Ashley & Co.

Sl st bet next 2 sts. Ch3, dc in same sp. 2dc ....... say what???

2012-02-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

So last month I listed that I had three new years resolutions.
1. weight loss
2. crochet
3. jewelry making.

Well, I am proud to say that I have accomplished item #2! I have self taught myself the rudimentary skills of a crocheter. I started by watching some YouTube videos about single stitch, moved on to double stitch and half double stitch. Then, I googled "simple baby beanie" and went to work! This is what happened:

It originated as a hat for Avery, but I forgot that I was using a larger hook and by the time I went to measure it, it was too big, so I made it into a hat for Brenna. Much better anyways:) She is SO excited to have a hat made by her mama. Its not perfect, in fact its a bit lumpy in some spots where I miss counted my stitch, but for my first hat, I am pretty pleased:)

I decided it needed a flower and found a little tutorial for that too! I was feeling very crafty that night:) And she was so excited the next morning when she saw that little flower:)

I then decided I was still going to try for a hat for little Aves. So, I decided to make her a pink one with a purple flower to match Brenna's! She didn't make it easy......

But we did get it done!

I still have to add the purple flower, but we are getting there! This one is a little less lumpy than my first, but still not perfect. Next I will be making one for Beau. I found a tutorial that added dinosaur spikes to the hat which looked very cute but not girly, so I might attempt that next! I let you know how it goes:)

Photo Challenge, week 4!

2012-02-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Photo dump, week 4!

January 22, Your shoes: I love how Manhattan Christian does this, they start the day off with recess. I mean how perfect, kids get a little energy burned off and teachers get a quiet moment to get last second things organized before they all come in to the class room in a single file line:) So, needless to say, Brenna starts every morning off with wearing her boots to school. Snow or no snow:)

January 23, Something old: The toys that Avery is reaching for are new toys hanging off of an OLD toy. Its like an old school baby gym.... at least from the mid-nineties..... you know, OLD. ;) It has seen its better days and is now cracked along the top support beam. Looks like Avery gets a new toy:) PS - I love love love that face. mmmmm mmm mmmm.

January 24, Guilty Pleasure: Yup its true. I'm a wimpy wino. I do love the occasional glass of wine, but sadly I am still stuck in the "dessert wine" category. Maybe someday I'll graduate to a dry red?

January 25, Something you made: We went to the Museum of the Rockies today to partake in the Tours for Tots class. Beau was not thrilled with the Bison hat he made.

January 26, Color: I downloaded an app on my phone that lets the kids color. Beau loves it. Along with the PBS cartoon app I downloaded (both free!) I really have Beau covered for the times we are at the office and mommy needs to concentrate:)

January 27, Lunch: Beau is one of THE pickiest eaters I have ever dealt with, or seen for that matter. My mother tells me he inherited it from me..... Either way, on school days Beau often gets a pancake for lunch and I refuse to whip him up a homemade batch, so he gets Bisquick, sorry buddy;)

January 28, Light: I love this picture. Beau with his cousin Max. I don't have nearly enough pictures of these boys together. They are only two weeks apart in age. Hopefully they will grow up to be great friends! This picture just lights my heart:)

January 29, Inside your fridge: Inside my fridge? Ah, no. Its packed to the gill with leftovers and looks pretty messy. So, you can see the outside. One half organized photos of my beloveds and one half chaotic kindergarten school work.

January 30, Nature: Our nature is on the fritz this year. And my poor desperate daughter is taking advantage of what she can. It was melting faster than she could scoop it up, but she was happy:) Notice the sled in the bottom right hand side of the picture, she actually tried to sled down the driveway, didn't work:)

January 31, You again: Ah, yeah. Its a self taken picture from my IPhone shortly after a strenuous workout. Take it or leave it....

And there you have it. A full month, 31 days of pictures. Our month in a nut shell:)

Your welcome:)

Weight loss update - January

2012-01-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

Here we go for another month of my own personal weight loss challenge!

Week 4 - January 1-7

What I did: started the C25k program. Which stands for couch to 5k. It's an eight week program and I'm excited to give it a try! So far this weeks its real easy, but I know it will get tougher as the weeks go on. I just need to stick it out! For this week, it was warm up for 5 mins, run 1 minute, walk 1.5 minutes, repeating this run/walk cycle for 15 minutes, then cool down for 5 more minutes. easy peasy:)

Weight loss: 1 pound! Not much, but better than nothing:)

Special contributions: Nothing.

Week 5 - January 8-15

What I did: C25K program, week 2!

Weight loss: 5 Ibs! WOOOHOO!

Special contributions: Started Weight Watchers. Thanks to my Grandmothers inspiration, I am giving it a go and implementing it at home for the health of my whole family!

Week 6 - January 16-21
What I did: C25K program, week 3!

Weight loss: 1.2 Ibs! I know its not as good as last week, but I had a busy- eating out type of week and I still managed to lose weight! I am pretty pleased.

Special contributions: Nothing

Week 7 - January 22- 29

What I did: C25K program, week 4! Starting to really get me! I am up to running 16 minutes in total, thank goodness they are in intervals of 5 minutes at the most!!

Weight Loss: 1 Ib! Another pound marked off the chart. This is starting to slow way down, but as long as I'm going down and not up, I'm pretty pleased:)

Special contributions: Nothing

Total Pounds to lose: 21.8

Total Body Overall Inches Lost: 2

Photo challenge, Week 3

2012-01-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

Photo Dump, Week 3!

January 15, Happiness: I love the tender moments when you catch them doing something like this.....

January 16, Morning: This is how I find Brenna, almost every morning. She is an early riser and comes upstairs to watch cartoons until Mom wakes up!

January 17, Water: Avery loves her baths. She just totally relaxes.

January 18, Something you Bought: We bought Brenna a sled for Christmas. She was so excited! Bummer deal we have had a basically snow-less year. So, desperate times calls for desperate measures:)

January 19, Sweet: This little lady decided to like her swing. Ahhhh, sweet moments of a happy baby who is awake, content and NOT being held!

January 20, Someone you Love: Well, of course I had to put my husband. Who tends to be gone more than he is home during the month of January. So happy were almost to February!

January 21, Reflection: Mr Beau. He has the craziest bed-head in the morning:) Oh, and don't mind the streaky mirror..... I recently purchased a norwex window cloth and will be taking care of that issue!

85 beautiful days.....

2012-01-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

Three months. Twelve weeks. A quarter of a year. Eighty-five days.

Wow.

No Smiles were to be had this morning....

Whats new Aves?

She is sporting the double chin:)

She is sleeping through the night. What, wait.... did I write that? SHE IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!! She averages from 10 pm to 6 am, but its been a little better or a little worse depending on the night. I am in shock. Beau woke up three times a night to feed until he was 1 and I stopped breastfeeding. So, I find this to be a miracle! Oh, and PS- its in her own bed!!! :)

She loves to hold on to things, and although at this point its more of a reflex than something she is actively seeking, I can tell its getting close!

She sometimes looks so shockingly Venhuizen I don't think its the same baby!

She LOVES to lay on the floor and have her own personal space to stretch

She is a jabber mouth. She started talking and amazes me everyday with how much this little lady has to say! Notice below there are no smiles because she was too busy telling me some very important story:)

And although she has changed so much in this last month, it is important to note, that I still think she is the cutest baby out there!

Photo Challenge, Week 2

2012-01-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here we go! Week two is as follows:)

January 8, your sky: Beau's Monday highlight, the garbage man! Looking like another gorgeous January morning!

January 9, Daily Routine: Every school day when Brenna gets home, we go through her school folder and then read until 4:00 when it is time to wake up Beau, get a snack and watch one of their favorite cartoons, Arthur!

January 10, Childhood: Brenna wanted her nails painted, so then of course, so did Beau! I figured only during your childhood can you paint a little boys nails pink:) At least at this house......

January 11, Where you slept: Beau loves to hide in our bed:)

January 12, Close Up: Tummy time! Not her favorite but we are getting much stronger! I think she looks a little like her cousin Lena, here:)

January 13, In your bag: Love my new diaper bag! whats in it? Cute little size 1 diapers.... along with not so cute size 5 diapers:)

January 14, Something your reading: Brenna bought herself this book with the matching bear from Kohl's this year with her Christmas money from Great Grandma Venhuizen. Beau also loves it, and "reads" it all the time!

Sweetest two year old I know!

2012-01-12T18:10:00.001-07:00

So, you may think I have forgotten that I have more than one child. I promise you, I have not:) Its just my middle child is not the newborn nor losing teeth like crazy..... he is just a sweet tenderhearted two year old who seamlessly flitters through our lives on a daily basis. Love this kid. I really do.

What's new with Beau?

Well, he is 2 1/2.

He loves to play with his big sister. He also loves to pick on his big sister, which always ends in disaster, but tends to only happen when he is bored. His preferred method? The blanket grab and run.

He is still a super super super picky eater. Most nights are just one giant pout fest at the dinner table resulting in tears and a gag reflex due to ONE bite before he can get down. Oh well, we figure if he was truly hungry he would eat, and I try and compensate with his other meals.

He adores his baby sister and calls her Avy or Avy Jo. He is almost always very sweet and gentle. Most recently has decided that she MUST have per pacifier at all times.... which is problematic because she doesn't really like her pacifier.

He absolutely loves his Thomas the Train set and anything, I mean ANYTHING, relating to Thomas. He loves to look at the little catalog that came with his most recent set and asks us to read it to him all the time.

We are in the beginning stages of Potty Training. Not going well. he may be going to kindergarten in diapers... I dontn' know. Either way, we have had multiple multiple multiple accidents, and have yet to pee in the potty. I am considering taking a break completely and trying again next month.

He is a little jabber jaws. We wondered if this day would ever come, and it has. He now talks! Much later than I thought he should, but nonetheless, he does talk. Sadly, the poor boy still needs a mommy or daddy translator for most people to understand him, but we are getting there!

Beau loves the alphabet and self-taught himself the entire upper case alphabet in September. He blew us away with how smart he is! He might be quiet but that doesn't mean that little brain is ticking away! :)

So there you have it. Our little man in a nut shell:) We love the little boy that he is and can't wait to see what God has in store for him!

Photo Challenge Photo Dump, Week 1

2012-01-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

Here is my accomplishment for the photo challenge Week 1

January 1, Me: Eek. oh well, a good motivator!

January 2, Breakfast: I cought Beau trying to feed Avery his breakfast, I have to keep my eye on him:)

January 3, something I adore: Playing uno with my kids. They both love the game, and I figure its good for reinforcing both colors and numbers.

January 4, Letterbox: A special treasure box where she keeps all her special cards and notes.

January 5, something you wore: Baby Aves wearing my wedding ring.

January 6, something that makes you smile: This beautiful baby girl! Love those grins:)

January 7, favorite: How amazing of a father Tim is:)

Disclaimer: This is an old photo. I know I know, that has to be cheating right? Oh well, its a good one and it proves my point. :)

New year, new me 2012

2012-01-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yup. It is as it says. I feel this is the year to get back into shape.... so I guess, maybe I should have titled it the New Year, Old me? Either way, one marriage, seven years, and three babies later and my body has had a major shock. And to be completely honest, I'm kinda sick of reminiscing about the way it used to be. I kinda want it to BE what it used to be.

Okay okay....

I know that my body will never be what it was when I was 21. I mean come on, I have carried and given birth (naturally!) to three babies. There is no way my hips will be as narrow as they once were.... but does that mean that I can't have hip bones at all? I think not. I am okay with having a mature mom of three look. I just don't want all the fluff from the I-don't-have-time-for-myself look that I am currently carrying around.

Thus, I am beginning a journey for me.... the oldest cliche new years resolution in the book. Weight loss. And for reasons unknown even to myself at this point - I am journaling it on here.

Week 1 - December 11-17

What I did: walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes a day.

Weight loss: I didn't actually weigh myself this week. I was feeling a little faint of heart and didn't want to see the ugly truth ;)

Special contributions: Nata. Starting to walk was as much time and effort as I had in me.

Week 2 - December 18-24

What I did: walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes twice a day

Weight loss:this one is tricky. I want to write 5Ibs, because on Friday at my dr. appointment I had lost 5 pounds. But when I weighed myself post Christmas day gorging.... it looks like I gained 3 of them back. boohoo. So 2 pounds. sad.

Special contributions: Colonoscopy. Ew. Yup, ew. Do to a high risk familial history, a lovely but very pushy doctor and a met deductible I was strongholded into doing a routine colonoscopy. Talk about a cleanse. I hear celebrities do cleanses to start their diets all the time but I guarantee non of them have done a diet cleanse like this one. Wow. For me it consisted of a two day fast and a cleaned out system like never before. Okay, like once before, as this was not my first time, and as much of a baby as I was about it, I did end up with a clean bill of health...... and a very clean colon. I am glad that I don't have to think about that ever again...... or for at least five years..... Ew.

Week 3 - December 25-31

What I did: Walked 50 mins a day. Once a day - twice a day proved to be too difficult. So, double the time, once.

