Haertel Happenings

A Season of Change

2011-11-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

This school year marked a season of change. After 9 years as a stay-at-home mom, I accepted a teaching position at Bethesda Lutheran School as the preschool teacher. Sophia and I spend the mornings together at school. We are both enjoying preschool! The "big kids" are attending Bethesda too. Hannah and Luke are in the same class (K-2nd grade are grouped together). This has made Luke's transition to Kindergarten so much easier. The first two weeks of school he asked me every night before he went to bed, "Is tomorrow school?" And if the answer was yes, he would reply "YES!" He LOVES it! Hannah is happy to be back at Bethesda -- she never really felt 100% comfortable at the public school. Jacob is happy to have two recesses (he would have only had one at the public school) and PE twice a week instead of only one week every two weeks.

Here's the bunch on the first day of school:

I was hired at the end of July, while we were on vacation in Ohio. And had to shorten our trip by a week and a few days so I could get back to set up my classroom for the school's open house. I wish I had taken some before and after pictures. I spent a solid weekend sorting and organizing. Here are some pictures of my room:

The door/entryway - looking in from the hallway (the bulletin board has since been decorated -- need a more current pic). Each week I post the parent newsletter and each month a calendar of the themes and Bible stories we will be studying. Also there is a daily class schedule and each week I change the sign which has the theme for the week and the Bible story.

Here is a view of most of the classroom. I am standing in the art center to take this shot. I since have changed the tables to make a circle. Will probably change them again soon. Chang is good!

This is our circle time bulletin board with calendar, weather, birthday balloons, etc.

The Book Nook

Sophia dancing on the Circle Time rug!

More dancing pictures....

The art center - easel and table (not much choice in where the Art Center was placed as it is the only tile in the classroom). My desk is back in the corner where the bookshelves are. This bulletin board was in progress. The first month or so it had "God's Kids" inside the frame and "All About Me" at the top. The children drew self portraits which hung on the board inside a frame which they had sponge painted. I'm not sure if I ever took a picture of the finished product.

The cubbies -- right next to the door.

An interactive bulletin board. They picked the apples and placed them into the the color coordinating bushel basket.

Housekeeping Center

Science/Writing Center

We have a classroom fish, Nemo. He is a Beta donated by the librarian at the public library.

My life as preschool teacher, mother of four, Mrs. Fix-it (still renovating our fixer-upper), preacher, Sunday school teacher, trumpet player (member of community band), Zumba dancer - is busy -- but full of JOY!

February's Full of Love

2011-04-19T16:40:00.000-06:00

Heart Pancakes for Valentine's Day Breakfast

Valentine's Day Centerpiece

Exchanging Valentine Cards

Making Craft Projects

Homemade crayons

Skiing

Brotherly Love

Doing Puzzles

Playing Board Games

Sledding

Getting Married

Handling Snakes

Sisterly Love

January Highlights

2011-04-19T15:32:00.000-06:00

Building a Snowman

Reading Together

Snuggling with Blankies

Playing with New Toys

Celebrating Sky's Birthday

Riding a Horse

Snuggling a Horse

Memories from Christmas

2011-03-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

The last day before Christmas break, Luke and I helped with Jacob's Christmas party at school. (I have been alternating parties -- I helped with Hannah's Halloween party and it was Jacob's turn to have us celebrate with his class.) The kids made gingerbread houses. Luke is always so shy at first - but eventually he warms up. I am trying to expose him to school experiences as much as possible as he will be starting Kindergarten this fall and he's not going to preschool this year. Here are the boys working on their houses together.

His teacher had them use a small milk carton as the base to stick their graham crackers to -- a good idea for a frame to help kids get it started.

Jacob's class -- holding their creations and ready to go home for Christmas Break.

Third graders are funny!

We headed to the farm the day after school was out. We spent a little over a week at the farm - which included Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The kids were showered with gifts -- from Nana, Uncle Tom and Margaret, Uncle Mike, and Mommy and Daddy. We tried to spread the opening out a bit so we started early. It was like the 12 days of Christmas.

But first there was a birthday to be celebrated....
We celebrated Lois' birthday a bit late -- for two reasons: we didn't arrive until a few days after her birthday and when we got to her house, I got sick with the flu. So her Black Forest Cake had to be put on hold. It was a fun party nonetheless. We gave her a "winter survival kit" which included: a warm hat, a six pack of 2 below beer, a book and some homemade fudge. Happy Birthday, Lois!

I brought our pickle with us to the farm to hide on the tree. Hannah found it this year! (this was the first year we carried this tradition out - one that will be repeated!)

She got to open the first present. We opened a few of the kid's presents from Pat and I early because Pat decided to leave Christmas Eve morning because he was having trouble with allergies. Here are the kids on Christmas Eve morning -- Jacob being goofy, as usual....

Hannah got a veterinary set from Lois.
Luke got a wooden car loader from Mommy and Dad.

Sophia got a stick pony that sings from Nana. Luckily his batteries are running low. I told Sophie he was tired and so now she tells people "he's tired."

Jacob got new football cards and a sports book.

Uncle Tom and Margaret came for Christmas too. (sorry no pic of them either...I need to be better about capturing family on film.) Margaret made each of the kids a fleece blanket and wrapped presents for them inside the blankets. They had fun unfolding them to find the hidden presents. Then they all snuggled up in their blankets on the floor. Couldn't resist taking their picture.

Sophia's hair after unrolling from her blanket....

When we got home from Christmas Eve service we took pictures in front of the tree. The kids cooperated only because I let them do silly pictures. Hannah was starting to catch the bug I had, so she never posed for a silly picture. Here they are....

Hannah and Sophie got new hats from Nana and we gave all the kids footy jammies. Funny thing about this -- they all stopped opening gifts on Christmas Eve after church to change out of their church clothes and put on their cozy footy jammies. Usually clothes get tossed aside -- but these made the cut. (wish I had taken a pic of all four in their jammies together...)

The three big kids got Bison hoodies -- Go Blue!

Jacob asked for a Browns T-shirt/sweatshirt for Christmas. I found one on-line for him. He loves it and wears it as soon as it's clean. He now has shirts for all of Cleveland's pro sports teams.

I got dolls for the girls from the Christmas in the Hills craft fair that is held each year at the beginning of December. The dolls weren't anything special but they had cute hand-made, fleece sleeping bags. The same booth had pretty flower clips. Hannah got pink and Sophie got purple. They both named their dolls Molly. I told Hannah she had picked the same name as Sophie but she said "my doll's name is spelled M-a-l-l-e-i-g-h (like a girl in her 1st grade class). So we have two new Mollies in our family ;-)

Uncle Mike gave Sophia a new puppet -- she named him "Jack".

Hannah made reindeer food at Daisy's and we brought it along to Nana's farm. Here she is sprinkling it on the ground. She was determined to check and see if it was still there in the morning -- but with the excitement of opening her stocking, she didn't remember. I wonder if it was gone?

Lois traveled to Germany in the fall and brought back souvenirs for the kids. The girls both received Austrian dresses. This package came on Christmas day. The girls wanted me to put music on so the could dance in their new dresses. They twirled around for a long time. Luke and Jacob got boiled wool sweaters but Jacob was too busy playing with other toys to bother with getting dressed up in his new outfit. Luke joined the girls and danced with them, but I didn't get a good picture of him. The Sunday after Christmas the kids all wore their Austrian outfits to church. They looked like the kids from the Sound of Music. I wish I would have taken a picture!!

Jacob took this picture of Sophia -- not bad, huh?
Sophia carried her new kitty blanket from Uncle Tom and Margaret around everywhere for the rest of our visit on the farm....(notice she also has it in the pic above)

She also enjoyed tinkering on the ivories...

Nana and Uncle Mike came back with us and got stuck in Hot Springs as a big storm was brewing to the east and west of us.

We came home to more Christmas -- packages from Nana and Papa had arrived while we were gone. The kids were so eager to open the presents. They never get tired of opening presents, do they?
Here they are checking out the presents before we opened them....

Lebron James Cavs Jersey - Jacob is still proud to wear this. And a metronome to help him keep the beat while playing his recorder.

Hannah had fun making her own watch and building and decorating a jewelry box.

After vacationing this summer with her cousin Kailyn, she wanted a mermaid doll she could take in the bathtub. Nana and Papa made this wish come true.

A new nightgown! Hannah loves this.
Luke got a lego set -- He is a lover of legos

Luke's deep in concentration playing his new BINGO game.

Sophia's new dress-up princess set and pink bathrobe.

Sophie is funny about her bathrobe -- she wants to wear it throughout the day -- not just in the morning and at night. When I help her put it on she always tells me "give me bunny ears" - she wants her belt tied in a bow. She loves her robe.

And Christmas would continue with more presents from Aunt Carrie's family in a few weeks.....

It might have been more like the 3 weeks of Christmas this year --- but I can handle that - it's my favorite holiday and I love all the traditions that surround it - so stretching it out is a joy for me! I am so thankful for a memorable Christmas with my kids!

Sledding and Snow!

2010-12-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

Hannah and Jacob in the morning after the first snow this winter.....getting ready to go to school. They were hoping for a snow day -- but no such luck.

We have had one good storm before Thanksgiving -- which gave us 6" or more of snow. So the cross-country skis and sleds got dusted off and brought up from the basement; the snow boots and ski boots made an appearance; the coat rack and bench is fully loaded with hats, mittens, snowpants and winter coats; and the kids started asking for hot cocoa and marshmallows.

We skied around our house with the kids while Lois was visiting and the kids loved it! Sophie even tried the strap-on cross country skis and loved "sliding" as she called it. Luke struggled at first but then was determined to get back out there with the big kids. Hannah and Jacob had a lot of fun skiing on the hill from our neighbor's house to ours.

Luke on real skis this year! No more strap-on skis!

