Family Photos by Sweeter Images...

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My friend, Wendy Sweeter, has started her own photography business so we decided to have her take our family photos. Since Dave and I have been married for 5 years I requested a few extra photos (sorry, we did not do anything racy - as I have included all photos taken in the slide show) and Wendy exceeded my expectations! The photos turned out great and we had a good time. Ada wasn't too into the whole photo taking session but for those of you that know us, know that Ada has never really been into the photo taking thing.

I highly recommend Wendy as a photographer. Back in her amateur days (5 years ago) she was our personal photographer for our wedding. She capture all aspects of our wedding day from the behind the scenes action shots to guests to the posed shots. They also turned out great and I cherish them very much. If you would like to get a hold of Wendy you can email her at mailto:sweeterimages@yahoo.com or by telephone at (605) 695-9819. Thanks Wendy for a great session! We are looking forward to another one!

Best Friends...

Benjamin is a very lucky little boy. His best friend Quinn lives one house away from us. He gets to see her every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at daycare as her mom is his daycare provider. Then they will each snarf their supper so they can go outside and play with each other. Quinn loves Benjamin and Ada's sandbox while Benjamin loves riding bikes with Quinn. These two are pretty inseparable! He even calls her Quinnie the Queenie and she lets him! I did not think that 3 year olds (whoops, I guess Quinn is 4 now) had this much attachment to one another. It's a good thing that we get along so well with Dani and Travis (Quinn's parents) because we have spent many bike rides, walks, and sandbox time together. The weather has just recently turned nice so I am thinking we will be also spending some pool time together. Both Benjamin and Quinn will be in the same preschool class this fall. I don't know about you but this sure sounds like trouble to me!

S is for Salamander

Since Benjamin is 3 years old he can participate in a few "sprouts" classes at the outdoor campus in Sioux Falls, S.D. The class he went to was called "S is for Salamander". It was a pretty good class. This was the first time other than his daycare (where he is used to 5 or 6 others kids at most at his daycare) that he was immersed in a group setting with other kids his age. Let's just say he was an extremely shy kid! He walked into the room with me, took one look around at all the other kids, parents, and instructor and turned the other way and walked right back out. I convinced him to come back into the room but he did not leave my side. Making the salamander magnet caught his attention and then he was in his element. I could have left the building and he would never have known! He enjoyed the class and still talks about it and is so excited for going back to class in July. He tells me that he will not be a shy boy next time. Only time will tell.

Ada and Dave had a daddy and daughter day planned for while Benjamin and I were at class but the rain ended up changing their plans. They were able to hang out in the building for a while and then went out to the van to watch a movie and have a snack. I have always said that Ada's favorite time is snack time. Here is Ada, flat Ada, mommy at the outdoor campus museum. What is flat Ada/Benjamin? At daycare they made their friends to take on their summer outings. We are supposed to take pictures of them so they can look back on their summer adventure and have fun reliving the memories.

Dewey, I mean Louie...

Every time that Uncle Craig came to work on the walkway he brought along his dog Louie. I always ask what kind of dog he is but for the life of me I never remember. What I do know is this dog doesn't shed his hair so Craig and Steph have to give Louie a haircut. If you can't tell from the pictures, Benjamin and Ada enjoyed every moment that they had with Louie. Yes, they missed hanging out with Grandpa and Uncle Craig but they both miss Louie. They were always so excited to see Louie. They always had to pet him, hug him, take him for a walk, etc. Ada likes to call Louie "Dewey" and whenever Louie would hear Ada call his name he would get excited and a little scared. Ada is a hugger when she wants to be and she didn't like letting Louie go!

Surprise 60th Birthday Party...

Since my dad was turning 60 this year we had a surprise birthday party for him. It was a great weekend! The weather turned out to be beautiful. And believe it or not all of us kids were able to come home for my dad's birthday party/weekend. To celebrate my dad's birthday I made him a dirt cake for his birthday cake. The cake turned out awesome and tasted great. While making this cake I learned that my blender can only handle a couple of oreos at a time otherwise it got to gummed up. I am hoping that the guest of honor had an enjoyable time.

Our Remodel Project...

Our walkway was in desperate need of repair/replacement so we decided to tackle this project this summer. Well, actually my dad and my brother Craig did the project for us. Dave assisted when he could. Craig was in between jobs so we thought that this would be a great time to get this project done. Our day laborers came three different times to work/finish this project. They spent a lot of time working on this project. I think the project was a little more daunting than they first realized as each time they came they said "Don't worry we will get it done, we don't have too much left too do". They worked hard between rain systems and were able to get it done. We are very happy with our new walkway. Thank you dad and Craig for all your help!! We really appreciated it!!

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Back from a blogging break...

Well, my break was a lot longer than I expected it to be. I took a break to be a mommy, wife, gardener, hedge prunner, entertainer, remodeler (not actually me but it sounds good), dog sitter, crafter, cake baker, and cupcake decorator. Actually, we have been extremely busy with different projects around the house and yard. For starters, we planted our garden. Benjamin and Ada loved helping us plant the garden--at times we wondered if help was really the word we were looking for. With all the extra help we received Dave and I will be very shocked if we get any produce out of our garden. Note the tall brown hedges in the backyard. I will share more later about them.