found out we're having a boy! Reagan is excited that we have a family "pattern" and that she's having a brother.

I'm happy to find out its a boy right at the beginning of "garage sale season". However, I'm a little nervous because my only real craving has been taco sauce - HOT taco sauce - and it's hard for me to imagine adding to our family a Grant-plus-a-hot-sauce-craving-type boy. Maybe I'm over analyzing.



The one thing that was not perfect about the ultrasound was his size. Everything about him seemed to measure exactly one month behind his expected due date.

The good news is that everything about him is proportional - just small - the way a baby would look who is 4 weeks less developed. It could be as simple as mixed up dates, and that's what I'm hoping. We'll have a Level 2 Ultrasound at a perinatologist clinic at the beginning of next month that will hopefully clear up some of the uncertainty. In the meantime, I feel a little unsettled and am trying to keep my mind from wondering "what if".

As I was praying with the kids tonight, this is what Reagan prayed -- as best as I can remember:

God thank you for this great day and for the new baby that's a brother. I love my family that you gave me and I love my comfortable bed. I wish you had given us twins, but I am thankful for the one brother that you gave us. You are the King and I want you to do what you want. God, if you want to have me be an orphan I wouldn't like it, but I would just deal with it becuase I want to do what You want me to. You are the King and you know what's best for me. I want to obey you and do what you want me to do. Please help me have a good night sleep and help me have a good day tomorrow. Amen.

Reagan couldn't understand why I was crying when she finished. I told her it was just because I agreed with her and that her prayer reminded me that I want for us what God wants for us -- and that will be what's best.

Happy Mother's Day!

"I made this handprint for you
so that one day when I am tall,
You'll remember what my hands looked like
long ago when I was small!"

I wanted to get Reagan a new Lego house (we've built the yellow one at least 5 times) so "change" was my Mother's Day present to myself :)

Not only did Joel get me 5 bags of mulch for Mother's Day, but he leveled the flower bed and spread the mulch for me :)

And Riley was just cute playing in the sink :)