We also took a trip up Hot Brook Canyon
and went sledding at the Bastian's house. It was a fun day of sledding and fellowship with good friends. Pat and I got a new sled for the kids at Ace Hardware that morning that all four of them can ride in together.

Our friend, Sky

Sweet brother helping his sister up the hill

The boys were both very good about helping Sophie back up the hill.

I LOVE this picture!

She was a trooper! And had such fun - she would giggle most of the way down the hill.

Our Christmas Tree

2010-12-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

A new tree! We have had a little table-top tree for the last 4 years. It was fun to get a bigger tree this year! I found a tall, skinny tree which fits perfectly in our living room.
After several years with our small tree that didn't hold many ornaments, the kids had so much fun discovering all the ornaments we could hang on our tree.

Each year the kids receive ornaments from us and from Nana and Papa (a tradition my parents began when I was young). There were several ornaments that we have never been able to hang up because they were too big for our little tree. What a gift for me to watch the kids unwrap and discover the ornaments - each one had a special memory for us - from different times in our lives. It was fun to talk about them with the kids. And to share the ornaments that I received as a child. They learned new things about me and what things I liked as a child. A great afternoon together!

A visit with Santa

2010-12-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

Hannah and Luke wrote letters to Santa this year. And hand delivered them to Santa when they saw him and Mrs. Claus on Saturday. They were so proud of their letters.

The girls wore their Big Sister/Little Sister shirts for their visit with Santa.

I thought for sure Sophia would be scared. But she got right up on Mrs. Claus' lap and talked a blue streak with her. They gave Santa their letters and he had a special book to put them in which he showed to them.

This is the first time our kids sat on Santa's lap (Jacob had a few experiences with Santa when he was young but they always ended in tears). And this year he said he was too old to take part. The small-town Santa experience was wonderful. They took time to listen to the kids, interact with them and this helped our kids not to be afraid or shy. They each gave Santa a hug goodbye. Sophia talked about giving Santa a hug for the rest of the day.

The next day Luke found our Santa hat and he and Hannah had fun playing Santa and Mrs. Claus together. Hannah stuffed his belly to make him look fat and they made pretend lists which Santa read and then delivered presents to our stockings. I love their creative play!

Halloween

2010-11-01T22:43:00.000-06:00

Friday Night.....Our Family at the Fall Carnival (Pat and I decided to dress up a bit too)

Sunday Night.....The kids waiting to trick or treat

An angel

A glowing angel

(I made her wings out of carboard which I spray painted silver - I like how they glow in this picture)

A silly Baseball Player

Another silly baseball player

(didn't have any non-silly pictures of J. this Halloween!)

A Mouse

A silly mouse

A Princess

A pouting princess (I wouldn't let her have another piece of candy)

A silly princess

A tired princess

Happy Halloween!

Vail, Colorado, Part 2

2010-10-07T08:57:00.001-06:00

Finally a wrap up from our trip to Vail....

Carrie and Kailyn at the resort pool

Warming up in the hot tub with Papa

Jacob the fish....

Kailyn and Sophie -- it was a bit cold for swimming --- the little one's spent a lot of time wrapped up.

Sophie loved this thing! It was really springy and I was amazed at how she could get it moving!

Sisters! They had fun on the new equipment at this park.

Nana even got in the action on the cool things at the park. This thing made my stomach feel funny

Luke had a great time exploring

Taking a shot -- Jacob brought his basketball on the trip and was happy to have a chance to play

Score!

Jacob and I had fun taking action shots of one another on the court.

Giant, kid-friendly (and parent friendly) teeter-totter

The river in Vail

Nana and Sophia

The covered bridge and the clock tower in downtown Vail

Jacob, Hannah and Luke posing with the Ski Paratrooper

Gondola Ride up the mountain

Dad and Mom on the gondola

Luke, Mommy, Sophie and Jacob

A view from the top

At the top with my kiddos - it was breathtaking!

Beautiful Colorado!

Vail, Colorado, Part 1

2010-08-15T23:07:00.000-06:00

We traveled to Vail, CO for a week-long vacation in the mountains with Nana and Papa, Aunt Carrie and Kailyn. This is a view from our balcony. We stayed in Lion's Head Village at Vantage Point Condominiums. We had a beautiful view of the mountains and enjoyed watching the gondolas travel up the mountain. And watched the extreme mountain bikers and runners on the mountain.

Here's a view zoomed in on the chairlift. We waited all week to ride up to the top of the mountain. This time of year the gondolas only run on the weekend.

Pirateship Park

We spent two afternoons playing at this park -- it was unique and had a peaceful setting right along the river.

Hannah rocking on the little boat.

Jacob climbing on the funky crocodile.

Luke poking his head out the port hole.

It was fun to be together -- it had almost been a year since we saw everyone!

Aunt Carrie and Kailyn arrived on Monday. Sophia was eager to climb in Carrie's lap -- but wasn't very eager to smile for this picture.

Kailyn and Hannah didn't miss a beat -- they started playing together right away and played well together the whole time.

Betty Ford Alpine Gardens
We visited the gardens on my Mom's birthday before going out to dinner together. The gardens were gorgeous and there was a really fun park adjacent to the gardens where we stopped afterward.

These were my favorite flowers at the gardens!

Group shot at the little waterfall.

Sophia and I were pals at the garden so I have a lot of pictures of her by the scenery. She loved to find flowers laying on the ground to carry around because she knew that she couldn't pick the flowers.
It looks like she's pretty close to picking something in this picture.....

There was a old log cabin on the grounds of the gardens.

Dad and Mom at the gardens

Funky Tree at the gardens

There were cool rocks carved to look like birds. The kids (big and little) had fun climbing on them.

Mom and Carrie with the bird

Hannah and Kailyn on the bird

Some really cool park features I had never seen before....

Civilized teeter-totter for little ones

Luke really loved this park!

We had dinner out on the town and then stopped at this fountain on the way home. Sophie was fascinated.

Time to celebrate Mom's birthday with fresh strawberry pie!

and presents to open. It was fun to be with my mom on her birthday. That doesn't happen very often since we are so far away.

This blog entry is getting so long -- and so overdue that I've decided to call this "part 1" and post it tonight. More pics of our week in Vail to follow.

Storybook Island

2010-06-13T14:43:00.000-06:00

I volunteered to chaperone Hannah's school trip to Storybook Island in Rapid City at the end of the school year. It was a cold, rainy day - but the kids still had a lot of fun exploring the park. Our second stop was Dinosaur Park. The kids had fun climbing on Stegosaurs's back.

Here are some pictures of our time at Storybook Island

Silliness

2010-05-14T22:21:00.000-06:00

Silliness abounds at our house!

Dance Recital

2010-05-11T21:16:00.000-06:00

Hannah took dance lessons this year starting in October through the beginning of April from a friend of mine who does a wonderful job teaching children dance. She had 45 minutes of ballet and 15 minutes of tap every week. She loved it at the start but was ready to move on to soccer by the end of it.

Hannah after the recital posing for the camera

The last week of class they gave a recital. The teacher's mom made matching skirts for all the girls. They had fun during their performance. Here are some pictures of the evening....

Waiting on the sidelines -- ready for the recital

First number - tap dance (Hannah in back row)

Hannah spent a lot of time watching Kaylin for the moves (she's the girl in the front on the left)...see picture below -- it really shows her watching -- most of the girls had their eyes on Kaylin. She's been dancing for 3 years and she's in 3rd grade -- older than all of the girls in the class. It was good for the girls to have someone to follow because they may have been pretty lost without her.

The end of the tap number (change shoes for ballet numbers)

Ballet

Hannah's debut in the front row -- the older kids moved to the back for part of the ballet number

After the serious ballet number they did two fun dances -- here is Hannah "Bopping Until She Drops"

Taking a bow with her friends

As we were getting ready to go to the recital, Sophie wanted to wear a dance skirt too. After she put it on, she said, "I'm Barbie."

It's starting quite young for her! I guess having an older sister pushes those ideas along faster. We sat in the front row so the kids could see the dancers. Luke didn't move a muscle the whole time. He loves attending any kind of art performance -- musicals, concerts, dance recitals, etc. I think he will be a performer one day.

Posing for the crowd after they were finished -- some of the girls really got into the whole performance. Hannah was pretty shy for much of the performance.

I'm glad that Hannah had this experience, even if she decides never to take a dance class again in her life.

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T20:27:00.000-06:00

I was pampered on Mother's Day....

Pat made French toast for breakfast.

I got to go to Bible Study before church and Pat stayed home with the kids.

We took a nice leisurely walk from church to Dairy Queen for lunch - Mom's were given a free sundae for Mother's Day.

We worked in the garden all afternoon getting it ready to plant veggies -- hopefully this weekend!

They showered me with fun, interesting and thoughtful gifts -- marigolds to plant in the garden to keep the bugs off the tomatoes, a funky shirt, lots of yummy chocolate, lots of homemade art/cards (the kids were busy most of Saturday working on art for Mother's Day while Pat and I did projects around the house), and a chore card book from Jacob full of hilarious entries (ie. change Sophie's diaper, watch Luke, watch Sophie, wipe the table, lock the front door, clean the whole house, wipe Sophie's face, water the garden, pick up sticks, etc). And to top it off he told me that not only did I get help once with each of these chores, but each one got 5 slashes! Wow! This was an amazing gift especially coming from Jacob who tries to weasel his way out of any extra work around the house most of the time. He got the idea for giving these chore cards as a gift from a series of books he's been reading lately -- "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". I wasn't sure what I thought of the books -- but now I'm sold!

Easter Weekend

2010-05-10T14:51:00.001-06:00

Luke's first time on Annie! He was able to pet Annie on the nose without screaming, and so he got to take his first ride.

Hannah worked on balance this trip. This was her first ride using reigns and not holding on the saddle horn. She had fun with this and looks forward to our next visit so she can begin learning to turn the horse using reigns.

Decked out for Easter -- too sunny, Mom!