Weight loss: 3 pounds

Special contributions: Nothing extra:)

Total Pounds to lose: 30

photo challenge

2012-01-01T17:34:00.005-07:00

I found this on pinterest today and decided its something to try.... Could be fun:) Plus, who doesn't like pictures? I know I do!

I will plan on "dumping" photos on Sunday for each weeks previous challenge so that I don't overload on all the pictures and stuff:)

New years resolutions.......

2011-12-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

I actually have them this year. I think its the first time in my life I actually have a set of real goals for the coming year. Usually I am too afraid to fail to try BUT now that I am a stay at home mom, and quite settled in, I have a few things I want to do this year. So here it is:

1. Weight loss (duh...)
2. Crochet
3. Make jewelry

So there you have it. In order of desire and ironically level of difficulty. Anyone know how to do any of them? Please teach me!

I recently ordered these in cream and pink for Avery:

But I want to make them myself and be able to gift them to others....

And I love the look of this:

And kinda think I could make it..... maybe get good enough to sell my own goodies on Etsy, instead of buying them:)

Here's to 2012 and trying new things!

All I want for Christmas.....

2011-12-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

.........One day too late to ask Santa for her two front teeth, but we are happy they are out! They were looking a little too snagle tooth for my comfort! She now has an adorable smile and a little lisp:)

Two month update!

2011-12-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am writing this already, but miss Avery is already two months old!

I know the time flies. I know this because she is my third...... but I am serious when I say I think the time flies FASTER with each baby. Wow. Maybe its because you are busier with each consecutive baby.... maybe its because you are more sentimental... I don't know. It just does.

So, here we go.

At birth Avery was

6Ibs 2oz
20.5 inches long

At two months old Avery is

9Ibs 9oz
23 inches long

Wow that is a lot of growing. No wonder she sleeps so much! Does everyone else's babies grow that quickly? I guessed she was in the 9 pound range, but was surprised to hear that she was on the up side of it! Yikes! I am not surprised that she has grown 2 1/2 inches, but that means she gained on average a pound and a half a month and grew equally as long.

Boy is she one long and lean little lady. Her stats are 75% on height (just like her brother and sister were!) and 25% on weight (just like Brenna was!). Funny how eerily similar my children have been at this age.....

miss skinny minny at 1 month

You can totally see she filled out here! I love it:) She is also much more alert!

And just because I love love love me some Avery smiles, I'll add this one too.........

Poor baby. Looks like she gains all her weight in her legs... just like her mama.

2011-12-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

Christmas time has made its way to our house. Its been this way for a couple of weeks actually, but it has taken me this long to get ALL of it put up. I am not a huge decorator. In fact, the concept pains me. I have no faith in myself and I am as cheap of a Dutchwoman as you can imagine. Every cute thing I see in a store I pick up and think, ooohh, this would be cute- then I look at the price tag and set it down. Can't help myself:)

But alas, this is it for now!

An eclectic collection of decorating gifts from my mom:)

My favorite decoration! Thanks all in part to my sister-in-laws and a couple years of birthday and Christmas gifts!

And since Nativities are my favorite form of Christmas decorations, I had to get one for the kids too! They love playing with it - even though we have lost Joseph and the Shepherd:)

My "creative" decoration for the year. Of course, all credit goes to pinterest. But I do like seeing it when I walk in the front door!

And my second favorite decoration of the house. The stockings I have been slowly collecting! And please, disregard how unevenly they are hung. Second year in a row that I completely got it wrong:) Oh well.... kids don't seem to mind! How can someone get it that wrong???

And the tree:) Its a close up because its really big! And guess what, its fake. YES its FAKE! And guess what else? I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE me my fake tree:) Shout it out to the roof tops! I am not ashamed:) Even though I am surrounded by mountains filled with real trees to chop down and put in my house, I am - at the core- an Iowa girl who doesn't like real trees:)

This is my new idea for Christmas cards this year. We have yet to see if it will really look the way I envision it to:) I also got this idea off pinterest. Usually I put them on the mirror that I have Christmas decorations hanging from in the picture above. But Tim doesn't like that because by the end of the season it is completely covered and surrounded by them. So I thought I would try something different!

Other things around the home lately?

A failed Christmas cards photo shoot:

I really thought it was going to work.... it was so cute in my mind's eye. However - it was a major flop:) Thanks in part to my youngest daughter. She wasn't having it!

My little helpers were a little concerned:) Love this picture!

And also in part to my eldest who is possibly the least photogenic person on the face of this earth:) Love her dearly though......

As you can see- I didn't even attempt Beau. It wasn't going to happen at this point anyways:) If you are lucky enough to get one of our cards, you will see I completely went a different route!:)

And outside time! This is Beau's first real play in the snow:) Last year he was too little and hated his snowsuit. This year he LOVES it. Although he won't keep his mittens on so he ends up wearing finger gloves and has to come in minutes later because they are too cold:) Oh well, fresh air is good for the soul no matter how long we're in it!

And my favorite quote of the season:

" When you leave Christ out of Christmas you embrace the glitter of Christmas, and completely miss the glory of Christmas".
Pastor Brad Mienders

Amelia Bedelia's Apple Pie

2011-12-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

..... it all started with a book. This is Brenna and her Great Grandma having a little quiet time together. It soon turned into a fantastic idea! Brenna had been really wanting to make an apple pie like Amelia Bedelia does and because her Grandmas were there, she decided now was the time! My Grandmother, being the saint that she is, hopped right on bored. It was so fun to watch! And it turned out delicious too!

Brenna loves to help cook, but I am not always patient enough to let her really get in there like Grandma did! This was the first day, making the pie crust. It needed to sit in the fridge for a while and so we did get to finishing the pie for a couple days.

I love it! What amazing fun and a great memory to share with her Great Grandma Bosma. I didn't get a finished photo of the beautifully cooked pie, but trust me- it was DELICIOUS:)

Avery Jo, 1 month old!

2011-11-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone? She is one month already. Actually, if we are being honest here, she is 5 weeks today. But, I've been busy:)

Here are a few tidbits about our itty bitty love over the past month.

Avery Jo - 1 week old

Avery Jo - 2 weeks

Meeting Grandma Iowa!

Avery was baptized on November 13, 2011

Great Grandpa and Grandma Bosma came out to visit and be part of her baptism too!

Avery Jo - 3 weeks

Avery's first bottle. She did great! I just have to remember to keep giving her a bottle every week or two so she doesn't forget she liked it!

One Month! Still pretty long and lean.... not sure that is going to be lasting much longer. I have already decided to purchase size 1 diapers next time I need more. The yellow tape still criss crosses across her tummy, but she seems to be pooping out of her clothes at every diaper change and I am hoping it will help. Big girl, here we go!

Other things about her:

She doesn't sleep on her own:

Desperate time calls for desperate measures........

She LOVES the Moby. So we spend most daytime attached to mommy too......

It doesn't take long to go from this.........

..... to this!

But seriously. Its okay she's isn't overly independent (I call it social). These phases don't last forever and even though they aren't always the most convenient, I am trying my darnedest to just enjoy the ride:)

Love you Avy Jo (how Beau says it).

November 13, 2011

2011-11-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these..."
Mark 10:14,16

Avery was baptized this past Sunday. It was such a special moment for us as a family. Not only were both sets of Grandparents present, but my Grandparents were also there. At Bethel the Grandfathers get to fill the baptismal basin with water. I love how it incorporates the entire family, representing the importance of children being raised by an entire family, by an entire congregation,. even an entire community. That this overwhelmingly important task of bringing up children to love the Lord doesn't lay 100% on our shoulders. And good thing for that!

Grandpa Vanden Hull filling the water

Grandpa Venhuizen filling the water

We had a wonderful Sunday. My parents came up with my Grandparents on Friday to meet little Avery and be a part of her special day. The baptism went wonderfully, with Brenna, Beau and Avery on their best behavior! Even at the front of the church, which was a nice surprise:) Both Grandfathers filled the water basin and Tim prayed for the family after the sacrament was over. Although a little nervous to pray in front of church, he did an awesome job (as I knew he would). Following the service we had an excellent meal prepared for us by my mother-in-law.

What a blessing little Avery Jo is to our family, and what a blessing it is to have a family who appreciates her life as much as we do:)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow................

Who does she look like?

2011-11-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Everyone wants to know....... who does Avery looks like? How does she fit in to your little family? Out here, I mostly hear, ohhhhhhhh..... she looks just like Beau! Which, she does, kind of :)

No one in Montana got to see Brenna as a little baby. So I am guessing that they think she looks like Beau because Beau is all they know:)

The older (older??? she is only a week and half!) that Avery gets, the more I start to remember things about Brenna that I had previously forgotten and the more I think Avery looks like Brenna did MORE than how Beau looked. She has Beau's mouth, for sure. But she is colored just like Brenna was and has the same little round face and head that Brenna had.

I think for the most part, Avery looks like Avery :) I think she must be a perfect gorgeous little mix of the two older kids.

But.... See for yourself:)

Brenna Leigh

Avery Jo

Beau Jacob

Its kind of hard to tell when looking at freshly birthed babies:) But I think it shows the coloring differences. The girls were nice and pink, red really, and Avery remains that way still today. They also had a nice amount of dark hair. Beau on the other hand, was my fair colored little prince from the beginning!

Brenna Leigh

Avery Jo

Beau Jacob

These are the kids all at a week or two old. I don't have very many digital pictures of Brenna, so its hard to compare all three at the same age in a similar pose. But, this is what I have:) So this is as good as it gets.

Anyways. I think they are all distinctly unique, hard to pinpoint Avery as really looking either like Beau or like Brenna. Although the roundness or her face and her coloring is more Brenna and her little mouth and chin are more Beau. We will just have to give it a year and compare then:)

Avery Jo Venhuizen

2011-11-02T14:13:00.000-06:00

Avery Jo, 5 days old

Yesterday was officially her due date. Seems crazy to have that momentous date pass without anything special happening. For the last 10 months, the date November 1 was on the forefront of my mind as my baby's birthday...... although I am happy her birthday is now October 26th. We did get to go in for her one week checkup with Dr. Mitchell yesterday. She was perfect, of course:) And like my other babies, who consume whipping cream for breast milk, she not only regained enough weight to match her birth weight, she surpassed it by two ounces! Wow! My little peanut now weighs 6 pounds and 4 ounces and is growing fast. If I had to guess, she gained it all in her cheeks.... maybe a little to her fingers (which don't look like creepy old lady hands anymore).

She has been a JOY to have. I can't express what a blessing she is to our family. She fit right in like she was always here, which is the amazing part of having a new baby. They feel brand new, while at the same time feel like they have always been.

She isn't the best night time sleeper of our three kids. She really like to sleep with us, which is something I used to be against..... but with sheer exhaustion this time around has discovered to be quite wonderful actually. We are very careful to make a little space for her up by the headboard between our pillows, so that she wont get rolled on or covered up by blankets. And while she sleeps better with us than in her own little bassinet, she still has at least a good one hour period around 3:00 am where she is ready to party. Eyes wide open, ferociously chewing on her little fist or an unsuspecting finger (hungry or not!) and waiting for mom or dad to talk with her. Add that hour to the three or four feedings and you get a sleepy mommy and daddy.

She came into this world a tad bit early and in a big hurry. We decided to induce on Wednesday because I was already dilated to a 2 and had been have off again on again contractions for 3 days. I was a little nervous about the decision but felt confident we were ready to meet our little surprise bundle. When I arrived in my room in Labor and Delivery Dr. Mitchell decided to break my water because I was already a 4. When I heard that I realized that whether we started this show on the road now or not, she would probably have been born that night or early the next day.

I never had any pitocin or other drugs to induce labor this time around, and while it did take a good 3 hours to really kick in, she was born at 6:00 pm, 4 hours later. They broke my water at 2:00pm and at 5:00 the contractions where finally painful enough to need some assistance from Tim. At 5:20 I decided Tim wasn't enough and wanted to try the bath tub. At 5:40 I realized I wanted an epidural and got out of the tub. To my dismay, I was too late for the epidural again and had my 3rd natural delivery. Let me back up by saying, before they let me in the tub my nurse checked my dilation and I was still a 4! What?? How disappointing. When I got out of the tub 20 minutes later, I was a 10! Yikes. I thought those contractions hurt. It was very chaotic from that point on. The nurse said, "Your a 10!" she then turned, hit a button on the wall and yelled out the door "I need a Dr in here!" She asked me to not push, which I told her was impossible. My Dr walked in just in time for one big push and a slippery little Avery flew into this world. I was in shock, she was in shock (literally, from the fast delivery combined with the cord being wrapped around her neck twice) and we were done. She was placed on my belly and started to scream and while I peeked to see if we had a little boy or a little girl, she proceeded to pee all over me:) It was all snuggles and smiles from that point on. The first thing I thought when I saw her was how TINY her little face was and how LOUD her scream was. My nurse commented on how little she was and she guessed that she wasn't even six pounds yet. She was, but barely..... she weighed a whopping six pounds and two ounces, stretching out to 20 inches long. I think the long length made her look even skinnier than she was:)

She still has a petite little face and dark hair that shimmers auburn in the light. She has the skinniest most adorable little bird legs and long long long feet. Her arms are also very long, but she has delicate feminine fingers. She is just beautiful and I can't wait to take her to Iowa to show her off:)

She's here!

