End of Summer

Thomas had a really nice birthday. The day before his birthday, Andrew and family were visiting from out of state. (Andrew and Gabriel went to the baseball game with Laura and George, so we missed seeing them.) But, Baba and Grandpa had everyone over, and Thomas got to celebrate his birthday with his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. It was a blast. Grandpa and Uncle Mike brought bikes out, and we brought some from home. Their driveway is long and slanted, and very fun to ride bikes on. When we were kids, we spent every day of the summer riding our bikes up and down, over and over.

On his actual birthday, Nana came over during the day, which he loved. And then we celebrated when Jim got home from work. He loved every single present he received. Thanks, everyone!

Here are some birthday photos:

Fred, Thomas, and his “Blue Toad” cake at Baba’s. (The Blue Toad is from Super Mario Brothers, as well as the mushroom and yellow star.)

The red car was highly sought after by the little guys. George’s big wheel was popular with the bigger kids. This is Thomas and Luke.

Nana and Thomas.

Thomas with his home birthday cake. This featured Yoshi, from Super Mario Brothers.

Me and a.

Nicholas really enjoyed Thomas’s birthday cakes.

Me and all the kids:

New Godson Tooth Camp

Hello! Just thought I would update the blog a little.
Jim and I have a new Godson, Paul (aka P.J.).

















Fred lost his first tooth.














And Peter went to Boy Scout Summer Camp last week (yes, the week of being in the 100's.)

End of June Part Two

Then came Father's Day, and here are a couple from then.












































Lastly, one from today. I had the unique opportunity to see my parents honored. The bishop gave them a special award for all their years of service to the church, especially as a married couple. They have always worked hard, using their talents for the church, and it was very nice to participate in public acknowledgment their continuous dedication. (Yay, Mom and Dad!)

End of June Part One

My best intentions of updating this blog always go awry. But, here I am, and I have some photos! First is Peter's 5th grade graduation. He left school with all A's, and we hope he continues to do his best. (The other 3 in school also got high marks: they don't get letter grades, yet.)

























Next is Fred's last day of school Kindergarten picnic. It was the same day/time as the 5th grade graduation. I was worried I would miss it. I hadn't missed a Kindergarten picnic, yet! It turned out the graduation ended in plenty of time, so Peter, Thomas, Nicholas and I all went to the park to find Fred. He apparently was having a grand time, playing hard, because he seemed overheated by the time we got there. He kept complaining his tummy hurt, and after drinking water, playing, drinking Kool-Aid, playing, having no appetite for his lunch... well, he threw up at the park. So, we took him straight home, and Peter kindly went to the Kindergarten room to pick up all of Fred's things. (What a way to end the school year!)

Palm Sunday

On Palm Sunday, we were busy. We had the ECF kids decorating Easter eggs at church, between liturgies. The younger children used crayons, and the older ones did the traditional pysanki, with wax. Then, after the 11am liturgy, we held an Easter egg hunt and party for everyone. It didn't rain, so we were able to have it, outside. (Though it did snow, a little.) A lot of kids came, which was nice. We got to see Mary and Rebecca's children, who are always so cute.

Here is a photo of Margie doing pysanki. I think it was her first time, and she did very, very well.

And here is a photo of Thomas during the egg hunt. He didn't understand there was an initial limit to the amount of eggs he was allowed to collect. (That is why he looks upset: we had to give some of his eggs to another kid.)

The Real Birthday

(I may have been many months delinquent on updating this blog, but, I couldn't leave out a first birthday!)

Now, on his REAL birthday, Nicholas thoroughly enjoyed his cake, and made a giant mess, just like he was supposed to. Here are some photos from his big day:

Reaching for the cake

Total Enjoyment

He and his new toys and siblings. His big brothers and sister cracked me up. They all were so insistent that NICHOLAS got to play with his new toys. But, they couldn't resist the temptation to try things out for themselves. As soon as one did, the others jumped on the culprit, defending their baby brother.

Baba and the little boys. She and Grandpa stopped by in the afternoon. It is possible Grandpa is taking a cat nap on the couch, but, we will never tell.

A Very Happy Unbirthday

Baby Nicholas turned one, this week! On the weekend, he had some special visitors from Pittsburgh, namely, his Godfather Luke, Aunt Maria, and Anita. The time went by way too fast... we had such a good time with them. George and Laura came over to babysit, while we all went to see the movie, "Hop". We came home, and they had Nicholas sleeping peacefully in a nap. (Very impressive.) Uncles Michael & Nikolaj also came by, a little later. Since it was almost Nicholas's birthday, we had a cake for him, and he needed a lot of prompting and coaxing to dive into it. He didn't, really. He was pretty laid back about the whole thing. Here are some pictures (I didn't get any with the cake):

Godmother Aunt Laura and Nicholas
Margie and Anita (I love this photo, because they are both so genuinely happy)
Godmother Aunt Maria and Thomas
Godfather Luke and Nicholas