So we moved inside -- but now it's too dark and everyone is pictured out....oh well. You get the idea of what they looked like anyway.

We took the kids to a community-wide Easter egg hunt in Brookings the day before Easter. They each were in a different area by age. I stayed with Sophie and it was quite comical watching the 2 and under kids scramble for candy. Mostly it was parents telling their kids "grab some candy" as the kids were frozen with fear with so many kids around. Jacob and Hannah were on their own and Lois hunted with Luke. He froze when the time came to get candy. He doesn't like loud noises (marching bands, fire trucks in parades scare him) so it didn't surprise me to hear that he froze. Despite being overwhelmed at this egg hunt, the kids still came away from it with baskets overflowing with candy and toys. A day later they had a quieter, trickier hunt at Nana's. The Easter bunny did a great job hiding eggs all over the house - some way up high!

Fun on the Farm -- the three little ones had fun with the wagon. These pictures are precious to me.

We had a fun weekend on Nana's farm!

Little Helpers

2010-05-10T14:34:00.000-06:00

Sophie and Luke have been my helpers in the kitchen lately.

This past week they helped me make pizza crust.

Many hands make light work!

(Does this still hold true for little hands?!)

I think so!

She's Two!

2010-05-03T09:53:00.002-06:00

Sophia turned two on April 24th!

We celebrated her birthday at Reptile Gardens near Rapid City. The kids loved seeing all of the reptiles. It's a good deal -- you buy admission for the day and receive a seasonal pass to go back as many times between now and the end of November for free. We probably will head back sometime this summer when they have more of the outdoor shows going. It was too cold for the reptiles to be outside for most of the outdoor shows.

We had the neighbor girls, Stormy and Nina, over for Sophie's birthday celebration after we got back from Reptile Gardens. We had dinner,

cake (I made a butterfly cake this year) and then opened presents.

She loves her new doll from Aunt Carrie's family and was excited to have her own bike. After we gave her the tricycle, the party moved outside to try it out. She is quickly learning to steer it. She also figured out how to push it from behind up the slight hill in front of our house. She must have pushed it up the hill 15 times before tiring of it. She would push it up the hill and then get on and ride it back down.

Nana Haertel, Nana and Papa and our family all chipped in to get her a slide.

(Sorry for the poor quality picture --- I took it from the kitchen window through the screen)
It arrived a few days after her birthday. It has been a big hit with all of the kids!

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Cool High-Tech Kids

2010-02-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how "hi-tech" they are -- especially Sophia as she is holding her cell phone upside down. They were talking to monkeys, nana, papa, Jacob and Hannah - conversations I wish I would have recorded.

Haircuts for the Girls

2010-02-18T10:42:00.002-07:00

I have always cut Hannah's hair. It has turned out pretty well most of the time, but it was time for a professional cut to straighten things once and for all. And Sophia was due for a trim too. So I made appointments back to back for the girls to have their hair cut. Hannah was a willing participant and came away looking quite pretty. The stylist even curled her hair with a curling iron -- something I don't currently own. So that was a treat for her.

Sophia wasn't about to sit alone in the chair. I ended up holding a wiggly girl on my lap. The stylist was able to get the really long uneven part trimmed up in the back. She was nervous about cutting her with the scissors because she was so wiggly. So we stopped with that and will go back in a few weeks to try and do more. We didn't want it to be a bad experience. The stylist said that with wiggly kids she finds it gets better with each visit.

Even with our wiggly little girl, it was a fun experience for them both to have their hair cut and very inexpensive. The stylist didn't charge me for Sophie's cut and only charged me half-price for Hannah's. We'll definitely be going back there!

Through the Eyes of Luke

2010-02-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

Luke had fun taking pictures with my camera the other night. Here are the shots he took.....

Mommy being silly...

Not bad?

Swimming Together

2010-02-07T15:54:00.001-07:00

Lois stopped through on her way to Colorado for her annual ski trip last night and tonight. She stayed at the Motel 6 in town as we are short sleeping space right now (another post to follow about that).

The motel has a pool. So I brought the kids over to the pool before lunch to swim. They were so excited they even wanted to skip going to the library (one of their favorite things to do on Friday mornings).

Each of them had a different level of comfort in the water today -- Jacob was jumping in off the side, no life jacket, swimming the back stroke from one end of the pool to the other.

Hannah used a life jacket and would swim from one adult to the next (Pat also joined us for swimming.)

Luke sat on the little step and the water was just deep enough so he could splash his feet and kick.

Sophia walked around the outside of the pool getting closer little by little until she finally stuck her toe in the water near the ladder and I gently picked her up and brought in the water with me. She clung to me in fear and was ready to get back out and watch from the deck after a quick swim with Mommy.

It was so nice to have a break from the normal Friday routine and do something different. It's fun to watch the older kids begin to enjoy swimming. And we had four tired kids for the rest of the day.

Blue-eyed Bookworm

2010-01-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

Sophia loves books! Our little independent bugger has preferred reading all on her own lately. She loves to control the book and flip the pages at her own rate. She has started to say "No want to!" I can tell 2 is just around the corner with these words coming from her mouth.

Gotta love those blue eyes!

Belated Christmas Celebrations

2010-01-31T21:51:00.000-07:00

After being snowed in on the farm, we had several traditions to continue when we got home.....(it was sort of like the 12 days of Christmas for us this year)

First came the gift exchange from relatives afar (packages from Nana and Papa and Aunt Carrie's family were waiting for the kids when we arrived)....Thank you to all who sent gifts! We had quite the celebration! Here are a few pics of the kids opening/playing/modeling their new items....

And then our family gift exchange....(didn't get many pics on this day -- I think I was tired out from taking so many pictures earlier in the day of the kids opening the first round of presents - I neglected to take any pictures of Luke)

The next morning the kids opened their stockings (I sent Santa an e-mail to let him know what happened so he would know to come fill the stockings a little late ;-) )

Advent Lighting....(we lit our Advent candles every night at the dinner table for our centerpiece. So we ended up having to change out the original candles and replace them with gold)

Catching up on our Advent Calendar....putting baby Jesus on the scene....

and last but not least....A birthday party for Jesus (with the traditional Black Forest Cake) (never got a picture of the cake before we cut into it!)

Although things were not done on schedule, our holidays were still filled with hope, peace, love and joy! And Jesus' birth was celebrated by all!

The Christmas cookies are gone, the tree is down, and the lights are packed away for next year but Jesus is still living in our hearts and shining in all the dark places of our lives and we remember God's gift to us each day as we thank him for sending Jesus to earth.

Summer Rec in Hot Springs

2010-01-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Summer Rec is a wonderful program in Hot Springs! I had no idea what a small town would have to offer for the kids during the summer. I am very impressed with all the different options for the kids to choose from in the summer program. And the options just get better as the kids get older.

Hannah chose gymnastics and t-ball. She loved gymnastics and is excited to continue tumbling next summer.

She loved the social aspects of t-ball but wasn't very interested in playing the sport.

Jacob was involved with t-ball and swimming lessons. Next summer he will be able to try basketball and flag football! He will have a hard time choosing between those three sports! He hopes to take 3-4 sessions of swimming too. He passed level one and was very close to passing level two. It is so fun for me to watch him learn to swim as this is something that I spent my summers doing -- taking swim lessons and playing in the water all summer long!

Jacob, Hannah and Luke all participated in the summer reading program at the library. Ms. Dawn did an awesome job organizing this program. The theme was "Be Creative". She had interesting crafts and projects each week for the kids to do. They made puppets, instruments and masks. And they did finger painting, chalk drawing, and modeling with clay. Luke was a little hesitant to participate without Mommy. He was still 2 when the summer programs started. I think next year he will love being a part of the library program and taking gymnastics with Hannah. He loves to do somersaults in his bed at night. And he enjoyed tumbling on the mats they weren't using during Hannah's class.

Having all of these fun programs made the summer pass by so quickly! It helped organize our days and gave me little breaks throughout the week from having four kids under foot all the time.

Christmas in the Haertel Fashion

2009-12-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

Christmas wouldn't be complete without these following elements in the Haertel household....

Playing with the Nativity Set

Counting down the days until Christmas on the Advent Calendar

Lighting the Advent wreath together on Sunday evenings

(picture to come)

Playing in the snow

Decorating the Christmas tree -- no matter how small

Adorning the outside of our house with lights and greenery

(a new tradition this year)

Making cookies

Decorating cookies

Enjoying Choral Christmas performances (especially those in which the little Haertel's participate and this year watching Mommy sing in the Community Chorus)

Slurping candycanes

Taking a carriage ride at the Christmas in the Hills Craft Fair

(another new tradition)

A Snowy Christmas

2009-12-25T20:41:00.001-07:00

We came to visit Nana's farm for Christmas and we got snowed in and will be here through Christmas and a few days beyond that until we can get out of the driveway.

Doing an owl quiz on Nana's computer - a favorite activity with Nana

Yesterday all the kids ventured out in the snow and had their own sorts of fun. Jacob discovered the fun of diving head and hands first in the snow;

Sophia tasted the snow;

Luke went off to the hill to explore and

Hannah did a bit of each thing -- tasting, exploring and diving.

It was fun to watch them enjoy the snow. I made a snow angel and Sophia cried watching me flap in the snow. I tried to help her make her own angel but she wasn't a willing participant.

Luke tried to start a snowball fight with Sophia -- she wasn't interested in that either.....

Luke, Hannah and Sophia got a wooden train set from Uncle Mike

We had an early celebration with Uncle Tom

before he headed back to Michigan on Tuesday evening. I admire this man's patience with the kids. The three youngest spent a lot of time on his lap.

The kids in their New Zealand long underwear ;-)

The kids got New Zealand gifts from Lois this year as she had just spent 3 weeks hiking through New Zealand this fall.