2011-10-29T18:33:00.001-06:00

Just a quick announcement while I have a minute:

Avery Jo Venhuizen
6Ibs 2oz
20 inches
10/26/11
6:00 pm

2011-10-17T14:38:00.000-06:00

Is it truly considered nesting if it is premeditated???

I always thought of "nesting" as something you did without thought and only when you looked back at it thought, huh, I was sure nesting! Therefore, I don't think its true nesting..... maybe just the craze of a mom of almost THREE kids? Although I can't explain some of the strangeness of my nesting. Like today- my sudden obsession with getting rid of the cardboard corner of my storage room. Really??? That's where I put my energy today? Something that will NOT affect or assist in the homecoming of my new baby? Oh well:) It does feel good to have it done.

As only my mother and husband can attest to, my storage room as shameful:) One of those skeletons in my closet that NO ONE is allowed to see. Yikes. We moved in five and a half years ago, and it has never been loved on. Not once. And for some unknown reason I have an obsession with keeping every cardboard box container we have ever gotten. What is with that?

Anyways, today was the day I decided to deal with it. Beau and I emptied all of the boxes out and got them into the van. We even brought them to the Venhuizen fire pit. No, not recycling. Sorry. But there was no way I was going to break down every little box and go through shiny boxes versus brown boxes and all that jazz....... so since there was a big fire going already, I drove down to Grandma's and dumped it. And WOW did that feel good:)

So, I didn't do a before photo to show the absolute horror of it, but I did manage to take a couple of my poor mini van. Yikes:

Praise Jesus that we have a mini van that could fit all this garbage in one trip! Beau was a little weirded out that he had to be surrounded by cardboard boxes, but he survived.

And here is the cardboard corner now:

Now. I know this doesn't look like much, but... Mom? What do you think? :) I have a small box of boxes, just in case I need them for gifting purposes. The black box is a box of gift bags, the orange box is a box of reusable tissue paper and then behind the fan is a box holding wrapping paper. hehe! I know i know, it doesn't look like much, but for now I am completely tickled with it:)

And, just because.....

37 weeks.

Please don't mind the messy shirt......:) I am a mom of a two year old;)

Harvesting... ala the cell phone:)

2011-10-10T20:28:00.000-06:00

My kiddos, enjoying a little dinner with the crew.

So, by request, I have taken some pictures to give a quick glimpse into some of the workings of the potato harvest. It was my turn to bring dinner to the crew so I quick snapped a few photos, on my phone. They aren't the best quality and I only took a couple, but hopefully it will give you a little bit of an idea:)

All the potatoes, rushing down the conveyor.

Brenna, Grandpa, Beau and Uncle Eric checking out the spuds and grading out the dirt clods.

Brenna and Beau loved to help with the potatoes!

Brenna found herself a monster potato! She was so excited, it is now on my kitchen counter.

These are the potatoes heading into the cellar where they will be stored until shipping in the spring.

This is a picture of the grading table and the conveyor.

These are the potatoes coming off the truck and starting the grading process. These trucks ride up along side the harvester in the fields, then bring them back to the cellars.

Some of the workers, grading.

So, I didn't get a picture of the harvester in motion, but I'll work on that:) Daddy will be moving to some fields a little closer to home real soon, so maybe Beau and I will just have to bring him some lunch one of these days....... :)

36 weeks

2011-10-06T17:53:00.001-06:00

Here we go......

So its 36 weeks already this week. Hard to imagine. It feels like it flew by, and then I really think about it, and I have been pregnant at both kids birthday's this year.... and all of the summer..... and spring...... I believe it snowed for plenty of months after I found out the news, and now snow is back in the forecast....

..... and that makes me feel like I have been pregnant forever. But I only have four weeks to go, and the time is flying by.

I measured around my waist today, something I do each week once I hit 36 weeks. I did the same for Beau's pregnancy book and its amazing how quickly you forget. I had to look up the measurements today and was surprised to see that I am the same inches around at 36 weeks for this baby as I was at 39 weeks for Beau. Kinda depressing...... kinda reaffirms the idea that I am carrying this baby WIDE. It has felt like I was carrying this baby differently the entire time. Not sure why that bummed me out, its not a competition. Oh well:) Its just a different baby, right?

Trial run.....

2011-09-30T18:11:00.000-06:00

I'm afraid its time. I may fail miserably, but I am giving it a go, starting tomorrow- October 1. POTTY TRAINING. okay okay, no- not really potty training, but we're going to start with getting over the fear OF the potty. He asked to sit on it once, and so we set him on with claps and yays and all of the above, and he freaked. Maybe we over reacted??? I don't know. But either way, we are going to studiously work at getting over the fear of the potty...... using this handy dandy tool kit, otherwise known as the candy jar:) I AM one of those mommies who uses candy to bribe her children, so sue me;)

He currently won't even sit on it and I am hoping that we can just start with sitting on it for a reward. Only surrounding normal potty times. I.E. bath time, bed time and nap time:) A couple times a day. Reward for sitting like a big boy. Eventually working into a reward for peeing.

I'll keep you posted;)

34 weeks!

2011-09-26T10:24:00.001-06:00

I've gotten to 34 weeks already! Actually this is my last day in the 34 week category, so as of tomorrow I made it to 35 weeks! Crazy:) My energy has hit an all time low again, I don't remember actually getting this tired at the end of my other two pregnancies, but I suppose I did and just don't remember. 7:00 pm hits and I am done for the night and bedtime for the kiddos can't come soon enough! Other than being tired and some pretty regular braxton hicks, I have been feeling really good and am NOT ready for the pregnancy to be over. I really hope the little babe stays put for at least another 5 weeks! Baby has been getting more and more active and it has been fun to feel.

This is my 34 weeks picture (because I missed 32!).

PS - the cookies in the previous post WERE amazing....... I am embarrassed to admit that they are gone. I can't wait to make more.... maybe the whole batch this time;)

Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-09-22T17:42:00.001-06:00

I am not sure if its the cooling weather, or the fact that Brenna is in school now.... or possibly its because Tim is in the field again, but I have been loving baking home made goodies! I started with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies a couple weeks ago, then I made my personal favorite ooey gooey bars last week and now I am making chocolate chip cookies again - as we speak. And oh do they smell good! Okay, truth be told, they taste good too - as I couldn't resist trying both the batter and the finished product;)

Anyways, I thought I would share the recipe here.... in case anyone was looking for a good SOFT chocolate chip cookie recipe.

• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 2 Table spoons plus 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 9 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

YUMO!

I am only going to be pregnant for about 6 more weeks, so now is the time to indulge without guilt, right? Oh, and I thought I should mention that this is a huge batch of cookies. I assume that you could roll out and freeze to grab handful of cookies to cook at a time, but out of sheer laziness, I just did half the recipe and it turned out great. I have 45 cookies and counting at this point...... I can't imagine how many are in a a whole recipe!

Brenna is six!

2011-09-14T16:54:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to my Brenna Leigh. Oh, you are so special to me:) My best description of you at six years old is this: Beautiful, strong willed, independent, smart, generous and tender hearted. An interesting personality combination to be sure. One that I don't always understand, and therefore we tend to buck heads often, but truly you are an amazing little girl.

We had a birthday party for Brenna on Monday the 12th (her birthday). We picked up Kyanna, Delaney, Ada and Brenna after school. I had Beau at my friend Racquel's house (Thank you Racquel!!) so it was just us girls! First we went downtown to the Chocolate Moose. The girls were so adorable on the way there. They were so excited and they pretty much just rocked out to our VBS CD, singing their little hearts out.... it was adorable. Once at the Chocolate Moose, we headed back to the soda fountain counter and the girls picked out a snack. Brenna, Ada and Kyanna each got an ice cream cone and Delaney got an old fashioned Root beer. None of the girls ate more than 1/3 of their treat, but I am thinking that the jars and jars and jars of candy where calling their names:)

They each got to pick out some candy from the jars to put in their own bags. I had to make a rule that it could only come from the glass jars and couldn't have wrappers on it. They were getting a little carried away:) In the end, I think I got a little carried away myself and the girls went home with way more candy than their mothers were probably happy with;) oops:)

Afterwards we went to get their nails painted. We went to LeNails in the mall and the girls had so much fun! Each one picked out her own color and it was so cute. Kyanna picked maroon, Delaney picked blue, Ada picked lavender and Brenna (surprise surprise) picked ORANGE....... of all the colors..... :) They all sat so still and looked so little in the chairs, but acted so big. They even got flowers painted onto their thumb nails with a little rhinestone in the center. So cute.

After all that fun, we still went out to pizza:) We went to Earths Crust and met Daddy and Beau, Great Grandma Venhuizen and Grandpa and Grandma Venhuizen. The girls played games while we waited for food, and after pizza we opened gifts.

She had so much fun! It was a busy afternoon, but so worth it to make her so happy. We had ordered little party favors online and she could not WAIT to hand those out. They had little stuffed animal unicorns in them, stickers, crayons, a notebook and a birthday noise maker...... all unicorn themed. She love loved it!

And to top it all off, she got to meet Uncle Eric and Auntie Jess's new puppy Arlo after we brought the girls home. She loves dogs and so it was extra special to meet the new puppy on her birthday. What a night!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-08T09:13:00.000-06:00

The Farmer Gene

2011-09-02T16:02:00.000-06:00

I think you must be born with THE gene. Not to just be a farmer, but to LOVE being a farmer.... to love everything about being a farmer. And Beau has it. He truly has the gene. It was exemplified today when he got his first chance to harvest with daddy this year. They worked very hard at combining our grain and he even lasted a whole hour! What a boy:)

Fingers immediately found their way to the dirt:)

Patiently waiting for daddy to come closer.

Here he comes! Trying to decide if he can making a run for it.....

Three Generations.
Love this picture- Tim's dad helping lift Beau up to him.

Look at all that hard work paying off!

Daddy teaching Beau the ropes.

Sleepy from missing his nap and ready to head down to mommy.

Graduating class of 2024

2011-08-31T13:56:00.002-06:00

Sounds like a million years away. I promise you, its not.

The year 2024 is the year that Brenna will graduate from high school. I was asked to put her year of high school graduation on one of her forms for school and it took me aback. 2024? That sounds like a million years away. But you know what, so did kindergarten - and look at me now. A mom of a school aged child. Wowza.

Brenna started Kindergarten at Manhattan Christian School on Monday. The morning went a little bit like this. "Wake up sweety- its kindergarten day today!" 3.2 seconds later, we are up the stairs and at the breakfast table ready to go. We had had a conversation the night before where we had decided on what she was going to wear and that she had to be dressed (shoes included!), hair done, breakfast done, teeth brushed and read for school before we would turn any cartoons on. Needless to say, day two - still no cartoons:)

She did get dressed okay....... we made pancakes for this special occasion and so she ate okay. But then came the shoes request and boy did she lose it. Literally screaming and bawling and shredding that tissue paper you find surrounding new shoes, all over the hallway. Daddy helped with that situation and it was time for hair. After four separate ideas and mom not getting it to look like she wanted, and probably 12 tears later, we finally settled on the traditional braid. The same hair-do she wore every single day to preschool.

We rushed out the door into the new minivan which she was really hoping to show all her friends, and got to school at 8:09. About nine minutes later than I wanted, but still with time to spare. School starts promptly at 8:15. After finding her locker and saying hi to Mason and Clark, we made our way out to the playground as is custum at this school. She showed me some of her favorite things to do during recess (although we played at the park multiple times during the summer!) and when the bell rang headed over to figure out where the kindergartners get to line up each day. We then got to find her desk. Right in the front of class in a table grouped with four kids- Mason (one of her bests friends) happens to be in that group of four. Uh oh. Wondering how long that will last:)
*** Edit: It lasted two days! She is now moved to a new table:)

Parents were dismissed and we worked our way over to the new gym for convocation (chapel). We got to watch as Brenna entered with her adorable class of 20 looking so little! And during the chapel I got to see first hand my daughter pulled aside and sat on the other side of the teacher. Yes, she is chatty. She wasn't the only student who got a talking to..... but she was the only one moved:) Alas, her teacher has already discovered her weakness! When we asked Brenna that night how come the teacher had to move her during the chapel, she said, "I don't know? I think she was lonely". Good of answer as any:) The convocation was lovely and a great way to start the year and once the students were lead back to class, us grown-ups were sent to the atrium for coffee and cookies and a little bit of get to know you time.

So here are a few pictures from the epic morning:

My big girl. All ready for school.

Out front of her school. Trying to start a traditional picture... I have her in the same place for a preschool picture last year:)

Brenna found her new locker!

Clark and Brenna will be in the same class. Cousins!

Her class trying to figure out how to line up after the bell rings.

