Silly Boy

Nathan and I continue to adjust as the girls are in school. He loves school but also enjoys staying home with Mommy. Last night he asked, "Do we have a date tomorrow?" And this morning when Phil asked him what he was going to do today, Nathan announced, "Go shopping and miss Beth and Allie!"

After running a few errands, Nathan headed outside to ride his trike. I found him wearing Beth's bike helmet - backwards, of course!

When I reminded him that it was on backwards, he plopped it on the correct way and grinned for the camera. What a nut!

Time for a "Big Boy Bed!"

We finally said a fond farewell to the crib and got Nathan a bed! Mommy was a bit sad to take down the crib. After all, we've had a crib in our home for over seven years. Our crib provided hours of peaceful, secure slumber for our precious children when they were infants and toddlers. What a blessing to have had it for this long! But Nathan is three years old now and ready for a big bed. So we made the change two weeks ago. He was SO excited!

The quilt we ordered just arrived on Friday, so now we can share a glimpse of it. I love the colors in it and I think it will last Nathan for a long time!

You know me... I cannot resist taking pictures of my sleeping boy! Yes, he still sucks/chews on the same two fingers of his left hand. Breaking that habit will be more challenging than adjusting to the new bed! We're not quite ready to tackle that yet!

Nathan's First Day of Preschool

Nathan was SO excited about starting school today! All day yesterday, we kept telling him that he'd get to go to school "tomorrow." This morning he came into our room and asked, "Is it tomorrow?" When I said, "Yes, you get to go to school today," he responded, "Oh, thank you, Mommy! Thank you!" He couldn't wait to get his lunchbox and his backpack. He managed to eat some breakfast - he wanted "a frog egg" (translation: a fried egg) and ate it up!

The girls were ready for their second day of school - and their first full day this year. Aren't they so cute? They are growing so fast!

Nathan was excited to see Zachary in his classroom. It's fun for them to be in the same class. It's obvious that they are totally humoring me here. Zach wants to get back to the masterpiece that he is painting and Nathan is eyeing some cars and trucks!

School Girls

Well, today was the big day! The girls started school this morning. They were excited and a little nervous, but they both had a great morning! It was just a half day today - I'm not sure if that is more for the kids' benefit or for us mothers that aren't quite ready to let go! It'll take a while to get used to the girls being gone every day. I'll especially miss Allie since she's been my little buddy here at home. Nathan really missed his sisters and kept asking when we could go get the "grills." I took him to the park but he didn't last long. I asked why he wasn't playing and he said, "It not fun without the grills." Poor little guy! This is a big change for him too. I am happy to report that no tears were shed this morning. I did spend more time last night watching the girls as they slept, though. They are so precious!

Beth is used to her photo-happy mommy wanting pictures. She happily posed before we left home this morning.

Here's our big girl, Allie, in her kindergarten classroom. She is ready to work!

After school, we met Daddy for a pizza lunch to celebrate the first day of school. It is a milestone! Phil was happy to hear all the school news.

Nine years ago...

Nine years ago, we were busy getting married! God gave us a glorious day, full of smiles and the people we love. It was very warm that day, but I only remember how happy I was! Our wedding was a celebration of God's faithfulness and answered prayers. We are so thankful that God brought us together in His timing. We can look back and see His hand at work in our lives over the last nine years as well. God has been faithful! Phil and I have shared so much - job changes, moves, joys, disappointments - and he is my best friend. We are most grateful that God chose to give us three beautiful children. We are blessed beyond measure!

Game Boy!

Nathan absolutely loves playing games right now! When he wakes up from his nap, it is the first thing he wants to do. He enjoys Candyland and Memory, but his favorite is definitely Zingo! He gets all excited whenever he finds a match - you'd think he'd won the lottery or something!

Of course, Nathan prefers to fill his card first so he can yell "Zingo!" But on the rare occasions that Mommy actually wins, he is a very good sport. Yesterday he said, "Good job saying Zingo, Mommy!" What a sweet boy!

Here he is, examining his card as he realizes he has won. We're learning that our girls aren't the only ones who can be dramatic!

Fun in the Pool

Since Phil's parents are in Fresno visiting Phil's sister and her family, they came over for lunch today. We were able to go swimming in our neighbor's pool. It was fun to see Jack enjoying the water. The girls were proud to show off their swimming progress to Grandpa and Grandma too!

Nathan and Jack had fun being pulled on the boogie board around the shallow end of the pool. Jack kept saying, "Boat!" It was very cute.

Nathan is getting braver in the water. He'll jump in and go under, as long as Mommy is holding his hands. Here he is floating with a noodle. He knows exactly what to do when Mommy has the camera!

It's been awhile since we've been swimming and it took Beth some time to get her confidence back. With encouragement, she was swimming like a fish again!

Allie jumped to Phil over and over again. I finally got a picture of her in mid-air! She's totally closing her eyes as she jumps!

To the Zoo...Again!

My friend Cathy and her daughter Kendall invited us to join them for an outing to the Fresno Zoo. We were glad to go with them! The weather was pleasant and we had a great time! Nathan loved the reptile house and got excited whenever we spotted a snake or lizard. "That's cool! I want that at my house!" Of course, Mommy provided a quick reality check - "Sorry, honey, that will NOT be in our house!"

