What a fun weekend!  On Friday we went to the Grand Opening of our NEW CHILDREN'S MUSEUM!  The old one was basically one large room, but the new one is a whole three stories full of cool stuff!  The kids LOVED it!

Grandma showing Emma how to milk a cow

Samuel deciding he did like the water table

A little grocery shopping

Emma weighing her food

Samuel was thrilled to find shovels to carry around!

The Honey Comb play area was a big hit!

Then on Saturday we went to Family Learning Day at our library.  There are always lots of free books, games, and crafts.  We look forward to this every year!

Samuel checking out the sights from way up high

We even saw Nathan there!

Emma asked if we could take a wagon ride... so we did!

A happy girl!

Sweet Samuel

17 Months already?

Psalm 23

We just LOVE Emma's school!  Her teacher is the absolute best and our hearts are thrilled that Emma is learning about Jesus every day as well as all the regular academics.  Today she received a reward from her teacher for reciting the Bible verses they've been working on the last couple of weeks.  Some of the other kids weren't quite able to say it yet, but Emma's teacher told me she recited it almost perfectly.  Here she goes:

Princess Party!

Emma and I got to go to her friend Lily's princess birthday party this afternoon.  It was every little girl's dream! 

Lily & Emma

Emma hitting the pinata

Some of the princesses (and one little prince)

Cars

Since the moment Samuel was aware enough to notice cars and trucks zooming by, he has been fascinated with them.  Recently he has discovered toy cars and these have become a quick favorite!

To jump or not to jump...

Yesterday afternoon we went outside for a bit so Emma could try out her jump rope.  This is something she's been wanting to do for quite some time but I think she realized it is not quite as easy as it looks.

 

Samuel dragged the other one around the yard though he did show some interest in jumping...

Giving it one final try before giving up:

They decided that swinging was much more fun!

Emma pushing Samuel

Brian's Race

On Saturday Brian ran the Blues at the Crossroads 1/2 Marathon for the second year in a row.  We were excited to see him finish and to know that he beat last year's time by a few minutes.  Yeah Daddy!

Watching Daddy on his last stretch

There he goes!

And he's done!

Emma running to greet Daddy

Not looking too bad considering her just ran 13 miles!

Al (Daddy's work buddy) and Daddy

We Four

 

Emma's First Field Trip

Yesterday I got to accompany Emma and her Pre-K class on their very first field trip!  We went to the local library for a special story time and to check out a few books.  What fun!

And ready to load the bus to go back to school!

The highlight was the BUS ride!

Samuel videos

One of Samuel's new talents:

Samuel always starts singing after he pushes the music button on one of his all time favorite books- Jesus Loves Me:

Pretty little girl clothes

We have been sorting through bins of Emma's baby clothes deciding what to get rid of and which few items we will keep.  Emma has had a great time picking clothes for some of her dolls and stuffed animals.  We had to get out my old doll Karen Christmas because real baby clothes fit her perfectly, so she is now a new favorite of Emma's.

I have to post pictures of our sweet girl wearing these very clothes in which she has dressed her dolls:

Karen is such a special doll to me.  It is wonderful to see Emma loving her.

 Emma even likes to keep one of her old shirts on her Terry Lee doll even though it doesn't fit her very well:

Grandpa's Hat

Samuel wearing my one of my Dad's old hats:

Nathan wearing the same hat (with flap down) in Jan. 2007, several months after my Dad passed away:

A visit from family

Last weekend we had a fun visit from my sister Jeanne and our nieces Jenna and Rachel.  We hadn't seen them in quite a while so our visit was full of hugs and loving on each other!

Jenna & Emma playing with my favorite Fisher Price set from childhood:

Rachel & Samuel

Aunt Jeanne with Nathan

The three girls

Samuel getting tickled by an Aunt and a cousin

Sisters