Celebrating a special birthday boy!

Happy 8th birthday Elijah!

and the race is on...

Making fire

Luke was showing us all how to make a fire with a magnifying glass. I knew it could be done but never saw it with my own eyes. I was amazed. It's the simple things, right?!

Made the switch

At 14 months, Ataly called it quits on the bottle. She was drinking juice out of a sippy cup by 12 months but couldn't bring herself to drinking milk out of a sippy. We kept trying throughout the 2 months to make the transition and one day she decided it was good to go. We haven't looked back. Ok maybe I did a little. It was a little sad for me to think that we may never use the bottles again. But then again, I guess that is kind of a freeing thought too...bittersweet!

Happy 3rd Birthday Traeger Jace!

all smiles for the birthday boy!

Kyle came over and watched Ataly so we could take Traeger out on a special outing for his birthday. Happy Joes was the destination and it didn't disappoint.

This birthday stuff is so much fun!

Everyone sang "Happy Birthday"...Traeger taking it all in and thinking it was pretty special.

Making a goofy face like his silly ice cream sundae man.

We had a shoot off between Daddy and Traeger and Mommy and Traeger...

Mommy and Traeger beat Daddy by 1 shot--Yahoo!

We are so thankful for our son and the fabulous 3 years of life we've had together.

The Briggs family came over to bring Traeger a present. I think they could have left the present at home and just brought baby Sydney. Traeger couldn't get enough of her. He held her, kissed her and cuddled her for over 30 minutes. So sweet!

Thanks to everyone (you know who you are) who sent birthday presents and wishes Traeger's way. You guys are great and we're thankful for each of you and how you love on and build into Traeger's life in a positive way. It means a lot!

Love it!

We had a relaxing Memorial Day. We didn't have anywhere to go and the weather was gorgeous, so we hung out at home, cleaned the garage and cleaned up the yard. It was refreshing and a much needed day to rest as a family with no interruptions.

Taking a break for lunch

Daddy and Traeger getting in a little tennis "match" in between cleaning

and celebrating the fact that we got to eat outside for supper too :O)

(2 meals outside in one day, I love it!)

(check out the flowers in the background and the freshly mowed yard...kudos to Tim and Laura for helping us out with that!)

Grandpa and Nana visit!

Grandpa and Nana flew into town Friday night just in time for us to head out the door to graduation. They continued to serve and love on us all weekend. Thanks guys for coming!

Luke showing Traeger how to skip rocks...

Traeger trying it out.

cuddle time with Nana after nap time

Then it was....

Party Time!!!

Celebrating our special Traegeroo with Grandpa and Nana.

Ataly thought this party stuff was a whole lot of fun :O)

Traeger got an outfit from Grandpa Tim and Nana...as soon as he opened it up he said, "ooo la la"

Riding around on his new three wheeler

Traeger was no where to be seen, so Ataly made a bee line to get her opportunity to ride.

Give it two years and it will be just her size :O)

Congratulations Graduates!

Friday night we went to support the graduates as they celebrated finishing a major chapter in their lives. There were about 10 graduates from our church and then many others we knew of from the Youth Center or other connections. It was a busy and fun weekend full of parties and celebrating the graduates.

Mornings

Ataly has started to sit up on the couch with us for our cuddle time in the morning.

She's getting to be such a big girl.

We'll have this cleaned up in no time!

One night our water dispenser in our fridge leaked all over the fridge and kitchen floor. Not a big deal but a little frustrating because I was trying to get supper ready and didn't really have time to clean up the mess. I started cleaning it up and Traeger stepped right in and helped out and said, "we'll have this cleaned up in no time."

So thankful for Traeger's positive outlook.

What a guy!

Go Katie, Go!

We went out and watched the girl's last soccer game.

I think Ataly was more concerned about her snack than the game...what do you think?!

Traeger enjoyed playing on the elementary school playground

He came back just in time for high fives. We're proud of you Katie!

headed home

Playing ball

The indoor hoop has made it's way outside so Traeger can practice his basketball skills.

practicing his dribbling skills

practice makes perfect

Where is...

Ataly?

Traeger?

Two little helpers

Sam's baptism

Luke had the honor of baptizing his cousin Sam. After church on Sunday we traveled down to Fond du Lac and arrived with some time to spare before the baptisms began.

Sam made a decision to follow Christ and wanted to be baptized as an expression of the decision he made.

He decided he couldn't do this thing called life on his own and that he needed to accept Jesus' great love for him.

Sam accepted that Jesus died for his sins, was buried and then

rose from the dead so that he may live in freedom with Him.

Choosing to follow Christ is the best and biggest decision Sam will ever make in his life...we were grateful to be there to celebrate with him and his family!

Buddy and Nanny with two of their grandsons.

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It was such a beautiful day that we couldn't just jump in the car and come right back home so we all met at a park in Fond du Lac and went out to Rocky's for supper.

Nana made her yummy chex mix for a little snack for the kiddos. As always, it's a big hit!

Yummy!

Snack time with Nana.

Ataly was exhausted after all the play time and only a 3 minute nap on the way down.

Grandpa Tim's shoulder is a perfect fit for a little rest :O)

Big hugs for Annabelle.

Yeah for cousins...

all the kids were checking out Traeger's birthday present...or that's what we used as a prop to get them all in the picture