One Week

some of our kids at Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River

1200 + miles
18 children
28 adults (give or take)
1 lake
4 boats
2 kayaks
7? cabins
800 + photos
1 river
2 birthdays
1 fish fry
1 campfire
3 potlucks
TONS of fun

Berry Hunting

What do you do when you see this?

My kids know.

For a couple of weeks I've been waiting for the signs advertising strawberries and I finally saw them last week.  So we made a plan to go out and get some a couple of days later.  I wasn't really sure how it would go with 4 kids along, but we decided we were up for an adventure. 

So with specific instructions to pick only pretty red berries with no white and no green, off they went into the patch with Isaac strapped to Momma's back. 

They did a really great job and picked gorgeous baskets full of bright red berries!

Those kiddos were hot and sweaty after all that hard work, but it was so much fun!!

And of course I rewarded them with yummy Strawberry Stuffed French Toast the next morning.

Daddy's are the BEST!

A couple weeks ago, we had the opportunity to visit a different park with the whole family.  We had a great time together running around and exploring new things. 

For some reason, parks are always more fun when Daddy comes along.  I'm thinking it may be the crazy ideas he comes up with, like putting 3 kids together on one swing. 

Or just the simple fact that he plays on the equipment with the kids.

Divide and conquer.  Daddy plays on the equipment while Mommy mans the baby and the camera.

Get Moving!

Isaac is 8 months old today.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a good picture of a moving 8 month old?
This was the first try. Probably a bad idea, trying to get him in the commando crawl. (Please ignore the blue glow from the tv: Daddy was playing Wii)

Here he stops to play. Maybe he'll slow down enough here. Nope.  The toys are way too interesting to look at mommy's camera!

Quick! He's looking!  Never mind.

We almost got this one.  But not quite.

He's taking off again.  No luck Mom!

A Recap: Spring!

Spring has arrived, and full force I might add. And along with the warm weather comes lots of playing outside and the abandonment of the computer.  So we'll do a brief overview of the last month to make up for my absence from this blog.

Isaac turned 7 months old: he's adorable for sure, and rolling and squirming to get wherever he can go

He's also learned to sit all on his own which makes life much easier on this Momma, since he's happy to play alone or with the other kids for good stretches now

Jadon learned to pump his legs on the swing.  Our regular babysitter dropped by the yard to play with the kids a couple weeks ago and taught him how.  Awesome! (this Momma is thrilled to not hafta push too!)

Chloe is nearing her 8th birthday.

She's such a HUGE help around the house, I don't know what I'd do without her.  There are days that I have to remind myself to let her be a kid. Since she likes to help out, I sometimes take advantage without realizing it. But the help with Zac is awesome! I can even get supper fixed on time most nights with her help.

Micah hasn't changed much.  He's still a baseball fanatic, and he loves playing outside.

I spent last Friday repairing every bike we own so they can ride in this awesome weather we've had.  Micah asked to go out and ride at 8:00 this morning!  No wonder he's so stinkin' skinny!

Jody and I spent a day last week preparing meals for the freezer, along with another friend.  Together, the 3 of us made 36 meals: that's right, 12 full meals for each of us!  Now my freezer is stocked for those days I just can't get dinner ready, or nights when I've got something else going. 

Kevin shot his second turkey ever on Saturday. 

Oh, and the Rodies won their first tournament of the year!

                      (dodgeball tournament that is)

So that's what has been happening around here.  Tonight marks the start of softball season, so we'll be busy, busy.  Hopefully, I'll find some time to post updates on here, but if not, you'll know what we're doing... watching softball of course!