What a Difference a Daddy Makes

Brian came home from the field and needed to wash all his gear. He enlisted the kids help and eventually it turned in to an all out family water fight... so much fun and something I probably wouldn't have thought to do with them--that's why we love our Daddy! Trying on the "armor" as they called it.

The helmet was so heavy, Blake couldn't even hold his head up straight!

Natalie loves to make silly faces for the camera.

Scrubbing down the dirty, muddy gear.Love you honey!!

And then... he turned the water on them!
They had so much fun... Evan wasn't so sure though. (I'm not sure this video is working... hopefully it goes through!)

And then, he let them have the hose!

I joined in the fun too-clothes and all. We were all totally soaked but such before-bedtime fun with Daddy! :)

I know it's blurry but it's all I could get.

Brian has one big final field exercise coming up--pray for him as this is the culmination of everything and will be high stress, high intensity...with little food and little sleep. He's done such a great job so far and has been working so hard and I'm so proud of him. Way to go babe! You're almost done!

Picnic and Playtime

We went back to the ducks one day to walk around the lake and have a picnic. These ducks are so aggresive... I think Evan got nipped a few times. Standing on higher ground for safety!
After walking really far over all sorts of terrain with our dinky umbrella stroller while lugging our picnic bag and blanket, we discovered there's an entrance on the other side of the lake... right by playgrounds and picnic tables. Oh well, it was all part of the adventure.

Do you think they enjoyed their lunch? :)

Evan discovered how to climb up these stairs and go down this slide. He did it over and over again. I'm pretty relaxed, especially since he's our third kid but these steps still made me nervous!

Beautiful day with a beautiful view and my beautiful kids.

We had walked all the way around the right side to about the middle of this picture. Now we know... :)

We were invited to a friend's birthday party.

After cake and ice cream, the kids all played outside with all sorts of water things. Lots of fun.

Natalie will always find the animals.

Our Jeep was in the shop again all week so we've had to be creative at home. (Update-they thought they figured it out, ordered the part but it didn't fix the problem so it's still there. Thankfully, they finally gave me a rental minivan so we can get out of the house, especially with Brian being gone so much.)

Our fort under the table. That's our phone number up top. :)

We had lunch in our fort (and it was a "jammie day")

Natalie lined up an animal in each of our car seats and fed them too.

Brian's schedule is pretty crazy... gone in the field a week, home 2 days, gone 10 days, home 3 days, etc. We have no communication with him when he's gone but they usually they give them a couple days totally off so we do get some quality time together. One morning when he was making breakfast, the boys laid on the floor near him-guess they just wanted to be by their Daddy. And yep, he makes breakfast whenever he's home-I'm blessed. :)

World's Coolest Kid Experiment:

I learned this at MOPS this week and did it with the kids when we got home. It's so cool! Pour some milk in plate. Add a few drops of different colors of food coloring. (Not too much or it's not as pretty.)

Give the kids a "magic" toothpick. (Dip the end in regular dish soap.) Have them stick the toothpick in the colors and watch what happens!

Let them have fun!

Eventually they mix it all up into a brown mess but that's part of the fun. It's such an easy and neat thing to do... we did it 3 times! :)

Quote Time

The best from the past few weeks:

• Natalie: "I burped... and it tastes like dinner!"

• Blake: "When I become a Daddy, I'll have a big wallet!"
• When I was taking my prenatal vitamin, Natalie said: "Mom, you don't get to chew that?! You'll choke if you swallow it whole!" (I agree, why do they have to be so big??)
• When Evan tried to kiss me on the lips, Natalie: "Did he think he was your husband and you were his wife?"
• Natalie calls a whoopie cushion: "wooshie cooshie"
• Blake calls an ambulance: "alience"
• After church the kids were telling us about their lesson-Joseph forgiving his brothers. I asked, "Joseph might not have felt like forgiving them...what might he have wanted to do to them?" Natalie responded with "punch them in the face."
• Natalie: "Why didn't God give us wings like birds? I wish he did."
• Blake, seeing a man in a cowboy hat using an electric cart, "His horse is at home."
• Natalie, after a conversation about how God watches out for all the people in the world, "Does He have big eyes?"
• Natalie: "Blake, what are your kid's names going to be when you grow up?" Blake: "My kids will all be Woody and I'll be Buzz!"
• After talking about bad dreams and the "God is Bigger than the Boogie Man" song from Veggie Tales at bedtime, Natalie told me the next morning, "I had a bad dream and so I prayed and smiled and got back to my sleeping. When you smile, it makes it go away."
• Evan is learning more words-- quack quack (duck), ha (hot), tuh (stuck) and finally doing some signs now. Looking forward to adding his funny quotes in the years to come!

And an update... I have to wait longer than I thought for my ultrasound so it won't be until October... we'll keep you updated on whether there will be a new little girl or boy in our family! :)

Labor Day and More...

Natalie and her crazy faces.
One night after bath Blake started tackling Evan and said, "I just need to wrestle someone!!" Guess he misses his Daddy.

We had planned to have picnic outside one day but it was so hot and there was no shade so we moved it indoors... still fun. :)

Evan watching the dough mix in the bread machine.

We tried out making soft pretzels... very yummy but we probably need some more practice twisting them. :)

There's a pizza place right near our house that has games and rides, kind of like Chuck E Cheese. We walked to it one of the days we were stranded at home with our jeep in the shop. (We've been having lots of trouble-and they can't figure it out, just won't start sometimes and has left me stuck in a store parking lot with all the kids several times now. Hopefully we can figure something out soon!)

We went to visit Brian's Aunt Debbie and Uncle Larry near Louisville for Labor Day. I hadn't met them yet (or their kids) and it had been awhile for Brian so it was a great day of catching up.

Hotdog lunch out back.

They have grandkids similar ages so our kids loved playing with all their toys.

Especially riding bikes since we don't have ours here.

Cousin Kate--great to finally meet you too! :)

Yummy cookout, complete with ribs and all the sides.

Evan especially loved the banana pudding dessert!

Trying to get some pics of everyone...

Gets harder the more kids we add...

Thanks so much for having us!

I had to take this picture... after a very long day at the doctor's office, it POURED rain on us on our way back to the car. As Natalie says, we were "soaped and wet" (soaking wet) and I just had to laugh. I thought, "what else can happen today?!"

We've definitely had our share of hard times and difficult things about being here but we've also had lots of great and wonderful memories to cherish too. The song and promise I keep clinging to is that God never lets go, He's with us through all of this... and always will be. What an incredible thought!

And I will fear no evil

For my God is with me

And if my God is with me

Whom then shall I fear?

Whom then shall I fear?

Oh no, You never let go

Through the calm and through the storm

Oh no, You never let go

In every high and every low

Oh no, You never let go

Lord, You never let go of me.

To listen to the song on YouTube, click HERE

May you be blessed today with this promise!