In the summer we like to....

Have lots of fun!
Yes, I know I have been reserved in the posting area lately, but we are having quite the summer and have been busy.... (not a very good excuse, I know :) But, here are a few pictures for you dedicated readers...
1. Father's Day: That was awesome. I seriously have the best daddy. ever. He's our teacher, book-reader, hug-giver, encourager, cook (sometimes :), and so many other things. He leads us to Christ in the every day things, no one is perfect,  and my daddy has his days, but he is forgiven by Christ and is becoming more like him all the time. We had a good day and went to the Blue Bunny ice cream parlor with my cousins and grandparents.  
2. Erin's 8th Birthday!! Our little butterfly turned 8, and I can hardly believe it!! I love my little sisters. She had a cupcake themed party, and instead of asking for presents at her party, she asked people to give money to buy a cow for our sponsor child. God is moving in my sister in lots of ways, and I am so thankful to Him for that.
3. I went to Okoboji... That was awesome, and so kind of my friend to ask me along :)

 4. Cousins!! Our dear cousins from out of state came for a long visit and a family reunion. We had so much fun with them...Including a giggle-filled sleepover, and tea party breakfast. The boys also had a sleepover, but they opted out on the teaparty :)

 5. Goodbye Kitchen! Yep, it's gone. We gutted it down to the studs and are starting from scratch. Although it is very difficult cooking for our family with out a sink, stove, or oven, we are very excited for the finished results!

Our makeshift kitchen :)

 6. Lou Lou's 2nd Birthday!!! Our baby turned 2 on the 1st. She really isn't a baby anymore... We all love her to death and she is a constant fountain of joy!

 She absolutely loves Elmo, Abby Cadabby (Dabby Abby!), Big bird (bi bid), Ernie (enie), Bert (bet) and Cookie Monster (toootie monter) My mom bought some balloons that were elmo and she said, " Doo tit dat! Elmo boons!" (Look at that, Elmo balloons) and then later, "Oh my doodness!" (oh my goodness :)

I made an elmo cake, which she couldn't keep her fingers out of...

 7. Getting Wet: Yes, this is probably one of our favorite summer activities, pools, waterballoons, water guns, and slip'n'slides!

I hope you all are having a fantastic summer, and Happy 4th of July!
~Bugg

Happy Birthday!!

Whooo Hoooo!! Yet another birthday here at the Hennhouse!! Happy Birthday Daddy!! You are the best dad I could ever ask for, and you are an amazing example to all those around you. You are a great teacher, mentor, singer, guitar player, tickle-giver, tucker in-er at bedtime, out loud reader, listener, talker, photographer, provider, protecter, decision maker, friend maker, cook-er, planner, get-'er done kind of person, encourager, writer, correcter, and so many other things I could sit here and write all day! You definitely have your moments, and your boiling points, but you come to see your sin quickly and apologize... =) I can't believe God let me have such a wonderful daddy, and I hope I can celebrate every birthday you have with as much fun as we celebrated your 41st!! Only 41 more years and you'll be 82!! I love you so much daddy and I'm so glad you you were born!!

I LOVE YOU DADDY!!! Post a comment to wish Buzz a Happy Birthday!!
~Bugg

A Little Update...

Our chubby little Squeakers isn't so little anymore...... She is walking and running all over the house, and into everything. We have been calling her our little bird, because she looks like one when she waddles throughout our house. The last time we had a toddler in the house was when we brought 16 month Bear home in 2007. But how time flies! Now Bear is 5 and the basketball star of the Hennhouse! Anyway, we went to Grandview Park for a back to school picnic about a week ago and Squeakers was toddling all over the Bandshell, crawling all over the stairs and of course, posing for pictures. :)

 She is just about as cute as they come!

This is her new look, we call it the Smolder. She pooches her lips then leans forward and smacks her face on your cheek. SO ADORABLE!

