Sad day!

This morning Naomi brought her bracelet into me. It had broken and she lost a few beads. She seemed almost lost because she has had this bracelet on since she was about three months old. The only time I've ever taken it off has been to lengthen it. I bought her a new one for Christmas, but it's a little too big on her. She wanted to call her dad right away and tell him the news. It looks like the wire just broke apart after more than three years of wear.

Here's our cute little Naomi at about four months old with her bracelet on. I've always been surprised that she was so good about leaving it on. Madelyn wore one too until she was a year old and she wouldn't leave it alone. It's almost like it's part of Naomi; she seemed so sad this morning.

Wedding #2

Here's a very blurry picture of Justin and his cousin John when they were ring bearers in my sister Amy's wedding. I think Justin was about three and a half at the time.

Fast forward almost ten years...a friend at church asked Justin to escort her daughter last Saturday in her wedding. He was marvelous! On the way there, we were reminding him to smile, not slouch, etc. He did great and got lots of compliments.

Here Justin is next to the other two groomsmen looking like so little. We're so happy we could share in Pearl and Robin's special day!

Fire Station

Madelyn's pre-school class visited one of the local fire stations on Friday and Naomi and I were able to tag along. What an exciting day it was. The fireman who presented was awesome and involved the kids so much.
Naomi was super brave and let the fireman put her in the fire truck.
The kids all loved getting to use the fire hose.
Madelyn's pre-school class (plus Naomi).

Windy!!

Looks like we will be planting a new tree on Arbor Day this year...darn wind!

Birthday festivities

We celebrated Madelyn's birthday bright and early on Thursday because Aaron had to go out of town for a couple of days. She didn't mind getting up a little early to open gifts!
Madelyn begs me every time we go to the mall to do the "jump thing." She always asks me if she can do it when she's five. It was her lucky day!
We brought her good friend Piper with us who also hadn't done the jump before. They were both so excited and loved it! Great, now she's going to want to do it every time we go!
Madelyn is obsessed with weddings so we got her this dress-up for her birthday. One day we were driving in the car and she was stressing over who she is going to marry. I told her I could pick him out for her and she promised to let me. I need to get this in writing.
Yesterday we had a birthday party with her friends. She requested a Barbie cake and thanks to the help of my neighbor and a great You Tube tutorial video, I managed to pull this one off. It's not perfect, but she loved it and that's all that matters, right?

Madelyn with most of her guests

Elizabeth and her friend Mariah painting the girls' nails
Naomi playing "Kiss the Frog". The girls had to place lips on the frog's smile. Thank you, Aaron, for making the frog for me!
What a fun few days we have had celebrating Madelyn's 5th birthday. She has been looking forward to this day for weeks. She keeps asking questions that begin with, "Now that I'm five, can I..." Madelyn is so outgoing and loves to make friends. She loves to dance, play soccer in the backyard, ride her bike, and play babies, Barbies, and Polly's with Naomi. She will begin Kindergarten in the fall and is so excited. Naomi and I are really going to miss having her with us, but I know she will love school!

Happy Easter!

Elizabeth is becoming quite the little baker at our house. She and her friend Anna made Easter cutout cookies and decorated them. A few days later she made the little Easter basket cupcakes that she has been dying to try. She's getting pretty good and even cleans up after herself...somewhat!
Easter morning...doesn't Justin look excited? He was too cool to hunt for Easter eggs this year. The rest of the kids had fun and have been on a sugar diet ever since!
We weren't quick enough with pictures after church. The boys had already changed so here is a shot of the girls. Madelyn has been dying to wear her new Easter outfit and has asked to wear it everyday the past week.
Our kids cannot get enough of the trampoline this year. We've had an unseasonably warm spring (yeah!) so they have been outside on it constantly the past month. Elizabeth told me a few days ago that the trampoline has been really fun this year, probably because we don't have a swingset or gym anymore. Poor, deprived children!

The Windy City - Spring Break

Thursday morning the kids and I headed to Chicago. Aaron met us that night after work. Our first stop was the Children's Museum at Navy Pier. I have taken the kids a lot of places by myself, but Chicago during Spring Break was definitely an experience! Let's just say we weren't the only ones who thought of going there for a few days. It was fun to see the kids watch in amazement as we were walking down Michigan Avenue at the hoards of people.
Our good friends from Toledo (who now live in Omaha) were also in town so we met them there. We haven't seen a lot of each other the last few years, but Alisha and I had plenty to talk about. The best line came from her son Andy who asked when he was going to get to play with his new friends again. He doesn't remember that they used to play together all the time. Andy used to refer to Bruce and Will as one entity: BruceyWill! It was great to see them again!
Elizabeth and Naomi ready for a day of hard work!
Friday we visited Legoland. This place was also very busy, but we still had a great time. Our boys love playing with Legos and loved getting to see all of the creations. One of their favorite parts of the museum was the 4D movie. Naomi kept reaching out trying to touch everything and loved the sprays of water and wind.
What's more cool than posing with Batman?
Elizabeth is not our thrill seeker when it comes to rides. The couple of rides they had at Legoland were about her speed. I think she rode this one three times.

I was thinking I should have taken pictures of our kids riding the escalator at the mall or playing on the elevator at our hotel because I think they had as much fun doing that as they did at the museums. Our neighbor told us that's always a highlight of their trips to Chicago as well so it's nice to know we aren't alone.