Mid-May

It wasn't in the plans, but when there were so many reasons to celebrate with family in Iowa/South Dakota, it fell into place for us to take a short trip out for the weekend.

Nathan had to be at a workshop in Chicago on Tue. and Wed. so the boys and I drove down together to meet up with him on Wed. Nathan wasn't finished until suppertime so the boys and I enjoyed swimming in the pool at the hotel. I remember truly enjoying our time together and thinking that it was so fun to have 2 boys! Nathan joined us at suppertime and we went out for Chicago style pizza. Mmmmm. The next morning we packed up and drove the rest of the way to mom and dad's house. Mom had made a delicious homemade meal for us and the boys were elated to play with grandpa and grandma in the basement. Nathan went right to work on finishing a grant proposal that was due and finished it around 1:00 in the morning. The next day was Friday. Claire graduated from preschool so mom and I went with the boys to Sioux Falls for the day to celebrate.







On Saturday morning we went out for breakfast at Prairie Queen. Dad had just finished working there and it was the first week that they were open. Then we hung out at mom and dads until it was time to leave for Sioux Center. The boys were thrilled to get some mower rides (I think Nathan had just as much fun too!). Mom took the boys exploring upstairs in the barn. And they enjoyed the swing in the backyard. Everyone was relaxed and having fun until we realized how late it was getting.




Next it was off to Sioux Center for the Tulip Time parade. I find it quite ironic that we have them every year here in Holland and I've never gone to any of them. Dorian loved the parade so much that the rest of us probably enjoyed watching him more than the actual parade. :) I guess I'll have to make it a priority next year to go the Tulip Time parade in Holland.









Later that night, we went to Aniah and Eden's house to celebrate their birthdays! It was a princess celebration! We haven't had any of those at our house. :) Ryan grilled and Heidi had made many delicious salads.





Another full day on Sunday. Church in the morning with mom and dad and then off to Sioux Falls for the rest of the day. Rodney and Kerry were having an Open House to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary and also Ashley's 5th grade graduation. Emma even modeled Kerry's wedding dress.



Ashley's graduation was Monday morning, but we changed our plans and decided to drive back home on that day.

the deck.

After years of debate about building a deck, our ideas began to fall into place. We had never spent too much effort or money on making the backyard look nice, but this Spring was the time. Nathan had some help from Dorian to move some of the shrubs to a different location. We took down the privacy fence after realizing that it wasn't straight at all and wouldn't line up right with the deck. Then Nathan dove into framing the deck. After it was framed, I freaked out that it was going to be too big, but Nathan told me it wasn't possible at that point to change it.


The next step was fun to watch as Nathan nailed down the decking boards. It was starting to come together. I spent a lot of time moving the old patio brick and doing some landscaping around the gate and around the tree.









I was hoping to get a new patio set to enjoy on the deck, but was thinking that it was going to cost too much money and that it wasn't necessary. But...when I get something in my head, I have a hard time forgetting about it. I looked at every patio set in every store I went in, and every patio set in the adds we would get at our house. I had done my homework and finally decided that I'd really like to check out one that I saw at JCPenney that was on sale. Well, after looking, we came home with it and Nathan assembled it so that I could enjoy it for a Mother's Day gift! Yeah! I love it.



The next step was to add some finishing touches. I looked forever for the perfect pots, plants and flowers. I'm growing to absolutely love hanging out in our backyard!!!

April overview

Grandma Tintle visits from the 7th through the 10th. While she spent hours playing with playdough, making towers from plastic containers, playing grocery store in the living room, reading books, etc, I was able to get a couple of projects done in the house. I painted the bathroom and the walls above the steps. It was the first time I'd done the painting all by myself from start to finish. I guess typically I've always had help. :) Nathan stayed busy with work. However, on Saturday we did enjoy the morning at the zoo all together before grandma had to fly back to NY.







Dorian and Levi take all their baths together at this point. It's just much easier. And they enjoy playing together. One night, Dorian was reading his dolphin book to Levi...it was the most precious site. Glad we caught it on camara!


The truck was serviced a couple of times at the beginning of April, and after finding out that it really needed some more work done, we made the decision to sell it. After one week listed on Craig's List and multiple phone calls, it was sold for $1800. Our only regret is that we didn't just give the guy the cap as well even though he didn't want it. He thought we could get somewhere between $100 to $200 for it, but we still have it sitting on our driveway. :( It's still listed, but it's not looking promising that it will be gone anytime soon. Nathan has been enjoying getting back to either walking or biking to work. I'm thinking that we may want a second vehicle once Fall rolls around, but until then, we're managing fine with just one.

Good Friday & Easter

While Nathan worked on Good Friday, the boys and I enjoyed the beautiful, sunny day at John Ball Zoo. It was the first of many trips for the summer using our summer pass that the boys received from Suzanne for Christmas. Thanks Suzanne! The boys are a perfect age to thoroughly enjoy the zoo, and they did.





Easter Sunday
Church, Dinner with the Rosema's and an Easter Egg Hunt






Easter Egg hunts work out well at our house. Daddy loves to hide the eggs, mommy loves to take pictures, and the boys love to find the eggs- fun for everyone. :)