Memorial Day Weekend

Summer is off to a busy start!  Alex has tball games on Saturday mornings thru June.  We went to this one and then headed straight to the lake after it was over.  Tball is always entertaining to watch, but Alex was more confident this year than last.  It also helped that a boy from his class was on his team too.   :)
The lake felt surprisingly pleasant despite having ice on it not all that long ago!  The kids had lots of fun with the kyacks and playing in the water.  Erin doesn't get in too far, but enjoys the snacks that Nana brings. :)

Also, Erin decided to be potty trained.  My plan was to do it after CA trip, but she wanted to wear underwear and be done with diapers.  So be it!  I'm certainly not going to fight it! :)

CAT and Dunes

May has been pretty busy.  Emily has worked all but one of the weekends, and yet we managed to take a few trips here and there.   We went to Peoria and visited Pete and Kelli (or to see Casen, as Erin says).  We had to make a return trip to the CAT visitor center.  They had a few different machines this time, but most of it was the same.  The kids enjoyed it, but they had lots of fun playing at Pete and Kelli's house.  Kelli has a few rabbits living around them and they've eaten her shrubs and flowers to the nub!  So Alex wanted to make a rabbit trap.  :)  Who needs toys to play with when all you need is a box, some string, and a wooden block!    It was a beautiful weekend and a nice trip.  We cant wait to see them again!

Hail on our back deck-- it was about pea sized

Erin talks alot about skid steers--probably because Pop drives one.

The machine simulators

Alex and his rabbit trap

We spent Memorial Day at the beach!  We went to the Indiana Dunes State Park with some friends.  We just drove up and spent the morning, had a picnic lunch, and then head back home when it's nap time (and the beach is hot and super crowded!).  Can't wait to do that again! 

Spring planting

In the last couple weeks farmers have been hard at work in the fields.  The boys enjoyed watching the field in front of our house get plowed (and even got a ride in the tractor!) and then planted a few days later.  These are pictures of them planting and then spraying the field.  The other tractor is a field next to us that a different farmer owns.  They had 2 tractors disking and one planting.  They got that field done in an afternoon! 
Andy took the kids to the Rummels last weekend while I had to work. They got to help chisel plow and disc a field for Pop.  Adam was very disappointed he didnt get to help plant though. :)    

My spring flowers and a Magnolia tree/bush.

Easter

We drove up to Nappanee on Easter weekend this year.  Erin was excited to see Casen and the boys were happy to hear Jeremy would be there too.  :)  We took the opportunity to take a few pictures of the kids with their cousin, Casen.    We also did an egg hunt in the yard.  This year was kinda fun because they all were old enough to understand what they were suppose to do! 

We really only spent Saturday with everyone, then on Easter morning got dressed for church and drove down to the Jackson's.  We went to church in Mentone and then spent the afternoon playing with Papa and Nana.  We were so busy, I didn't even take the time for any pictures there!  Guess I'll do that next time. :)

So the kids love the Despicable Me movies, especially the minions.  And of course we all had to have minion tshirts!  The boys even talk in "minion" to each other (for those of you who dont know, it's just gibberish)!

Minion Family Photo

Such a good picture of the boys, even if Adam's eyes are closed!

Easter morning

March/April

March and April are flying by!  We have had a few warm days, but we are still looking forward to more spring-like weather.  Three days ago it was 80, but we woke up to snow this morning.  We spent Alex's spring break just visiting our parents.  The kids were very happy to stay a few days at each grandparent's house.  I've been giving Alex piano lessons somewhat inconstantly since the weather has turned a bit warmer.  Whenever I play, Erin crawls in my lap and either plays with me or has me play Old McDonald over and over and over.  We had baby kittens born on April 1st.  Four were born but two died in the thunderstorm that hit one of our trees in the back.  You can see the bare wood of the tree in the picture below.  Bark and wood chunks were thrown all the way to the play set!

The weather finally got warm enough to have a load of topsoil brought last week.  I am pretty sure Adam spent a good 8 hours on that dirt pile on the first day.   He loves playing it dirt!   Andy and I got most of it spread over the old circle drive.  I still have to smooth it out and plant grass seed, but it could be a while if it keeps snowing! 

We needed something to go under the play set so it wasn't so muddy. We knew grass wouldn't grow very well, so we decided on rubber mulch (chewed up old tires).  They shipped it to us for free and it came in bags, so it was easy to haul to the back.  So far it's terrific!  Even after it rains the top is dry.  Hopefully it will hold up well in the years to come.

Erin with dirt all over her face!

Spreading dirt

Swing set with rubber mulch