Easter Birthdays

holiday memories...

gwen and i attended the costco company Christmas party on sunday night... the food was good and my wife looked HOT!!! i love spending time with her...

during the time we were there my mom and dad babysat the kiddos and took them to the nutcracker... all four really enjoyed it and it has added to their holiday experience... my brothers family was also there and that gave abby a chance to sit with and hang out with lila, her cousin...

all in all it was a great weekend...

post #3 from the road...

as we prepare to leave the great state of minnesota, we pause to reflect on the last few days... we are so amazed at the way God has blessed us and taken care of us... not just in the traveling mercies He granted but also the fellowship we have had with family and friends...

the first picture is of mark (gwens cousin), janine (his wife), travis and hayden...and buster too(dog)... we stayed with them the first two nights here in minnesota and had a great time swimming, talking, seeing llamas, eating, and just relaxing in their beautiful home...

the next picture is of ethan at the zoo... eating his highly anticipated snow cone...(it was actually de-lish he wanted me to have the same... so i did... we also shared with mom...)

then we got abby posing as a grizzly bear outside the zoo gift shop... ( the zoo excursion with our friends the aldridges from chicago)... the miller kids pose with kate and tom ouside the zoo foodcourt...

next pictured is abby and noah standing with a stormtrooper at the science museum of minnesota... they were having a star wars exhibit... so of course we had to go...(also with the aldridges)


the last photo for today is of me and cole with our mad faces on... but hey... what do you expect... we were standing next to darth vader...

anyways...

off to iowa in the morning so i better get to bed...

sweet dreams to all who peruse this blog...

post #2 from the road...

well... it seems really weird that we left dupont less than 5 days ago... and yet we have done so much... *we drove out to minnesota in about 2 1/2 days... *then we attended a rehearsal and dinner for great aunt shirlee's wedding on friday... abby was the flower girl... *then that night... we swam at hayden and travis's house, the kids 2nd cousins... where we stayed (pictures at later time) .... *then saturday a beautiful wedding and reception... and more swimming(with the cousins).... *then today we went to the minnesota ZOO... what a great time we had.... we went with tom and kate (pat and cheryls kids)(pictured at a later post)(and pat and cheryl)...

we also swam with them at the hotel and had a pizza feast from the green mill est.1935... it was so de-lish... followed by movie time for the kids while we caught up with our good friends...

*these are just a couple of pictures to give you a snap shot of the road including the kids with their other second cousins Jack and Julia... *we are having so much fun and to think we have 11 more days till we are home...

we are so thankful to all our family and friends that have been such a blessing to us over these first 4 days... and we look forward to seeing you again soon...

"so little to do... so much time..."

" strike that... reverse it"

what movie was that line from...???

Sleepover Fun

Our niece, Lila, came over for a sleepover on Wednesday. We all had so much fun!

Uncle Mark picked up Lila after work on Wednesday afternoon and brought her home. Noah, Ethan & Abby were still at school, so Lila walked in the door and announced, "Cole Henry! I'm here!" So sweet! So Lila and Cole had some fun play time waiting for Abby to get home.


Then Abby, Lila and Cole had some fun coloring before we all headed off to Awana. Lila thought Uncle Mark deserved a beautiful rainbow picture!

And after Awana and a bedtime snack, Abby and Lila crawled into their sleeping bags and (eventually!!) went to sleep.

I didn't grow up near any of my cousins, and Mark doesn't have any cousins, so it's so awesome for us to see our kids and their cousins having so much fun together, and making memories that will last a lifetime. We are blessed!

Thanks for coming over Lila! I hope we can do it again soon!