Family Camping...

Two weekends ago we went on our church's family camping trip. We went to the lake home of a family in our church and had such a great time! The weather was wonderful for this time of year - unseasonably cool in the upper 80's and lower 90's, the kids had a great time swimming, canoing, climbing rocks, fishing, hiking up to "the blue hole" swimming area, and so much more. We got to try out our new camping equipment, and are excited for the chance to use it a few more times before I'm too pregnant to enjoy it. Here are the pix I got, of course not nearly as many as I had hoped, but it will give you a glimpse into our trip.

Josh jumping (upper left)

Little Bear Grylls...

So Calvin has
been very in
to Man Vs. Wild
since we
discovered it
about a year ago.
Recently, Bear
was on some
sort of
adventure in the Black Hills
and used tree branches sort
of like ice picks to climb up
the sand hills. Upon first
glance, the top picture
looks like a pretty normal
shot of our living room.
But if you look closer, you will
see that Calvin not only enjoys
the show, but takes it pretty
seriously!

Ahh, two year olds

Just thought I'd share our experience with leaving a two year old to her own
devices when she's supposed to be napping. Looks comfy to me, especially those
tights without anything underneath! Atleast she finally went to sleep, right?

Yes that's right...

Yes that's right, I did just say little sister in the post below. We found out almost two weeks ago that number 4 is a girl! :) We are very excited and think this will be a very good thing for our family, especially Colette. We have a dvd of the ultra sound - it's cool to see her move around, open her mouth, and even yawn! We had hopes of posting it up here, but can't figure out how to get it in the right format. Hopefully we'll figure it out soon. Two boys and two girls...sounds great to us!

Colette's First Day...

Well, we were pretty quick to get report's up of the boys' first days of school, they both had pretty good ones. And then there's Colette. As evidenced by these pictures, she was very excited to go to school. That excitement soon faded when she realized I wasn't staying with her. Fast forward four weeks, and we have still had about the same number of rough days as good ones. She is slowly getting used to things at school, she has made a little friend who is also unsure of this whole be without Mommy thing. Apparently, according to the teachers and day school director, the two feed off of each other and are rather used to crying and commiserating together. However, last week was pretty good altogether, both Tuesday and Thursday Colette's little report sheet said she was in a "good" mood. Overall we're still feeing like this is a good place for her - especially when little sister comes :) .

First Days of School...

 

 

 

 

Today was Josh and Calvin's first day of school, Calvin's first day of school ever. So most of this post will be about Calvin. Sorry Josh, but you're an old pro by now. We were worried Calvin would be nervous, especially after his prayer at dinner last night, "We pray that I would not get picked on and that I would not be nervous." But he was up at the crack of dawn talking a mile a minute, never pausing to express any concern at all. He hid behind me when we got to the classroom, but was soon saying hi to a boy he'd met at the "Meet and Greet" last week. As I left his teacher handed me a little ziploc bag w/ this in it:

1 Cotton Ball
1 Tissue
1 Tea Bag

And the following note: "Dearest Kindergarten Parents, Here is a little "gift" for you as you leave your precious ones with me on the fist day of school. As you hold this cotton ball in your hand, the softness will help you to remember the gentle spirit of your child. After you've gone home and dried your tears, make yourself a hot cup of tea. Put up your feet and relax. Remember that together you and I will work for your child to be the best they can be. Thank you for entrusting your child to me for the coming school year. I will do my very best every day to be your child's guide in learning and exploring this bright, new world they've just stepped into."

How sweet is that! Needless to say I felt/feel pretty good about his teacher. And so does he. When I picked him up he was on and on about upper and lower case letters, his two new friends, and how pretty and dressed up his teacher was :). All in all it was a great day for Calvin and for Josh. Josh was, of course, very excited for everything they did. He says his class is great and the kids are all very nice. He gets to see his very good friend at recess and made another friend whom he calls DJ and DJ calls him Hip Hop. Have no idea how they came up with that one :).

Ok, here are the pix. Notice Colette, she is a bit confused as to why she's not going to school today. That's tomorrow for her!

Happy Father's Day!!!

To our dad's, Grandpa Bill and Grandpa Mel,

To start off, we asked the kids to draw pictures of each of you. Here's the results:

Grandpa Bill, by Josh

Grandpa Bill by Calvin

Grandpa Mel by Josh

Grandpa Mel by Calvin

When given the same assignment as the boys (to draw her Grandpops), Colette ran for the table and started right in on her drawing. Though her intentions were good, she was quickly distracted by how nicely marker colors on the table, and left before we could get much out of her. We did, however, manage to get this before she took off on another secret mission of utmost importance:



In Colette's world, we think circles are people since she usually will name them if you ask her who they are. So, either Colette thinks she has a bunch of Grandpops, or just a big family. :)

Next, we asked the kids some questions about their Grandpas. Here's what they said:
Q: How old are your Grandpas?
Grandpa Bill:
Josh: 48
Calvin: 48
Colette: 8
Grandpa Mel:
Josh: 45
Calvin: 45
Colette: 5

Q: How strong are your Grandpas (how much can they lift?)?
Grandpa Bill:
Josh: 15 lbs.
Calvin: 25 lbs.
Grandpa Mel:
Josh: 14 lbs
Calvin: 18 lbs.

Q: If your Grandpas were super heros, who would they be?
Grandpa Bill:
Josh: The incredible Hulk
Calvin: Indiana Jones
Colette: Barney
Grandpa Mel:
Josh: Superman
Calvin: Iron Man
Colette: Dora

Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your Grandpas?
Grandpa Bill:
Josh: Golfing
Calvin: Going to the lake two times
Colette: Watch Barney
Grandpa Mel:
Josh: Riding bikes
Calvin: When he pushes me on a swing
Colette: Eat

Q: How much do your Grandpas weigh?
Grandpa Bill:
Josh: 70 lbs.
Calvin: 100 lbs.
Grandpa Mel:
Josh: 57 lbs.
Calvin: 200 lbs.

Q: How do you know your Grandpas love you?
Grandpa Bill:
Josh: Because he takes me fishing and golfing.
Calvin: Because we love to play on the trampoline.
Grandpa Mel:
Josh: He likes to take me bike riding.
Calvin: We both like to catch butterflies.

To our Dad's - we love you and miss you - we can't wait to see you in just a couple weeks!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!