What's been happenin'

Grandma Bobbie promised Madeline that she could paint her nails when she got home from her trip.  As soon as Madeline saw Grandma walk through our door...she quickly claimed her client.  Pink sparkle was the color of the day. :)

 "Sweet Baby Cakes" eating his "appa"--where does time go?  I wish it would stand still some days.  I'm loving it all!  (well...pretty much all of it :)  I'm so glad I get to stay hom all day w/ these chick-a-dees!!

 Making our morning smoothie--we even add fresh kale to it...the kids and I love it!  I love summer!!

 Uncle Max's newest toy...

 Daddy is so good to take the kids and wear them out for me.  Here they are after picking wild blackberries...Benjamin was so exhausted, he just laid down on the rug. :)

 This little girl is my fairy girl...she loves to help me in the kitchen!  Here we are whippin' up William's birthday cake...

 Betcha' don't have a table-fairy like I do.  This pretty little girl, gets her jobs done!

 Benjamin fell asleep w/ his shoe...it was so cute, I had to take a picture.  He likes to get one of his baby shoes to hold before he goes to sleep--silly boy!

 Benjamin's 1st sparkler.  Side note**His hair is turning white...I think he's the blondest of the kids. :)

 Here he is w/ his Amish boy haircut.  After I told Justin about his haircut, Madeline piped up, "Mom??  Are WE Amish??"

 We were able to visit Justin's Dad and Step-mom for Father's Day.  We had a good time visiting w/ Kendall and Carolyn.  :)  The kids added some sparkle to their day...I think.  (and, wow, they're all smiling!  that's a record for a picture!)

Happy 5th Birthday...

 William officially turned 5 as of 8:43 pm July 2nd. :)

Here are a few photos from his actual birth-day...we just had fun as a family.  :)  The day ended w/ a few sparklers from Aunt Kaye.

William decided that he wanted to go to the petting zoo on his birthday.  Wowza...buddy!  Way to pick one of the hottest days of the year!  We all layed down for early naps and then got up and drove to the petting zoo...we had to drive an hour, but it WAS a fun time.  I was even able to swing in my Arthur-trip to pick up my 2 weeks worth of milk.  Yay!!    The kids had fun climbing "The Mountain" just outside the petting zoo. :)

William all decked out in his army-dress-up outfit from Eva.  And he's holding one of the newest kittens.

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We celebrated his birthday morning w/ chocolate chip & triple berry pancakes.  It's been a long time since I've made pancakes...I usually make waffles. :)  (and the chocolate wasn't mixed w/ the berry--btw...just to clarify:)  He had candles in his pancakes and in his p & j for lunch--it's those little things that make memories, eh??

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Sunday Dinner was at our house...we celebrated w/ the fam.  He requested a chocolate cake w/ cherries.  Madeline and I made the whole thing from scratch...I got a very yummy & simple recipe for chocolate cake off of allrecipes.com  We did whip up our own frosting--I just couldn't bring myself to buy the store kind, after I read the ingredient list...health triumphed over convenience--ha,ha.  (as if chocolate cake is healthy??)  I did use coconut oil in the cake and the frosting--delish!  (Madeline and I did add some red raspberries on the top too)  Funny William really wanted prunes on it, but I was able to talk him out of that one. :)

Is he really 5 years old?  The days have sometimes been long...but the years fly past.  Wow!

The Celebrators...

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Saturday evening (a few days before his actual birthday), we started a new birthday tradition w/ the kids: The birthday-kid gets to go on a *special* date w/ Justin and I + get to pick where we eat.  He chose Pizza Hut.  :)

For dessert, we took him to a fun frozen yogurt place on UI campus.  He LOADED his frozen yogurt w/ lots of kid-toppings: skittles, gummy bears, and I'm not sure what else. :)  He did finish it all, but after eating it, he moaned, "Oh...it was too much sugar...I should've just put fruit on the top."

We had a good time chatting w/ him and enjoying our time w/ just him.

Wow...I wonder what the next 5 years will bring in William's life.  We are excited to see him grow up and live out what God has in store for him.  It's so fun to look back and see how much he's grown and changed in the past 5 years. 
I think, if only we can look past today w/ our toddlers...and get the vision that they WILL grow up and the important thing is to be faithful in the "little" things of the day--it's all building into their character and affecting who they'll be as they grow up.  Wow...I want to enjoy it all.  God, give us grace!