Best Buds

Adam, Jackson and I went over to visit The Rineharts at their new house and the kids needed a little playtime out on the porch. Kristen set up the kids pool and the three of them were so funny together. Jackson and Ryar love to get their pictures taken together...we had to bribe Nolan to get in on the fun. Donovan and Kristen just purchased a house in Rockford and are doing some extensive remodeling on it. It is a great house and they are making some major progress. Congrats on the new house Rineharts! (Oh...the bare butt shot, Ryar and Jackson decided to pee off the deck, since they weren't allowed inside with bare feet (too many nails). I couldn't resist the picture!)

Congrats Mick and Samantha

Sunday afternoon we were invited to Mick's Confirmation and Samantha's 1st Communion Party. It was so good to see their family, since we don't get to hang out much. Samantha was the flower girl in our wedding almost 4 years ago - wow how time flies. Jackson had a ball with all of the kids and is very excited to get his own swing set this summer.

Cousin Brayden

Brayden came over to visit last week and Jackson just loves having him there. In the beginning, he was a little unsure about holding him... but now he just can' get enough. He just wanted to lay with him on the couch and hug him - so sweet!

Happy Birthday Gerrit!

Gerrit TenBrink turned two last week and for his birthday got this fun blow up Jumpy. He brought it over to share with Jackson on Saturday night and the kids were crazy. Being only 10 weeks apart, they have so much in common and we hope that they will share this friendship for a long time. Mike & Carrie are expecting the second child - a girl - the first part of June. Thanks for coming over and hanging out - we had so much fun.

Baby Shower for Mags

We had Maggie's first Baby Shower this past weekend at Church. Maggie's future sister-in-laws, Becky and Stacy, hosted the shower and did a great job. Maggie & Aaron received a lot of nice things for their baby who is due June 15th.

Shooting Hoops

Last Friday afternoon, Jackson and I enjoyed the beautiful weather out on the porch. We had a picnic lunch, and brought out his car and basketball hoop to soak up some warmth. It was so nice to finally get outside - spring is finally here to stay! Not a bad shot Jackson - 2 points!

Pregos

Maggie and Katie are only 4 weeks apart. They are both having boys...no names for sure picked out yet. They are both doing really well, just starting to get to that point where they are ready to be done. We are so happy for both of them! Love you two :)

Sleepover

Jackson had Madilyn over to spend the night last weekend and they had a ball together. The two of them are big fans of Mickey Mouse and like to play the M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E song and dance around the room. To get them settled down for bed, they watched a movie, snug under the blanket together. Jackson was thrilled to wake up in the morning and still have Maddie there to play with. Tom and Lauren stayed the night as well - it was like old times, having roommates. We miss you guys! Thanks for a great night.

Old Picture

So...since this picture was taken, five out of the eight of us have had another child. Crazy - this was taken at the Hall's house a little over a year ago! I came across it while cleaning up my computer. What a good time we had that night. Congrats to all of the new moms :)

Shang-Hai

So, a group of us decided that since we weren't going on Spring Break this year, we'd treat ourselves to a nice dinner at Shang-Hai Ichiban. This is the Japanese restaurant on 29th Street where they cook your meal in front of you. It was a lot of fun - The DeYoungs, Carlsons, Elyea's, Pokorzynski's, Rineharts, David, Maggie, Aaron, Adam and I all had a fabulous meal that night. Sean and the boys decided to try some Saki too... I don't recommend it!

Happy Easter!

Jackson and Brayden (his newest cousin)

Kristen, Colton and Jared

Sarah, Brayden and Russ

Kelly and Lauren

The three cousins - Jackson, Colton and Lauren.

Tim, Lauren and Katie (and number two).

Jackson...very excited about his Easter candy.

Time to eat :)

David and his girlfriend Lauren.

Easter is always so much fun, getting together with the entire family. We were blessed to have both the Heth and Burkholder families over to my parents house. Unfortunately the weather wasn't too nice...so we had to do the Easter Egg Hunt indoors, but that didn't seem to bother the kids at all.

Coloring Eggs

So, this was the first time that Jackson decorated eggs and he loved it. I think he would have dipped them over and over all night if we would have let him. Matt, Alice & Jack Matlosz, along with Kevin & Kathryn Zaskowski joined us for the evening. It was so much fun - as you can see, by the end Jackson's fingers were a pretty purplish-pink.