More of the Celebration

Just thought I'd throw in a few more pics of before and after the wedding...

Here's my sister Jess, the beautiful bride, at the church before the wedding.

(I was disappointed this morning to find out that I didn't have any pictures of just Jess and her new husband Jason! I'll have to get copies from someone.)

The girls.

My sister Stephanie, me, my mom in the blue dress,

sister-in-law Tammy, and Jess!

Despite protests by Jess, the men picked her up for the photographers. :o)

Chillin' with my cousin Dustin and brother Shaun.

The little kids had a blast at the dance.

Dancing with the bride.

Haddie is in a white flower girl dress right next to Jess (almost hidden),

and Seth had changed by then and was dancing in the

blue and green striped shirt with khaki's.

We had a great time celebrating with Jess and Jason and we're so happy for them!

Go Carts are Funny

Right before Haddie's nap today we decided to watch the video of Jess and some friends Go-Carting at her bachelorette party on our blog. The kids thought it was so funny, I just had to record their laughter. (Sorry it's dark - it looks like we're trying to hide Haddie's idenity! Hehe.) ;o)

6/21/03

Six years ago today we became "Mr. and Mrs."!

(Here's us at my sister's wedding yesterday.)

It's been a great six years!

You're the best, babe. I love our life together. Thank you for being my husband!


(more pics of the wedding coming soon!)

Got Spinach?

Yep, that's right. Spinach. Or kale will work too! :o)

Recently our family has been enjoying green smoothies! I have heard of the "hiding veggies" trick and we have tried it successfully for many types of meals... but I admit I was a bit surprised to find recipes that used spinach or kale as the main ingredient for smoothies!

I think these pictures will give you a good idea how we liked them!

Here's Seth showing off his green smoothie mustache (it was such a nice day we decided to bring the smoothies outside.)

The first time we made green smoothies, I actually put more blueberries in than necessary because I wasn't sure if my kids would balk at the idea of seeing green.
You can see here, however, that they have no problem with the color! ;o) (I guess the fact that my kids are quite young and still have very formitable minds works in my favor!)

Seth loves a good smoothie!

Haddie does too!

We're experimenting with lots of fruits, but we often use this recipe...

Beginner Blueberry Kale/Spinach Smoothie

1 large ripe banana, peeled
2-4 kale leaves (or sometimes we use a couple cups of baby spinach instead)
1 cup blueberries, frozen
1 cup pure water
Pour the water and toss the banana and kale into the blender. Blend. Then add the blueberries. Blend again until smooth. Enjoy! 1-2 servings

We found all of this and more on a great website of a neat gal we know. Do check it out here!!

"Here and There and Everywhere"

Whew! Our family has been on the road a LOT lately! I thought I'd bring you up to speed by sharing some pictures - which works out nicely because my mind is mush and I can tell that narration of scenes is about all I can come up with tonight! ;o)

"Here"

Steve, Seth, and Haddie at home in between trips.

Haddie turned two! Here she is with Grandma Sheila at the farm.

Haddie and Aunt Tammy

"There"

We made a trip to attend a graduation party for Steve's cousin. There we enjoyed visiting with many of Steve's relatives we don't get to see often! (Here we are with his Grandpa, Boyd)

Steve and his cousin Jordan.

To celebrate Jordan's birthday, Steve and I, as well as Jordan and his girlfriend Ashley, went to Outback Steakhouse. Mmmmm. That was good.

.... I think I'm hungry.... ;o)

The middle boy is Steve's cousin.

Seth took a liking to him - and a fascination with his game!

Celebrating Haddie's birthday with Steve's side.

Steve's sisters had their boys at the hotel. Two of his cousins, an aunt, and also an uncle brought their children as well! That was ten kids for this picture!

Here's another angle to help you see the gang.

Just wanted to throw this one in because we drove to "The Farm" several times in the past few weeks, and we love how these flowering crab trees look in full blossom as they line the horse pasture.

Steve and Haddie planted beans with Uncle Shaun for a while one morning.

Seth planted with Grandpa Dewey.

"And Everywhere"
Seth, Haddie, cousin Daniel and cousin Caleb, posing at a National Park we visited together.

Seth and I at the same park (he's doing "the wink" for you).

Taking a walk down to the river to throw "plunkers" - one of our kiddos' favorite pastimes.

The kids around the table at the Bunkhouse. This was our first experience with a separate "kid's table". The kids thought it was awesome! (And it went surprisingly well!)

Steve and Seth throwing plunkers (sorry, the pics got out of order...)

The Angus Ranch we were guests at.

The last night we were at the Bunkhouse someone special was hung in the Room of Death. ;o) It was an enormous buffalo. The picture doesn't do his size justice.

I love the expressions and movement caught in this photo.

Some crazies we found at the park. ;o)

(No, just kidding. Some of our favorite people to hang out with.)

Caleb

Daniel

He he... here's my first try at putting a video on the blog.... ;o)

(It was supposed to be higher up in this slide show... but I'm tired so I'm going to leave it where it is!) Anyway, I drove a couple hours to go to my lovely sister's bachelorette party recently - where we went go carting. :o)

OK. That's a wrap!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Aahhhh.

My heart is happy.

For so long I've been praying that Seth and Haddie would start to play together more, and also just enjoy being around each other. When Haddie was only a couple months old Seth figured out that he could easily push her buttons to the point of tears, and from that moment on, it has been one of his most common pastimes. A dainty, sensitive girly-girl and a strong-willed, active, rambunctious older brother have been a difficult combination for quite some time (OK, difficult is an understatement!) Anyway, in the past month a change has taken place and it makes me feel like a 50 pound weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Maybe it is being out in the sun more, maybe it is our efforts to try to parent better, maybe it is Seth and Haddie both maturing a little more... I'm thinking probably some of all of these, plus a huge dose of God's grace and answered prayer.

At any rate, when I looked outside the window this morning and saw Seth and Haddie playing happily together in the sand box with Meshach laying nearby, my heart swelled and I thanked God. It's finally happening! Not just once in a great while. It is becoming the norm. I know there will still be lots of squabbling ahead, for many years to come, but I do believe we have turned a corner! Ahhhhh. :o)