David and Leah's Wedding

Erik's sister, Leah got married on May 24.  She married David, who's parents actually just live a couple houses away from us.  I (Ashley) have actually known David since before they started dating, as we went to the same school.  Kyler and Norah were the ring bearer and flower girl, and Erik was an usher. Grace was an "honorary" flower girl, so she just got to look cute in her dress! :)  It was such a fun weekend celebrating their marriage.  The weekend started off with rehearsal on Friday night at Orchard Hill church.  Kyler and Norah practiced walking down the isle, and we talked about what they were going to do.  We'd actually been talking A LOT about what they were going to be doing long before this day, but it was good for them to see and be there with all the other people. :)  After rehearsal, we enjoyed a yummy dinner in the commons at Orchard Hill.  It was fun to hang out and talk to people at the rehearsal dinner.  Then we headed home to get rested up for the big day!

On Saturday the kids got up and went to breakfast with my parents.  Then they came home and had an early lunch, and laid down for an early nap.  I woke them up about 3:00 to get them dressed and ready for pictures.  My mom came over to help get them ready, and then took them up to UNI to meet the rest of the wedding party for pictures so I could stay home and let Grace sleep a bit longer-such an awesome thing!  The kids went up and took pictures, then rode with Erik back to the church.  I got myself ready, and then headed to the church with Grace about 4:00.  We finished up family pictures at the church, had some snacks, and then got ready for the wedding.  Kyler was a big nervous to stand up front with the other guys; however, one of the ushers was JJ, who is in elementary school, and so he talked with and hung out with Kyler, which was a HUGE blessing!  So, Kyler decided he could stand up by JJ. :)  Norah had no problem deciding she was going to stand up by "the other ladies". :)  At 6:00 the wedding started, Kyler and Norah went down the isle, and stood up there the whole time.  They did such a great job with everything!  When the wedding was over, we headed up to the Commons Ballroom up at UNI for the reception.  We had a wonderful meal and great time hanging out with everyone.  Kyler and Norah were VERY excited for the dance, and could hardly wait for it to start.  When it did start, they were out on the dance floor dancing their little hearts out all night.  Finally, about 10:00, we decided we better head home.  On the way out, Kyler said to me, "I think I need to sit down…" :)  I'm sure you did buddy, you'd had a long day!!

On Sunday we got up and went to church, then headed over to Erik's parents house for lunch.  After lunch we headed home so the kids could nap instead of staying to watch Leah and David open presents.  The kids were tired, and needed a good nap in their own beds. :)

It was a fun weekend celebrating David and Leah!  We are so excited that they are now husband and wife!! :)

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Rehearsal Friday evening

Getting ready for the big day!

Practicing walking down the isle

Pictures!

Showing their shoes :)

Grace and Erik

Walking down the isle

Still going… :)

Almost there….

The Mr. and Mrs.!

Erik dismissing people

All done!!

Lauren, Kimbo, and I

Kyler with Ben at the reception

Norah with Ben at the reception

Grace with Grandpa Gary

Erik and I

All the kiddos waiting patiently to dance!

Father-Daughter dance

Leah and Norah dancing

Wedding party guys

Wedding party ladies

Dollar dance :)

Spring Fun

Here are some snapshots of some of the things we've been doing around here this spring!

Hanging out with these three!! :)

Picnics!  We visited Henry and Geneva in May and it was a nice day outside, so the kids asked if we could have a picnic, Geneva happily obliged!  It was a bit windy, but we enjoyed eating lunch out on the deck!

Planted our garden!  The kids were all about planting the garden this year and wanted to help out.  We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and a cabbage plant.  Something ate off a couple of our tomato plants, so we had to get more and now have more than we started with, but that's okay! :)

Playing outside and mowing the yard!  I looked out one evening to find Erik mowing the yard, and Kyler and Norah following right behind. :)  It was a nice evening out and they were enjoying "helping" Dad mow!  What this doesn't show though is how mad Norah got when she got too far behind Erik and then the fit she threw after he was done mowing because she still wanted him to help mow.  To which he started up the mower again and re-mowed a couple yards to satisfy her. :)

Kyler's Last Day of Preschool

Kyler had his last day of preschool on May 23rd.  It was a bittersweet day as we have absolutely loved having Kyler at OHC preschool.  He has grown so much in the two years that he has been there.  He has had the same teachers for both years, and they have loved and cared for him so much.  On the last day the kids sang some songs and then they showed a movie of pictures of the kids from the year at preschool.  Then each kid went up on stage and received a certificate and copy of the movie from their teachers.  Thanks OHC preschool for a wonderful two years for Kyler!  We can't wait for Norah to experience it in the fall!

With his class

Doing the actions to the song

More actions :)

Giving his teacher a hug

Getting his certificate

Kyler with his certificate 

Kyler and his teachers

Kyler's 5 Year Pictures

We finally got some pictures taken of Kyler being 5 years old!  I'm glad that it wasn't as pressing to get these done as it is to get Grace's monthly pictures done!  Here are some of our favorites, can't believe how old he looks!

Grace is 7 Months!

Grace turned 7 months old on May 17th!  Her biggest thing this past month was trying baby food!  We pretty much skipped the whole cereal thing and went straight to the fruits and veggies.  Well, we did the veggies first. :)  The first thing Grace tried was carrots.  She wasn't too sure what to think of them, but decided it was okay to eat them. :)  She also has had, sweet potatoes, peas, and green beans.  We are sticking with the veggies for a bit before we do any of the fruits.  Grace now pushes herself up to her belly button, she can get her whole torso off the floor, she just can't get that belly up yet though!  I realized part way though the month too that we really haven't been working on sitting up that much either…..oops! :)  So, I got out the Boppy pillows and we began working on sitting up!  She isn't that far off, but she just doesn't realize yet that if she leans way back, she is going to fall over. :)  She can only sit for a few moments now before she decides to lean forward and then looks like she's folded in half. :)  I'm sure this will improve over the next month!  Another thing from this month, is scooting and rolling together.  I have not seen her do this, only Erik has in the evening when I'm in the shower, but apparently Grace will be laying on her back, scoot across the floor by pushing herself with her feet, then roll to her tummy to look at something.  Then the will roll back to her back and push herself somewhere else and roll back to her tummy, etc.  I have yet to see this though…. :)  Grace got really good at reaching and grabbing for something this past month.  She defiantly knows when she wants something, and then will reach for it and grab it very accurately.  She especially loves your phone, the remote, or any other electronic device. :)  Grace celebrated her first Easter this past month too.  She still doesn't have any teeth yet, but is chewing on her hands quite a bit.  She is still napping in the afternoon in the Ergo, but I have been putting her in her bed for her morning nap…..it usually only lasts a half hour still. :)  Here are some pictures from the past month!

7 Months old!

A little smile for 7 months!

Pushing herself up!

I laughed at this picture….. :)

Practicing sitting! 

Picnic lunch with Henry and Geneva!

Hanging out!

Spitting :)

Sisters!

I thought this was funny, Norah was watching TV and Grace was just checking her out!

Ready for food!

Ymmm, carrots!

Hmmm, not sure what to think….

First Easter!

Good morning!