Fun with friends & cousins

triplets??! (they keep dressing alike!)

Hooray for baby steps!

In the past 24 hours we've managed two things that I've really been longing to have more of in our family.

Last night we began a family Bible study with the kids . . . nothing fancy, just working our way through the book of Matthew. Kevin did a great job leading it :-) I loved hearing the kids' insights and comments ~ and how much knowledge and 'darn good sense' they already have stuffed in those little heads of theirs! (We already do some Bible study and scripture memory as part of our school day, but there was something extra special about having Kevin involved also).

Tonight, we were able to go and help (as a family) serve a meal to the homeless at a church downtown. The kids were great workers and really enjoyed themselves. Samuel did an amazing job pouring drinks (didn't even spill!) and Anna looked awfully cute behind a push broom twice her size! I wanted to be respectful, so I fought myself back from taking a lot of pictures. Emily was able to help on the serving line and the boys did a little bit of everything, though folding up the tables and chairs was no doubt their favorite. We weren't ten steps out the door afterward when they asked if we could go back next week! It will be a bit of a challenge to schedule, but we're looking forward to going back.

Just cute!

Nerf attack!

So, truth be told, I'm really not into guns . . . even ones with "harmless little darts". However, Kevin has very fond childhood memories of dart gun wars with his brother and cousins ~ so last Christmas I relented and gave in to his idea to give our kids Nerf guns (and Kevin, too, of course . . . so they could play together!) Levi is currently "all about Nerf guns" and had some friends over (in the middle of our mini-blizzard a few days ago) for a Nerf gun party to celebrate his birthday. My favorite part was the biathlon contest (not true to the event in the Olympics, but our rendition of it) . . . fun times - and yummy ice cream cake =)

My Birthday Boys!

Kevin's birthday was yesterday, Levi's is tomorrow =)

Goin' Green!

Spring Forward . . .

So, we did a silly little family celebration for the start of daylight savings time . . . you know ~ the whole "spring forward" bit. We've since decided that Daniel is two parts frog and only one part boy! We did a jumping contest (that wasn't really a contest because everyone was simply attempting to beat their own record). The oldest three kids each did (standing) jumps of 61" and we were impressed. Then they each took another turn and ended the evening with 64" jumps! Daniel is barely 49" tall!, we joked with him that if he wanted to he could lie down and jump over himself =) Wow! Emily's still complaining of a sore neck (from our minor car accident a few days ago), but it doesn't appear to be affecting her too much!

There's something missing around here . . .

Taylor and Kelsey went back to Nebraska last night and their absence has certainly been felt around here today =( We had a fun several days with them: hiking our local "Castle Rock", driving in the mountains, taking in the local tourist attractions, going bowling, playing plenty of Spades and ping-pong and air hockey and Apples to Apples, leaving them with all of the younger kids one night to escape and go out on a date!, showing them around the ministries in downtown Denver (where Kelsey will be interning this summer), talking about wedding plans, looking at old photo albums, playing the "yellow car game" while driving about, enjoying warmer than expected weather ~ but sneaking in just enough snow for cinnamon rolls! The visit was fun and far too short. We've warned them that all of us are praying for Kelsey to fall in love with Colorado while she's here this summer (so she can go home and convince Taylor that they should move here after their wedding!) We'll see how that goes!

Taylor and Kelsey are here!

Taylor and Kelsey arrived last night for a spring break visit. Anna had no shortage of things to whisper in Taylor's ear during dinner and quickly claimed her spot on his lap afterward! She told me a few months ago (while we were looking at some photos) "I like Taylor not in pictures, I like him for real" . . . hooray! She'll be a happy girl for the next week!

Sergeant Sam's Birthday Bash

Samuel celebrated his birthday this past weekend in "Fireman style". We had a lot of fun and he's still talking about how cool it was to get to climb up in a real firetruck! It's hard to believe he's a 5 year old already. He is sweet and smart, but his definite specialty is being silly!