"Respect the Van"

This one is for you Uncle Joel. And you too, Aunt Alyssa and Uncle Brent, since you actually have an awesome van. Caleb got out the the "Little Van Goes" that he and Joel apparently used to spend hours with. You choose the front, middle, and back of the van, put a piece of paper in the frame, then rub a crayon over it. Phin really liked it, but I think he liked stacking the pieces just as much as actually making the vans-- see there's a little of me in him, too. Although, one would have hoped it wouldn't have been the OCD that I'd passed along. Such are the whims of genetics, I guess. :)

Outside fun

Monday morning was the only warm, non- rainy day this week, so I'm glad we got outside for a little while.

Phineas is watering my plants in the one above. And you can see the dogwood starting to bloom in the upper right hand corner. Yeah! The bright pink blooms to the left are on what we think is an apricot tree.

Ice Cream Sunday

So, it's seems like we've been going out for ice cream a lot, and I guess we have, but I think it is just the spring fever! Plus, we have so many good ice cream shops around us (including this one, which we can walk to). So Grandma came over Sunday afternoon to hang out, and then we went to have ice cream.

Thus far, Silas seems unimpressed. This is our second ice cream trip that he has slept through.

Good Day, Sunshine

Another summerlike day, so we headed outside. Phineas has been waiting to play with his water table for weeks-- ever since we've been talking about the weather getting warmer-- so we broke out his new dino swim trunks, and let him go to town. Phin helped Caleb wash the cars, and I pulled weeds and cleaned out my flower beds. We got a lot accomplished before lunch!

"I'm like a dizzy chicken."

Later, we went out for ice cream at "Oh, Yeah" Waffles and Ice Cream. Phineas, of course, wanted a cone. You'll see the end result below.

"Let's talk about my day."

At the Drive-in

Friday night, we got the kids in their jammies and popped some popcorn and headed to the drive-in. We watched "Monsters vs. Aliens" (second time for Phin and Caleb). Silas didn't seem to like it very much... or maybe it's just the teething. We've been having some great weather-- fun to make the most of it.

Grandpa's Birthday

Today was Grandpa Rick's birthday, so we invited him over to help him celebrate. First, Phin and Grandpa rode their bikes to the playground behind our house (Silas and I had to settle for walking). On the way home we stopped to visit the T. rex skeleton who lives up the street.

Then we took Grandpa to lunch at the Square Cafe. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so I walked with the boys, and Grandpa and Caleb rode their bikes. Yeah for spring!

Our beautiful boys

Phineas took the picture above. Pretty good, huh?

Our little Picasso

Phineas has already started putting his new paints, cups, and brushes to good use - Thanks, Grandma Vivian and Grandpa Duane. He is especially good at mixing the colors to make new colors (something he learned from George-- it's amazing how educational TV can be)! I don't know if you can tell in this middle picture, but he's bopping along and singing to Veggie Tales-- so fun!

Phin's 3rd Birthday Party

We celebrated Phin's 3rd birthday with a Curious George themed party at Great Grandma Jane's on Saturday. It was a swingin' good time! We had lots of family, friends, and presents to help make the day a success, not to mention beautiful, sunny, 70 degree weather!

Phin on his new trike from Grandma Ginny and Grandpa Rick!

(We took the bike out the next day, and he almost got the pedaling down. Now if he could just pedal and steer at the same time!)

Grandma Vivian and Grandpa Duane

Great Grandma Jane

Emily baked the cakes and made the icing. Caleb designed, cut, and decorated. We make a pretty good team.

We don't have very many photos of the party because we had a lovely photographer from our church come out to take photos for us. A bit of a luxury, but this lady takes beautiful photos (not to mention she's a great person). Here is a slideshow she put together of her photos from the day. If you're interested in ordering prints, let me know and I'll get you the info. If you're interested in hiring Milla, click here.

Picnic in the Park

This afternoon, we met our great friends, the Koerber's, at the park for play and picnic. Chrissie and I got to have a special time having coffee just the two of us, while the dads watched the kids and grilled the dinner-- Go, Dads! We had a wonderful time. What a way to make the most of a beautiful spring day.

"Just share, guys!"

Says the almost 5 year old to the 3 year olds. Ahhh, the wisdom that comes with age.

Work Day

This morning, Phineas "helped" Caleb work upstairs.