Sitting down for morning chapel. Only shortly before she was moved for talking to much.

baby steps.....

2011-08-29T10:26:00.000-06:00

By the time you hit your third baby, there really isn't much you need to do to prepare for the new addition. You have a crib, a stroller, a swing, a bouncy seat, highchair, diaper changer, toys, clothes (especially when you have already had one of each!), and any other little thing you can think of. But what don't you have? A vehicle that can fit three car seats in it. Hmmmmmmm, kind of a major deal. Thus the search for the perfect vehicle. It began immediately after the positive pregnancy test and although we were diligent about looking at all of the car dealerships and even test driving a few, we weren't really in a hurry. We love our car. Or, I should so- I LOVED my car. It was the first car that I had that was brand new (literally 12 miles on it), picked out by me, and I loved it. But, sadly - was too narrow to fit three car seats across the back.
We finally found "it" two weeks ago, but it was located in Kellog, ID - about 5 or so hours from here.
We took off on Saturday evening and drove to Missoula (3 hours away) and spent the night in the hotel. Then we drove the last two hours to Kellog on Sunday morning. It was a fiasco and took WAY longer than I could have ever imagined it would, but we did drive home with our new Honda Odyssey last night. It is a roomy, technologically advanced kid friendly mom dream machine. Although I can't say that I have really let it sink in that I am a 27 year old with a mini van, I know it was the most grown up wise choice Tim and I have had to make yet. And we did it.

Our Honda Accord. My too little, beloved car.

Our new Honda Odyssey. The family smart choice.

Look at all that room. Note the children- truthful to the mood at the moment. Beau was SO sick of it and way too hot, while Brenna was ecstatic and bouncing off the wall......... and seats........literally.

30 weeks

2011-08-23T16:44:00.000-06:00

Late again. Jeesh- why is this so hard this time around???

Anyways, this is me at 30 weeks pregnant with baby #3. Should have taken the picture 2 weeks ago at 28 weeks, which would have been a more accurate dipiction of "7" months along. Oh well! Hard to believe we are down to the 10 week count down and shortly there after the single digit countdown. Wowza! 11/1/11 is the due date and I am really hoping for that birthday! We just need baby bump to flip head down and we will be set. Stinker is still sitting breech, my biggest concern for the time being!

....... just around the corner

2011-08-17T10:10:00.000-06:00

I got this in the mail on Monday and all I can say is, oh my. Here we go...... I officially have a "school aged" kid and I don't feel nearly old enough to be that responsible! :)

I am very excited that Brenna was "accepted" into Manhattan Christian! We are very blessed to have such an amazing opportunity in our, ahem, front yard..... literally. Tim graduated from this school almost 10 long years ago, and now its Brenna's turn to take up the ropes. We got a nice little packet from them with all our parental information, health forms, lunch plan forms, school items list, etc. It was very exciting, but crazy at the same time. School starts on the 29th, at 8:15 am. We haven't heard that Brenna will be in a split class, so I am assuming she is in Mrs. Van Dam's class this year, right across the hall and down aways from her preschool room last year.

We went school shopping last night. Brenna picked out two Tinkerbell folders, a giant eraser, box of 8 crayons, box of 8 skinny markers, a 4oz bottle of Elmer's glue, and four giant glue sticks. We already had her Tinkerbell backpack from last year (yes I am a mean mom who is making her reuse it...... it still looks brand new!!) and her pencil box from last year too. So all we need to do is find a special kind of prang water color paints (looked in two stores, where are we supposed to buy this stuff?) and her paint shirt and a small pillow. We haven't done any school clothes shopping as it is not something I look forward to. My overly picky and stubborn 5 year old is (not joking) one of the most frustrating people I have ever shopped with/for. She wants and LOVES everything on the shelf, so she is begging and begging for everything the entire trip, but then once we are home she doesn't like any of it anymore and literally screams and cries about having to wear most of it. ARG! So, we will wait with that..... maybe buy a first day of school outfit and picture day outfit and call it good for now. Anyways:) With less than two weeks to go until school, I feel like we better go make the most of what is left of this short short summer!

see ya!

The Big Trip 2011. Part 3

2011-08-14T16:07:00.000-06:00

And for the finale.

After the wonderful 2 days of wedding, we headed back to Seattle to finish out the trip. Keep in mind we had been gone since the previous Sunday, and this was Saturday the 6th. As I mentioned before, we headed back to Seattle after a lovely BBQ and gift opening get together at the Beukens. We left a little later than we expected (always seems to happen!) but still managed to arrive at our hotel around 7:00 pm.

Once we were situated there, we headed out to find a nice restaurant to eat at. Tim had been craving seafood and really wanted to get some before we left Seattle, so we talked to our hotel receptionist for a few good ideas within walking distance. She told us about this great little seafood place that was only 3 blocks away in medium price range and kid friendly. We thought, surely.... this is it! We rounded up the rest of my family and headed to this fish place. Once seated we quickly realized..... no. This is not a kid friend restaurant. By kid friendly did she mean, friendly to kids? Because there were no highchairs or boosters, no kids menu or kid friendly options, no kid friendly little plastic cups with a bendy straw..... nothing. And I may have been feeling overly self conscious and nervous about being there with my kids- but I am pretty sure I saw a few tables roll their eyes in disgust at the concept of our children being there. That being said, it was also NOT medium price range. Not sure what this ladies budget for food was...... None the less, it was very fancy seafood and Tim was happy with it when we left. I was just happy we made it out of there without any complete meltdowns or broken dishes!

Hamming it up with Grandpa. Thank goodness for great grandparents! Helped keep mommy sane and kids entertained!

Our "kid friendly" dinner table. Watch out Brenna, please don't drop that "no-free-refills" glass glass of sprite from the bar with a bar straw!

okay. look hard, in the far background of the picture you can see the space needle. My only shot of it this trip- weird - it lit up about 1 minute later, but I didn't feel like taking another one:) But alas - this is how close we were..... may have accounted for the price! :)

We headed back to the hotel after this and had a lovely nights sleep in our Holiday Inn Express. We woke up for our last day in Seattle in great spirits. I love that. We packed up and headed down to the yummiest, albeit craziest continental breakfast of the trip. That room could have possibly accommodated maybe 20 people, but a good 100 of us were ready for breakfast..... hmmmm.... we ended up using the skinny little side table used for holding newspapers as our breakfast table. it worked. Then we went to the devotions being held at my grandparents room (would have been nice to be invited on time!!!!) and then we were off for the day. We headed back down to the pier we had gone to the first day we were in Seattle. We went to pikes market and the Seattle Aquarium. Good times. We ran out of time around 4:00 pm because we had to get on the road to Moses Lake, WA. It was sad to say goodbye, but we had some tired kids and needed to get out of there!

Enjoying their special treat at Pikes market. Num num!

Brenna and Grandpa in front of the stinky fish stand:)

Beautiful Miss Miley

Beau and Daddy really liked watching them throw the fish around!

Some of our Bosma group. It took a lot of strategizing to coordinate this group!

Hehe. Too cute not to put in:)

Brenna riding on the infamous golden pig.

She bought her souvenir here. A pretty bracelet with her name on it!

One of the amazing fruit and veggie stands!

Touching star fish at the Seattle Aquarium.

Brenna measuring up to a sixgill shark.

Beau is catching up fast!

My sister and her baby. Loved being able to spend the weekend with them!

CHHEEEEESSSEEEE.

So that is about it. We stayed one night in Moses Lake, WA where daddy had to meet with 3 buyers the next morning, but then we made our big trip back home. Its hard to imagine its over already, it was something we were looking forward too for so long! But it was crazy, busy, fun. and amazing all the way around. What a blessing to be able to do this trip!

The Big Trip. Part 2 ... The Wedding.

2011-08-12T15:57:00.000-06:00

So now for the exciting part:)

The wedding of my baby brother, Brett & his sweet heart, Rachel. Loves.

So we woke up in Canada on Thursday morning. The girls (me, mom, Dana) went to get our nails done with the rest of the bridal party. Turned into two and half hours of glorious pampering. It was wonderful. Then we headed to the reception hall and helped set up. Most of it was done by the time we got there, but it was still fun to do what we could:)

The simple yet beautiful reception hall tables.

The adorable groom, helping set up! What a good guy;)

The adorable place "cards"

Loved her flower choices! So pretty and summery

Loved this! They had a candy table of all purple and green and each guest got to take a little baggy of candy home!

Afterwards we rushed back to our hotel and got everyone ready for the rehearsal. Then we got to have a delicious meal hosted by my parents at the home of a close family friend to the Beukens. Gorgeous home, beautiful views of Abbotsford, and delicious food. Not to mention, amazing company:) It was a WONDERFUL evening.

The beautiful and oh so happy couple, Brett and Rachel.

Dana and Timmy enjoying a pre-meal cocktail

Brett and I enjoying our meal. Such a great night!

Brenna with her flower girl gift- so LOVED it. Rachel got the perfect gift for her!

Beau loved his gift too! A tractor/trailer with little animals and a farmer. All of which, makes noise:)

The next day was wedding day. August 5, 2011. Brenna, I and Auntie Dana started the day by sneaking out of the hotel early and heading over to Rachel's aunts house where we had a lovely breakfast and got ready for the wedding. Brenna was so very excited to be included with the big girls, and she was a perfect little angel the ENTIRE day. Amazing:)

My little girl, acting like a big girl:) She loved getting her hair done!

I was so impressed with it! And it stayed pretty good too!

The bride getting getting ready

What a beautiful bride.

After we were all beautified, we headed to Rachel's home, where we got to have a nice lunch and do the bridal party pictures. This is also where we met up with Tim, Beau, Mitchell, Miley and my parents. So here are a few snapshots from us just hanging around!

Beau and Daddy- all ready for the wedding! Love these boys:)

My gorgeous niece Miley Jo.

Brenna loving on her uncle Buddy.

Brett, Dana and I. Family lovin' .... lets all keep in mind I am 7 months pregnant here....... yikes:(

The Vanden Hulls.

We left for the wedding with 40 minutes to spare, and because of an unexpected traffic jam on the interstate we were 15 minutes late! Talk about stressing the mother of the groom, two bridesmaids, a groomsman and the flower girl out! Yikes. I just had to remind myself they wouldn't start without us:) After making it to the church, the ceremony started and other than Beau being to shy to walk down with the girls, and instead walking down with his mommy (love being loved!!) everything was perfect:)

Aaron and I walking down the isle- Beau is on this picture too, but he is tucked behind my skirt being shy:)

My big girl being a big girl- she takes this flower girl thing very seriously! so sweet. With little Miley in the Wagon behind her.

After the wedding we had a GREAT time on the party bus! It was so neat that Tim and I were both allowed on. First time since our own wedding about 6 1/2 years ago:)

The new couple! Heading out!

On the party bus- ready to party! :)

Having fun with my sister!

Lots of people took turns showing off their moves- have to give props to the bride and groom, they had a great time! As did we all:)

Getting some lovin' from my hubby.

The receptions was lovely. With lots of laughs and lots of tears. Typical Canadian receptions (VERY LONG with LOTS of skits and stories)but still very tactfully done. Food was wonderful, as was the dancing;)

Cutting the cake.

My dad and his boys- Brett and Dustin

Brett and I

Grandma and Brenna, Hanging out at the reception

Grandpa and Beau, also hanging out at the reception:)

Lovely little Miley

The first dance

My family in their wedding bests.

Yikes! How riske:)

The crazy dance. Its amazing how much fun a bunch of Dordt people can be!! hehe. Even after they've graduated!! :)

Wowza. I think that's all:) Saturday was spent having a lovely BBQ at the Beukens (Rachel's parents) and then traveling back to Seattle. The border was a breeze- thank goodness:) I know this was long, and possibly overwhelming, so if you actually read down this far..... I am impressed:)

The Big Trip. Part 1

2011-08-11T10:35:00.002-06:00

So I decided to do this one in three parts. Because that was kind of what it was like for us anyway:)

We started our Big Summer Trip 2011 on Sunday the 31st of July. We weren't going to leave quite that early, but the weather was going to be hot and we don't have air conditioning, so we figured why not? We spent the day leisurely making our way westward, stopping to eat lunch, walking around the Spokane Mall and then for dinner too. We made it to Ellensburg, WA to spend the night at a nasty nasty hotel.... thanks priceline, for that one. Early Monday morning (thanks to the nasty hotel) we headed on our way to Seattle! How exciting! We had a great time looking at all the tall buildings and then headed straight through to a HUGE outlet mall where we spent some pent up energy shopping:) We spent the rest of the afternoon walking the pier down in Seattle.

Mommy and Brenna in front of the ocean.

The kids and daddy on the carousel. The kids loved riding on it!

You'd think it would be the ocean, or perhaps the boats... but the most exciting part for Beau was BIIIIIRRRRRRDDDS :) he loves them.

My cute family, enjoying the marina. Lots of boats and lots of birds:)

After we were finished with this, we decided to check out Pikes Market. It was very cool, but very busy. We had a hard time staying for long because it was so crowded we just walked through and that was it.

