Backyard Fun.

Besides bike rides, our evenings are usually spent in the backyard...and one of Berlin's favorite things to do is eat popsicles or watermelon. She has to sit on the porch if she eats them...her rules, not mine. :D Anyway, here are a few more of playing in the back yard.

Forget Baseball...Soccer is our pastime.

Since James is positive that the kids are going to play soccer, he is starting them early! He puts the small soccer ball on Eli's feet while he is in a baby seat and Eli kicks away. Most nice evenings we go outside and play and James usually brings out his soccer net and we kick the ball around. Berlin was made goalie because she likes to pick up the ball and throw it.

Random and Raining.

Like I said, been taking pictures like everyday...and a lot. Also, shooting at lots of different times of day to experiment with looks and lighting. It was raining out the other day and Berlin wanted to go outside...so she took the umbrella and stood on the deck. The other is just Eli hanging out in his bouncy seat while we were playing outside once the rain stopped.

Nana Camp.

We had our first day of Nana Camp for the kids last Monday. I had a million pictures to go through sooo...only 2 to post of this for now. Well, not actually a million, but about 1600 because of wedding and my taking pictures everyday...

Anyway, the kids painted shirts and then we all went for a hike in the woods. After our hike, we had lunch and the kids played on the swings and sandbox.

The kids did this themselves and then when we tried to get the other 2 boys in, it all went downhill....
The girls were so silly.

Father's Day

Father's Day we spent the morning at home. James slept in and Berlin made a card before we woke him up with donuts. Then we went to the Mattila house and had a nice lunch. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful day and then headed over to my parent's house. Here are some pictures....

Eli hanging on the blanket
James wanted to sleep in.... the boys sleeping.
Berlin making a card.
Steve reading his cards.
Garett getting sprayed by Berlin.

Now he is helping her chase Grandma with the water gun. HILARIOUS!
Quila Wee.
Caught Garett making out with the dog.
Ryan, probably wondering why we are all so crazy.

Father and son. :D
Steven making some goofy face.
Matt looking pretty cool.
Chrissy and Garett acting like they like each other.
Sarah.... bored?

Day 2.

I haven't updated in a little while. As soon as I get a chance to load pictures, I'll post some more. I have tons of super cute ones! Anyway, quick entry but before I forget I just wanted to update on Elijah. He had his 4 month check up yesterday and is weighing in at a super 16 lbs 8oz! The nurse measured him at 26 1/4" but I saw her measure from the 1 rather than the 0, so I'm thinking he is actually 27 1/4". I need to get a measuring tape and check. Either way, he is in the 90th percentile. Big boy! As I think I previously mentioned, he is rolling over both ways and has been reaching for things. One peave of Berlin's lately is that she can't get in his face without getting her hair pulled. I'm just amazed at how fast he is growing and interacting. Soon this drooling chubber is going to be a hyper toddler!

And, today is day 2 of no junk food! It is going surprisingly well for me. James...not so great. Tomorrow I am going to make a better dinner because he was very unhappy with eggplant. :(

Wallpaper and such...

I am tired of working on wedding pictures...so I took a break today. Went to the beach and picked up some flowers to plant. I also scoured the web for some awesome wallpaper for the house. Found some really neato stuff. If it wasn't so expensive, well...even though it is, I might buy some for portrait backgrounds. I like the ones below and lots more...the one below is a little extreme for my bedroom and the style of the house....but for pictures it would be neat. Anyway...here are a few pictures of recent....

my angel ripping up flowers.

his thighs are too big for this bumbo.

hot and humid days make for a tired baby.
precious.
okay, cute smile.... but beware below.
these ones are a little creepy...i know! the colors wash out his nose but i like the look.

Tuesday Boredom.

Courtesy of Kate....my little cutie pie! Look how big he is getting! Almost 4 months old!!

June already!?

We had a great weekend! Friday we did a food drive with our church which had a great turn out. We had a ton of clothes and food and within an hour, all the clothes were gone.
Saturday we went out and got bikes and a kid bike trailer so that we can start doing family bike rides. James' new bike is a cool graphite color and mine is bright pink (also got some shoes to match! :D) We ended up only having time to go around the block a couple times, but Berlin loved it.
Sunday we went to the Seymore Lake Park in Oxford with the Warnke's and then went to Cook's Farm Dairy for ice cream. The kids were hilarious with the cows. There was one cow that seemed rather upset at being in the pen and kept mooing very unhappily, the kids seemed to be fine until that unsettling sound came at them.

James' new bike and Berlin in the trailer.
Berlin on her bike.
Berlin being a ham. Gabe likes to run fast!
The dairy farm.
The silos made noise and Berlin insisted there were airplanes in there.




Making cow noises.....MOOOOOO.