Jacob was excited to get a remote control car from Uncle Mike

Santa Claus made an early visit to the farm to fill the stockings. We'll have to send him a letter to ask him to pay a trip to Hot Springs when we get back home.

Helping Sophia open her stocking

With the snow's arrival we were unable to get to a Christmas Eve service last night -- probably the first Christmas Eve service I've ever missed. We had a quiet evening here and the kids each had one more present from Nana to open. Today we've relaxed and stayed inside most of the day to stay warm. Jacob, Hannah, and I ventured out to the compost pile to check the snow depths for Pat (He traveled back to Hot Springs early because he was having trouble with allergies at the farm).

Silly Sophia with her first set of braided pigtails

So we are apart on Christmas and it is not the sort of Christmas I expected this year. But the kids are enjoying one another and have found interesting games and things to play with at Nana's. And I am enjoying the beauty of the snow falling outside and watching the kids play and enjoy their family.

Merry Christmas!

First Day of School

2009-12-09T13:33:00.001-07:00

Ready to start their first day of school.....

At the end of August, Hannah started Kindergarten and Jacob started second grade. They are attending Bethesda Lutheran School again this year and they are in the same classroom (K-2) with Mrs. Allen. Which is probably why Hannah's first day of Kindergarten was pretty uneventful. I didn't worry about her making it to school safely like I did for Jacob (he rode the bus his first day to Kindergarten and I was tempted to follow the bus to school to make sure he made it there safely). It's nice to be able to walk the kids to school. Hannah was familiar with the school having attended preschool there for the last 3 months of school. And it was nice for her to be in the same classroom as Jacob. Both Jacob and Hannah were happy to start school and they have enjoyed their friends and learning experience this year. There are 4 students in the second grade and 5 Kindergarteners in Hannah's class.

Here they are at their desks....

Luke has been attending the preschool at Bethesda two mornings a week. He has enjoyed time with friends and a chance to go to school. He also really loves music time with Mrs. Pucket (the school music teacher). He may stay home with me for the spring semester as he seems to be picking up some bad behaviors from school.

Here he is on his first day of preschool....

Cowboy Day

2009-12-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

The kids had different dress-up days for Homecoming week at school. Their favorite dress up day was Cowboy Day.

Here are our two adorable cowboys and our cute cowgirl ready for the rodeo -- I mean -- school. (Hats courtesy of Salvation Army in Rapid!)

4th of July Celebration

2009-12-09T13:12:00.001-07:00

Pat and I started the 4th with the Firecracker 5K. We hadn't run a road race since Jacob was a baby. We both had a good race -- Pat met his goal of finishing under 30 minutes and I finished second in my age bracket.

After the race we came back and made patriotic waffles - blueberries, strawberries and cream! Yummy!

We walked to the end of the street for the parade. The kids got a big bag full of candy that lasted until Halloween!

The night before we walked down to the fire station. Becky, my Locks of Love hair dresser, (who is also a volunteer firefighter) invited us to come see the firetrucks while they were washing them for the parade. Hannah and Jacob sat in several of the trucks and went inside the fire station and tried on their helmets. But Luke was terrified so he stayed out in the parking lot with Daddy and Sophie. It's funny because he wanted to be a firefighter for Halloween and also loves to play with his toy fire trucks. And next year he wants a firetruck birthday! The loud sirens are what does it for him because during the parade he backs up a half a block when the fire trucks and marching bands go by.

Becky and Jenny (sisters and volunteer firefighters) gave them all a plastic fire hat, coloring book, crayons, beads, smokey bear bandanna.

After lunch we watched the annual ducky race down the Fall River. They dropped over 700 ducks from a bridge up north. It was fun to watch them bob down the river from the footbridge down the street from us. It was one of the largest crowds I have ever seen at a public event since moving here. The crowds walked alongside the river following the ducks to the finish line. The kids had so much fun after the race going in the river to retrieve the ducks. Sophie and Luke helped on shore with the ducks that were thrown up to shore - gathering them for next year's race. The gave away several fancy prizes (jeep, flat screen tv, etc). The ducks were $5/piece. We didn't buy a duck this year but we may next year as it would be fun to cheer our duck on as it bobbed down the river to the finish line. I wish I would have brought my camera!!

We spent the evening with friends -- we had a picnic complete with s'mores and then watched the fireworks from their backyard.

Happy Birthday, America!

Locks of Love

2009-11-24T15:04:00.001-07:00

July 1st marks the date of the big chop -- I had a 10" long pony tail cut off to donate to Locks of Love (an organization that makes wigs for kids).

Before....

After.....

When I came home I went around to the backyard where the kids were playing in the sandbox. Luke told me to "put my ponytail back on" and when I told him I couldn't put it back on, he said "go inside". Evidently he was pretty upset that Mommy cut her hair. But they eventually got used to it and now they think pictures of me with longer hair don't look like Mommy. Funny how that works....

More than 4 months have passed and my cute, angled hair cut is in need of a refresher. Time to find a stylist to work her magic (the gal who cut my hair closed her salon as she took a job as a dispatcher).

Jacob's 7th Birthday

2009-11-08T14:27:00.018-07:00

This was the first year Jacob had a friend birthday party. Most years we are traveling and we celebrate with family. This year we were home from our vacation and Jacob thought it would be fun to have friends join him to celebrate. We thought if he invited 8-10 friends maybe half would come and we'd have a nice small group of kids to celebrate Jacob's birthday. Well it turned out that he invited 15 kids and most of them were able to attend and several came with their families and younger siblings. So we had over 30 people at his party!!

Our sports fanatic wanted a football party. Daddy planned the games (a football toss and football kick, etc) and I planned the foods, prizes, cake, etc. We found a football shaped pinata at Target and sports prizes (ball-shaped whistles, little squishy footballs, soccer balls, basketballs and baseballs).
The day of the party there was a big storm brewing. We hosted Jacob's party at the public park to accommodate all the guests he wanted to invite. As we arrived at the pavilion, dark clouds were forming to the west. The wind was picking up and the storm was heading right towards our party. We started some games as the guests arrived. But soon we had to take cover as it was thundering and lightening and things were blowing everywhere. We rode out the storm in our cars for a 1/2 hour and then resumed the party. Several of Jacob's friends had to leave in the midst of the storm. But there was still a good bunch of kids left after the storm passed. Pat started grilling and we were still able to do the pinata and the water balloons in the rain under the shelter of the pavilion.The kids got muddy and wet but everyone had a good time!
Especially Sophia - who found a mud puddle to stomp in and sit down in...
I made a football field cake. It turned out pretty cute! It was so windy that we couldn't keep the candles lit. As soon as the candles were lit, Jacob blew them out. So I didn't get a picture of him blowing his candles out.
Jacob received 5 footballs! He loves playing with all of them! He also got a lot of football/sports cards. He has so much fun memorizing the facts on all the players! Maybe someday he'll be a quarterback or a sports statistician?!

I was so glad to have the help of friends to keep things from blowing away, help serve food and clean up! I never would have managed a party of this size on my own. Next year we'll scale things down a bit....

Happy Birthday, Jacob!
We love you!!

Luke's Dinosaur Birthday

2009-11-08T14:11:00.004-07:00

We had the next door neighbors over for Luke's 3rd birthday (July 10). He requested a dinosaur cake. I found a cool book at the library and attempted to make a 3-D brontosaurus cake. The cake was too moist to hold together. So we improvised. Pat helped me design a T-Rex cake. It took 5 batches of homemade frosting to cover it -- mostly. There was still a bare spot on his back but I was tired of mixing up frosting to finish it. It still turned out cute despite the lack of frosting.

It took us 2 weeks to finish the cake! It was HUGE! (fork in bottom left corner for scale)
Luke had fun with his siblings and his friends and was a tired little boy at the end of the day.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!
We love you Luker!

Discovering the Southern Hills

2009-09-06T14:33:00.023-06:00

Angostura Reservoir

Only a 15 minute drive from our house we can swim, hike, bike and camp at Angostura State Park and Reservoir. It's a beautiful park! We've been swimming here and played at the beach. Jacob also participated in the summer nature programs once a month during the months of June, July and August. On those mornings I took the younger three to the beach while he had his program. We often had the whole beach to ourselves. It's beautiful sand and the water is pretty warm. Here are some pictures of our first visit to the Reservoir on the day they offered free admission to all South Dakota State Parks.
Pat made a whole family of sand ducks. And the kids all enjoyed playing in the sand. The water was a bit cold in May! We all waded in up to our knees.
We ended up picking up an annual pass when I started taking Jacob to his monthly nature program. We made a trip out to the reservoir while Lois was visiting over Labor Day weekend and the water level is down creating the world's largest beach to play on -- the kids loved that!

Angostura is also the location of the Southern Hills Triathlon which just took place earlier this month. I had my sights set on racing this year but didn't get in shape for the swimming portion. Hopefully next year I'll be able to compete!!

Coldbrook Reservoir
About three miles north of our house there is a lake that was built, and is maintained by the Army Corp of Engineers. It is a beautiful setting with red rocks and coniferous trees surrounding the lake. We took the kids here several times towards the end of the summer. We had been a few times earlier in the summer to swim and fish and there was quite a bit of riff-raff that hung out at the lake and so we decided to avoid it most of the summer. Sophie had fun watching the ducks at the lake.
The times we swam at the end of the summer were beautiful -- more families were at the beach and the water was a bit chilly but still nice for swimming. We will definitely have to swim here more next summer!
Mammoth Site One of the tourist attractions in Hot Springs is the Mammoth Site. Hannah chose to go to the Mammoth Site for her birthday activity. The whole family enjoyed it and we purchased a family membership so that we can go back a few more times before the end of this year. The kids were quiet and well behaved for the guided tour of the dig and they had fun exploring the artifacts in the museum after the tour. Their favorite was the house made out of mammoth skulls. Here they are exploring it.Custer State Park & Wind Cave National Park
Another treasure close by to us is Custer State Park . We love taking a drive up to the park and driving the Game Loop. We regularly see Buffalo, Pronghorn, Prairie Dogs, and Burros (they are so friendly you can reach your hand out to pet them.) And the awesome thing about heading up to Custer is that we start our scenic drive very early on as we drive through Wind Cave National Park on the way to Custer State Park. We often see more buffalo and pronghorn in the national park than on the Game Loop in Custer. I hope to eventually take the kids to Wind Cave -- but it will have to be when they get older and I can handle them alone because Pat is weary of going underground in a cave.

