Summer 2010

Today is the first day of school, so I'd better post all the great pictures from our big trip back home this summer. We had lots of fun, lots of activities, but most importantly saw lots of family and friends. Thanks everyone for putting us up and we'll look forward to another visit at the end of the year, plus one! :)

Given Nate's love for baseball which has grown from the baseball cards he got for his birthday to a full blown obsession through the summer, the Braves game was definitely one of the highlights of our trip in his eyes. And we got to go to the Braves game in style, thanks to Uncle Ryan and Aunt Terri's getting us awesome tickets!! You guys rock!

The Braves beat the Padres! It was a great afternoon complete with lots of tomahawk chop action and ice cream in the little baseball hats!!

Now MariCagle's highlight however would probably be seeing all her cousins. She is going to be a great help to me when Caz arrives. She loved feeding, holding and playing with Winslette at Nana and Pa's. Aunt Jodie was super at showing her the ropes with dressing Winslette, changing diapers, feeding her and holding her. Thanks for the hands on lessons Jodie and Winslette!

Now I failed to take the camera along on our boat outing with Pa, but I have to share one of MC's firsts. In an effort to just shake things up a bit while MC was tubing, Brandon thought he'd jiggle the rope a little. But apparently it doesn't take much of a jiggle, because MC flipped over backwards for her first fall! I was a little worried at first because I didn't know how she'd react, but she handled it with style. Especially once she realized she didn't have to swim to catch up to us, that Pa would come around and get her. So it was pretty hilarious, a good first. If only she knew how Pa used to flip us relentlessly back in the day!!

Now this handsome group is growing fast...Nana and Pa's grand babies will have doubled this year. Just wait until the holidays! It was awesome to meet Winslette for the first time, she is an angel, a very good baby. And spending a couple of days with James was awesome. He's a very impressive little boy! And I was so thankful that he had time to warm up to me and play with me some. His hugs and kisses are precious!

Aunt Kim and Aunt Terri (DeFoor) were gracious enough to host a wonderful shower for Caz and Evangeline. We had lots of fun. MariCagle loved opening the presents and keeping the gift list for me. Again she's a great help! And so are the fabulous gifts that everyone gave us for Caz. We are finally getting things all settled for his arrival. Thanks everyone for all your help!!

Nate and Hudson were best buds at Grammy and PopPop's house. They had lots of fun playing for a few days. Aren't they cute in their bowling shoes!?! Uncle Rob beat everyone, but he'll have to wait to be crowned champion until Kristen and I can demonstrate our bowling skills post-pregnancies. :)

Check out these swimming cuties!
We spent lots of afternoons in DJay & Terri and Tim & Sharon's pools. Thank you so much for the open invitations! Much like Hudson and Nate were best buds, MC and Q were inseparable as well. They had lots of fun playing together, locking themselves in the bedrooms to take care of their babies and other secret girl stuff. Nate and P are our future piano players; they spent a lot of time warming Grammy's piano bench together. :) We were so thankful that the girls and Kim and Britton made special arrangements to spend time with us after getting over strep throat. Our trip would have been incomplete, thanks guys!!

Our trip included a special visit to meet the newest addition to our growing family, Jack. MariCagle demonstrated her prowess at holding and caring for the babies! And as far as highlights go, meeting Jack and Winslette, and seeing James, Hudson, Quinn and Payton were definitely mine. I miss the little munchkins so much and they grow and change so fast between visits!! I love you little guys!!

Jack was a great sport, as he let MC and Nate take over his room! MC loved playing with her dolls and all of Jack's real nursery gadgets. Cindy and Jack were kind enough to share his bathtub, crib, changing table, and toys for a life-like experience. MC especially ate it up.

Though our visit was ill-timed in that Grammy still had to work much of while we were there, we were able to be there for her retirement luncheon. Though we've always known how special Grammy is to us, it was nice to hear that those at work appreciated her too. Happy Retirement Grammy!!

And thanks to her retirement, we were honored with a visit from Grammy and PopPop once we got back home. Caz and Mom are especially appreciative as they brought all the baby stuff so now we can get good and ready for the little guy's arrival.

Grammy helped MC replenish our pots as most of the flowers didn't make it while we were gone.

Now Nate has loved playing t-ball this summer, but he has shifted his focus slightly now that t-ball season has come to a close. He's gearing up for flag football this fall so stay tuned for that action. He's got a pretty good spiral going! Maybe you can tell in this shot as he has thrown the ball to PopPop.

All in all, we had a great summer, and the highlight was by far our trip back home. We miss everyone so much!! Hugs and kisses to all!

Happy Fourth of July!

MC and Nate decorated their bikes and joined the neighborhood in a small parade this morning...




And what 4th celebration would be complete without hot dogs and treats?!?!


We wish everyone a very happy, safe 4th of July, especially Uncle Newman, our favorite marine! And Happy Birthday Aunt Cindy!! Hugs to everyone!