YUM! Mom found a subway gift card from Christmas that we didn't know we had. Score!
              The day after my birthday (which was FABULOUS) we headed out for our annual Church Retreat. Our Uncle JT was the speaker this year so my Aunt Lea and my cousins were there...I didn't take a single picture (whoops) and I can't do justice trying to explain with words......But check this blog (Unto Him We Live) and you can read all about the wonderful time we had. Also, we are finishing a part of our basement as a bedroom and as I am writing the carpet is being put down. Eeeek! We are soooo excited to move bedrooms around and I will post pictures of it later....Thanks for reading this little update!
~Bugg

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's day Mommy! (A 2 days late) I hope that you had a great day and I meant to post this on Sunday. You are the best, most amazing, patient(most of the time) loving, caring, thoughtful, sympathetic, smiley, happy, playful, smart, mommy ever in a million years and I love you soooooo much.  Thank you for all the work you do around the house laundry, cleaning, teaching, cooking, driving us around, doing projects with us, making our birthdays special, packing to go on trips, lesson plans...... But most importantly thank you for loving God with all your heart and leading us on the right path through his word, I have learned so much about loving God and serving others and relying on the true Savior through you. You aren't perfect or always a good role model but I still love you sooooooooo much. It is just one of those things you can't put into a word. I love you Mommy.

~Bugg~

Today is a big day for Dash!! His top right tooth has been loose for days now, and it was finally ready to pull! Mommy is very brave, I highly doubt I could pull bloody, fleshy teeth out of somebody's mouth!  So now Mr. Toothless is walking around the house showing everyone his new toothless smile! :) We love you buddy!!!!

       ~ Bugg~

Easter and other Hennhouse happenings......

I have been planning to write a post since we got back from Minneapolis in March but as you can tell, I just hadn't gotten around to it. With that being said, it's good to be back to writing again.  We went to Minneapolis in March and had a BLAST! We got to see our cousins, including little baby Bebo, who is just the sweetest little thing!

We all stayed in an empty house with only 2 bedrooms but it couldn't have been more fun.We were very greatful for a place(thanks to good friends of my Auntie L's) to stay where we could all be together and just hang out. With all the cousins jam-packed in there we were all bumping into each other and running around and being just plain crazy! There was this looooong staircase that all the kids were sliding down on their rears until somebody got hurt and then that game was done.

 So the kids found other things to do such as....playing legos with a beloved cousin

                            Or coloring pretty pictures to hang on the fridge at home.......(By the way, even though almost everybody loves the Packers in our family, some family members a.k.a.Mom, Dash, Bear LOVE the Vikings. And since we were in Minnesota, Dash decided that is was the perfect time to don the purple vikings shirt, and I agree.)

                      Pausing for photos on the dangerous stairway.......

              Holding little Squeakers................

                 Taking more random pictures................

                     Or maybe watch a short movie. As you can tell, we just adore our cousins. The next day we hung out at the mall and that was no short 2 hour trip to the mall, this was an all day thing. There were 10 adults and 9 kids so each parent took 2 kids or so and we called it good.

 This is most likely the only thing Oggie really enjoys at the mall. He probably spent and hour or so in there!

 The girls had a great time at the American Girl Doll store.

And Dad had a amazing time with his dear friend Mr. Chicken.
Just messing! There was this costume and magic trick store and this was in the doorway. I couldn't miss the chance of getting dad's picture next to this waaaaay larger that life sized chicken! :)

 Me, Oggie, and Dash all got to climb on this huge(4 stories) climbing structure. None of us are afraid of heights so we made it to the top. Such fun!

We had a fantastic time with our family and can't wait to see them again!

We came back home and had no major things going on. I was in a play so my family came and saw me in that. I had sooo much fun doing it and the play turned out really well.

  We went to our Grandparents house for Easter and dyed eggs, hunted for easter baskets and stuffed ourselves silly with ham and green beans and potatoes all made by my grandparents! yum!

 We went on a walk to the Rose Garden and it was wonderful to see all the new life popping up all over. Spring!

It was fun dying easter eggs, but it was even more fun eating them!!

  All in all, we have had a great past month or so. We had our friends over who just brought home their little girl from Ethiopia, and have been taking advantage of this warm weather and playing a lot outside.
Signing off :)
Bugg