Here are the kids near the orangutan exhibit. The orangutans were especially playful this morning.

We were impressed with the bird show! Here the kids pose with a Eurasian Eagle Owl - a very big bird!

The zoo has an traveling exhibit called "Stingray Bay." The kids loved laying on their tummies and waiting for the school of cownose stingrays to swim by. Then they got to reach down and touch them. They were very soft!

Beth got so wet from laying down to touch the stingrays! It was a nice way to cool off! She would have stayed there for hours - she loved it!

Great Grandma!

Great Grandma Kuchta lives in the basement of Phil's parents' house. Nathan couldn't wait to go downstairs each morning to see her. The girls spent time down there visiting with her as well. She is such a sweet lady and we love her so much. Just before we left, I realized I hadn't taken a picture of her with the kids so we dragged the kids out of the van for a picture. Although you can tell that Nathan wasn't really excited about it - "No more pictures for me!" - it still turned out okay. Moments with Great Grandma are precious!

Hawk Island Park

While Phil went golfing with his dad, the kids and I discovered a great park! Hawk Island Park has so many fun things to do. The kids loved the castle playground, but were most excited about the water activities! We quickly drove back to get swimsuits on, then returned for some fun at the Splash Park. It was a great way to cool off!

Nathan was a bit tentative at first, but soon got over his fear and was soaking wet!

Even I got in on the fun. Beth took a picture of Nathan and I as we were drying off.

The county transformed an old gravel pit into a swimming beach and a lake for paddle boats. The kids loved wading out in the lake!

Here they are near the shore, getting sand absolutely everywhere! We had to take showers we were returned home, but it was definitely worth it. What a great park!

Grand Rapids

We spent a wonderful day with some special friends in Grand Rapids. Scott and Kristin and their family recently relocated to Michigan so that Scott can attend seminary there. It was fun to spend the day with them and to see their lovely home. We sure miss them here in Visalia!

We visited the Grand Rapids Children's Museum last Thursday. From 5-8 pm, admission is only one dollar! What a deal! It was a very impressive museum and the kids had a ball. The picture above is of Katie, Kamryn, Troy and our kids. They sure had fun together!

My sister's family arrived in Grand Rapids on Thursday afternoon and surprised us by joining us for a few hours at the museum. Nathan and Cara are busy in the music area here.

We lined up the cousins for a quick picture before leaving the museum. Cara was too tired after a long day of traveling to pose for a picture, but she did have fun at the museum. You can see the Chinese lanterns that Beth and Joshua made in the craft area.

Potter Park Zoo

We enjoyed a visit to the Potter Park Zoo on a hot and humid day! Even though it was very warm, we had a great time. The kids especially liked the pony rides!

Here is Nathan riding "Peanut."

Beth rode "Big Red."

And Allie, our sunshine girl, rode "Sunny."

Nathan got a birds-eye view from Grandpa's shoulders!

A Day with Cousins

We spent a fun-filled day with Phil's brother and his family. We went to a science museum for a few hours in the morning, enjoyed a pizza lunch, then headed to their new home for the afternoon and evening. They have a beautiful home - and an adorable new baby. It was a treat to meet Abby and to see how much the older kids have grown!

Beth enjoyed their dog, Buttercup.

Kendra and Allie were buddies!

Nathan and Steven stuck together...

Grandma with sweet Abigail Jayne

Buddies

We had a hard time saying goodbye to our Wisconsin friends on Sunday morning. We're thankful that our friendship has remained strong despite the distance which separates us. It was especially fun to see our children enjoying time with each other!

Jocie and Beth

Sierra and Allie

Nathan and Darin

Fun in Wisconsin

After arriving in Chicago, we headed to Wisconsin to spend two nights and one glorious day with our dear friends, Ron and Jessica, and their beautiful family. They took us to the "beach" - Lake Michigan! It was so near their house and it was a beautiful day to spend a few hours there. The girls loved playing in the water and building sandcastles. Jocie and Beth are the same age, and Sierra and Allie are close in age as well, so they had a ball together.

Family photo in the dunes...

Ron and Jessica's son, Darin, is just five months old so Nathan was on his own. He had a great time playing in the sand! His specialty? Knocking sandcastles down!

Home Again!

We're back! We had a great trip to Wisconsin and Michigan and enjoyed seeing many friends and family members. I took tons of pictures and don't want to overwhelm you with them. I'll post a few pictures each day for a few days so you can get a glimpse of our fun!

We stopped in Escalon on our way to Sacramento and spent a few hours with our friend Jen and her beautiful daughters, Ella and Delia. We were able to meet her mother-in-law, too! Delia was only 13 days old and we were very glad to cudde with her.

We stayed overnight in a hotel in Sacramento, since we had to catch an early flight on Friday. There were two queen beds, so our kids were like three little bugs in a rug - and slept together. Well, let's just say they started out together! Nathan ended up in our bed!

We woke up at 5:30 a.m. so we could get ready for the hotel shuttle to take us to the airport. The kids were pretty excited at this point, so they were happy to wake up!