s'mores and more

Ryan has been wanting a fire pit and I have been resistant. But eventually I came around and figured he could have his way just this once :)    To be honest, we all love making s'mores a few times a week!

Sylvia loves to vacuum.  Why should I deny her such fun?

Andrew's first year of 'school' is done.  To end the school year, the kids each got to display a piece of their art work in the art gallery.  Here is Andrew by his picture.  I'm so proud of him!

new life

First and foremost , we are so happy to introduce our new niece (or new cousin), Tenley Lynn.  Ryan's sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl yesterday and we got to meet her today.  Andrew was smitten!

I just love to watch this little girl explore.  Now that the weather has improved, we try to spend most of our time outside.  Sometimes I just look at her and can't believe that she is mine, such a beauty!

Sylvia is TWO!

Our sweet Sylvia is now 2 years old. I can't believe my baby is 2! Before she was born people would tell us that our second child would be completely different than our first and this sure is true in our case :) She's mild mannered, can entertain herself well, tough, adventurous, but very stubborn! She wants to do everything herself which is cute and frustrating at the same time. Here are a few pictures of her party:

I think she's excited!

A unique way to blow out the candles

Opening her first gift

She loves stuffed animals, especially dogs and cats

She also loves make-up.  Now that she has her own maybe she will leave mine alone :)

Daniel Tiger is popular in this house

Her own kitchen.  Hopefully her cooking skills are better than her Mama's

Tulip Time 2014

It's tulip time again which means it's time to dress up my Dutch babies and head over to Holland. We had perfect weather, beautiful costumes (thanks to Ryan's family), and the kids cooperated quite well. And for their good behavior, Andrew and Sylvia got to pick out a treat of their choice at Kilwin's after a tasty meal at Fricano's of course :) We had a great time!

crazy kids

This girl is something else... she is fun, sassy, stubborn, and has a great sense of humor.  Here we are playing "surprise!" with the bathroom door.  It may sound a bit crazy, but with this girl it is crazy fun!

Here is Andrew in one of his Daddy's shirts, and a silly pose of course.  Lately he loves to tell us about the video in his eyes (otherwise known as a dream).  And he tries to get his way by asking "would another kiss change your mind?"

Sylvie and I attended toddler time at the Kroc Center while Andrew was in school.  There were lots of new toys to try out and it was just fun to spend a little one-on-one time with my girl.

Easter weekend 2014

We had a packed weekend, full of fun! And the nice weather only added to the enjoyment.

Thursday afternoon and evening we headed over to Grandpa and Grandma Huizinga's house for an Easter egg hunt.  Such a fun surprise for the kids.

After dinner we went to my parents neighbors house to see the chickens and goats.

Friday we went to the library.  Andrew had great fun with the water colors.

Sylvia loved the butterfly wings.

Then we headed outside to walk by Reeds Lake

When we were walking back to our car Andrew spotted a Nissan Z car.  Although he has one in the matchbox form, this was the first one he saw in 'real life.'

Just a pretty picture of my sweetie :)

Saturday morning we went to an Easter egg hunt at a local church

Once we got home, the kids and Ryan started making their own Easter eggs

The finished product

Easter morning!  The kids each got a chocolate bunny and a few dollar store gifts.  The best part for them was getting to eat a few bites of chocolate before breakfast!

Getting ready for church.  Aren't they so cute?!

After church we all enjoyed a big lunch and then another big dinner at the VanderKamp house.  The kids were spoiled once again with yet another Easter egg hunt.  The kids had a blast!