Brenna out front of Pikes Place Market.

We finished our evening with a delicious meal at a downtown Cheese Cake Factory. What a great day!

Tuesday was another great day. We started the day out having to waist a little time because Tim was visiting buyers, but we managed just fine:) Spent a lot of time looking at EVERYTHING in PetCo and then went to Barns & Noble to read books till daddy got there. Then we went car shopping, which was more fun for mommy and daddy than for the kids:) But, we did have a fun night. We spent the evening taking a lightrail down to Safeco Field to watch a baseball game! It was the kids' first game ever and while we ended up spending more money on food than we did on tickets and more time walking the back halls then actually sitting in our seats, it was more than worth it. What a great memory!

The kids LOVED riding the Lightrail Train to the Baseball game.

Our awesome bleacher seats (which turned out to be a good investment!)

Beau's first baseball hot dog!

After walking and walking and walking the outside halls, we made our way up to the top observation deck. It was a gorgeous evening and we had much more fun walking than sitting:)

We bought chocolate covered strawberries as a snack. Yum Yum!!!

We ended up leaving the game at the beginning of the 8th inning because we didn't want to get caught up in all the traffic, but we found a pretty awesome way to make our way back to the lightrail! We rode a bike taxi!

We sure gave our taxi gal a good workout! We aren't you average little family of five:)

Okay. And now for the final day of part one of our trip. Phew! Wednesday morning was a great morning. After sleeping in FOR ONCE, we met Grandpa and Grandma Iowa, Great Grandpa and Grandma Bosma and Auntie Beth in our lobby after breakfast! It was so fun to see them all again!! The Grownup's decided that they wanted to go to see Mt. St. Helen and Mt. Rainier, but Tim and I decided that our kids had done enough of riding and sitting and that they would have more fun at the zoo:) So that is what we did Wednesday!

So excited to be at the zoo! She even took a smiling picture for me!

Daddy and Beau, checking out the Lions!

My cute little family checking out the Elephants! One of their favorites.

Mommy and Beau. He was sick of the stroller, but not in the mood to walk. Go figure:)

If you look really closely you can see that Brenna is having a one-on-one with an orangutan. He loved her!

Our fearless leader.... she was sure she knew where we had to go next!

Beau's favorite exhibit. FFFIIIIISSSSSHHH. Beau loves fish.

We ended the day by getting desert at the Cheesecake Factory with everyone and then squishing Grandma in our car to cross the border into Canada and spend the night there. No problems at the border, which I am always nervous about (considering the fact that I have been turned away before!) So that was wonderful.
So there you have it. Part one of our Big Summer Trip 2011.

Art & Coffee

2011-07-29T22:35:00.000-06:00

Ahhh, this is why I love summer.

Brenna is my little painter. She love, love, loves to paint. She would paint every day if I let her...... She was so sweet asking if she could sit outside with me and paint while I had my morning cup of coffee, I couldn't resist. But why not:) Beau was still sleeping, and the morning was perfect.

She really is a little artist, isn't she?

25 weeks.

2011-07-22T16:10:00.000-06:00

Week 25. Its the week where you realize you can't sleep in anymore. Not because you have two rambunctious kids waking you up, but because that quiet, hardly ever noticed one living inside your belly weighs to much and now your back hurts to much to sleep past 8:00. Its the week where you start to wonder how much longer you will have a belly button. Its the week where you start worry just how far the baby is going to push out your hips. But most importantly, its the week that means VIABILITY. Our precious little bump has passed the magic week 24 in which the wonders of medical intervention could keep a preemie baby alive if they needed to be delivered early. What a sigh of relief:)

Here is the picture I finally convinced Tim to take of me for my 6 month picture. Although it is about 10 days late, it will have to do. I wonder why I don't look like this in the mirror;)

And he's TWO!

2011-07-08T11:19:00.000-06:00

Beau Jacob at 2 years old.

Beau Jacob at 1 year old.

My oh My how the time does fly. Cliche, I know. But wow. If you would have told me how quickly June 30, 2009 to June 30, 2011 would go I would NOT have believed you. But alas, Beau is the big 2. And he reminds us of it daily. Not through words of course, thats not really his style, but through his persistant need to DO IT Himself! Littlerally the day after his birthday he decided that he could butter his own toast for breakfast..... where did that come from?

Anyways, we threw him a little party on the 30th. My parents had come up for his birthday, so that was really special. We also invited all the Venhuizens of course:) We had a great turn out and a great time. Here are a few snap shots of the special night.

My parents, with Beau right before the start of the party.

Beau's birthday cake, a dog house, and the puppy paw print cupcakes for the rest of the family!

All the kids eating their birthday party picnic dinner.

My little family taking a picture with the gift that Brenna picked out and wrapped for Beau.

Sorry some of these are sideways! But this Beau and I with one of his favorite gifts of the night, a Thomas the Train set!

Daddy and Beau reading his new book. Beau LOVES books, especially ones about puppies!

Singing happy birthday and ready to blow out the candle!

Such delicious cake!! :)

Happy Father's Day, to my Love.

2011-06-20T22:06:00.000-06:00

This years Father's Day was lovely. A little laid back, but wonderful all the same. We started the day out with a combined service with Manhattan CRC at the school gym to celebrate Vacation Bible School this year. It was a fantastic way to start the day, getting to watch Brenna sing her little heart out in front of everyone. We then met the Venhuizen's for dinner and headed home for nap time! We first had to help daddy open his gift though. And even though it wasn't the fanciest or most expensive gift, it sure hit the spot - we got him a BASKETBALL! :) Kids were so excited. We then spent the rest of the day napping and concluded the night with home made pizza and family movie night. Ah, family bliss:)

Our little bump

2011-06-15T14:25:00.000-06:00

Its been a while since I've mentioned our little bump. We are 5 months this week and doing great. I had my ultrasound yesterday afternoon and we were able to let out a sigh of relief after seeing four working chambers in the heart, a brain developed to perfection (although the tech reminded us that the using the brain is up to the child!), a healthy digestive track with a full bladder, two arms, two legs, two eyes, a perfect nose and mouth, and tiny fingers and toes. I always get a little worked up over the ultrasound, but boy are they amazing. Our baby is busy. Busy busy busy. The tech could barely get a head measurement because baby moved so much she couldn't get a still picture of it! I was excited to find out our baby is 12oz, which it 2oz smaller than Beau was during his exam, but still 2oz bigger than the online pages say it should be. I am not too worried though, as Beau still only turned out to be a whopping 7Ib 5oz in the end:) This baby does have a big head however, which is something my mother-in-law likes to remind us girls that Venhuizen's have, sometime conveniently right before the birth, but that I have so far avoided with my previous babies. So we will have to see what comes of it:) I was surprised to find out that the due date really didn't change at all from our previously estimated one. Brenna's moved 4 days and Beau's moved 9 days. This baby is only 1 day off, so I am sticking with my 11/1/11 :) Mostly cause i like it!
Anyways, here are a couple pictures of my busy little bump who likes to keep its arms up by its face and feet straight in the air:)

Pretty little profile:)

This is hard to see exactly, but its hand is curled up
under its chin.

                                          This is now with its little hand more behind the head
                                           and elbow sticking out. You can clearly see both
                                           bones of the forearm - amazing.

Seeing the intricacies of a perfect and complete human body weighing only 12oz in total just reminds me that our God is GOOD!

Iowa in the Spring

2011-05-19T14:23:00.000-06:00

So, I DID IT!!!!! I drove all the way to and from Iowa with two kids, ALONE. I have to admit I was confident but nervous about the trip. The kids and I have taken the trip to Iowa many times so we know what to expect, its just we've never done it without Tim before!
Our ten days of Iowa Spring went a little like this:

Wednesday, May 4 we pulled out the driveway at 6:00 am on the dot (my goal). We made it to Billings two short hours later and stopped at McDonald's for a quick potty break and some breakfast. Kids were in a great mood, things were going smoothly so far, which really helped my confidence. Upon leaving Billings I discovered that, (to my horror) our portable DVD player (which was brought along for the sole purpose of my own sanity) didn't work. I panicked for a bit, and then decided, "oh well". And do you know what? The kids did just fine without it. Brenna took a little snooze, whereupon when she woke up said my favorite quote of the whole trip " MOM, where are we? Are we in the middle of nowhere? Or did we pass that town already? " I literally laughed out loud for a while....... she is truly the most literal child I have ever met. And Beau just played with the little toys I had packed along for him. So, we made it to Spearfish, SD for lunch around 12:30 or so and *surprise* found another McDonald's. After lunch and potty break and diaper change I then made a quick detour to Wal Mart to buy a new DVD player. The kids did great the first six hours, but I wasn't going to push my luck, with a good 7-8 hours left of the ride.
We then made it all the way to Mitchell, SD to stop for dinner around 7:30, where Brenna was surprised to find Grandma and Grandpa Iowa waiting to surprise her, and Mommy was surprised to find Grandpa and Grandma Bosma waiting to surprise HER! It was a great little reunion and from that point on in the trip, I got a chance to be the passenger and have some adult conversation all the way to Iowa and we pulled into the my parents driveway at 10:30 pm. PHEW that was a long day!

The following weekend was absolutely nuts. My sister-in-law-to-be's family showed up Thursday around noon with her parents, three brothers, grandma Jane, and Grandpa. First time meeting each others families and time for lunch at the same time. Talk about chaos. Dana and Mitchell and Miley then showed up that afternoon and after some more screaming and ooohhhhing and aaaahhhing over the baby we crammed my parents house with three more people.
Friday was graduation day. My littlest baby brother Brett and his Fiance Rachel graduated from Dordt College. He with Bachelors in Business Administration and her with a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education. The ceremony started at 10:30 (which we did not attend due to children and ticket issues) and the after party was at noon (which we did attend, very nicely done, in the Rec Center).

Saturday was my friends day. My friend Angela Orcutt (Minneapolis, MN) ran in the Siouxperman Triathlon in Sioux Center and my friend Ginnie (Sioux Falls, SD) came to help me cheer for her. Then we all went for lunch at the beloved Casey's Bakery. That evening we had the Bosma Family Wedding Shower for Brett and Rachel.

Sunday was a typical one with church and a big Sunday dinner.

Monday, everyone left already :( The Beukens left first with much "see you soons" and a few tears and then Dana and Mitchell left shortly after that. Boy did that make a busy house seem too quiet. So, Mom and I decided to go shopping in Sioux City that afternoon instead. It was lovely and a nice way to break in the quietness without lingering on it.

The rest of the week was back to normal with my Dad working and Mom with her daycare kids. My kids loved that part of the trip, especially Brenna as she loves the daycare kids.

Then we left, Saturday morning at 6:00 am (Iowa time) and had a pretty uneventful return trip that concluded with us pulling into the driveway at 7:30 pm (Montana time). We managed to shave a whole hour off our time, even taking into consideration the time change. So, that was such a blessing! Praise God for our safety and the more than wonderful time spent with the Bosma/Vanden Hull gang:)

A glimps of Beau @ 22 months :)

2011-05-02T13:11:00.000-06:00

Today is a special day for mommy and Beau. Brenna had preschool this morning and has a play date this afternoon, so its mommy and Beau all day! I thought this would be a great time to highlight a little about Mr. Beau. He is sweet, funny, quiet but at the same time noisy, smart, playful, a daddy's-boy, snugly, and NAUGHTY! :)

He has really developed into the most amazing little boy ever. Not every moment is him being sweet or funny, and to be honest over the past few weeks we have really noticed a side of Beau we have never seen- Mischievous! He is testing everything to the limits and seeing whats up and its not always been all fun. However those moments pale in comparison to the moments he makes us laugh. He really is a funny boy:)

Beau loves puppies, books, baths, movies, toothbrushes, balls, wrestling, the outdoors, trucks and tractors, and his family (especially his daddy!). So this our day alone so far, a list of a few of his most common activities:

Playing puppy. he will randomly start to crawl and bark...... and he usually wants to play catch, which he does with his mouth.... just like a puppy:)

Playing trucks, which to be honest, I am not usually part of. Its his go to when he needs to play alone. He just recently started and pretty much always lines them up and zooms them across the floor. He also loves to play with his cow. Very cute, natural born farmer:)

Wrestling. Which is probably his favorite, but is not always that fun for everyone else ;)

And time outs. This is not from today, but I thought it important to add to his list:) This is Beau's first ever timeout, which he received for hitting his sister with a chair. See the remorse?? :) He is a little rough, its been interesting watching his "boy" side come out!

But, it is now time to go ride with daddy in the tractor. Not a luxury he usually gets to do alone. Plus daddy needs a lunch! So off we go, quick before she comes home:)

‎"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.'" Matthew 28:5-6

2011-04-24T16:34:00.000-06:00

HAPPY EASTER!!!