Hot Springs itself has the beautiful Fall River, a warm water river which runs through town, Evans Plunge, an indoor water park and four fun, silly and sweet kids to enjoy.

So come visit us in the beautiful Southern Hills of South Dakota!
We're working hard on creating a comfortable place for our guests to stay.

Princess Hannah Turns 5!

2009-08-30T09:13:00.020-06:00

We celebrated as princes and princesses on Hannah's 5th birthday!

Princess Hannah had a wonderful time with her family and friends - playing games, eating her favorite foods, and opening her presents.

It was a happy day for her!

I decorated our patio with pink, pink and more pink.
We played princess games --
they made jewelry out of candy (licorice, life savers and peach and watermelon rings)
Sophia couldn't make candy necklaces -- but she enjoyed eating them!They played "Pass the Present"- when the music stopped whoever had the package in their hands got to unwrap one layer of paper. There were several layers on each prize. We couldn't get the CD player I bought to work before the party so we had live music by Pat...

Stormy loved her bubble prize!
They made tiarras and crowns
They played pin the kiss on the frog (Pat and Jacob made the frog for the game!)
and I read the story "The Princess and the Pea" to the guests and everyone took a turn guessing how many dried peas were in the jar (it took forever to count the dried peas -- I started out with a small jelly jar and ended up moving them to a smaller spice jar -- It took me 20 minutes to count out 777 dried peas!) No one came close to guessing the right amount. The closest guess was in the 200s. ;-)
We had some of Hannah's favorite foods -- hotdogs, canned pineapple, pickles, marachino cherries, kiwis and chips

And finished with a castle cake
and presents!
It was a lovely afternoon and evening! The kids enjoyed one another and Pat and I enjoyed visiting with our friends Valerie and Tracy.
Happy 5th Birthday Hannah!
We love you!

Wild Horse Sanctuary Field Trip

2009-07-16T07:14:00.018-06:00

At the beginning of May, I chaperoned Hannah and Jacob's school field trip to the Wild Horse Sanctuary. We rode in a school bus through the fields and on gravel roads to see the horses and several other points of interest. It was an exciting and memorable tour. I'm glad I volunteered to chaperon! It was also fun to get to know their classmates and share this adventure with Jacob and Hannah.

Our first stop was to see a group of fillies. At the beginning of the tour, I never imagined we were going to get out of the bus and actually be able to pet the horses.

We got pretty close to a herd of horses (fillies that were about 2 years old)

We were even able to pet them!

More pictures of the first herd we saw - they were sweet and quite docile

Jacob and Hannah at one of the points of interest -- overlooking the canyonPetra glyphs
Cliff Swallow Nests

A view of the Cheyenne River (flows through the property)
We saw several of these Star Lillies
A view from the bus window (not too bad...)

Beautiful Terrain

Sweat Lodge (Sundance Festival held here annually)

This land is very sacred to the Native Americans and so they have made an agreement with the owner to use the land for some of their ceremonies.
Sundance Pole

Happy Birthday Sophia!

2009-06-07T21:18:00.011-06:00

Sophia turned one on the 24th of April.

As a mother of four it takes a little longer for news to get reported :-)

Here are the highlights of our celebration:
a ladybug for our little lady
opening presents
help from big sister
looking at her cake
the first grab....
digging in...
All done!

We're trying something new...

2009-04-20T21:13:00.005-06:00

Soccer

I have officially adopted the role as soccer mom and I'm not so sure it's a keeper. The kids seem to enjoy the sport so far but it's wearing me out to be at the soccer fields four days a week for practice and a game on Saturdays (Jacob). Luckily it's a short season! And so far the Saturday games have been rained/snowed out. Jacob has a game scheduled tomorrow. Although it looks like we have rain in our forecast again....
Here are the newest recruits on the Hot Springs Soccer League.....
The day they got their soccer socks in the mail they both were eager to try them on with their chin guards and kick the ball around the front yard.

Let's go fly a kite!

2009-04-20T21:09:00.008-06:00

Yesterday was a perfect day to fly a kite!

We rode our bikes up to the park after naps and took Jacob's kite along which he got in his Easter basket.

I never thought a $1 Walmart find would work so well!!
Pat did a great job getting it started and the kids all had fun taking turns flying it.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-20T20:48:00.019-06:00

After what seemed to be a quick Lenten journey this year (our days have been packed with soccer, school, Bible studies, home remodeling, yardwork, etc. and it feels like the time since we moved here has flown by)--- the kids had several days of Easter fun.....

Wednesday a package arrived for the kids. Here they are opening it and finding all the neat treasures tucked inside... (THANK YOU NANA and PAPA!)a new visor and swimsuit
a Lebron James t-shirta new book! a truck outfit!Jacob and Hannah quickly got to work on their new books from Nana and Papa.
We dyed Easter eggs on Friday during Sophie's morning nap....in hopes of a less-chaotic time for Mommy. It ended up being quite fun and Pat even took a break from his computer to dye an egg with us.
I love how colorful they are all lined up together!
Saturday we went to the community Easter egg hunt -- a quick but fun event! The eggs were lying all over the grass at the State Veterans Home and they had the kids divided into areas based on their ages. The person in charge of the hunt did a countdown to start the hunt and on the count of one there was a mad dash for the eggs -- a bit chaotic and not my idea of a hunt but the kids had fun. Here they are with the baskets we decorated. There is a neat thrift store in town called "Community Action" that is donation based. We found these wicker baskets at the store and I got Easter ribbon and a trusty glue gun to decorate them. It was a fun project to do together.
On Sunday we went to the sunrise Easter service at church and had breakfast at church following the service. We took a few pics in our Easter finest...And then changed into our comfy clothes and hopped in the car to head up to Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park. We drove the game loop through Custer and saw several herds of buffalo, pronghorn, mule deer, and burros. Many of the female animals were looking quite full with child. It will be fun to go up there in a month or so and see the babies. It was a beautiful ride and we are so blessed to be so close to these parks. We're excited to explore them more this summer!
After naps on Sunday we had a more challenging Easter egg hunt for the kids. Pat and I had fun hiding the eggs while the big kids were out for a walk with Nana.
I can't reach that sneaky egg!
I cooked Easter dinner (the traditional ham, potatos, green beans, etc) -- and had fun trying out a few new recipes (cabbage salad and coconut cake). It was yummy and the leftovers the next day were even better. Hannah had fun designing fancy napkin rings for our Easter dinner as one of her school projects for the week. She is becoming quite crafty! A fun thing to share with her.
Sophia's 1st Easter

What we've been up to.....

2009-04-03T22:17:00.008-06:00

Learning Letters (every afternoon during the week I work with Hannah on learning her letters). A few weeks ago we did the letter R and spent a day talking about rainbows. The kids were home for a snow day so we all had fun making this rainbow cake together -- and even more fun eating it!)

Climbing Trees (Jacob and Hannah made it up in the tree in our backyard last weekend while I was out bundling brush. They both had fun being up high -- Hannah needed help down which jogged my memory of a few times I called for my Dad to help me down from the neighbors tree)
Getting Ready for Easter (we made fancy Easter eggs to decorate our house for Easter -- can you guess who made each one?)

what happened to 75 degrees and sunny.....?

2009-03-25T13:46:00.011-06:00

Saturday and Sunday we played outside in shorts and t-shirts. I accomplished a lot of raking (trying to get things cleaned up before the snow hit) and Pat installed a new gutter on the front of the house so all that snow/rain wouldn't be draining into our foundation. I'm so thankful we had such a beautiful weekend to work and play outside. The kids helped pick up sticks and rocks and also had lots of fun playing together.

Monday winter returned and we now have 8 inches of snow on the ground! It's not time to pack away those winter hats and gloves just yet.

We had fun outside in the snow (kids never tire of snow -- and neither does Pat for that matter) -- we had snowball fights; we built a snowman, we bundled up Sophia and let her experience the snow; and the big kids painted the snow with squirt bottles filled with colored water. Thank goodness for Family Dollar -- $3 well spent! (And thank you Christy (our neighbor in Connecticut) for this great idea!)(a close-up of the painted snow)

11 months

2009-03-25T13:34:00.009-06:00

Time for another update on Sophia - it seems like just a few days ago I was posting her 10 month update -- I was a little behind in giving that update. Yesterday she turned 11 months -- I can't believe it's only one month until she's a year! This year has really gone fast!!

I attempted to take a few pictures yesterday to capture her 11 month birthday -- but she tried escaping from me again! She really wanted to get outside to see what her big brothers and sister were up to in the snow.
I did manage to get a few pictures....
Her latest record on steps taken is 9! She did this yesterday for Daddy. She gets so excited when she starts to walk -- she makes a sniffle noise and waves her arms up and down. It's pretty cute.(sorry the top of her head is cut off -- Hannah was playing photographer as I was holding out my hands to get her to walk to me)

She loves to give kisses -- she was kissing her Valentine's Day dog right before I took this picture of her. When she kisses she makes the "mmmmmmaaaa" sound but doesn't smack her lips. It's pretty cute!
She is adored by her big sister!
She has started saying "all done" when she's finished eating and "night-night" when I lay her down for naps and at night. She loves to play ball and is also saying ball and roll.
What a lovable little girl God has given us!

St. Patty's Day

2009-03-18T14:51:00.010-06:00

Here are some highlights from St. Patty's Day at our house....

