City Camping...

Well, Eriik calls it city camping when you have electricity and a bathroom nearby, but to me it's still "roughing it"! He's used to the kind of camping that he and his brother and dad did when he was a kid. They lived in WY and would drive off into the middle of nowhere and camp for a whole week living off the land....that's just nuts! Anyway...this was plenty adventurous for me! We had a great weekend camping with 6 other families from our church small group at Daingerfield park. We were originally planning on staying two nights, but then Ava came down with a stomach bug and we had to get that out of her system (apperently it wasn't out of her system enough and she gave it to Sophia unfortunatly) We rented paddle boats, and fished, and the kids all had fun exploring the woods. You couldn't have asked for better weather...it was perfect. Eriik had just bought a new family tent, and we really enjoyed the extra room. We stayed warm and comfy, but I woke up hearing racoons several times in the middle of the night (the kids had dropped some chips on the ground and I heard them munching right outside our tent) It was a great weekend! I forgot my camera, but took a few pics with my iPhone....they aren't real clear, but not too bad for a phone.

Carson, Matheus and Alec. Our campsite was right by the lake so we got to park our paddleboats there.

Eriik and Alec when they had just gotten back from fishing

The Ziesemers in their paddleboat.

Alec loved playing with the fire...it's a far cry from when he first went camping at age 3...he was afraid of the "firebugs" (floating embers) then.



So...this is why Sophia caught Ava's bug...Ava was attached at the hip with her the whole time.



Eriik and Luciana after breakfast Sunday morning. Eriik made his famous buttermilk pancakes! By the way this was Luciana's first time camping and I think she is hooked now!

Easter continued....

We had a wonderful Easter. On Saturday we went to the church egg hunt which was a lot of fun with face painting, bounce houses, and chicks to hold...ect. When we got back from the egg hunt the kids dyed Easter eggs. On Easter Sunday we went to the church brunch and late service...we are not sunrise service kind of people. The sermon was excellent and the music was beautiful. After lunch the kids had a little egg hunt in our back yard. After Ava's nap we went over to the Ziesemers house. I brought the ham and there was lots of other really yummy food. The Vance's and the Simcoxes were there too. It was a nice relaxed, fun evening...so relaxed and fun that I forgot to take pics while we were there...oh well. I've got plenty of other pics from Easter. It was a beautiful day spent with friends celebrating our Risen Savior! So, here are some pics from last Saturday and Sunday.

I can't take credit for the photography here ....this photo was taken by a reporter and ended up in our local newspaper!

Alec, Carson and Sophia laughing at Mr Jazz's balloon show.






Alec got his face painted like a pirate at the egg hunt and these are his eggs he dyed

Sunday morning with their Easter baskets...Ava still has her curlers in.

Eriik was cracking them up...I have no idea what he was doing, but he is my secret weapon in getting the kids to smile for pics!

My little egg hunters

Alec and Ava had their Easter parties and egg hunts for preschool this week, and I just can't pass up an opportunity to share pics! So, here they are! There will be another Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow at our church, and then again on Easter...so I'm sure there will be more pics coming soon!

Sprinting for another egg!

I have never see Ava eat so fast...she devoured this chocolate cupcake before any of the other kids had a chance to lick off the icing!

She took a moment to pose for me...so sweet.

Ava's little class.

Alec with one of his friends Fe....she has a bit of a crush on Alec. She holds his hand sometimes when they are walking in the halls at preschool, and gives him pictures that she draws hearts all over...too funny.

I can't believe this is his last preschool Easter party for Alec....I am going a have a Kindergartner...scary.

Alec with his whole class...it's a lot of boys!

Alec's first catch...

Well...it has been a while since my last post. I can tell you exactly why. The last post about the daffodils was done the last weekend that Ava was wearing Pull Ups. After that weekend she moved on to big girl underwear....and let me tell you, it has been exhausting! Anyway...things are better now...she's doing great and staying dry :) All this to say I have been too preoccupied to think about blogging!