Since Christmas...

Obviously much has occurred since Christmas so here's a synopsis in pictures and videos with a little commentary...

We came home to more snow after Christmas break, and got a little more through January. According to neighbors and other long time Nebraskans this was a winter for the record books. But by the end of February, it had begun to melt...

MC and Nate were glad to see somewhat warmer weather and it shows in their silliness. One of the things I love most about them is their imaginations.

By Easter the weather was considerably warmer, and we began to see small signs that Spring was on it's way. For starters, lighter coats at our Easter egg hunt with the neighbors...



And the Easter bunny stocked Easter baskets with shorts and t-shirts...

We also had a duck come looking for the pond that used to be in the back yard...


In the Spring, Mari Cagle received her First Communion...

And she began another soccer season...

She's learning more and more each season. She especially took to playing goalie this time around.

Nate began his soccer season too. This is the last season at this level and the last season BL will coach his team. They had lots of fun for their last hoorah...

As soccer seasons progressed we started to get really busy with all the activities that come with the end of the school year...

MC celebrated another year of violin lessons with a recital...


Nate's class made a field trip to Pioneers Park. They got to see all the aspects of nature that come alive in Spring. The amazement of Kindergartners can give you great perspective.


May also marked Nate's 6th birthday. We celebrated with his first party with friends. He invited his whole class and we enjoyed games, a magician and of course, cake and ice cream...

In addition to a violin recital, MC also had a dance recital. She did a very cute patriotic tap number...

The last day of school came very quickly. The last day was lots of fun as it was also Field day. You gotta love classic field day games...


Now that summer has officially begun the kids have started swim lessons; they are reading for the summer reading program at the library; Nate absolutely loves playing t-ball; and they just enjoy playing all day...

MC and Nate have also run a 2mile race with their dad this summer. MC ran the whole time and finished in just under 20 minutes!

MC got a real treat...She won a Mother's day coloring contest at Texas Roadhouse and got lots of fun prizes including movie tickets, spa gift certificates and a hat and t-shirt! She was so thrilled and proud of her drawing and story because she used 'details' just like her art and writing teachers taught her. Below she poses with her winning entry which is posted at the restaurant...


So we are really enjoying summer up here. Hope everyone is having a great summer too!

Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas!
God bless us, everyone!

LOTS of Snow

So we had our first snow in October, but this week we have our first BIG snow. It all began Sunday afternoon as we were getting out of church. The snow was beautiful coming down and watching it accumulate throughout the day was pretty special since snow only accumulates over night down south. There wasn't a whole lot to play in on Sunday, but MC and Nate were anxious to get out there and play anyway.

MC glided around and pretended she was ice skating.

Nate just liked leaving footprints. :)

We are much better prepared for the snow this time with snow boots and waterproof jackets and gloves. They keep telling me they need snow pants, so they're going to really appreciate Christmas from Nana and Pa. ;)

Albert was checking it out on a potty break.

But this was only the beginning, by Monday morning I was up early checking to see if school was out as about 3 to 4 inches had accumulated by then. But we're not in the south anymore Toto, school was on. MC and Nate can honestly tell their children and grandchildren that they walked up hill in the snow to school. :) By Tuesday, it was really coming down. I would guess we've gotten another 8 to 10 inches today and it is still coming down. This much snow and blizzard-like winds did warrant the schools to close, so MC and Nate got to play in the snow some more and this time there was plenty of it...

MariCagle tried her hardest to make a snowman, she wants to so badly. But this snow is just too powdery. Snow balls just break apart en route to the target so no snowball fights either.

I didn't really make Nate shovel the driveway and sidewalks, he just wanted a go at it when I was finished. I think I made it look easier than it was. :) He really just liked the 'mountains' on either side of the driveway that the shovel made.

My angel making a snow angel.

Now with Brandon being sick, the shoveling has fallen to me. I can't tell you how much snow there is!! I shoveled the driveway once on Monday afternoon and thought no big deal. It was actually quite picturesque. I even got up early Tuesday morning to shovel it again so Brandon would have a clear path on the way to the doctor. But when I went out with the kids, I had to shovel it a second time and let me tell you that it needs it again already and it's only 1pm!!!! So this picture is of our neighbor across the street with his handy dandy snow blower. A wonderful invention that I am officially putting on my wishlist. :)

And I need to say now, that we have wonderful neighbors. Truly great neighbors. Knowing that we didn't have a snow shovel (I only just bought one Monday morning) and that Brandon was sick, our next door neighbor was kind enough to shovel our sidewalks first thing Monday. And Monday afternoon, as I was shoveling the driveway with our brand new shovel, the neighbor with the handy dandy snow blower was kind enough to do half my work for me. And today on my second go round at shoveling the drive, another neighbor pitched in. That's a lot of neighborly kindness isn't it? We are very thankful and feel very blessed to have found this house. There's nothing like kindness to put you in the Christmas spirit!