A Swimmers Haircut

Garrett told Josh this afternoon that he wanted his hair like Pastor Tabors. Josh told Garrett that if he remembered to ask after nap time, he would cut it for him. Garrett didn't forget. Was there any doubt??

Mid-haircut.

Shaved off!!

The kids have been begging us to get the pool out and even though it's been too cold we did it. They've been swimming the last two days and having a grand time! Here's the sequence of Garrett perfecting his dive (or belly flop).

The Garden of Crisp

"Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden to cultivate it and keep it." Gen. 2: 15

We are so excited to have a garden this year. We aren't sure how well we will do, but we'll never know unless we try. Josh worked for a couple of days, clearing the spot of land, tilling it up (by hand), and planning out what to plant. I was along side with lots of words of encouragement, but not much hard labor. As you'll see, the kids were really excited about helping. It slows us down a bit, but it's a great opportunity to work together and see our work yield crops (hopefully!!).

Garrett, swinging the hoe.

All the kids wanted to try the hoe, so we thought we would let them try and see how long they could go. Garrett would have gone all night. He's got amazing energy and perseverance when he really puts his mind to something.

Esther wasn't really putting a dent in the ground, but she looks really cute!

Olivia worked hard and methodically. She focused on one spot and worked there until the ground was nice and turned.

This would be me picking out rocks - but I think it better represents what an amazing eye my husband has for picture taking.

The next morning it was on to sowing the seeds. Garrett helps planting the corn.

The girls helped with the green beans.

Gideon just looked cute in his swing!

Josh trash picks!

Here in Burnips we have to take our recycling to the park by our house. I finally got Josh to take it on Monday night after tripping on it every time I came or went through the garage. He took the three older ones and when they got home he ran in to tell me he trash picked something. I came out to see a little bike for Esther. He said it was in the recycling dumpster (don't they know about freecycle?!?) along with a wagon. He didn't get the wagon because it was pretty far in and he would have had to jump into the dumpster to get it. Not to mention there were lots of people around, so he wasn't up for that adventure. It was missing the training wheels, but we rigged up Olivia's old wheels for her and she's got herself a tricycle now! Check it out!

Notice the back wheel doesn't touch the ground? It's because the training wheels are too big!

I just had to add this awesome picture of Esther at dinner tonight - you gotta love the spaghetti sauce go-tee!

Indiana Trip

Here are highlights from our trip to Indiana. Enjoy!

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Gideon's Dedication

What a blessing it is that God has given us four children to take care of on this earth. As I told my dad recently, parenting is wonderfully chaotic, amazingly difficult, and a beautiful mess. And I wouldn't want it any other way.

Welcome Indy

Well, we did it. We got another dog. This one is called Indy and he is a Pit Bull mix. I know what you are saying, "A pit bull, are you crazy!!! He'll bite your face off." Well not by my calculation. With the right exercise and training he will fit into our pack perfectly. Here are a few pictures of our new addition.

Here he is in his cage at the shelter. He just caught our eyes when we first saw him. I think it's the ears!!!

This is when we got to meet him the first time in a room. He was just sniffing us out.

This is Jersey and him meeting for the first time at the house. When they met at the shelter Jersey was the dominate one, but when we got him home, it turns out that he is the most dominate. Who would have thought.

There was a lot of feeling out at first and then it was time to bite and play with each other. They are a lot of fun to watch.
They started to share a crate as well. When we first put him in there he whined a lot and Jersey just looked at me like, "Do I really have to share everything with him?" I had to tell her that he will have his own crate in a couple of weeks. Right Uncle Eric?
They finally chilled out enough to just relax and chew some ropes. Jersey really didn't but the little guy was just so tired. He has just gotten neutered.
This was them today. They are fine in the crate together now. They just lay down and keep each other warm.
How cute are they?
Welcome to the fam Indy!!!

It's Tulip Time Again

This year for Tulip Time we went to a tulip farm with mom and dad. Mom really wanted to see some tulips, and she wasn't disappointed! It was really beautiful and smelled good too. We let the kids run up and down the isles of flowers (which they loved), as long as they didn't touch or fall in the gardens. There is a $100.00 PER FLOWER fine for either offense! Enjoy the tulips!

She makes a beautiful flower, doesn't she?

Garrett's ready to plow the fields on this antique!

This picture was suppose to look the same as Olivia's, but Es couldn't get the idea of crouching down by the flowers and looking up at me without crouching too low or not far enough - so this is what we got.

Josh among the flowers.

Garrett and Olivia as dutch folk. For a good indication of how much they've grown in the past year - check out last May's post about tulip time.

The tulip farm also raises bison. They were quite friendly (no, we weren't allowed to feed them) and really active.

The fam in front of tulips.

P-Pop and Grammy with the kids. To give you an idea as to how many tulips there really were, our family picture was taken right about where my moms head is, between the two pine trees.

Olivia and Gideon. Have I mentioned what a BIG help she is?!?!?

Front Flips

Olivia loves the trampoline!!!