Family Fun in Indiana: Part 2

Our family gathering took place just a couple of weeks after John and Solveig came back from Spain.  So the boys got their gifts while we were there.

 Gus loves hats.

Anders gift was the cute jersey.  But he wouldn't put down the $2 microphone long enough for me to take his picture.  Anders gravitates to anything that will amplify his voice.

After dinner on the 4th, the kids got to play with sparklers.  They all had a little lesson in how to hold the sparklers so no one would get hurt.  I was pretty sure that if one of my boys got hurt it would be because they were sword fighting with them, not because they weren't holding them right.

Gus wasn't going to take his eyes off of it even for a second.

Anders wasn't as cautious and felt brave enough to wave it around a little.

John was extremely excited.

The boys went back for more and more and more.

Mike let Michael have some fun.

Grandpa has a birthday in July so we thought it would be fitting to celebrate with a cake while everyone was there.  Grandma put sparklers on the cake and Machara didn't think that was a good idea.

Ice cream cake will get 6 kids to sit still for a good 4 minutes.

Then after 4 minutes they are re-energized and ready to go.

Anders picked Aunt Andrina over Uncle Mike.  Uncle Mike wanted to go for two out of three.  Where's the ice cream cake when you need it?

Later in the evening we went down to the park for the fireworks.  John and Eva held hands the whole way.

After we found our seats we enjoyed the music and the cute little dancers.  We should enter these two in ballroom dance lessons.

Later in the weekend we took a trip back to the park.  The kids loved the see-saws.

Anders is not scared of anything.

Michael is not quite old enough to get on a see-saw, so daddy had to step in and help.

It was a wonderful, fun-filled weekend.  We ended  the weekend with a little baby shower for Ashley.  Stay tuned for those pictures.

Family Fun in Indiana: Part 1

The Fienes made plans to all be in one stay at the same time for 3 days.  That rarely ever happens.  Since Mike and Andrina's clan and Christian flew in all the way from California, we thought it was only fitting to have a nice family get together.  The first day also happened to fall on the 4th of July.

 Of course we had to get the kids together for a picture.  These cousins are the best of friends.  I love how they can go a year without seeing each other and just pick up where they left off.  It's beautiful to see.

 Baby Michael isn't a baby anymore.

 Michael loves his dad.  His mom is his first, second, and third choice, but dad is a strong fourth.

 Michael also likes Uncle Hans.  Hans should feel pretty special because Michael doesn't go to just anyone.  I'm still waiting for the day Michael can look at me without crying.

 The children enjoyed playing on bikes and scooters and coloring on the driveway.  Anders was being an absolute toot and driving over the bricks Machara had just colored.  She was good at ignoring him.

 Machara's middle name is Ashley after her aunt and godmother.  She was very excited to see Aunt Ashley.

 The adults enjoyed good food and good conversation.

 The kids had a good time just running around.

 John and Grace, a neighbor, played a little ball with Michael.  Getting that boy hooked on soccer early.  These three were so sweet.

 At the time of these pictures Michael wasn't walking.  When he was on any type of hard surface he would crawl like this.  Now I think he has ditched the crawling and has started walking.

 We used the wheelbarrow to block the alley so the kids could play.  They all thought it would be cool to play in it.  Anders wanted to give everyone rides.  He realized he need to start lifting weights.

 John and Eva are a perfect pair.  They are such goofballs.

So much love.

 With everyone in attendance we absolutely needed to take a family picture.

The weekend was filled with lots more laughing, talking, playing, hugging and smiling.  More picture to come...

Camping at Home

The boys really wanted to go camping.  But we were just too busy to get away and I'm not really sure where we could camp around here.  And I'm not really sure the boys are even ready for full blown camping.  I know I'm not sure, actually.  So what do you do when you don't want to or can't camp?  The next best thing.  Have a cook-out on the fire pit and set up the tent in the basement.

 Hot dogs cooked over an open flame are the best.

My little campers.  They had a great time cooking and eating outside and sleeping downstairs in the basement.  I enjoyed sleeping in my own bed upstairs.