We quickly took our annual Easter Family photo before the kids got too dirty..... and trust me, they did. Beau didn't even make it through dinner with more than a diaper and socks on.... between the dog poop (YUCK!) and a shirt full of orange juice, he was stripped down. Brenna could keep her clothes on, thankfully (as its not as cute for a five year old to sit in her panties, as a 1 year old)but I do have an ice cream bucket full of easter bests soaking in the laundry room as I type this. Her outfit did not survive the great snake hunt or the sandbox wars. And yes, I did say snake hunt. She spent most of the afternoon running around Grandpa and Grandma Venhuizen's yard catch snakes with Turner, Johnathan and Clark. Ew. At least they didn't bring any of them into the house.

But. What a blessed Easter spent celebrating our saviors ressurection from the grave for all eternity. The weather was glorious, finally, and we ate an obscene amount of food with John and Barb, Grandma, Dale and Nancy, Eric and Jess and Nick and Stephanie, and a very loud group of 9 grandkids (8 of them under the age of 6)!

Maternity

2011-04-21T15:15:00.000-06:00

I've done it. Officially wore Maternity pants today. Oops. I told myself I was going to wait a couple of weeks. The "big" pants I have still fit and can button and everything, they just were a little snug..... but as this is not my first time at this game, I knew that if I started I would not be able to stop. BUT, I just wanted to try them on. Curiousity got the best of me, and oops- now i don't think I can go back. They are sooooo much more comfortable, its amazing. I love those big belly panneled ones, they aren't tight anywhere, in fact all morning in town i kept having to hike them up because they fall down yet. So, I am in that crazy pregnancy phase where regular clothes are tight and maternity clothes are too big. Hmm.... I think i will go with too big:)

Pink and Blue Cupcakes

2011-04-18T13:05:00.000-06:00

Me: "Brenna, we have a suprise for you.... guess what it is!"

B: " I don't know....."

Me: "It's something you have been wanting for a long time"

B: "TULIPS!!!!!!!"

Me: "Ahhh, no."

B: "A Garden?"

Me" No. Somthing you have been asking me for for a long time"

B: " A doll?"

Me: " Nope, its something that is alive"

B: " A doll that walks?"

Me: " Brenna. A doll isn't alive. The suprise is something that is growing"

B: " A puppy!!!!"

Me: " No, not a puppy. Its something that is growing inside my belly"

B: " A BABY!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHH AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH AH AH AH AH AH AH"

:)

Brenna and I made pink and blue cupcakes this weekend:) She was of course obvliveous to the real reason...... a new baby sister or a new baby brother is on the way! I intended on making them really something special..... cute decorations or a clever idea. Sadly, it just didn't happen the way I wanted, but the whole situation turned out just fine anyways:) We simply had half blue and half pink with a nice white frosting. John and Barb had no idea, even after they were eating them. So we had Brenna make the announcement. She said, " My mom is having a baby!". I think they almost choked on the cupcakes..... :)

So, it wasn't the way I pictured it, but it turned out perfectly anyways. Plus I amazingly had the perfect amount of cupcakes left for Brenna to bring to school on Monday! She was excited to tell her class and told me that she got to pray before snack and it went a little something like this. "Dear God. Thank you for this food. Thank you for the beautiful gift of a baby you gave to my mom if its a boy or a girl. Amen"

Loves.

Dare I say..... Spring?

2011-04-16T12:55:00.001-06:00

Oh man. Today was an exciting day:) Brenna ran into the house screaming "tulips tulips tulips!". Of course, I didn't believe her because its only April 16 and I live in Montana. Not to mention, I quickly planted tulip bulbs last fall with my mind set on failure..... why would they grow? I had no idea what i was doing. how deep down, how close together, when exactly to plant them....

BUT I followed Brenna to the backyard and *gasp* TULIPS!! I think I was actually more excited than Brenna was. I mean, its only a tiny bit of the green showing, but STILL we might have tulips this year:) I have been wanting them since we moved in, but remembering to plan them in the fall seemed an impossible task. So, here are a few of our scraggly tulips:)

I also noticed that our lilac bush is really budding, and that the trees have little tiny buds on them! I don't want to jinx it, but is this the Spring I have been hoping for since moving out here??? I mean, honestly.... we don't get Spring and Fall in Montana and it always makes me really homesick when I miss those two glorious seasons. We got our first Fall since I have been here this past Fall, and maybe we are getting our first Spring too! Wow, what a year:) Here is our beautiful lilac bush!

And then just a quick picture of Brenna and our neighbor boy Michael doing a little Spring yard work, while Beau rediscovers the wonders of Grass:) Praise the Lord for a Springish day! Its much needed in this family.

The Tooth Fairy

2011-03-17T11:24:00.000-06:00

I had my first experience as being "The Tooth Fairy" this week:) Brenna has officially lost her FIRST baby tooth! We have been working on loosing that tooth for weeks..... litterally. She refused to pull it, saying that Ada told her it would just fall out.....

She finally lost it on Sunday. Funniest part about it..... she didn't even know she lost it, and she litterally LOST it. oops. I guess that is what happens when it is that loose! Brenna has sunday school before church and grandpa had picked her up to bring her. I honestly never noticed the missing tooth (probably because the new tooth was already partially grown in) and so when we sat down in church together she VERY excitedly leaned over and "whispered" I LOST MY TOOTH!!!! I am kinda thinking she lost it in the middle of the night and possibly swollowed it :( oh well!

This lead to an interesting question. "will the Tooth Fairy still come to my house if I don't have a tooth to give her?" Hmmm.... good question. Of course the Tooth Fairy was going to come - it was her first missing tooth! But how do you explain the concept to a 5 year old? Luckily we never had to as she fell asleep forgetting the whole ordeal....... and when she woke up in the morning with a dollar under her pillow..... wow was she excited... and she had her own explanation! She excitedly called all her aunts and uncles to let them know that the tooth fairy had come to her house and that she probably knew she needed money because she fell asleep with her mouth open so she could see the tooth was missing:) clever girl.

Here are a few pictures from our attempt at getting a photo of the missing tooth.... anyone who knows Brenna will understand the difficulty in getting this photo;)

Oh well..... pick your favorite:)

miss Lena Rae

2011-03-02T10:10:00.003-07:00

On Monday evening the Venhuizen family was blessed with a new baby girl. Nick and Stephanie gave birth to little Lena Rae Venhuizen on February 28th at 10:24pm. She was a whopping 6Ibs and 7oz :) Jess and I ran up to visit quickly that night, too excited not too..... and was let in the delivery room at 12:07 am. They refused to share the gender of the baby until we got there so we were DYING to know! We didn't stay long, but it was well worth the trip!
Then Tuesday morning Tim and I and the kids made a quick trip up to the hospital so that Brenna and Tim could see the little bundle, and it was great! Stephanie was feeling much better and Brenna LOVED holding her:) She claimed to be a professional because she had lots of practice holding baby Miley. And then proceeded to go into a deep theological conversation with us explaining that she was indeed Lena's sister..... in heaven because they were both God's daughters. *sigh* She can be too smart and grown up for her own good. :)

She is such a beatiful little girl and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for her:) What an absolute blessing. I am reminded of God's faithfulness every time I see a new little baby, especially one so special to us!

Proud Uncle Tim with his newest neice!

VEGAS, baby!

2011-02-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

Yup. I did it. Went to Vegas for the first time in my life. Never a place I really cared too much about, but when my college besties wanted a FIVE year reunion there, I thought - what the heck? So, presidents weekend it was. I met five of my best friends there (Lynda couldn't make it because she was in the hospital with some sucky pregnancy related issues). Ang Orcutt, Ginnie Zobel, Jenn Van Otterloo, Becca Sol, and Heidi Pipe:) It still feels funny to write all their married names:)

(Obviously I was taking the picture) :)

We stayed at the beautiful and really fun Paris Hotel. Really neat inside, fun to just walk around and look at everything, soak it all in. The best part of being there, of course, was the ceaseless conversation.... mostly about all of our new (or not so new) life - MOTHERHOOD! Besides the obsessive chatter, we also took some time to play some penny slots, enjoy some food and go to the Lion King Show at the Mandalay Bay. It was amazing! It comes highly recomended!

It was an incredibly quick weekend, but one I will never forget.... and even though we all live miles and miles and miles (I am talking flying distance) apart, you would never have known it was a FIVE year reunion. What a blessing to have such amazing friends!

Valentines Day 2011

2011-02-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

Ahhh Valentines Day. Love is in the air:) I am one of those cheesy people that actually likes valentines day. Maybe it is because I have been blessed enough to never have a "lonely" one. Going straight from the fun days of gradeschool when you get to give and recieve cute little cards with candy in them to the days of flowers and other fun spoiled gifts:) My husband even does well with this day...... This being our 7th valentines day together:)
So this is how our valentines day went. I dropped brenna off at school with her baggie full of 11 cards with candy all ready to hand out to her classmates (I find being a school aged kid's mom really fun!). Then Beau and mommy when to the farm office to do a little bill paying and helpful things for Grandpa. After we picked Brenna up from school and had a little lunch, we put Beau down for a nap and Brenna and I decided to Clean for daddy! I originally figured this was as good as my gift was going to be. So, Brenna decided it would make daddy happiest to pick up and reorganize all our shoes in the laundry room. Mommy decided it would make daddy happiest to clean his side of the bedroom.
After Beau's nap we went into Bozeman to get groceries at what Brenna thinks is Mommy's favorite store..... WalMart. I am hoping she thinks that because we have to go there so often...... I decided to make daddy a fancy dinner. So we bought all the special ingredients for Steaks with Gorgonzola (tim's fav), twice baked potatoes, cheesy brocoli, and for dessert- warm homemade giant cookie with ice cream! Yum.
I had already known what Tim got me for Valentines, because he bought it off of Sieze the Deal and it the confirmation goes to my email (oops) but was excited for it non-the-less. He bought me a wonderful spa day:) :) :)
Anyways, Daddy got home from work and walked in with a BIG suprise..... a bouquet of flowers with a teddy bear on it for Brenna and Beau to share and a beautiful bouquet for me! What a good husband:)

Ooops :)

2011-02-01T13:26:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I am terrible at this blogging thing. I intend to keep up with it, then I look back and realize i haven't updated you guys in seven months or so. Eeek. Guess that is what happens when you have two kids running around all day:)

So UPDATE time.

Tim: Nothing new. Which is a good thing, I think:) He is just busy doing the farm thing, the daddy thing, and the husband thing. Which is simply perfect for me!

Me: Nothing new. Which is a great thing! I am just busy staying home and watching my kids grow up. Which is happening a little faster than I expected! I help out marginally at the farm office. Only going in around twice a week in the morning to make sure bills are paid and the bank statement is balancing:) I have recently encountered the love of cooking good home made meals for my family. I think I like that it takes up some of my time, but I also like it because its good for my family :)

Brenna: Boy o Boy have things changed since June of 2010! She is now a preschooler. She goes to Manhattan Christian three mornings a week. She is absolutely thriving there, and she likes it too- most of the time:) If you ask her, she will say it is boring because you have to sit all day, but she always has a big smile when I pick her up and lots of neat things to show me! She is a BIG girl now, very tall and very "old" acting. She loves to "mommy" her little brother ALL day and she is constantly playing Mommy, Doctor, or Vet. She loves puppies and babies and those are her two main topics of conversation. She is also in swimming lessons on tuesday mornings (where she is right now with her daddy) and loves to tell everyone she knows how to swim!She is also very excited that she has two lose teeth! Yikes, she is growing up way to fast:)

Beau: My little man. He is the little love of my life! He is adorable and SO funny...... pretty quiet most of the time but really starting to "bud" in the language category. He says Mama, Dada, Nana (brenna), Ya,No, Pupu (puppy,) Ba Ball (basketball),Moo, Cow, Cee (horse), sh (fish) and Mo (more). He is constantly using his hands when he speaks, a trate I am afraid he may have inherited from my side of the family:) He is happy ALL of the time and is happiest when reading books, kicking around a ball, or playing with his puppies, horses and tractors.

I am a pretty blessed mama!

Iowa

2010-06-06T13:32:00.007-06:00

Ahhh Iowa. We recently returned from a quick trip to Iowa. It was wonderful, as usual:) I really have to start being brave enough to drive the trip myself with the kids so I can go down more often! However, I am not there yet, so I have to wait patiently for someone to come with me. This time we snagged my mother-in-law Barb. We left around 6:00 pm on Thursday night and got to IA about 6:00 pm Friday night. We did stay the night in Rapid City which is always nice, not sure what took us so long the second day, but we did eventually make it:) It was a crazy fast weekend filled with family and tons of fun. Thank you so much Barb for taking us!!!!! We left Iowa again Tuesday at noon. We left Brenna in Iowa with my parents because they came up to visit us that Thursday. They always come to visit us over memorial weekend, so when we planned our trip to Iowa last minute, my mom thought it would be fun if we left her there with them so she could ride to here with them instead of us:) Of course I thought that was a wonderful idea! And Brenna did too. Here are a few photos from the quick trip!

Brenna was "cooking" for her Great Grandma and Grandpa Bosma up in Grandma Iowa's fort. Beau and I decided to join in and sample the sand delicasy!

