Happy Easter 2014

Elise was excited to more actively participate in the egg dying festivities this year! (Though why she's pants-less, I am not sure!) ;)

If you look closely, the egg has E's name on it . . .

 . . . and B's name egg and "Spider-Man" egg

Daddy made an egg with his name too! ;)

 Kalona had a community egg hunt this year, complete with game and a little petting zoo too!

Elise and Daddy hunting with the 0-3 year olds

Braden hunting with the big kids (he's in red in the middle)

Easter baskets!

Ready for church . . . of course I could not get a pic with BOTH kiddos looking at the camera :(

We were blessed to spend Easter with both our families - it gets a little crazy packing in 2 celebrations in one day, but we know we are lucky to be able to do it!

After a delicious Easter dinner at Dennis and Sally's, we had the traditional egg hunt with the Miller cousins. Grandma Jane helping Elise collect eggs . . .

The "audience" ;)

We also enjoyed a 2nd yummy meal with the Hartsocks on Sunday evening . . . but sadly no pictures were taken.  It seems like I always run out of steam by the end of the day and forget to take pics. :)

Annie Hope

We gained a new cousin on the Miller side on April 5!  My sister had a baby girl, Annie Hope.  She was a little peanut (5lbs, 6oz) and just precious.  

Due to some complications at birth, Miss Annie spent some time in the NICU, and it was a few days before we could hold her.

I had an eye appointment on day, so took the day off to spend with Allison and Annie at the hospital.  Loved finally getting to snuggle Annie!

When Annie came home, B & E were anxious to meet their new cousin. :)

"Spring" Break 2014

Winter was looooonnnnnnngggg this year.  For the first time since I have been teaching, M-P scheduled a week long spring break into the school calendar for the last week in March.  You'd think by then we would be guaranteed some nice warm weather . . .

Not this year!

Ugh.  Despite the cold weather, we made the best of our week off.  The first three days the kiddos went to daycare and I did some projects at home.  I organized closets and purged the kids' outgrown clothing, and (mostly) finished up Elise's baby book (she's only 2! ha!).  I still need to work on photo books for both kids . . . there are just not enough hours in the day.


One morning we enjoyed donuts for breakfast at the bakery - yum!

On Thursday we took off for a little family get away to Minneapolis.  We found a hotel online that had a fun pool area for the kiddos (not really a waterpark, but a little more than just a typical hotel pool).  As soon as we arrived, the kids were ready to jump in!  (I forgot my camera, so all of these pics are from my phone and are not the greatest). :(

Braden was so excited about the slides . . . and as it turns out, so was Elise.  I thought she'd love the kiddie pool, but she was much more interested in the "big" pool.

 On Thursday evening some friends met us at the hotel to swim, then we had pizza together.  Sadly, I have no pics!

Friday morning we drove to St. Paul to the Children's Museum.  We had a lot of fun exploring all there was to see.

We ate lunch at Mickey's Diner in a trolly car - so fun!

That afternoon we headed back to the hotel for more swimming and naps, then ventured to the Mall of America for the evening. Braden was excited to visit the Lego store.

We hadn't really planned to do the amusement park, but as we were just walking around, someone gifted us with some free tickets that they had purchased but were not going to use.  So the kids (and Billy!) enjoyed a couple of rides. :)

We ate supper at Rainforest Cafe, which was a lot of fun.  The kids did pretty well, considering it was past 8pm by this point.

We even ordered a volcano dessert - yum!

Then back to the hotel for bedtime.  We slept in on Saturday . . .

 . . . then hit IKEA on the way home (maybe NOT the best idea on a Saturday, as it was packed!) . .  so we enjoyed ice cream while waiting in the long check out line. :)

We took a pit stop in Brandon to visit the big frying pan and stretch our legs. . . .

 . . . and finally made it home Saturday evening, which allowed us to recuperate on Sunday to return to work on Monday.  Even though it was chilly, we had a fun little trip. 

Turning Two!

I've said it before, and I'm sure I will say it again . . . but HOW can Elise be so big already? Time really does fly by.  I can't imagine our family without this spunky, loving little gal!

Elise got a whole weekend of celebrating this year!  Her actual birthday was today (Sunday), but we found it challenging to find a date when everyone could come to a party - SO we had 2! :)

Friday night the Hartsocks that could make it came over for pizza and a DQ cake.  I didn't get many pictures, but it was fun to see Elise and baby cousin Maura (9 months) interact a little.  Next year at this time those two will be having tons of fun together!

(I only had one pic of Maura and it's blurry - but had to stick in in anyway - she is such a cutie!)

On Saturday mom and I took Elise to get her 2 year pictures taken (I'll post them when we get them).  Poor kiddo was just not in a smiling mood (we think some teeth are pushing through), but we got a few cute ones.  My grandma is in the hospital, so we stopped in for a quick visit and I snapped this pic of Elise with her great grandma and grandma.

Today the Millers gathered for a "tea party" theme party.  It was kind of fun to do a girlie theme and use some "fancy" dishes!

My friend Brenda makes the YUMMIEST cakes (And the cutest too! Elise loved the little tea set on the top!) . . . I had originally told her to make a cake that would serve both the Millers and Hartsocks, but then we went with the 2 party idea . . . and I forgot to tell her we wouldn't need as much cake.  Whoops!  But it sure was delicious, and we can freeze the leftovers (or I'd eat cake every night this week!).

Yum!

E's big gift from us was a big wheel.  Last summer she didn't have a riding toy to play with outside but couldn't quite reach the pedals on B's trike, so I thought we'd try a big wheel this summer.  She was SO excited when Billy brought it upstairs.

It's still a little big, but she figured out how to use it!  Now we just need for spring to come so that we can play outside.

Braden was anxious to "help" her and really wanted to ride it too - but E was not about to share her new toy quite yet.

Grandma and Grandpa got E some accessories for her babies.  She and Grandma Jane tried out the new bottles with a baby doll.

Thanks to our families for helping us celebrate!