How We Have Kept Ourselves Busy

Yep, we've been pretty busy around here! Sorry I haven't been as up-to-date on the blog. Taking care of a house and kids is a lot of work!! Besides homeschooling, gardening (which will be in an upcoming post!), church activities (we have been singing on the worship team!), and normal day-to-day activities, we have found some really fun things to do around town, and I thought I would let you see some of them in pictures!!


We went for a family picnic on a really windy day. Our lunches just about blew away!! We are really not used to this warm weather for springtime, but we are really enjoying it!! I can't believe we have already had to fight turning on our air conditioning several times!! Everyone just keeps telling us we are going to melt in the summer heat!

They are getting big!!

Playgrounds are a must!! There are definitely not as many as there are in Chicago, but we have a good one near our house and we walk to it several times a week!
We have been going to the library's weekly storytime for a few months now. I usually take Maddy while Judah stays home (with Tad) and takes a nap. One night, they had a "Cat in the Hat" night where they read stories, colored, and watched a movie. This is Judah "just chillin" in the children's area. He loves little chairs!!

With the "Cat in the Hat!"

We have already made good friends!! My friend, Kirsten, and I have been working out at the YMCA for about a month and a half, and we are training to do a 5k at the end of May. Our girls are the same age and have hit it off as well!! We have had several playdates, and it has been a blast!
Judah loved playing on this merry-go-round! He pushed it for Maddy, and then would get on for a ride. This is him holding on for dear life while I barely pushed it!
He was so wore out by the end of that time at the park, that he fell asleep in the car. I laid him down on the couch when we got home, thinking he would wake up, and he just snoozed until dinner. Poor boy! This country air is wearing him out!
Hanging out with Tad's family. We hang out at their house quite a bit. And they watch the kids once a week so I can go to worship practice. The kids love all their aunts and uncles! And Grandma and Pops too!!
The library also had a "Fancy Nancy" party where they made rings (pictured above), bracelets, and had punch and sweets.

Fancy!

All the girls in their fancy outfits!!

The kids helping to clean around the house. Give 'em a washcloth and put them to work!!

Country playdates!! This family that goes to our church has a lot of land, go-carts, farm animals, a creek, etc. etc. etc. Maddy, after playing there, said she wishes she was a cowgirl too. And that this has been the best summer ever!! Girl, it's not even May!

The kids all playing with their cat!

Judah loved playing in their little sandbox!

The creek. The kids caught minnows, walked along the water, and just played for a long time!!

Being silly in the backyard!! Judah's favorite word these days is, "out." He sees the door, any person, the backyard, he says, "out." He has been saying it right when he wakes up and during his bottles. An outdoorsman like his father!

Loving her own backyard!! Today she even helped daddy with a bunch of yardwork!!

We got to go see Rapunzel at the local theater. The kids loved it!! At intermission, all the kids got a play frog and a little bag of marshmallows and pretzels. It was Maddy's first play, and she loved it!!

After the play, she got to meet Rapunzel and some other cast members, and they signed her "frog."

Mother Goose.

We were even invited to a Pull-Ups Party. Since Judah was a little under the weather, he stayed home with dad, and Maddy and I brought him home the stuff. There was a pull-ups van (pictured) for all the kids to play in, the Potty dance, and coupons for Pull-ups.
Maddy playing with her friend during the party. They had a blast playing dress up and singing.

Judah's fo-hawk. If that's how you spell it. That must be daddy's creation.

I can't believe how old he looks in this picture!! Sitting in Grandma's kitchen, probably waiting for a snack!! He looks like a little school boy in this outfit!!
Playing on the farm. We went out to another farm, to where Tad's uncle and aunt live, and Maddy and her two older aunts (8 and 10 yrs. old) had a blast!!

They played on bales of hay.

And played in an old Mercedes that doesn't work anymore. They ran around, got dirty and tired, and slept good that night!!
Well, thanks for putting up with lots of phone pics, probably too many pictures, and not enough blog posts lately. It's just a busy time of year!! Stay tuned for details on our first garden!! Hope you all are doing well!!

Stephanie