Daddy's Back!

Ryan has returned from his 2 week trip to Israel and boy are we glad! We missed him a lot! He learned so much and is excited to share his experiences with the church. He has wanted to make this trip for several years so it was neat to see how God worked it all out and Ryan was able to visit the land where Jesus walked when he was on the earth. The first picture shows the kids seeing Ryan off at the train station in Kelso. The next picture was when we picked him up at SeaTac. They were all very excited to have Daddy back!

A Graduate and a Ballerina

It was an exciting week! Alaina graduated from preschool on Wednesday. She has been ready to go to kindergarten since she turned 5 last November. Now she just has to make it through the summer. Today was Emily's big ballet performance and she did a wonderful job. She has really enjoyed her ballet classes and learned a lot. My little girls are getting so big!

Memorial Day Tea Party

Traditionally Memorial Day is a time to take the family outside for a picnic. When I asked the girls what they wanted to do on the holiday they told me they wanted to have a tea party! So that's what we did. We practiced sitting up tall and sipping with dainty pinkie fingers raised. We had hot chocolate (we don't much like tea), cookies, fresh baked bread and crackers. Delicious.

Coloring Zone

Grandma and Grandpa Far Away sent a birthday package to Emily that included lots of goodies for all the kids. One of the main ingredients was coloring stuff! They included coloring books, new crayons, markers, colored pencils, and paintbrushes. The girls are having fun coloring and have almost filled some of the books already. I love the paint brushes (they are Crayola ones with paint already in them). They don't make as big of a mess as watercolors do. When Alaina and Lila color, the whole dining room is transformed into "coloring zone". Chairs are moved and pushed together to create tables and crayons and markers are everywhere. It is quite a sight. Unfortunately they will move on to the next activity and leave "coloring zone" just as it is so at lunch or dinner time we have to transform it back to the dining room once again. It is fun to see them at work though. Sometimes I even sit down with them and color a picture of my own. Thanks Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Tami for all the goodies! We love you!

Some cute kids

Happy Birthday Emily!

Emily finally reached the big seven. It seems like she's been waiting for so long - at least a year. But the big day came and now she is trying to come off the sugar and excitement high and go to sleep. Several of her friends came over after school for games and ice cream (because it was actually HOT today) and for the most part had a great time. 7 year olds can be pretty dramatic it seems, so there were some ups and downs, but it was fun. Emily received some money in some of her gifts which is perfect timing because we are trying to teach her about saving and were just looking into opening her own savings account. She thinks its pretty cool that the bank will give her more money for keeping money in an account. I don't know that she understands its a rather small percentage of that money. Anyway . . . We are just starting to see glimpses of what kind of person she will grow up to be. There are so many ways for a child to go in this world and so many things that can lead them astray. We know that the most important thing we can do is pray for them! We are praying that God will use Emily Joy greatly for His glory!

Bustling Around and Staying Busy

We've been on the go with all kinds of activities and projects lately. We've been working outside a lot as we continue to improve our yard and try to wrap up half completed projects from last year. We found a used play structure/swing set on craigslist and set that up for the kids. They are loving it! Emily is participating in spring soccer and was so excited to make a goal at her last game. All the girls on her team have a lot more soccer experience than she does so it was good to see her make a point. Ryan had just finished telling her he would get her a candy bar if she made a goal and she went right out there and scored. We couldn't believe it. Emily is also getting ready for her ballet recital. She had a dress rehearsal and pictures this last Saturday. Here she is in her costume. She is a "teacup" in Alice and Wonderland. This week is her birthday as well and she is so excited!