Let the Season Begin!

We finally had some decent weather, so the boys went to the driving range. I had to tag along because this was the first time Emmit went to hit golf balls too.

It was cool and windy, but that didn't stop the boys from swinging!

Still working on getting Emmit's grip correct (Gerrit did the same thing at that age).

Gerrit loved using his driver and being able to hit as hard as he wanted to! (He's limited to chipping and putting in the back yard due to the historical church - with large windows next door and our own house!)

Here's hoping to many more golf outings - where mom can stay behind and have some peace and quiet once in a while!

Birthday - Army style

Yes, these pictures are over a month old...life got in the way, what can I say.

Uncle Travis and Millie came over a few days after Gerrit's birthday. {We had a 'team beat celebration for Gerrit's birthday and to welcome back Travis.} Anyways, Travis gave Gerrit his birthday present:

The largest army tanker balloon and of course more pieces to add to their army set he gave them for Christmas.

 And Gerrit's own army uniform, including his own name badge!

Gerrit wanted me to make a MSU jersey cake for his birthday. Knowing it was going to be a lot of cake, we invited team beat to come eat it. Yes, he is 6 and there are 6 candles, but his favorite player is #5 - hence the 5 on the jersey.

 It was a fun night with everyone over - including Bill and Tricia from BVI (who are here for the summer). It was sad to think we wouldn't be hosting team beat gatherings in Z-town much longer but hope they are willing to travel to the cities once in a while so we can host up there!

Emmit's Milestone

The Big E has joined the two wheeler club!

He has been begging us all winter for the grey bike (Gerrit's old 12"er). We swapped bikes with friends this spring and have had it in the garage since early April. (Not that the weather has been cooperative until recently....) He sat on it but had very little interest in the bike which had me concerned. We decided not to put training wheels on (we did for Gerrit for a short time) and see how he would do.Gerrit was riding at his age and here Emmit didn't want to touch it! 

Until tonight...

Adam and I looked outside (to see what trouble the boys were getting into) and Emmit had the grey bike on the sidewalk (without a helmet) and he was pushing it like it was his push bike. I grabbed Adam's shoes and the phone and said this might be our window of opportunity. Adam ran for the helmet and they were off! It sure helps we have a slight hill on the side of our house - which is where this was shot. 

He has a ways to go but is getting the hang of it. If he would concentrate on watching where he was going rather than watching the cars, it would help. Oh - and understanding that pedaling backwards will stop the bike rather than ride into the grass - but that's minor.

We delayed dinner to take advantage of the bike riding. Finally at 7:30 we sat down to dinner (luckily we stopped next door to show them Emmit's new 'trick' and walked away with homemade pasta sauce ala' nick! Bonus!!

The evening ended with a family trip to DQ for ice cream in honor of Emmit's big accomplishment. Some celebrate potty training and in our house we celebrate riding a 2 wheeler!!!

(I have a lot of pictures to download from the camera, but this was too good to pass up writing about tonight!)

Winter in May

Seemed a bit odd to have a snow day in MAY, but that is what happened. Here are a few pictures from the 12" of snow Z-town got on May 2:

There are the lilac bushes (and surprisingly, they bounced back just fine and hopefully will be blooming by June!).

A massive snow pile from the plows on the side of our house (still in the street). Gerrit couldn't wait to check it out.

It was a beautiful snowfall - for DECEMBER! 

We normally have a rule: no shoveling or snow blowing after March 15. But in this case, if we wanted to get out of the driveway, something had to be done. Luckily he started early enough he was able to get most of the yard taken care of before it got too warm. Near the end the snow blower was not liking the heavy snow (from the temps warming up). He finished the driveway with a shovel  - this included shoveling a large section at the bottom of the driveway because the plows went around a broken limb in the street!

Gerrit enjoying the big pile of snow:

Emmit enjoyed the pile of snow until he got stuck! I had to rescue him and his boot. This ended the playing on the pile of snow. 

The worst part of the storm was the number of limbs down due to heavy snow. The boys were instructed NOT to walk near a tree for fear of more limbs falling. There are still people cleaning up their yards and cutting down tree limbs a week after the storm. Sad to see some beautiful trees down.

I have washed the winter gear for the last time. If it snows again, they can wear shorts to play in the snow! I'm not washing it again or taking it out till next year!

Guess who's six?

I can hardly believe it was 6 years ago that we headed to the hospital to be induced. It seems like it was just yesterday we were waiting to hear there was a bed available for me...

Anyways, no need to relive Gerrit's birth, when there is a sweet 6 year old to talk about!

Gerrit patiently waited for Dad to come home to open gifts. He opened one gift from Uncle Bill and Aunt Cara before school (it was Lego so he had something to play to pass the time for Dad to come home).

Anyways, as soon as Dad was home it was present time! Gerrit opened his presents so fast I hardly got any pictures!

Here Dad and Gerrit are reading about the Ninja Turtle van:

A very happy 6 year old and his presents:

Gerrit wanted Chinese for dinner - made for an easy cooking night! And the cake he wanted me to make was large, and needed a lot of people to eat (pictures to come). So he was OK with a blizzard from Mc Donald's on his birthday, knowing the cake was coming when Uncle Travis came home and there were more people to eat it.

Emmit struggled with not having a gift to open but Gerrit was a nice big brother and let him play with his new presents.  It was a quiet birthday at home with just the family and a little party coming later with Uncle Travis and Team Beat.

Rochester Children's Museum

A few weekends ago it was rainy so we thought we'd take the boys to the Roch. children's museum. We heard there was a display sponsored by the MN corn growers so we thought we'd check it out.

There was also a mid-evil interactive display going on which is where most of these pictures were taken.

The blacksmiths:

The baker:

Adam playing the game sponsored by his company and Emmit getting bored watching:

The boys waited patiently to 'drive' the tractor. We said we'd come back when it wasn't soo busy and Emmit could drive it too.

It was not the best day to be at the children's museum b/c everyone was there! I know why I usually avoid kid infested places - not just because of the germs but because of the lack parenting by others!

Easter 2013

Easter weekend the boys decorated eggs. They had so much fun, I had to boil more eggs! 

This is what happens when you let a 3 yr old hold the egg:

Easter was a bit different this year: Adam was sick so he didn't even go to church. So, the boys and I made it to breakfast before the service (8am service)! I didn't take the camera to church because I was flying solo so the traditional pictures by the flowers up front didn't happen. I was lucky we made it through the service with minor issues. When we came home, the boys had their egg hunt inside (still too cold and snowy outside).

Emmit showing Gerrit his finds:

 Emmit checking what's inside:

Here are the happy boys. Loved Emmit's bow tie this year and Gerrit didn't put up a fuss about wearing a shirt and tie!

We had lunch at Rockne's with other team beat friends. It was a fun afternoon with another egg hunt! The boys loved playing with the other kids and I enjoyed a little relaxation with the adults. Adam stayed home and slept most of the day.