Good 'old Books

Cody's been home a few days fighting a virus.  We've done a bunch of reading and so a trip to the library for fresh material seemed like a good idea.  The best outcome?  Cara running into the kitchen, "Cody, Cody, listen to this joke!" I love it when the kids love to share what they're reading! 

Lots of Fun

Spending time with cousins is always a treat!!

The firemen hard at work - using their imaginations.

A whole bunch of Dutch Blitz.

Hours and hours of hockey... sometimes pretty wild hockey.



Sharing the piano.

A full fort!  Thankfully cousins inspire confidence and Steve and I could stay in our own bed.  Unlike the winter break when we all spent a couple nights in there.  Well, I braved the spiders one night and had to babysit the alarm clock the second :)

Not to be forgotten is the memorable yatzee game in which Jacob creamed Sam and I by 400 and almost 400 points!!  He got 4 yatzees that game!

So very, very thankful that the basement was "finished" and the addition complete enough to allow this special time together.  Maybe I'm just a wimp but it certainly would have been much more difficult in the "old" house.  Onward and forward, though, because we all agreed there was enough jumping around and pacing to have appreciated the second bathroom :)

A Sweetheart

With a beautiful smile and fantastic dimples.... 

 And a few inches less hair :)

 

 And taking blog pictures with a cell almost requires a selfie :) Even if we need a bit more practice.

It was quite the pile of hair!  Six inches shorter.  The back looks a bit funny because her Mama's not a hair dresser and her hair is INCREDIBLY curly in the back but as long as it's curly it also disguises the unevenness :)  Thankfully she's so delighted, she's not worried about perfection.

Morning hair, our motivator, is going to be SO much easier!!

Good Dutch Folk :)

Must have looked pretty funny today... Went to the leisure centre and said, "family..."  I might have had a bit of uncertainty in my voice . But family rate we got.

 

Steve and I and all 9 kids BETWEEN the AGES 5 & 11 :)

So Special!

Absolutely wonderful to have all three special littles visiting from Wisconsin and even sneaking in a sleepover.  A bit hockey after everyone else has left for school.

 Breakfast is for buddies snuggles/ tomfoolery :)

 Just out of bed gonna miss you today snuggles.

Pre supper stories and snuggles.

Summing it up with we delighted in having this extra special time with these three precious ones!Snuggles, LOTS of lego time and generally just being together.

Railing

This was not just a get 'er done project.  Seeing as it had to cross the line of the addition and old part of the house and seeing as Brody claimed the floor resembled the curvature of the earth... well, it made for a few thinking moments. And there's nothing like thinking and figuring with a few or more kids running around!! Brody's not imagining things, back when Steve was framing the addition there was no way to line up the old and new floors perfectly so there is a hump in the floor for sure.  That's what happens when you're working with old and new!

 



 Steve came home from work a bit early and so with the extra set of hands and a bit more weight to encourage that wood to curve, (or at least bow to the screws) the railing starting taking shape.

Looks like I can't add video from the phone through blogger, but there were sparks flying all around the kitchen.  Now, some might wonder why we didn't just take the posts outside but getting them into those holes tight was a one time effort, seeing as some of the posts were a hair bigger than others and it was effort enough to get them in once!

 There were deadlines all around but thankfully they finished up just in time! Now just to stain it in place. :S  

 

Bring over your babies, we're safe again! :)

 

Another Gift of Time and Talent

Wisconsin style !!!!

That is supposed to be a video of sparks flying everywhere!! Because once they were in place, why remove them just to shorten the posts ourside? :)

This is what took me from caulking the bathroom today :) A few more pictures coming, maybe tomorrow.  More thankfulness as Brody stepped in the back door and informed me that he needed a project while he was here and this was the project he had settled on.  Feeling the love!