Anyway...I forgot to post a momentous event for Alec....his first time to catch a fish all by himself! A couple weeks ago Eriik took Alec on the father son camp out. Eriik has always loved fishing and took up fly fishing before we were married. Now he is even tying his own flies and really into it. I totally don't get the fly tying hobby, but it makes me smile to see Eriik enjoying it. Anyway...Alec has been fishing with Eriik around 4 or 5 other times, but Alec would never get a bite on his rod and so when Eriik got a bite he would pass it over to Alec to reel in. Well on this trip he got a bite and reeled it in all by himself and he was so proud. When he got home and was telling me all about it I have to tell you he did exaggerated just a bit on how big his fish was. Typical male!

He was so excited!

Trying to grab it.

Christian and Matheus

Sweet Saturday!

The word sweet is used to describe an aweful lot of things in the english language. It can describe the sweet smell of flowers, the sweet taste of cotton candy, the sweet moments spent with your family, or simply a very sweet child. Today this is what we experienced...it was a very sweet day. We went to Mrs. Lees Garden which was a hidden paradise of Daffodils! Simply beautiful, and the weather was nice too...it was sunny and just cool enough (62 degrees) so that we wouldn't break a sweat with all the walking we did! We got some pretty good pics, but it doesn't do the garden justice. I need a better camera! Anyway...the kids crashed on the way home and we continued our naps when we got back to the house. Alec took his nap on the couch with me which was very sweet :) When everyone woke up it was almost time for dinner! After some pizza we all piled in the van and headed to the carnival which is just down the road from our house! It was Alec and Ava's first carnival, so it was super exciting. Alec said he liked the Tilt A Whirl and the Farris Wheel the best. Ava liked the Mary Go Round. We all loved the cotton candy! Anyway...like I said a very sweet day!

Alec just had to make a silly face...actually there were LOTS of silly face pics..just don't have room for all the pics.

He's such a little love bug.

We were worn out!

Alec on his very first roller coaster!

Sticky sweet cotton candy!

Western Day!

Today was the annual Western Day at Alec and Ava's preschool. It always makes for some great photo ops and it's so fun to see them sing their songs. But... Alec unfortuatly decided not to sing this time. He knew the words and had no problem singing to Eriik and I, just got a little stage fright I guess. He just stood there and smiled (at least he smiled!). He did look adorable standing up on stage with all the kids :)! Ava's class was a hoot...really non of them sang...the teacher was kind of singing a solo with the kids singing a word or two every once in a while. Ava sang a little bit, and danced to the music some, did a few actions...it was cute.

Alec is on the gliding horse that my dad made (he carved it by hand and painted it himself 1 year after he was diagnosed with brain Cancer...he was amazing) Ava just recently got this little horse as a hand me down from our neighbors....she LOVES it!

Alec being goofy.

Ava is in the front row...decked out in pink! Notice her classmate trying to escape!

Ava walking with Miss Glenda after singing

Alec is the 4th from my left in the black hat

He should be a model...loves to pose!

Yipee for Spring!!!...(and random February pics)

I have been sooo ready for warmer weather around here. We have had a colder than normal winter, and spring has taken a little longer to get here. Don't get me wrong the snow was tons of fun, but I was just tired of the cold blah weather. So, today because the weather was sooo nice a couple friends came over with their kiddos and we had a great time eating lunch outside and watching the kids play. Anyway.... it has been a while since my last post, and so there were some other pics from Feb that I wanted to include on my blog since I print it out at the end of the year as a scrapbook. So, here you go.

Love it! Meredith and G-man underneath the slide in our back yard...every time he walked near the slide the static made his hair do this!

A battle between Alec and Bryson!

Cruisin weather!



Apparently Eriik thought Alec was due for a shave several days ago:)

Ava's Valentine party at preschool...notice Ava with her friend Ava Claire in the background wearing the same dress. I couldn't get a close up picture of them because Ava Claire is not a fan of having her picture taken.

Valentines morning the kids with their little gifts from Eriik and I. Eriik gave me flowers and candy and made up little certificates for date nights...so sweet and romantic! He's a keeper :)

Ava is really into dress up lately...she almost always has some article of "dress up" on when she is home.

Meredith brought this cookie cake to me on my birthday when she brought Alec home from preschool (we carpool). So sweet!

Eriik took me and the kids out to Red Lobster for dinner that night. He also said that he is going to take me to see the musical Wicked in Dallas!!! Can't wait....I love Broadway musicals and I've been wanting to see this one for a long time!(it's the untold story of the wicked witch from the Wizard of OZ.) It was a good birthday.