Decked out in Green
Fun Lepruchan Hats (Luke and Hannah made them at story time at the library)
Shamrock Cut-out cookies
A Green-Faced Baby
Yummy Corned Beef and Cabbage
Happy St. Patrick's Day

Buddies

2009-03-16T20:41:00.006-06:00

Pat and I were just discussing the other night how thankful we are that our kids are good buddies with each other (it has made our transitions over the past year a lot smoother!) Recently Hannah and Luke have done quite a bit together. And Jacob has spent quite a bit of time reading to Sophia. But the neat thing about their relationships with each other so far -- is that they don't seem to play favorites or exclude one another. It just seems to happen pretty naturally that they spend time with different siblings -- and they find different things to do together -- read, wrestle, craft projects, ride bikes, play basketball, eat snacks, etc. I hope these friendships continue to blossom and develop with time.

Sophia's 10 month report

2009-03-16T10:09:00.015-06:00

I have teeth! (four to be exact -- two on top and two on bottom) I love to crunch graham crackers with my teeth!

I can stand!

Sophia loves to practice standing and has even taken a few steps (she may be our earliest walker). Her older siblings are very encouraging and they love to watch her accomplish new things. We sing "Be Strong in the Lord" when she stands on her own and she smiles with her big, wide toothy grin.
I sampled dirt today
I decided it's yucky
Luckily Mommy had my Klean Kanteen bottle nearby to wash down the bad taste :)
(We just bought these stainless steel sippy cups -- No more bad plastic-tasting milk!)

And I don't like to cooperate for photos with Mommy (Hannah tried so hard to get a good picture of us together After 5 tries this was our best shot! -- first a truck went by, then Luke started running circles around us, then she heard some sirens, then she saw a shiny stone to crawl after and then another car went by -- this girl doesn't miss a beat! )
Here she is checking out the shiny stone

This lack of cooperation for photos runs in the family.....

Our New House

2009-02-28T15:57:00.009-07:00

We began our search for a house in the west in October of 2008. We explored several communities in the Black Hills. Pat took several trips out alone to look at houses and we did a few family trips too. One of our family trips was to Hot Springs the week after Christmas. It was our first time exploring Hot Springs and Pat had found this particular house for sale by owner on craigslist. We made an appointment to see it and ended up looking at two other houses that weekend in town for comparison. My original impression of this house was "it's a shack! There's no way that I'm going to live there!" Pretty ironic -- huh!? Now I'm living in "the shack"! We returned from our trip that weekend and decided we liked Hot Springs but none of the houses were suitable for our family. After a few more unsuccessful weekends of house hunting in the Black Hills, Pat returned to Hot Springs again and took a second look at this house and a few others. The second time Pat saw this house he saw some potential in it. The renter was gone and he was able to take a more thorough look around and starting making plans for how we could fix this place up. It needs a lot of work -- but with a little paint and sanding/refinishing (it has hardwood floors throughout the main living area)-- we could make it livable and actually a nice home for our family. So we decided to make an offer -- and they accepted it. The next week we bought the house. The original plan was to live with Pat's mom and go out on weekends to fix it up. But Pat was much healthier in Hot Springs than at his mom's so we ended up moving earlier. So we're living here as we fix it up.

White picket fence -- encloses the front yard -- we're going to replace this eventually - it's pretty rickety. The renter who lived here prior to us put this up to keep his dogs in the yard. We want to fence a larger portion of the yard - so the kids have more safe areas to play. One of the original owners of the house planted a lot of trees - crab apple (can't wait until spring to see them bloom!), apple and several others. The man and woman who lived here are still living . They lived in this house for about 40 years and planted all the trees in the yard. There was recently an article in the local paper talking about Ben - the man who lived here. He just turned 104 years old and they talked about him being the Johnny Appleseed of Hot Springs because he planted so many trees throughout the town. It's neat for us to think about the couple that lived here and now our family has a chance to revive this house which was a rental for the past 4 years or so and wasn't kept up well.
We have a one car detached garage -- nice brick building that has a chimney for a wood-burning stove - we're not using it for a car - but to store things right now. We're thinking about converting it into a play room/guest quarters - and possibly adding a bathroom here. So there would be room for family and friends to come stay. We also have ideas about adding another bedroom on to the back of the house and making a separate office area for Pat. Currently he's working in the little nook off the kitchen until our bedroom is complete - and then he'll move his office in there. We'd also like to refinish the basement for more area to play.....and the list goes on!
The first project....(on a list of 100+ things to fix :-) )
repainting our bedroom
The windows and trim in our bedroom were painted an ugly orange. I am in the midst of priming (I have to put 3 coats on to cover it) it and getting ready to paint it white. The walls are going to be bone white (sort of a creamy white). It's amazing how a little paint can change things! I am planning to do the same scheme throughout the whole house to brighten it up and neutralize it a bit. Pat will be refinishing the floors after I finish painting. It will be nice to have our bedroom done so we can have more space in the living room. Currently our bed is out in the living room and we use it as a couch/daybed during the day.

So there it is -- our fixer-upper! I'm sure there will be many more posts to follow as we make improvements on our house -- so stay posted!

Saying Goodbye & New Beginnings

2009-02-28T14:29:00.006-07:00

Hannah had a wonderful preschool to attend (Volga Christian Preschool) while we were living with Lois. She attended 2 mornings a week and loved her teachers and classmates. I thought it would be hard for Hannah to say goodbye to her friends and teachers on her last day of school. But she had a great outlook -- she told her teachers -- "I'll meet new friends at my new school".

I took a picture of Hannah with her teachers and her friend Marika on the playground her last day of school.
I am thankful for her teachers and the friends she made. She always came home from school cheerful and happy to share with us what she had learned in school. She made great progress on writing her letters and has a love for school thanks to Miss Stewart and Mrs. Algood.

Jacob's goodbye was a bit harder -- he was sad to leave his classmates and move on to another school. He really enjoyed Sioux Valley School -- playing on the playground, the AR reading program, Physical Education and his teacher, Mrs. Vostad. On his last day of school, each of his classmates made him a goodbye card. He enjoyed reading the cards over and over again on our trip out west. Jacob was well liked by his classmates and he misses them. I'm thankful for Jacob's time at Sioux Valley and for all he learned in Mrs. Vostad's classroom.
Here is a picture of Jacob on his last day with Mrs. Vostad....
A New School for Hannah and Jacob -- Bethesda Lutheran School
After touring both the public school and Bethesda, we decided to send Hannah and Jacob to the Lutheran School. It's a small school and they are both getting a lot of attention as the small class sizes can allow more individualized instruction. Hannah and Jacob have both made new friends and it helps being at the same school - they have recess together every morning. Jacob was excited to find out that Hot Springs only has school 4 days a week. They enjoy a nice long 3-day weekend. And he has Phys. Ed. every day! It's also much nicer for Jacob and Hannah to be able to walk to school. The long bus rides to Volga made for a long day for Jacob. Hannah is attending preschool 4 days a week - a nice break for me and Hannah was ready for more time away from home. Tomorrow they are singing at the Bethesda Lutheran Church service for school. The church supports the school and they sing at church about 4 times a year. It will be fun to hear them sing.

Line Dancing

2009-02-28T14:15:00.007-07:00

One of the highlights of my time on the farm this past 6 months was line dancing with the ladies at the community center in Brookings twice a week. Lois had been dancing regularly with this group and invited me to join her. I had dabbled a bit with line dancing during college with my sister at a country line dancing bar. But hadn't hit the dance floor since then. It was a fun outlet and good exercise. I brought Luke and Sophia with me every week and they played while we danced. We took some pictures the last time at line dancing before we moved west.

Here we are posing....
And one with the kids....

Potty Success

2009-02-28T14:06:00.003-07:00

After 4-1/2 years of having two kids in diapers, we are happy to announce Luke's latest accomplishment -- he's wearing big boy underwear! It is so nice to have only one messy bottom to clean-up throughout the day and think of the money we'll be saving not having to buy diapers for two anymore!

Here he is standing proud with his potty chart.
Luke's greatest motivator for keeping his pants clean this past week was being able to watch his Bob the Builder DVD. Prior to that positive affirmation was the #1 motivator. He loved to hear us cheer after he had a successful trip to the bathroom.
Yeah for Luker!

ski race

2009-02-12T13:47:00.011-07:00

A few weeks ago we were supposed to compete in a ski race at Oakwood State Park with Jacob and Hannah. Pat and I were both feeling sick the day of the race. So we had an impromptu ski race at the farm. I made racing numbers for the kids and pinned them to their coats and Lois made a race track for the kids. I was the official time keeper and photographer and Lois raced with the kids. Here they are getting ready to race....

And they're off...
The Home Stretch
Jacob won the race! And Hannah made it around the whole track without falling!
They are becoming great skiers!

Cinderella meets the Prince

2009-01-27T19:58:00.005-07:00

Hannah has been into Cinderella lately -- she checked out several Cinderella books from the library last week, watched the movie on Saturday (with her brothers) and pulled out the Cinderella dress from the dress-up box (which I found at the goodwill in CT). She says she is going to be Cinderella for Halloween -- she's got plans.
After dressing up in her Cinderella dress, she pulled out the tuxedo and asked Luke to wear it (we have the tuxedo from when Jacob was the ring bearer for Aunt Carrie and Uncle Frank's wedding - it has become part of our dress-up box) so they could dance together at the ball. Luke warmed up to the idea eventually - after dressing up as Superman and Tigger and being asked probably close to 100 times by Hannah if he would dress up and dance with her. Persistence is not something she needs to learn. ;-) Luke calls his outfit "church". They were very charming.

(Notice Hannah's new hair cut -- I was giving Luke a haircut on Friday and she wanted one too -- mostly because she knew that there would be a treat following her haircut (she's a sucker for chocolate like me). When I started to cut her hair she said she wanted it short -- so this is what we ended up with -- pretty cute! And much easier to comb in the morning. But as I was going back and uploading photos of the kids tonight I saw some pictures of Hannah's long hair -- and was a little sad not to be able to put it in pigtails and braids.)

