Snakes

We were in the backyard, down by the river the other day and came across a couple snakes. We tried to catch them but they were too fast for us, and if I admit it, I was a little freaked out! But Mike came back with us the second time, and good old daddy was able to help the girls catch one of them.

 



Our Pre-school Graduate!

We officially have a Kindergartner in our house! Allie had her Pre-school graduation this past week. I know it sounds cliche, but it literally feels like just yesterday that she was having her first day of school. We put her in the dress that she wore on her first day, about a week ago, and it was so much shorter on her. She must have grown 3 or 4 inches since September.

 

Allie had a lot of fun on her graduation day! We brought her some carnations which she was thrilled about!

 

The kids sang some songs for us that they had learned this year. Then each one was called forward to accept their "diploma," shake hands with the teacher, and have something read about them. Allie's favorite thing about Pre-school was learning.

 

This is Allie's teacher Ms. Debbie! Allie loves her.

 

Allie had a great year. She made a lot of nice friends, learned how to read, and has gotten more confident with new situations. I'm sure she'll do just fine getting on that bus for the first time in the fall!



Recent Happenings

May has been busy, but fun! We had a baby shower for one of my longest friends, Katie! She is due with her first little baby boy in August.

 

Allie was invited to her first birthday party for a classmate. She had so much fun at this Wreck-it-Ralph themed birthday party!

 

I had a meeting with Mary Kay and Hannah loved that she helped build a tower out of Lego's. Hannah LOVES Mary Kay!

 

We went to Noah and Nathan's 4th birthday party. It was a John Deere Themed party and the kids got to go on a hay ride!

 

We have arranged marriages planned for all these kiddos. It can work for them all to stay in these four families;)

 

I enjoyed having a lunch date with this little lady!

 

I love spring! We're gearing up for summer too. We just made our annual paper chain to count down to vacation. The girls are looking forward to a fun filled summer!



Mother's Day

I love these girls! I'm so blessed to be able to be their mom. They are seriously so much fun. I really enjoy hanging out with these three characters and I not only love them, but I really like them! They have such fun and sweet little personalities. My days are filled with joy and laughter because of these ladies. I'm thankful to God for the blessings they bring!

 

We had a packed and funfilled mother's day! I played music at church so I had to be up bright and early. After church we had lunch with the Epley family. Kathy set up a very nice breakfast/lunch for everyone!

 

Kathy has nine grandchildren. Joseph is the only one missing from this picture!

 

After the Epley's, we left for Jeff and Tara's where we celebrated mother's day and the twins 8th birthday!

 

My mom has 7 grandchildren!

The kids loved playing this dance game!

 

It was a great day!

 

 

Today, Allie's pre-school had a mother's day tea party! My mom, Kathy and I all had a great time sipping tea and eating snacks with Allie. She was most excited about getting to stay at school for lunch!



Nature

A lot has happened around here in the past few weeks. We've been trying to spend a lot of time outside. That's why I love Michigan so much; I appreciate the seasons! Being couped up inside all winter helps us take advantage of the outdoors when the weather gets nice!

 

We had a robbin build a nest on Mike's ladder last year, but it happened to be the ladder that was pretty high up. This year, another robbin built a nest on the lower ladder, which is awesome cause it's only about four feet up off the ground. So we have had a front row seat to this nest!

 

Here is the baby just about a day old:

 

And here are two of the babies less than two weeks later! They grow so fast. One of the eggs didn't make it. We found it in the grass and put it back in the nest but the mama bird kept pushing it out.

 

On Monday I was able to go on a field trip with Ava's class to Indian Springs. Believe it or not, it was freezing! The problem was the wind. But the kids still had a great time!

 

My tulips were beautiful once again this spring! So beautiful, in fact, that I used a bunch of them for a baby shower I helped out with!

 

Here's the centerpieces. Those forsythia are from my neighbor's yard!

 

 

 This little guy we named Alvin. He lives in our porch! Mike happened to catch him one day. The girls love this!