Party time...

So, my family has been having a pretty good time together lately...

First up, dance party for Uncle Kyle's birthday!  Yup, we're wild and crazy!

 And Harvey can limbo it up with the best of them!

 Kari was in dancing-girl heaven!

 Next up, Daddy's birthday!  We celebrated by eating on our new picnic table outside!

 And, of course, everyone had a face to make...

 Since we'd had cake the week before (and will be having it again for Juliana's bday), Cubby elected to have birthday brownies for his treat.  "Nom nom nom," says Kari.

 Juliana LOVED hers!  (And I just love her baby blues in this shot!...and her bib.  It characterizes her so well :-) .)

 Present time!

 And THEN (this post just keeps on going)...the following Saturday we met the rest of the family for some Dairy Queen and some playtime at the park.

 Look at baby J's tummy!!  It's just so cute!

 Great Gma and Stan came in for the occasion as well!

 Erin gave Cubby such a pretty card!  It makes music and everything...hahaha

 Erin was smart and extra on top of things (which, after a long day of soccer games, I wasn't) and brought a fun game for everyone to play.  The kids enjoyed it so we may just need to invest in one of our own!

 I like the interaction that I caught in this last picture--pretty sweet of Auntie Erin and her nieces :-).

It's great to be able to get together and have some fun for these April birthdays!

Emily's Latest Love

 Emily's latest love is soccer!  She's actually been asking to play for the last year and we finally decided it wasn't just a passing phase and that the really did want to play.  (Sometimes Emily will say she wants to do something and so we'll sign her up and then she'll whine and complain about doing it after the first time or two.)  So, we've been thrilled that she's loved it and hasn't complained a bit!  And, even though she hasn't played for the last 3 years, she's got great instincts and has been playing very well, both on offense and as a goalie!

 Spring soccer sounds lovely and you'd think that it would be sunny and warm outside, right?  Well, think again.  This year we've had "Sprinter."  Not really winter in terms of the calendar, but definitely not warm enough for spring.  Both Emily's and Christian's game have been FREEZING.  Still, Emily's loved playing!  She's got a couple of friends on her team and they really came together last weekend and played well as a team (and won too!).  It was pretty cute to see the girls get all excited for one another--camaraderie and everything.

We're so thrilled Emily is enjoying this sport and can't wait for Saturday...when it's actually supposed to be warm!!!  (Finally, right?!)

Kindergarten Musicality

Christian's kindergarten music program was a couple of weeks ago.  And boy-oh-boy were they cute!  It was quality entertainment just to be able to sit and watch the kids, their expressions, and of course, listen to their songs!

Christian was great!  He insisted upon wearing no fewer than THREE shirts.  Yup, a short-sleeved, a collared short-sleeved, and a collared long-sleeve.  "Just in case I get hot or cold, Mom." But, he seemed just fine up on stage--singing right along and taking his roll as a performer very seriously :-).

He had a lot of fun when it was his turn to line dance/stroll and made his buddy laugh with his antics too.

 Here is Christian and his best buddy, Henry.  Henry was DARLING on stage--standing with his feet perfectly together and singing right along to all the words.  Cute!

 And, of course, we had to get a picture of Christian's fan club--his sisters!  (We still haven't been able to break Kari out of her awkward picture-taking phase!)

We love being parents to such great kids and to be able to go to their music performances!

We Love Spaghetti (and the occasional brownie)!

And by "we," I really mean "we" b/c, as my mother has said, "Nothing is as great as seeing a messy, happy, well-fed baby."  Amen!

Easter

Happy Easter!

 The Easter Bunny came and left baskets, books, eggs, and candy!  Juliana enjoyed playing in her "egg pit (box)."

 All of the kiddos, ready for church!  (This was the best shot we got...getting four kids to pose for a picture is not an easy feat!)

 Dinner was out at Great-Gma's home...

 Lovely daffodils are so Easter-y!

 Our best boy, Christian, so handsome!

 The fun really began when Uncle Kyle took everyone out on Harley rides!  The kids were sooo excited!!  (And Kyle learned the hardy way not to turn your head around while driving with sunglasses on--they flew off his head while I was riding with him!)

 Juliana watched in anticipation as they rode away...

Meanwhile, Auntie Erin took the big kids on a nature walk in the field behind Gma's house.  They went back to the woods and found some real "treasures."  (A deer antler and skull!  Oh boy!)  They were great finds, for sure!

Juliana and Emily also had fun petting the neighbor's sweet dogs, Sadie and Junior.  Juliana LOVES dogs and she was so excited to wave to TWO!

Christian and Uncle Kyle got some wrestle-time in before his ride on the bike.

And off they go!

Kari and Gpa Harvey got in some serious Barbie time too--a very sweet ending to a lovely Easter day!