Sophia's antics at 9 months

2009-01-27T19:52:00.005-07:00

Sophia can pull herself up on everything and anything - stairs, playpen, pant legs. And she is cruising a bit. I'm predicting this girl is going to walk earlier than the other kids. She is determined.
She loves to find any source of paper to chew on -- even the paper waiting to be recycled. Sophia is really motoring around now. She can make it down the hall and into Pat's office in 20 seconds in hopes of a quick taste of Daddy's important papers.
She is very huggable.
Sophia loves to go sledding -- she giggled the whole way down the hill each time today in her little sled.
Today she started waving hello and goodbye when we were outside sledding.
She has learned to say baby and knows what it means. Tonight she picked up Hannah's baby doll and said "baby" very clearly.
And she is still Hannah's guinea pig for fashion.

A Blizzard Survival Guide

2009-01-12T20:13:00.005-07:00

1. Make sure there is enough ice cream in the house (Lois drove into town this morning to stock up before the blizzard hit).
2. Start the morning off right with a candlelit breakfast (Luke's suggestion) -- with eggs, french toast, and bacon.
3. Have fun dressing alike.4. Make fudge together, being sure to test it several times in the process to ensure the right consistency.5. Brave the elements and take the kids sledding and out to play in the giant drifts in the backyard.
6. Take several expeditions outside to the end of the driveway to see how the drifts are forming across the driveway. (Lois and Pat both took turns doing this.)
7. Follow the storm on NOAA's weather page. (Daddy's idea of fun. Jacob even got into this today.)
8. Dream of warmer weather as you search for houses in warmer places.
9. Watch the neighbor bring a new bale of hay for the horses and then shoot the breeze over a cup of coffee after his work is done.
10. Ride scooters and ride on toys in the basement. Play hockey with cardboard tubes and a small ball on the basement floor. Play a game of indoor PIG with a mini basketball hoop.
11. Chase the baby around the house as she tries to get into everything -- plants, magazines, moon sand, etc.
12. Make a dent in the big pile of laundry.
13. Read lots of books!
14. Play Sorry -- multiple times.
15. Write a blog entry about how to survive a blizzard.

Christmas Memories 2008

2009-01-03T20:04:00.026-07:00

A Snowy Christmas

We definitely had a white Christmas this year.....18 inches of snow on the ground!
The kids have been enjoying the massive piles of snow in the back yard.
It looks like we lost Hannah to this pile of snow....
Lots of shoveling to be done....
The snow is quite beautiful on the trees. Here's my attempt at capturing it's beauty...
Uncle Tom and Mike arrived in time for Lois' birthday on the 16th. I cooked and baked for her dinner meal.
A few days later the kids and Pat participated in the church Christmas pageant. It was snowed out on the original date but we were able to make the rescheduled date. And Mike and Tom were able to see it too.Hannah was an angel. Jacob was a shepherd.
Luke was a sheep.
And Pat was a wise man.
They did a wonderful job!

We worshiped at Lois' church for Christmas Eve -- a beautiful service -- which opened with a brass choir and we sang the Holden Evening Prayer liturgy -- one of my favorite liturgies and ended with spreading Christ's light through the sanctuary as we held candles and sang Silent Night. Hannah and Jacob both held their own candles this year.
Luke's new farm set

After church we had dinner and opened gifts. We enjoyed the evening together -- the kids were anxious to open their presents. It was a bit of a frenzy -- trying to take in all the things people were opening. It all happens so quickly. I end up having to process the chaos later on...blogging is good for that. :-)
Jacob working on his new calendar

Santa paid a visit and filled the stockings which the kids opened Christmas morning. He brought a puppet kit for each child to make. They had fun putting their puppets together and using Hannah's new puppet theater to put on a puppet show.
Sophia had fun tasting the paper on all of her gifts!

It's always fun for the kids to have Uncle Tom and Uncle Mike around for the holidays.
Hannah especially enjoyed Uncle Tom this year -- we started calling her "Hannah the Barnacle" because she became a permanent fixture on Uncle Tom's lap. She was his shadow for the entire week he was visiting. Tom has tremendous patience in dealing with children and I think he enjoyed the attention -- most of the time. :-)
Uncle Mike had fun playing Sorry with Jacob, Hannah and Luke
A present from Uncle Mike to Jacob

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

She's crawling....

2009-01-03T19:40:00.006-07:00

The frustrating moments of trying to move forward have ended -- Sophia started crawling a few days ago -- and it didn't take long for her to pick up speed!

Aunt Aimee and Uncle Ken gave her this butterfly that rolls and plays music. She loves crawling after it all over the house. She loves exploring new areas in the house and chasing her brothers and sister around.
Our content little girl
8 months old

Visit to Ohio

2008-12-19T08:34:00.012-07:00

We spent a week in Ohio while Pat was out in Connecticut for a work related trip to Yale and we had an early Christmas with my family. I'm so glad we were able to visit. The kids had fun exchanging presents with one another. Sophia was most interested in the wrapping paper.

Mom, Carrie and I baked cookies together and we had lots of help.

Sophia had a bit of stranger anxiety the first day but soon warmed up to everyone the second day. And she let several people give her bottles and hold her. Sophia learned to clap and got lots of practice in the crawling position. She has taken a few "steps" forward in crawling since we've been home. It won't be long before we're chasing her around ;-)
Hannah soaked up her time with Papa every chance she could!

Here's a cute picture of Kailyn and Carrie -- don't they look alike?

Playtime

2008-11-28T19:57:00.006-07:00

Lately dress-up, hide 'n seek and monster (Pat chases the kids around and pretends that he's going to eat them and they in turn try to tackle him to the ground -- a very physical game that I tried playing tonight and found out that it's a better game for Daddy to lead) are the favorites for the kids.

(check out Sophie's expression in this one --- she wasn't too sure what to make of Superman and Batman - especially with those funny glasses on Luke!)
Reading is also a favorite -- and it's fun to have Jacob read to the younger kids!

Never a dull moment for this little girl.....
No wonder she's so easy-going and happy.

All I want for Christmas is.....

2008-11-28T19:49:00.001-07:00

My two front teeth!

Snowy Fun!

2008-11-25T12:59:00.007-07:00

After dressing Sophia up in her snowsuit before our family walk yesterday, Pat and I looked adoringly at her -- she looked so cute all bundled up to go outside. So after our walk, we took a few pictures. She wouldn't smile for us -- and usually she's pretty quick to smile. She just laid on the ground as still as could be. Or maybe she can't move in that thing?!

Pearl came up and gave her a smack! She liked that :-)
Luke wanted to lay down in the snow too for his picture -- but forgot he didn't have his snow pants on! A cold, wet bottom!
So I took some pictures of him standing up and he was a ham for the camera.
He also wanted his picture taken with the dogs. Here he is hugging Selah....

Sweet Moments to Remember

2008-11-17T19:48:00.004-07:00

Sophia is sitting up on her own!

Luke loves his baby sister - he even asked to hold her during church on Sunday -- a great distraction for him -- he was so well behaved with this responsibility and honor. And he leaned over while he was holding her and asked me to take their picture. Lately he has loved posing for pictures with her.

Sophia is 6 months!

2008-11-03T13:23:00.008-07:00

It's hard to believe that Sophia is a half year old already! Sophie has grown a lot since we moved to South Dakota -- she's nearly 19 lbs! There is lots to love when you pick her up :-) I love her rolls. It reminds me of my baby pictures....
She is such an easy-going baby -- quick to giggle and she loves watching her big brothers and sister play.
Hannah continues to be a big helper with Sophia. Her newest task has been helping to feed her bottles. She also likes to help pick out her clothes (she often tries to match their outfits).
Sophie loves her exersaucer, playing in the playpen, being outside, rolling on the floor to try and reach the big-kid toys and getting stuck along the way (she has learned to push herself backwards across the hardwood floors on her tummy but often gets stuck on table or chair legs). Each new phase brings fun and exciting changes and I'm so glad that I get to be a part of each milestone.

Fall on the Farm

2008-11-03T13:08:00.017-07:00

Here is what we've been doing this fall.....

Riding our new bikes

Playing cowboy
Twirling in the leaves
Football
Enjoying the beauty of the fall colors on the farm Building snow bunnies
Feeling the leaves crinkle under our bare feet
Celebrating birthdays
Watching a beautiful sunrise

Trick-or-Treating and Pumpkin Carving

2008-11-03T12:53:00.006-07:00

The kids each got to pick out a pumpkin at a local farm. They chose the designs for their pumpkins and we carved them. Luke wanted a funny face. Jacob designed his own face and Hannah wanted an owl.
The kids had fun trick-or-treating in Bruce (the small town closest to the farm). We went to all the houses that had lights on and the kids came home with loaded pumpkin baskets. Luke was a good sport tromping all through town and keeping up with Hannah and Jacob. He didn't want to go home. At one house a women (grandma-aged) welcomed them inside and took their picture (small town living at it's best!).

Here they are ready to go....
And here are Luke, Sophie and Hannah before the Halloween party earlier in the week.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Party

2008-10-29T08:34:00.004-06:00

Batman, Raggedy Ann, Tigger and Kitty Cat (aka Jacob, Hannah, Luke and Sophia) had fun at the Mom's Club Halloween Party.
The kids marched in a parade around the gym - lots of cute costumes! (there's Batman and Raggedy Ann in the back...)

Hannah and I had fun putting her costume together this week. I found this dress at a thrift store a few years back when we were living in Grand Forks for 25 cents! The kids have used it for dress up several times. This year we turned it into a Raggedy Ann Costume. Lois had an old red felt hat sitting around. I cut the brim off the hat and Hannah and I worked together to glue the red yarn to it. Homemade costumes are so much fun!

