Grandma & Grandpa are HERE!

We were so excited to welcome Grandma and Grandpa to warm, sunny, Almond blossom blooming central California, but alas, it was not to be. We welcomed Grandma & Grandpa to a rainy, dready, chilly California. But it was still a GREAT time. We played games at home, shopped for birthday presents of Anika (a BFC doll) & Andrew (nanobugs) , ate great meals (Lockford sausage anyone?) and soaked up the few rays of sunshine that we could.

Picnic Time

My "explorers" were so excited when Mom let them have an al fresco lunch.

Happy Birthday, Dad: cont'd

Lloyd's birthday was a nice low key Sat. We stayed at home and just celebrated by being together. Anika made him a wonderful photo book looking back at the year and we enjoyed a made-to-order ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. Yum!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!!

Today we celebrate DAD! (Taking a page from Jen's book again!)
Here are some reasons we LOVE Daddy:

• tickler extraordinaire
• giver of "surprise rides" (mini-golf, Jelly Belly factory, zoo, sledding, bike rides. . . )
• griller of the "best" chicken
• reader of bedtime stories
• errand runner
• teacher of checkers (and chess)
• sharer of the ipad;-)
• giver of candy after Sunday evening church
• preacher of God's Word
• lover of God's people
• student of scripture
• handy man, fix-it guy
• expert band-aid applier, wound cleaner, sliver remover
• computer glich repairer
• scarer of monsters
• guitar teacher
• hug giver
• fire builder
• model rocket launcher
• . . . and the list goes on!

Happy Birthday! We love you, Daddy!

Cousin Time!

Aunt Christine drove up for the weekend with the kids and boy, did the cousins have a good time! Playing the Wii or DSi, climbing trees or running around outside, mini-golf or model rockets, everything is so much more fun with cousins:-) It truly was a great weekend!

All the kids received Pillow Pets for Christmas and it was so fun to see them all together! (Ages: 7,6,5,4,2,2 - Whew!)

Winter Weather?

We had to get out and enjoy a beautiful, sunny afternoon. We even needed our sunglasses:-)

Drew's Birthday Bash

It was Drew's turn to celebrate this week. (And unfortunately, I didn't get as many pictures.) We didn't do a full-blown birthday extravaganza but we did enjoy having some close family friends over for pizza and cake. (Andrew almost shares his birthday (one day apart) with his best friend, Jack, so they both took a turn blowing out candles on this Lego cake.) Some of Andrew's past cakes - 3rd birthday and 4th birthday.

The birthday boy:

We had the Anemas, Hoekstras, and Schoollands over - what a great night!

Jack's turn:

Anika's 7th Birthday Party

Since our party-goers were coming right from school we sat down to a quick snack first thing, then crafts, cake, presents & play:

Snack table: Craft table:

Anika and her good friend, Paige:

"Happy birthday to you. . ."

And there it goes. . . (at least it tasted as good as it looked!):

Anika's dear friend Anne (who walks her to school every morning and babysits frequently joined us as a "craft helper". It was wonderful for me!)

Presents!

Silly picture:

Precious friends:

Party Prep

Here we are -- all ready for an invasion of excited girls:

The craft table: The snack/cake table:

Helper Kathryn:

Helper Andrew:

A Star Student Day

Anika had an AMAZING DAY! She was the "Star Student" at school this week so she was invited to bring in pictures, tell about herself, and plan special things for the week. So, today she got to play a guitar duet with her dad (and then have him lead some singing with the class), bring cupcakes to school, have "Happy Birthday" sung to her, and then after school, her birthday party. Almost more than a 6-almost-7-year-old can take -- almost:-)

Playing "Our God Is An Awesome God" with her Dad: She practiced really hard all week:

Concentrating:

She was so embarassed when her class sang "Happy Birthday" and she had to stand up front with Mrs. DeJong. (Embarassed but delighted!!):