Because Brenna always wants to do everything on her "to-do" list the first night we are there, we had a bon fire to cap the evening off:)

Beau loved sitting by his Great Grandpa Bosma. I think he might get his looks from someone other than just his dad!!! :)

Brenna loves to watch movies in Grandma Iowa's bedroom. Great Grandma Bosma decided to join her. What sweet grandparents I have!!!!

Time for a haircut. This is Beau getting his very first hair cut!

Thank you Auntie Melinda!!!

We need to hit all of our favorite restaurants while we are in Iowa, so of course we ate at the Pizza Ranch:) This is a great picture of Beau with me, my mom, and my grandma

A great picture of Beau with my brother Dustin!

My brothers sure do love their nefew! :) Dustin and Brett teaching Beau to drive a tractor.....

March of Dimes

2010-05-17T09:07:00.003-06:00

This weekend I had the privilege of walking in the March of Dimes for the first time. It was a three mile walk around downtown Bozeman. The weather was perfect! I went with my friend Laura and her two kids, and her mom. We were able to raise almost $300 between the three of us, so that was really cool. I didn't expect to raise anything more than my own small donation, it was so neat to see people step up and donate to such a neat organization. I can't wait to go back next year! Here are a couple snap shots from the big day:)

Before the walk. The walk started at 10:00 and it was SO nice outside. Beau had to wear that little sun hat because he doesn't have enough hair to protect him from the sun, but too much hair to get sunblock on. He hated that little hat and tried to get it off for at least the first half of the walk. Luckily he gave up:)

After our walk! We did great, the kids did awesome. No one complained and both baby boys fell asleep. After the walk there was great sponsers there who provided a meal and a lot of entertainment!

My adorable family:)

The Great Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-27T15:50:00.004-06:00

Because of the wonderful snow we received the day before Easter this year, Grandma Venhuizen had to push off the Easter Egg Hunt. We finally had it this past weekend. Let me tell you, this is ONE of the many highlights of Brenna's year and she was SO excited to finally get that candy! Barb does a very impressive hunt and actually invites most of the little kids from our church to hunt along side the grand kids. She does a lot more than just eggs. In fact, most of what is out there are things other than eggs, and she doesn't put candy in the eggs. The eggs are filled with little trinkets and raisins and frosted animal cookies. There is plenty of candy, which she buys in bulk after valentines and you find it strewn around the yard. It was a great time with good friends! Thanks again Grandma!!!!

Beau's New Tricks

2010-03-24T12:46:00.008-06:00

So Beau has hit the 8 month mark. Actually, he is very close to the 9 month mark, only about a week to go. That being said- he has a few new things to talk about:) First of all, Beau is crawling. He started crawling on March 6 and hasn't stopped moving since. It took him about a week to a week and a half to figure out how to crawl on our kitchen/Dinning Room floor, but he now has that mastered, so everything upstairs is fair game to him!!

He also popped a tooth. He got his first tooth on February 26, the bottom right. It is now march 20 something and he still only has one teeny tiny tooth. I was concerned with him getting a tooth already, but it appears it takes him a while:) That is OK with me!

And his new FAVORITE thing to do in the world is pull himself into a standing position. He has had some tough lessons, like trying to stand up against his highchair and slipping on the kitchen floor - that is a hard fall! And like trying to stand up against our sofa table - he hits his head EVERY time:) But, he is very determined. Lets just hope this doesn't mean he will be walking any time soon!!!

Busy busy busy:)

2010-03-04T09:40:00.003-07:00

One of the reasons I like my little neighborhood is because it is a culdesac with three families that have small children in it. It has taken a few years, but our kids are all getting old enough that they are starting to play together now. It is one of the cutest things! Brenna is the only girl on the block, but that doesn't seem to bother her one bit. In fact, she has really buddied up to Keith and Keri Vennema's boys- Ethan (5) and Mason(4). We have had Mason over for dinner and lunch the past two days, and in fact he was over by 9:00 yesterday morning and stayed until his daddy came to get him at 6:00. I love that Brenna has some friends to play with right here at home. She gets a little bored during the week, means that Beau isn't old enough to play with and I am not nearly fun enough:) So Yay for Ethan and Mason for making her day! Also, we have Noah and Zander Kammerman right across the street, so they come over and play too.
In fact, just yesterday I had 8 kids under the age of 5 over for some grapes and oreos, then a little Finding Nemo. It was great!

RSV

2010-02-22T09:54:00.002-07:00

Yes, our family has been hit by the nasty RSV virus. Yuck! It started with poor Beau. He developed a cold shortly after his well child check two weeks ago (go figure) and by Tuesday morning I brought him in. Dr. Mitchell claimed that he was doing remarkably well and we did not have to admit him to the hospital or do any type of medications. Just relax, take it easy, give him steamy baths, etc. So, we did- and he is doing great. HOWEVER, he happened to pass the lovely virus on to both Brenna and I. Now, I typically feel that I am pretty tough. Can handle some pain pretty well, don't need a lot of medications...... but this cold is kicking my butt- in fact, I am about 2 days away from taking myself in! I can't believe the amount of facial pressure and pain I have! I can't blow my nose, can't smell, can't taste, can't breath. My nose is raw from wiping it every 20 seconds and my lips are chapped from having to breath through my mouth all day. So far, nothing has moved into my lungs and I have no coughing, but wow- if i don't get some sinus relief soon= I am going to lose it!!!! And to top it all off.... i just took my temp and its 101.3. Boy do I wish I had my family around here! I do feel like somewhat of a worthless mom. yet here i am, on the computer! oh well. at least the kids are feeling better.

Our exceptional baby.... :)

2010-02-09T18:00:00.003-07:00

Today we had Beau's 6 months well child check (although he is over 7 months already.... oops) with Dr. Mitchell. He is a BIG boy.... in the 75th percentile for both height and weight, so much bigger than Brenna ever was. He is 18Ibs and 9oz and 27 3/4 inches long. That is a big difference from the 7Ib 5oz 20 3/4inch baby only seven short months ago. Dr. Mitchell said he is both mentally and physically developed more like a 9 month old than a 7 month old, so it was fun to hear that. We always thought we had a smart baby on our hands, its great to hear it from a professional:) We were going down the list of all his tricks, like rolling over, sitting up, playing "so big" and waving. She was pleasantly surprised and asked if he clapped. I said no, he doesn't clap yet, which he hadn't - until today. Sure enough about 5 minutes after I tell her he doesn't clap, he starts clapping and proceeded to clap the entire appointment - simply proving me wrong:) What a smarty. I also mentioned he doesn't crawl, so fingers crossed that he doesn't prove me wrong on that one too! I am not ready for him to be moving around the house yet!

2010 and counting......

2010-01-18T14:07:00.011-07:00

oh Boy! How did the time fly? I can't believe I waited so long to update the blog. Life with the Venhuizen's has been CRAZY:) I officially became a Stay-at-home Mommy on November 21st! Since then we have had two trips to Iowa and one to Florida (for the 2010 potato expo). we are now finally settling down to normal life here at home. Brenna and Beau were both very successful during the holiday seasons scoring way to many toys!!!

Our trips to Iowa were both safely traveled...... we drove both- yikes! Talk about a lot of time in the car with two kids. However, we have fabulous children who traveled just fine. It was so great seeing our family while out there and over thanksgiving we even saw my sister and her husband. We found out that she is expecting so we are super excited for the end of July to roll around!!!

Our trip to Florida was great, although very cold- record lows every day and night. Some days only getting to 20 or 30 degrees. Not exactly what we had in mind when we were thinking of Florida- but it was a great little get away none the less.

Now that we are home, i have been simply enjoying my children who change every day. Brenna is in to "writing" in her notebook and playing uno. We also do a lot of coloring and puzzles.

Beau has just started to sit on his own. He is 6 1/2 months old and amazes me EVERY day. He has started to mimic sounds he says hi and does a funny little fake cough. He also loves to play "SO BIG" and play with his toys.

Tim is very busy at the farm as they are starting to ship spuds, and I have been helping out a little at the office a few hours a week. So far it has mostly been cleaning- but I hope to get into a little more as time goes on:) Its a nice excuse to get out of the house in the morning!!

Trick or Treat

2009-11-03T10:54:00.007-07:00

Brenna was a little lady bug. She had a great time going around our little neighbor hood and even though we only went to 6 houses, she made a way with a TON of candy.... I think every one gave her huge handfuls!!!! She also found another "actual" lady bug to add to her little peach jar, she now has two lady bugs and is an extremely happy little "mommy". We actually had to bring the lady bugs along to each home, and for the most part she showed them off to EVERYONE:)

Beau was my little lion. I was hoping to get some form of a bug costume to match Brenna, but when I saw this one I couldn't resist!!! He was adorable and it fit great! He was a really big trooper and didn't complain at all- until the very end.... but for the most part. his first Halloween was a success!!!

We met all the cousins at Great Grandma Venhuizens, which has been standard for us over the past couple years. We always try to get a group shot, and we did pretty good I would say! What a cute bunch of kids! Nick and Steph's were the cheerleader. basketball player and basketball. Eric and Jess's were the Dragon and the Rockstar. We didn't get Beau or Max in on the picture because they were both sleeping, but Max was a cute little bumble bee!

We also stopped by Cup of Jo on the Go because they do a fun little photo contest and give aways to the kids. We had a great time this year! Brenna can't believe we need to wait a whole year to do it again..... :)

Rolling over!

2009-10-25T12:43:00.003-06:00

He did it! I can't believe how big my little buddy is getting:) He rolled over for the first time this week, 10-20-09.

One, two, three.....

2009-10-18T17:00:00.004-06:00

And just like that he is 3 months already! well, closer to four months...but I am a little behind in getting these up. Beau has had a great month. Very smart baby! He started to giggle and he found his hands. He is also very close to rolling on to his tummy, twice this week I thought he was going to make it over, but not quite! I can't believe how big he is getting and can't wait to see how much he has grown in a couple of weeks at his next well child checkup!!!

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Back the train up....

2009-10-14T18:31:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I got a little ahead of myself today. Looks like I didn't quit just yet. Need to wait till Monday! **SIGH** I just want to get this over with!!! Oh well, wish me luck on Monday, I will need it:)

The BIG decision......

2009-10-14T09:47:00.002-06:00

Well, Tim and I have finally made up our minds:) It seems today is the big day to break the news to the bank...... EEK:) I am excited and very nervous on a couple of levels. I had been wanting to quit and stay home with the kidos all summer, but we just weren't sure how it was going to work. Well, a SUPER part-time position opened up at the farm and I asked if I could have it. So, it sounds like I will be working about 10 hours a week as the office manager/receptionist/organizational queen at Spring Creek Farms. The best part, its only about two hours a day AND i get to take my kidos along! I just don't know how I am going to break the big news to the bank. I really loved working there, a great position, great people....i only hope they understand. I just MISS my kids So much all day when I am there, and with the cost of daycare..... I have yet to break a profit:) SO.... FREEDOM here I come:) Wish me luck as I nervously work my way to work today.....

Back to work.......

2009-09-15T19:21:00.006-06:00

I have officially been back to work for a week now. Each day gets a little easier to leave the kidos at daycare, but I don't like it one bit!! I wish I didn't have to work at all, but at least the bank has been gracious enough to allow me only part time for now. It has been lovely being home in the mornings with Brenna and Beau. I try to get a little bit accomplished around the house each morning so that I can have the evenings with my kids, and then also more Saturday time too...... Anyways, these are the first day of daycare pictures!

The Fish HoTellll

2009-08-31T14:40:00.010-06:00

Okay, so for the past 4 months or so, maybe even longer now... I don't know exactly, Brenna has been BEGGING to go back to the Fish Hotel, which is in fact specifically the C'Mon Inn in Billings, but really any hotel with a pool would do the trick. Well, her wish finally came true last week when we went with Nick and Stephanie and their kids down to Idaho for a little business trip with the guys. We went to Idaho Falls on Tuesday afternoon and stayed overnight, went shopping in the morning, and headed home- it was the highlight of her summer, our only "family vacation" this year. It was also Beau's first road trip and overnight stay. He did really well, slept great, and even got to dip his feet in the hot tub for his first "swimming" experience!

The babes

The big kids

The big event :)

Beau's turn!!

My cuties hanging out in our room

The one month difference

2009-08-28T15:17:00.005-06:00

It is hard to imagine how fast one month goes until you have a baby!!! It is also impossible to imagine how much your baby can change in one month.......
One Month

Two Months

Kisses

2009-08-21T13:21:00.003-06:00

Mommy and Beau have a new favorite game! He loves kisses, right on the lips... he is very good at them too:) He just stares at me and waits for them! Then he smiles and smiles:) It is great!

The harvest

2009-08-11T09:42:00.006-06:00

Back in May, while my parents were out visiting, my mom thought it would be a good idea to plant Brenna a little cherry tomato plant. Since then Brenna has been carefully growing her little baby tomato plant and obsessively watering it. Last night after our walk we noticed that she had 6 little red tomatoes hanging on her plant. She was so excited! Here are a few photo's of the great HARVEST :)

Ohhh my......