More to come after trick-or-treating on Friday

Summer Vacation Recap

2008-08-17T18:22:00.044-06:00

Highlights from our 5-week loop of the Midwest

Pennsylvania
We stopped for one evening and part of a day in Pennsylvania to visit Kathy and Derek's family. (Pat's friends from graduate school) Our kids had fun playing with their kids. Cullen introduced Jacob to Monopoly and they played for hours (literally) with small breaks for things like eating, swinging on the swings, and playing in the sandbox. It was fun for Jacob to have a playmate that was equally competitive and intense as he is.
Ohio - 1st time
So when we arrived in Ohio he ran to check if Nana and Papa had a Monopoly game. They did and he convinced his first opponent to play....
Our first stop in Ohio was only for a few days -- we had a picnic with family the first night and the kids got to play with their cousins.Pat, Jacob and Ken had fun on the court And lollipops and watermelon were a hit!
Illinois
We stopped at Uncle Tom Haertel's on the way to South Dakota. He had fun watching the kids play, reading them stories and laughing at Pat's antics to get four kids to smile for a picture.
South Dakota
Originally our summer travel plans included a 2 week trip to Michigan and Ohio. But we extended our vacation and made it a working trip for Pat. He was having trouble with allergies in Connecticut so we figured it might make sense to pack up his computer and hit the road for a while to see if he could feel better elsewhere. The only place he didn't have allergies was western South Dakota (more to come on that in another post). But we made the best of our time and did fun stuff with family.
The wildflowers were in bloom while we were visiting and Pat and I had a chance to take a walk together alone on the farm. And a second time with the big kids in search of this beauty....
We stayed at Nana's farm for about 2 weeks. We enjoyed fresh strawberries from the garden. The kids had fun helping Nana in the garden. Jacob discovered another new game - with a wiffle ball and two baskets. Nana set up a basketball hoop to shoot hoops on so he had his necessary sporting outlets. ;-)
And Luke had his goofy outlets....
We went to McCrory Gardens in Brookings -- the kids had fun climbing the willow trees.

Hannah rode Annie every chance she got. Nana had been training Donner to pony Annie and Hannah got to ride behind Nana's horse on Annie a few times.
Fourth of July on the Farm -- Nana made her traditional flag cake - and we watched the fireworks on tv as the local display wasn't until 10:30 pm -- too late for our kiddos.
Our Patriotic Boy waiting for his piece of cake!
We celebrated Luke's 2nd birthday while we were on the farm with a truck birthday! He was thrilled to open all of his truck presents. Here he is playing with his new stash of trucks.
I couldn't believe that a two-year-old would stop to "read" his cards...But that's Luke -- Mr. Mellow -- A pretty special guy. Happy Birthday Luke!!
I had fun dressing Sophia up in cute hats!
We swam most afternoons at Oakwood Lake -- a state park near Lois' farm.
Pat and I attended his 20th Highschool class reunion -- Sophia was awesome in taking her first bottle and was a good baby for Nana when she babysat for her and the other kiddos.
Western South Dakota
Then we headed to the Black Hills for a little get-away with just our family. We explored Rapid City a bit while Pat met with a scientist at the School of Mines. We ate breakfast at Dinosaur Park and the kids had fun climbing on the dinosaurs.
Sophia's 1st camping trip
We had fun camping two nights -- in the Badlands on the way to the Black Hills and then a night at Wind Cave National Park near Custer State Park. We drove the game loop (we saw the domesticated burros -- I actually was able to pet one on my side of the car and this one that is pictured here tried to take a nibble of Luke's pretzel rod - a bit traumatic for him. And we also saw a lot of bison, pronghorn and prairie dogs) the next morning and then headed back east the next day. We had one more night of camping in Minnesota on the way to Crivitz, Wisconsin.

Wisconsin
We ended up staying three nights in the primitive cabins in Wisconsin. We had one good day of swimming at Newton Lake. The kids took kayak rides in the mornings with Nana to go birding and look for other wildlife on the river. Pat took Jacob and Hannah fishing. This year Jacob was actually excited about fishing -- his interests have changed a bit -- he has become quite the sportsman - no matter the sport. He wants to be out there doing it. Hannah loved fishing again for the second year! We picked wild blueberries which we ate on oatmeal in the mornings. And Mike and Pat had a jam session one night -- Luke was especially enthralled watching them play their guitars.

MichiganNext we headed to Lake Michigan for a week at Camp Arcadia. We enjoyed the morning lectures (it was music week at camp). The big kids had fun at their morning programs. Jacob graduated from the Ark to the big kids program. Hannah enjoyed another year at the Ark. Luke didn't care too much for the nursery at camp. He sat very quietly on our laps and enjoyed the music lectures too. I think we may have a musician in the making.

Here's Mr. Mellow chillin' by the lake We made it to the beach most days and we celebrated Hannah and Jacob's birthdays with family.
Hannah and Uncle Mike playing the Memory Game (a gift from Uncle Mike)
Here's Hannah with her new pink horsey raincoat and rain boots from Nana
Jacob received a laptop from Uncle Mike which he purchased through the One Laptop Per Child Foundation (a child in a 3rd world country also received a laptop when Mike purchased this one for Jacob). He's been having fun figuring out how to do different things on it.
Uncle Tom Steben is loved dearly by our kids -- he has tremendous patience for the children and they pick up on that and give him lots of love and attention. Look at the endearing look on Luke's face...
Ohio - 2nd time
We had fun-filled days in Ohio with family. Great Grandma and Sohpia got to meet each other! Dad, Carrie and Frank were all on vacation while we were in town so we were able to have a lot of time together. We had a few picnics at Mom and Dad's house. We attended a celebration in honor of Mali (my cousin Gwen's newly adopted daughter) at the Parma Heights PoolJacob had fun with the water features at the pool
Mom, Kailyn and Carrie at the Parma Heights Pool
The Medina County Fair was taking place while we were in town again this year. We spent an afternoon/evening at the fair. It was the first time I had spent any time watching the horse riding competitions. Everyone enjoyed that, especially Hannah - our horse lover. Sophia was greeted by a friendly goat. Luke was scared of most of the animals (he is in a new stage where everything is scary -- thunder, swimming, animals, etc). We took the kids to the Kiddie Park (a little park that Carrie, Ken and I went to when we were little). They still have all of the same rides. Hannah's favorite was the carousel and Jacob and Luke liked driving the cars. We watched a few baseball games -- Uncle Ken is playing on his church's softball team and Caden played t-ball. We celebrated summer birthdays (Jacob and Hannah had their second birthday party! but this time had to share the day with Luke, Aunt Carrie and Mommy) at Carrie's house. It was a fun evening of swimming, playing games and being together. Aunt Carrie with the seven cousins:
Xayne, Hannah, Sophia, Kailyn, Luke, Jacob, Caden
The last day in Ohio we went to the Akron Zoo.
Kailyn and Luke
And then back to CT to gear up for the start of school.....
Summer Vacation is over -- we look forward to traveling again next summer!

Growing Fast

2008-06-18T19:28:00.012-06:00

As I uploaded pictures a few days ago, it was amazing to see how much Sophia has changed since she was born. She'll be two months old on the 24th!

Here are some pictures to highlight the changes:

Newborn

2 Days Old

1 Week Old

2 weeks

3 weeks

1 month (baptism)

5 weeks (first smile on camera)

6 weeks
It is so fun to watch her change!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T07:42:00.010-06:00

A Day to Celebrate Fathers

A Daddy of Four

Sophia
Hannah

Luker

Jacob

A Papa of Seven

And a Great Grandpa We Miss Dearly

Welcome Sophia Liesl Haertel

2008-05-11T18:02:00.008-06:00

On April 24th we welcomed the newest member of our family -- Sophia Liesl -- at 10:51 PM after a very quick labor (yeah! It made up for being 10 days overdue). She weighed 8 lb 11.5 oz and was 20 3/4" long. She is well loved by her brothers and sisters -- they give lots of kisses throughout the day. We're happy to have another little girl to love!

A Family Adventure

2008-04-08T18:50:00.009-06:00

About a month ago Pat received an offer from Yale to work as a research scientist. They offered an April 1st starting date -- which seemed like a crazy idea for a family with three little ones and another one due in a month. But we did it -- we packed up our apartment in one week and headed east for Connecticut. We found housing, unpacked and are feeling pretty settled after only living here for 2 weeks!

Here is a picture of our new house (we're renting a house in a town north of New Haven called Hamden). We're enjoying the house -- having space to play, to cook, to run (the house has a circle -- a necessity with kids!) and our own little backyard. The house is about 100 years old -- and has the character and charm of an older home -- arched doorways, hardwood floors, etc.

Jacob is attending the neighborhood school - which has an all-day kindergarten program. He has adjusted well to a full day of school and loves his new friends and new school. Hannah and Luke are staying busy with Nana and the dogs. She arrived last week to help with the arrival of the new baby.

Pat is enjoying his position at Yale -- his boss has even granted him permission to do work from home as we await the arrival of the baby. He can bike into work and seems to prefer that over the bus.

The baby is healthy -- due to arrive April 14th. But it looks like it might decide to hang around a little longer. No contractions or signs of labor to report yet.

I will try to go back and post some pictures from the last 2 months -- It's been so long since I've had time to write.

Scooters and Ride-on toys

2008-02-15T08:52:00.004-07:00

Nana H. came for a visit on Tuesday and brought early Easter presents for the kids. Jacob and Hannah got scooters and Luke got a ride-on toy. They had fun trying out their new toys. Jacob was able to whiz around on his scooter pretty quickly. Hannah is still learning but she is a determined little girl. Tuesday and Wednesday were nice days to be outside. And then we got 3" of snow yesterday so the scooters will have a rest for a few days. Outdoor toys are great for our living situation. As soon as it warms up for good we will be spending a lot of time outside.