A Smattering Of Thoughts

It seems like it has been a loooong time since I posted to the blog, which leaves me with too much to say for one post. So, for now I will stick a short summary to catch you up and then delve back in sometime soon to really flesh out the events.

First, I have a few pics of (mostly bored) Isaac who has been great at coming up with ways to entertain himself that don’t make me feel like I am a terrible parent for being too busy, or exhausted, or both.

(No, we didn’t buy it).Abby’s cheeks appear to be growing even more, but the rest of her body seems to be catching up a little. Anna has really enjoyed gymnastics. She even told us, “I don’t ever want to quit.” She can climb a 20 foot rope from floor to ceiling and does well on the bars. Once in a while, I can go watch and I always end up feeling like she is really in her element. She looks strong, focused and like she is having fun being a little bit social in the middle of it all.

Julie and I decided to celebrate our 11th anniversary at the Valley Inn in Warsaw. Unfortunately, they are closed on Sundays, so we ended up walking around the lake at DeWitt Park and going to Applebee’s for the second year in a row (we had gift cards, so might as well save our cash right?). DeWitt, or “the sandwash” was a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t been out since the city graded a trail all the way around and it has improved a lot. I recommend it highly for a lunch break or quick walk with the fam.  Anna was super excited to march in the Memorial Day parade with her troupe of Daisy’s. The parade was filled with motorcycles, candy and every fire truck within 10 miles of Batavia, so Isaac was in his glory too. Memorial Day also happened to be my mom’s birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!). I rode my bike out to Caledonia via the Oatka trail, which I also recommend. I’m pretty sure I am going to ride the Trail (it is a road, but as pretty as a trail) with my uncle when the leaves change in the Fall. Dad grilled Zweigle’s and Liz made a delicious Strawberry Shortcake for the birthday party and we enjoyed it all outside. Hope you are enjoying your spring!

One Morning in April

I am headed out to Denver for a few days for work, and wouldn’t you know it, the weather is going to be absolutely gorgeous here and downright crappy out there. Fortunately, I should get to see some relatives I haven’t seen in a while and I will be pretty busy, so the weather shouldn’t impact me too much. I did get the opportunity to snap a couple quick pics on my way out the door this morning though. Get a load of the cheeks on this one:

And the uneven toothy smile on this one: 

Hope you have a smiley day.

Father/Daughter Dance

On Saturday, Mike and Jackie came to visit and right in the middle of it all, Anna and I went to a father/daughter dance at Northgate. Anna was so excited that she wanted to talk about it every time we were together for two days beforehand. I wasn’t overly enthused about getting dressed up to chase around six-year-old girls on a Saturday night, but her excitement made it very worth while. She was grinning ear-to-ear for most of the time. That, combined with four cups of sherbet punch made for some funny moments.

Anna said her hands and her feet hurt after the dance. The hands we never quite figured out, but the feet were a no-brainer considering the dance itself was more a mixture of an ongoing train, a jumping contest and one long game of tag. Quite a spectacle, and a lot of fun to watch.

Iced Buds

Last week, Julie got pretty sick Wednesday night, so I tried to pick up some slack on Thursday by bringing Isaac with me to work and picking up/dropping off Anna and her friend Isabella. Thursday turned out to be a rainy day that hovered around freezing for long enough to encase all of the buds on the trees and bushes in a layer of ice. It made for some beautiful “rain drops.”

Happy Birthday Dad

Julie and I went to a Ken Davis show a few weeks ago which we really enjoyed. If you don’t know, he is a Christian comedian who tells stories (not jokes) with huge impact and a ton of laughs. Check out his website here: www.kendavis.com. During the show I thought of my Dad for two reasons: 1. It was my Dad’s birthday, and 2. Ken Davis was really funny, and my Dad likes funny guys. We bought a few CDs for my Dad after the show and Ken Davis took the time to record this birthday greeting:

Thanks Ken! And Happy Birthday Dad!

Easter

What a great weekend! In addition to being the highlight of the church calendar, Easter is a fun family time that doesn’t have a bunch of clutter in the schedule. So, we spend most of the weekend hanging out with friends and catching up with our families. Here are a few pictures to get you started (I will post some more later)-

Hope you had a great Easter too!

Weekend Thoughts

Just a few quick notes from the weekend:

Abigail is really growing fast – her cheeks get chubbier by the day and she seems more aware all the time. She looks at you with eyes wide open and you feel like she is either wondering why you look like that or just staring at the glare from your forehead.

We were talking about feeding Abigail at dinner last night and Anna said, “Daddy, you haven’t breastfed a day in your life” and proceeded to give me a look like I was a lazy person. This might be true, but it was a bit rich from a six year old.

Isaac and I went on a shopping trip to use some birthday cash. He desperately wanted some toys that were basically cheap trash in some nice packaging. Even after talking about it, he did not care one bit that they were overpriced – he had been thinking about this little package of toys for a full 24 hours, guided me to their exact location, picked up the basket and said, “this is it!” like he had created the whole thing.

Abigail was wide awake this evening and just hanging out. I thoroughly enjoyed just being with her for a few minutes. I’m sure she will test our patience tonight to make up for it, but it was fun while it lasted:

Hope you had a good weekend too!