awana games 2012

saturday was the "awana games".

the kids had fun & we loved cheering for them.

sparks team 3rd place

TNT boys & girls 1st place

{levi is still in sparks. he got to be an extra on the older kids team}

sparky crawl

david & levi getting ready for the relay

emma cheering for her brother

bean bag relay

sparky train

emma getting coached for her big race

emma was so tired! she fell asleep on the way home.

levi kept his medal on while he relaxed at home

emma's new room

for emma's birthday she decided she wanted a room make-over.

gone is the pink. hello aqua & black & zebra! she knew what she wanted & i tried to deliver!

she wanted chalkboard paint. we painted her closet doors.
some of the accessories were gifts from grandparents.
my favorite parts are the gallery wall & the curtains.
the pictures of the room are cute, but it looks soooo cute when you walk into it!

the desk was a treasure found on the curb & painted.

she loves music, art & sports. i tried to include a little of all of her interests.

she is one happy girl!

Happy 9th Birthday!

we took ice cream & a balloon to her at school

she chose to eat at chili's for dinner.

they love the molten lava cake!

she has mixed feelings about the people singing & clapping to her!

they were like little chocolate monsters, devouring the cake.

they had people around us laughing.

sean left the restaurant covered in food.

Happy Birthday, Emma!

We love you more than words can tell.

you are an amazing gift from God. I can't imagine life without you.

you keep us on our toes (and our knees).

God has blessed you with all sorts of talents & abilities & TONS of determination to go along with it. each year we delight in seeing you grow & develop & we get excited about all that God has in store for you. we are so thankful that He choose us to go along for the ride with you!

xoxoxox

love, mommy!

the boy needs a haircut

but he's oh so cute!

maybe tomorrow we'll get the hair cut.

maybe i'll video it so everyone can see why we keep his hair so long. the kid FREAKS. OUT. i mean, i do like his hair longish, resembling his daddy's adorable buster brown-super cute-really blonde hairdo from the 70's. but right now it's even too long for me! i wait until he has trouble seeing because it's in his eyes...we're reaching that point!

mommy's helper

a great new discovery for max has been the water spray bottle we use for doing hair.

he loves to take it outside & water the plants.

on this day he decided that he needed to help mommy clean. he sprayed the window, ran in & got a rag from the drawer & began cleaning. love my little helper!
he cleaned the picnic table & the shovel, too!

sibling rilvary...wait a minute

i will never understand why they insist on fighting all day long.

then at night...i find them like this.

they really do love each other. aw.

and the cats.....hilarious

missions conference 2012

making muffins

emma & max both love to help in the kitchen.

levi & sean both love to eat the stuff we make in the kitchen. :)

{blowing on the muffins 'cuz they're HOT!}

[this pic is from a few weeks ago. the boys brought me flowers while i was sick! so sweet. we make muffins almost every weekend.]

a day off

{President's Day}

everyone was split. should we go back to the zoo or go to the beach?!
it was a little cool, but i really wanted to go to the beach!
we packed (shoved, jammed & grunted!) the bikes & the bike trailer in the back of sean's suburban and headed off to the lighthouse beach. the suburban overheated & the kids were a bit cranky. BUT we did manage to have some fun. we used a wendy's gift card & the kids got a frosty. we rode to the beach with the windows down. the woman in the toll both saw max & said, "did you enjoy that chocolate?!"

it was later in the afternoon by the time we finally got to the beach.

(due to going to get me a new phone & the car over-heating)

we rode bikes for about an hour, then walked to the beach.

it was pretty cool out today. the water was freezing.

but it was perfect for playing in the sand & playing football.