Sandbox Fun...

The sandbox was a big hit with my nieces, Hannah and Harper; my nephew, Ethan; Benjamin; and uncles Corey, Colin, and Matt! Grandpa even had to take his turn digging in the sand. The day of Ada's baptism we had beautiful weather so we were excited to spend some time outside. Since Ada was dressed all in white we decided not to let her join in the sandbox fun. She kept a watchful eye on everyone and kept trying to jump out of my arms and into the sandbox to play.

Busy, Busy

Here is the cookie preparation in full swing for Ada's baptism. We never did count how many cross cookies that this recipe made but I guarantee that no one had to go without a cookie!

Ada's Baptism

Receivng a Prayer at my Baptism

Me, my parents, and Father David
Father David, my Godparents-Carrie and Matt, and my parents
Me and my great grandparents

back row left to right (great grandpa Curt, great grandpa Delmar, daddy, and Harry)

front row left to right (Nellie, great grandma Velma, mommy, and great grandma Orriette)

My cake that mommy made

We finally were able to have Ada's baptism. I never thought trying to schedule one thing would be so difficult. We wanted to make sure her arm was healed before we had her baptism so we chose to wait. Between the church being booked up in December and my gallbladder problems we decided to schedule her baptism in January. Well I ended up having gallbladder surgery in January so that took me out of the picture. Then throw my in-laws into the mix--they ended up going down south to Arizona for three months so the earliest we could have Ada's baptism was in April. So needless to say, after many months of planning we finally were able to have Ada's baptism on April 19, 2008! We ended up having a beautiful day. The weather allowed us the opportunity to be outside and not stuck in the house. This is something that the adults and kids both appreciated.

Ada's godparents were my sister Carrie and my brother-in-law Matt (Carrie's husband). They were both honored and happy to be Ada's godparents. We had a full house with both sets of grandparents, Benjamin and Ada's Great Grandma and Great Grandpa, Great Grandma and Harry, Great Granpa and Nellie, Dave's sister Connie and her three kids, Ethan, Hannah, and Harper, my sister and brother-in-law, and my brothers Corey and Colin.

Following the baptism we had a meal. I cooked a spiral ham to have for sandwiches. The ham was awesome but I find myself wondering why I didn't just buy deli ham for the sandwiches? My mom made potato salad and my mother-in-law made a broccoli vegetable salad and a macaroni fruit salad. My sister made cross sugar cookies (Benjamin helped her decorate them) and I made the cake. Carrie was my right hand girl all weekend and helped with whatever I asked of her. Thank you very much for that--I appreciated all your help.

The Hunt...

If there is one type of candy that Dave, Benjamin, and I have a weakness for it is licorice (preferably Red Vines). Benjamin convinced us to share our treat with him so we gave in and shared a piece of licorice with him. We heard him move a chair and sounded like he was talking to himself. I went to investigate and found that he had put a two to three inch piece into the vent escape in my oven door. No problem, I thought, I will just grab it out. Nope, I ended up knocking it into the oven door. We could hear it a little bit but we could not see it (even though some were a little more insistent than others). In the end Dave took a wire coat hanger and fished it up through the bottom of the door and rescued the piece of licorice. As Benjamin would say, "Good Job, Daddy!).

"Smile Big"

Whenever we ask Benjamin to smile or smile big for a picture he will scrunch up his little face for the photo. Dave was reading to the kids and I just couldn't resist taking a picture. Both Dave and Benjamin saw my camera and decided to "smile big" for the picture.

Happy Anniversary

We celebrated four years of marriage on April 17. We both cannot believe that it has been four years already! Where did the time go? It feels like we just were planning our wedding and here we are four years later. Dave and I have shared a lot of good times the last few years and have also been through a lot together. It's great being married to someone who loves, respects, and supports me. Dave has been a great help with our children and in the house. He also takes great care of his hedges. We enjoy spending time with one another and with our children. We have had four great years together and I anticipate many more to come. I love you honey!!

All Gone, Mom!

As you can see, Benjamin loves his spaghetti and spaghettio O's. In fact he loves anything with tomatoes in it, whether it is sauce, salsa, or whole or cut-up tomatoes. Benjamin has always been a very good eater. He loves his fruits and vegetables and lately he has gotten into eating meat. Dave would call him his little vegetarian. He will now eat his meat first and then his fruits and vegetables and cheese. Although, he has never really liked bread. He will take a bite of his sandwich, toast, or bread but thats all you get from him. Except if it is banana bread, pumpkin bread, etc. then he will eat it all up. One time when I made pumpkin bread (my favorite) with my pampered chef mini loaf pan (which I absolutely love) Benjamin got a hold of one of the mini loaves and picked it up like it was a brownie and just started to eat the whole loaf. What he didn't eat his cows and horses did!