2009-08-06T14:47:00.006-06:00

As I was giving Beau a bath this morning, I thought to myself "Boy Brenna is sure playing nice downstairs already!". This was an exciting thought because rarely does Brenna play by herself quietly in the basement. As I was wrapping Beau up in his towel, she came upstairs and says "Mommy, look what i did all by myself" ------ crap....... She painted her own toenails with bright red polish! Yikes. At first I thought she maybe smeared her new chap stick on her toenails or used markers or something, but as I feared, it was REAL toenail polish. I quickly got Beau dressed and ran downstairs with polish remover in hand suspecting to find some kind of war scene, but to my surprise, no polish anywhere! I am sure I will stumble upon a large mess at some point, but according to where she told me she painted them, no polish in the carpet...... no polish on the tile, ....... no polish all over the furniture or smeared on the walls...... the only casualty was a doll outfit. Hmmmmm...... like I said- I am sure I will be finding more polish as time goes on, but for now- I am actually quite impressed, not that Brenna will ever know that!!!!

1 month already

2009-08-04T11:43:00.006-06:00

Okay- so I am still bad at this whole Blog thing..... but I will try harder, I promise:) So, we obviously have an announcement!!! Baby BEAU JACOB has graced us with his arrival, on June 30, 2009 at 8:12 pm, he was 7Ibs 5oz and 21 inches long. We are very excited to have our little boy, and he has been nothing short of an amazing blessing! He is a very good baby and I have enjoyed being a stay at home mommy for the past month. I have one month left on my maternity leave and I fully intend on enjoying every second!!!! Brenna has been a fabulous big sister and she loves him dearly, sometimes a little too much..... :)

The six month belly bump

2009-03-21T11:06:00.003-06:00

As most of you know, Tim and I are expecting.... Brenna is finally going to be the big sister she has been dreaming about for the last two years (literally). The babe is due early July, so that puts me at exactly 25 weeks today! Few, what a good feeling. I have been doing remarkably well, considering how my pregnancy with Brenna went, so that has been a huge relief. Brenna is 100% sure that this baby is going to be a little sister that can wear her old baby clothes and use her old baby toys. We keep reminding her that Jesus gets to pick and that we don't know what the baby will be. She is getting a little bit better at admiting that it "could" be a boy. We had priviledge of having my little brother and his friends out here for a quick weekend trip last weekend and ever since then she has been a little bit better at being okay with maybe, just maybe, having a little brother..... who would be a boy- just like the boys that visited. She LOVED having those boys here. She called them "her boys".

Anyways, my next doctors appointment is on Monday, so it is always exciting to hear the heart beat and take a guess at gender. So far it has ranged from low to high, so it is still a guess. I think it depends on if the baby is awake or sleeping, but that is just an uneducated guess.

well, its 50 degrees today so Brenna and I need to eat an early lunch and head off to the park. She LOVES going to the park:)

I'm back.......

2008-09-29T18:50:00.002-06:00

Okay. So I know it has been, what, about 3 months since I have last posted???!? Sorry sorry sorry. No we don't have the internet at home yet, but I have been trying to be a little more regular about going to the farm office and checking my mail- hence, I thought i better put a little note on here too. We just had a FABULOUS weekend. My parents came up for a quick trip..... friday afternoon through monday morning. And although it was fast a furious, it was worth it (at least for us, as we did none of the driving;). ANYWAYS.... here is a quick excerpt of the weekend. Friday... they picked Brenna up from day care and came to visit me at the bank. THen, after work- we headed to Santa Fe Red's for a little mexican, and although we needed to wait for well over 30 minutes to get in, I think it was well worth it! Then Saturday, my dad got back to his farm'n roots and drove truck for Venhuizen Seed Potatoes. Mom and I hung around the house while Brenna napped and then went to town for a little shoppin. Sunday, I had nursery AGAIN, which always happens when my parents visit, and then we went up Big Sky with John and Barb and NIck and Steph and had a nice sunday lunch in the mountains. It was beautiful weather and scenary. We ended up taking my dad out for ribs for his birthday too this weekend. We had heard they were his favorites and we have a pretty nice little podunk place with good ribs! Melinda and Lauren should be able to vouge for that as we did take them to Willow Creek when they came out for a visit. SO that was it- fast, but furious and fabulously fun. Can't wait till next time. HOpefully I will be able to keep you better updated in the weeks to come.

LOVE to you ALL:)

Gallatin County Fair

2008-07-28T16:34:00.007-06:00

Tim and I took Brenna to the Gallatin County Fair. It was my first time, as well as Brennas, and we had a great time! As we assumed, she loved the animal exhibit. We walked through barn after barn looking at all of the different animals. I almost didn't make it through the Pig exhibit, which Tim made fun of me for (he thinks because I am an IA girl, that I just LOVE the smell of pigs!). We also went to a little petting zoo. Brenna actually petted all of the baby animals, which we decided had to be drugged..... while else would they put up with hundreds of small children pocking and prodding them?

The whole week before the fair Brenna would come home, begging to go to the "fave" to get some "cokncandy". So, naturally, we did buy her her first bag of cotton candy and she LOVED it. However, we should have saved that for later in the night because she was a MESS! Especially now that she is a big girl and wears panties, we don't carry wipes on us. We had to find a bathroom and wait in line for ages, just to wipe her face and fingers.

We went on three rides- which, to those of you who know Brenna well, will know that is a BIG deal. She HATES things that move to quickly. She doesn't even like to go on swings for goodness sake. But, that didn't stop us from forcing her on the carousel, the Farris wheel, and a little kid ride that consisted of a helicopter that went up and down as it went around and around. She actually loved the helicopter ride, go figure. So, all in all, we had a great time and I can't wait to take her back next year. Sadly, my computer will only down load a couple of pictures from off the Faris Wheel, so I may add some more photos later.

The 4th

2008-07-14T13:23:00.004-06:00

Since I completely forgot to post our fourth of July weekend events last week, I thought I better get on that right away today. Our fourth was pretty uneventful, as the boating trip I was so hoping for, fell through. It was still a nice weekend, as it was a 3 day weekend, so I can't complain too much! We ended up just hanging out with Brenna all day and we went swimming in our little backyard pool. The we had Eric and Jess, Turner and Johnathan, and John over for supper. We had a very nice BBQ, then watched our neighbors across the street blow off $900 worth of fireworks. It was pretty impressive. We did have a few fireworks (as it is legal in MT to blow fireworks off wherever, whenever) of our own and I must say, for $50 they were VERY impressive! Turner had a great time shooting of artillery shells and some other crazy fireworks, and Brenna had a great time with the Sparklers.......

True Childhood

2008-07-11T09:03:00.005-06:00

There are not many things that excite me as much as exposing Brenna to true old fashion childhood fun..... like kite flying. There is something about it that seems so old fashion, I just love it. Tim and Brenna had won a kite from an anniversary give-away at our favorite coffee shop- Cup of Joe on the Go. It was a Curious George kite and she had been wanting to fly it for weeks. The problem (not so much a real problem, unless you like to fly kites) is that Montana isn't really very windy. It is actually rare to have a windy enough day to fly a kite, quite the contrast to Iowa, where it is rare to have a day NOT windy enough to fly a kite!

Anyhow, since Tim got off work early on Friday for the fourth, we thought it would be a special day to take Brenna to go fly her Curious George kite. Even though she was excited about it, she didn't understand what was going on at all! It was so cute to watch her get so excited about it flying the air. We have a lovely abandoned (kind of) church and parking lot right behind our backyard, so it was a great place to fly a kite. And even though it took more time to get it put together, walk back there and string it out, than it did for Brenna's attention span to last, we had a great time:)

If anyone has any ideas for more "true childhood fun" ideas that we can do with Brenna..... please feel free to comment, thanks:)

Summer!

2008-07-09T14:24:00.005-06:00

Summer! Whats the best part about the summer (in Brenna's eyes)???? Swimming! But only in her little swimming pool in our backyard, she is still a little traumatized from the ocean this year. Brenna and I got the pool out on Thursday afternoon. I had gotten off of work a little early, so I thought it would be special to go swimming. It took a little while, but I finally got it all blown up, and Brenna loved helping fill it up with water.

She is such a little fish! She dives right in and out. By the end of the day, it is filled with grass because she runs in and out of it so much, but she doesn't seem to mind. We found one of her little dolls that is all plastic, and a couple of bowls to play with... I think she could have slept in there if we would have let her! We actually ended up swimming on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. She has such a great time~ I can't wait till this weekend!

Wedding Bells

2008-06-27T11:07:00.010-06:00

Hi all. Last weekend we had a great time! Austen and Tanner Rask got married on Saturday evening. Brenna was one of three little flower girls. It was such an honor to even be asked. The wedding was outdoors at the Lazy B Ranch, and the weather was gorgeous! You couldn't ask for a nicer day. The Three flower girls were Ava (Tanner's niece), Jayden (Tanner's cousin's kid), and our little Brenna. All three girls were the same age, only a six month difference combined. It was darling. Their dresses were adorable, thanks to the crafty skills of Austen's mom. The little girls were SO cute together. It fun to just watch them follow each other around all afternoon.

The wedding went so smoothly. I was shocked. All three of us mom's had our fingers crossed that they would even go down the isle. And they did! Not only that, they all stood in the front the whole time!! It was amazing. I was so proud! Now I am a little more confident in Brenna's abilities to be a solo-flower girl at Dana's wedding.

The reception was wonderful as well. They had outdoor seating at these adorable little round tables. The food, cake, and bar were all inside this awesome old barn. It was the coolest reception I have been to... period. The also had a dance, which was Brenna's element. I think she takes after a few of her great-aunts and her grandma:) All in all, it was such a wonderful day and we had such a great time. Can't wait to do it again in August with Dana!

Love to you all.

Father's Day

2008-06-20T16:27:00.004-06:00

Well, where should I start? I suppose by saying I had the best intentions for the best Father's Day ever. And, to an extent, it did start out that way. On saturday, I had Brenna finger paint a picture for Tim. It was her first time ever and she LOVED it, as she loves getting messy. She also had painted a rock for him at daycare and I had gotten him a gift certificate to the local golf store (he is just dying to get new clubs).

Throughout the week I had been thinking and planning and tentatively talking with Jess and Stephanie about what to do for the guys. They had given us a majorly special Mother's Day, so we wanted to do something nice in return. SO- we had planned to go out to eat, but, that fell through with the size of the part, Barb had to work, and Steph had a couple extra kids. Then we decided to do a BBQ at someones house, well that sorta fell through last minute and we ended up just having a regular lunch at John and Barbs. Not that it wasn't nice, but...... I thought because it was Father's Day that I would try to do the grilling so the guys didn't have to do any work. WRONG idea!! I burned the burgers and hot dogs SO bad they were barely edible. Not to mention unseasoned and non-melty cheese. Humph- its the though that counts right????

The never ending project....

2008-06-20T13:45:00.004-06:00

So, if any of you have been to our home in the past two years, you will know that landscaping and yard work is not our forte. HOWEVER, this past weekend we actually made a major break through!!! We have officially (almost) completed our landscaping! Yay! Friday after work, Tim picked Brenna up and met me at Cashmans Nursery and we picked out some great looking bushes! We had originally decided to plant a few in the front island and then a few along the side of our home.

We got home and papered the back and transferred all of the bushes that were originally in the front island to the back along the side of our house. We don't know how well bushes can handle being transferred, but we went for it anyway. It looked great to have that nice and filled in.

Then, on Saturday we laid out the bushes and decided to plant ALL of them in the front island (hence the "almost" mentioned above). Tim had some of the workers from the farm come and help and they were awesome! Brenna called all five of them George. Only one spoke English, so there were a few moments of miscommunication, but all in all, they got the entire front and back planted, papered, and rocked! We are so excited to have a nice looking yard. Finally:)

Camping in the rain....

2008-06-09T11:24:00.006-06:00

So we finally made it camping this year. Finally is probably an overstatement, as it is only the beginning of June, but it one more time that I went last year, so it feels like it has been forever! It was a camping trip for just us girls and we had a great time! Stephanie and her kids, and Brenna and I went up on Thursday night already. Jess and Johnathan met up with us early Friday afternoon.

We had a great time, however it rained the whole weekend. That is three straight weeks of rain! We didn't really mind the rain though, the kids had a great time playing in the camper and us mommies had a great time chatting away all day (and into the night!). The guys would come up at night and we ate a nice camping supper of hot dogs and mac'n'cheese. We also got to have a camp fire both Friday and Saturday night, however it was FREEZING and very windy.

Barb made it up late Saturday afternoon, after a quick trip to Urgent Care for a probable broken arm. We also got to have Turner at the camper with us on Saturday afternoon and overnight. We just had such a great time. The kids absolutely loved it. Sunday rolled around and it was a good thing it was our last morning. A couple days with short naps and a couple nights with late bedtimes calls for some crabby kiddos!