Swim Lessons 2010

We just wrapped up swim lessons for this summer. This was Emily's 2nd year & Jon's 1st. They both worked very hard and progressed a lot over the two weeks they had lessons. Emily started in the shallow end doing basics & ended with swimming to her teacher, Mrs. Mary, in the deep end and jumping off the diving board. Jonathan started with no real swim experience and ended with being able to kick, "reach & pull" with his arms, put his face under the water, and jump in. He also conquered his fears of floating on his back and going under the water. Here are some pics from their last day:


This is the kids in front of their swim charts. We made it to keep track of each lesson they successfully completed. Their reward is a trip to our local family water park next week. They've very much earned it & we are very proud of their hard work.

Trash the Dress

In the last decade or so there has been a new thing pop up in wedding/bridal photography. It's called a trash the dress session. Basically it's a photography shoot with the bride and sometimes bride & groom after the wedding. The whole point is to get some shots in places that you would never dare to before the wedding for fear of messing your dress up - thus, the "trash the dress" title. Some brides get really crazy & go roll in mud or throw paint on their dresses. That's not my style at all.

In honor of our 10 year anniversary I thought it would be fun to get my dress out of the box it had been in for a decade & let Joel photograph me in it. Big props go out to Candice who graciously did my makeup and hair. The pictures would not have looked even half as great without her help. She did such an awesome job! A big thanks to Nathanael too who came along to help out. And, of course, thanks to my hubby who did such a great job taking the pictures & telling me how to pose. It was a really, really fun experience. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

Our Little Graduate

Emily just graduated Kindergarten last week. It really seems like we just dropped her off for her first day & now she's already done! Here are some pictures from the morning. They had a little ceremony & then all the kids sang a song for us. Then we went back to the classroom for some cake & punch. Emily's teacher, Mrs. Simmons, made a presentation to each student. It was a picture of her with each child, a poem, and a personalized inscription. Emily's was this: "Emily is very soft spoken and caring. She has shown a great interest in learning and doing her best. She will continue to be a successful student and college graduate with many opportunities."

We couldn't be happier with how well Kindergarten went for her & are very thankful that she had such a wonderful experience and teacher for her first year of school. Congratulations, Emily. We love you & are very, very proud of you!

10 Years

May 13th will be our 10 year anniversary. It's really kind of nice to have married in the year 2000. Makes remembering what anniversary it is really easy. ;-)

I've been reminiscing lately about what the last decade has held for us: lots of laughter, love, and fun. Lots of growth and some heartache. The loss of some family & the birth of our 3 awesome kids. The purchase of our home - which has also brought fun & several headaches (ha!). Several job changes & a few layoffs. Transitioning from a 2 income home to me coming home full-time. Watching our siblings marry their spouses in the last few years. Making several wonderful friends that now count as family too.

Joel has exceeded all I thought I wanted in a husband and father. I truly value & respect the man he is. I don't take for granted what we've got & we work hard to maintain our relationship. As we celebrate the last 10 years I look forward to many more decades of the same. Happy Anniversary, Joel. I can honestly say I love you more now than I did the day we married.

Joel & I when we were first dating. I'm about 19 & he's about 22

On our wedding day - I'm 21 & he's 24

My favorite recent photo of us at a marriage conference last year.

Sleeping in Style

Over the years I've found my kids sleeping in all kinds of interesting positions. This one, however, was a new one for me. It was too funny not to share!

They're so little!

Joel found these 2 videos on the computer today when he was doing some work. One's of Jon & one's of Em when they were much smaller. They are too darn cute so I had to share them with y'all. Just click on the links below. Enjoy!

Jonathan Bouncing

Emily Sliding

Freddie the Frog

Emily's class at school has a stuffed frog named Freddie. When someone is the class leader for the day they get to bring Freddie home. It's a big deal for a Kindergartner. Emily freaks out whenever she gets this honor. She literally runs to the van at pick-up time beaming with joy on these days. So I figured it was time to blog about Freddie. Here's a photo of Em and her green, furry friend. Joel secretly thinks Freddie is probably germ-ridden & doesn't like him much. Part of bringing Freddie home is writing about his stay in your home to be read in class the next day. Here's our entry from his last visit:

Emily H. brought Freddie home with her today from school because Emily was the leader. They ate Chex Mix and juice for a snack. Then they made a butterfly craft together with Emily's brother, Jonathan, and her mommy. Freddie tried to eat the butterfly. We laughed. When it was story time Freddie listened quietly. While we ate our dinner Freddie ate ants in the backyard. When Emily's daddy got home Freddie jumped on him to scare him as a joke. We all laughed, but daddy didn't. It was fun having silly Freddie at our house and we hope he visits again soon. The end.