Change is Good

I've decided it is time for some changes to our family blog. I may still update here on occasion but I'm going to try to use future family updates as an opportunity for our friends and family to get to know each of our boys a little more personally through their own words. Also, I am hoping to eventually use our new platform to develop writing skills. I am looking forward to this new change and I hope you will visit often to see what the boys have to say.

You may link to In The Little Blue House from here or on the sidebar links or just make a note of our new blog address. If and when I post here again, I will link to new posts from over there. I will be leaving this blog intact.

Thanks for stopping by!

Correction - This post belongs here - I'm not quite sure how it ended up where it did. I'm doing my best to keep these updates in chronological order.

Grand Haven

We enjoy driving out to the lakeshore when time permits. The kids find many things to play on and it makes for a pleasant change of pace - especially when a trip the the ice cream shop fits in. :)

Easter Morning 2009
...and a few other pics from right around then

The Easter Bunny was very busy and opted just to fill the table instead of hassle with baskets this year. The boys got a family gift of Moody Science Videos for homeschool and more candy then they needed. When the Daddy Bunny is in charge of buying the candy - the supply is plentiful. Mama Bunny buys much less - and much more chocolate.

For dinner we went to Grandma's house and Nick played a game of chess w/ Grandma. I think it didn't go so well for him. Here is his look of shame.


Gabey eating one of many treats at "Grandma Cooker Baker's" house. They call Grandma "Cooker Baker" because, obviously, she cooks and bakes.


Cheeseburger Pizza make for a fun lunch. We made our own pizza dough but any dough mix would work just fine. We rolled it out and cut out shapes w/ cookie cutters. We put those on greased and floured cookie sheets and added a little sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella and added a piece of dough to the top. We baked at 425 for 15-20 min. - or as directed by your pizza dough mix. These are fun food for kids and very easy to make. I also used the leftover dough for a mini pizza for me and leftovers.

Dad's car was in the shop and I was taking him to work and picking him up. One night, on the way home, he surprised us with a quick stop at the carnival that set up at a local mall. It was fun for the boys to look at all the lights and different rides. I generally do not like carnivals and have no problem staying away, but at night they do hold some appeal. It was cold out so there were not obnoxious crowds and Steve let the boys each pick one ride to ride. They were thrilled and by the time they got off their rides the cold was getting to them and it was no problem to convince them that it was time to go.

Mattie and Christian rode the motorcycles.
Gabe apparently picked the right ride with the flying saucers because his ride went for twice as long as his brother's.

Happy 4th Birthday, Gabey!

We took Gabe to Chuck E Cheese for his 4th birthday. We also let him pick out a cake at Costco and when he saw the Christmas tree and the bear, well, there was no other cake for our little guy. He is such an animal lover. And, Christmas Trees mean our favorite time of year with our annual Christmas trip the the Great Wolf Lodge. He loved this cake and we thought it was pretty good too. :)






And a few other random pics of my sweet boy/s around Gabe's 4th birthday.