daddy

If you ask Bill about the best days of his life, I know he would say the day his children were born (all of them).                                                       

 Bill and Griffin 

                                                                       Bill and Sydney

Before Bill and I had our children I knew what kind of dad he would be because I saw him with his big kids.  He of course did not disappoint when we had Sydney and Griffin.  If anything as he has aged he has been able to appreciate all the little things even more. 

When I think of Bill as a dad so many things come to mind:

his dedication

silliness

playful spirit

cuckaberry stories (cuckaberry is a crazy monkey)

affectionate (says I love you daily and always gives hugs and kisses)

demonstrates exceptional work ethic

makes everyday things fun- he plays chef with the kids when he feeds them breakfast

sings songs

tells stories from his childhood

demonstrates his love for God, makes church priority

allows the kids to help him with tasks

makes our family time a priority

provides for us financially

reads to the kids, a favorite is morning comics

teaches life lessons

We are so thankful to celebrate such an EXCEPTIONAL dad and we know we are blessed to have him!



 

Day away with Ellie

My friend Ellie and I enjoyed an afternoon and evening away.  We were celebrating her birthday and our friendship.

We started at Brixx Pizza-yummy!

Then we headed over to the new Whole Foods and took our time browsing and reading labels.  We sampled a few cheeses, salmon salad and grapes.  I was tempted to buy these sunflowers, they reminded me of my sister Amanda.

Have you seen these?  I almost bought the bag to give them a try.

I drooled over the antipesto bar, okay not literally but yummy.

We bought coffee at Starbucks and it took us forever to figure out what these little green sticks were for, oh yes to plug the hole in the lid, ingenius.

We went to the Mellow Mushroom for dinner but since we had pizza for lunch and we were not that hungry we shared a stuffed portabello mushroom and each had a greek salad, again so yummy.

We walked across the street to a place called Elsewhere which is a living museum, nothing is for sale.  We walked around and reminised about toys we used to have, for instance the phone on wheels, trolls and a glow worm.

It was a wonderful day and I feel blessed to have a friend like Ellie.

count down

Sydney made this paper chain so we can count down the days until we leave for Maine- we are so excited!

Sydney's preschool graduation

Videos of kids singing, so pretty and Sydney had a smile the entire time.

 

We are so proud of our little girl!  How did she grow up so fast? 

Sydney with Mrs Lambe- her lead teacher

cupcakes with blue frosting

proud little brother

so happy to finally be at the cupcake party!

helping dad

 Griffin helping Bill wash his car, so sweet watching them together.   I could not help looking up old pictures of Sydney helping Bill. 

I scream, you scream....

We all scream for ice cream !

after a hot day in the sun we are ready for ice cream cones
The kids have wanted ice cream lately while we are out, for instance at the Lazy 5 Ranch and the zoo.  At the zoo they are 3 dollars a cone and really that is just too much.  So we buy sugar cones and a carton of moose tracks (2.69 at Aldi's) and enjoy!

what is your favorite flavor?

Lazy 5 Ranch

A few weekends ago we headed over to the Lazy 5 Ranch , which was one of the things on our summer list.  The last time we went was the spring of 2009- with my sister and her family, so this was Griffin's first trip.  As usual we had a blast!

The zebras were beautiful

Griffin did not feed any of the animals while on the wagon ride- he is a bit afraid

water buffulo- on the left you can see them in the water and then see the one by the wagon

it was a hot day so they were staying cool

giraffes, always a favorite

up close and personal- eating out of our buckets

llama

Sydney talking to them- she is not afraid of any of the animals

Griffin finally agreed to feed this little goat who was all the way at the end by himself

We had a picnic and then played on the playground and swings

the landscape is beautiful

these videos make me smile and laugh out loud- enjoy