Isaac had a great birthday...

and we would LOVE to share photos with you but we are having "technical difficulties" with the memory on my computer again!!  We are trying to figure out what to do to fix it!  On hold we will be back SOON....

Making brownies

Isaac and I made yummy brownies yesterday.   I think we have a little baker on our hands.
Do you see Ava?  Her favorite place to play these days is in our pantry.

You can tell by this picture what Ava was into...there are all sorts of things on the floor!  We can do the "I spy game."  I spy a salt grinder! :)
It is so fun to have the kids get more involved in fun activities like baking.
Guess who's birthday it is tomorrow??!!

9 sweet years & a video

SO yesterday we had a little blogging break because we were celebrating our 9 year anniversary.  Nope, we didn't get one picture of the occassion...maybe we will take a  9 years + 1 day photo.  Anyway, we went through what we have done the last 9 anniversaries...to serve as I reminder to us I am going to list them here.

1st  Tuscany/ Cinque Terra trip

2nd Westin Hotel in Atlanta...we had JUST moved there and were staying at the hotel

3rd Camping @ Cummerland Island 

4th Marc deployed...he surprised me when he got home with a cruise in the fall

5th Marc deployed, I went out to dinner with friends on our actual anniversary---we had celebrated at the Ritz @ Amelia Island, GA before he left in May.

6th VERY PREGNANT---just 3 DAYS before I had Isaac---we went to dinner in Abilene, Kansas

7th Just moved to Leavenworth and went to T-Rex resturant in Kansas City (took Isaac)

8th  Marc's family was visiting and the girls were REALLY little so we all went to Chicks Resturant in Virginia Beach.

9th Went to the Restaurant of the Park Hotel in our town in the Netherlands.

LOTS of fun memories!!!

SO now for a video.  This has nothing to do with our anniversary except for the fact that our children are a wonderful product of 9 years of marriage. :)  I also realized that I need to document with video a little more because these little girls will soon be walking and I don't want to forget how cute this phase is.  I think Ava would crawl up on her knees but that would mean that she couldn't carry things in her hands and that would be no fun for her. :)  Ha Ha!  I also know some of you may worry about Isabella on the couch but the girl can climb up there herself and get down herself. That is her favorite place to be!

Family Walks

We love to go for walks and there are a lot of places to walk around here!  Lately it has been raining A LOT so the umbrella that Grandma June gave Isaac has already been well-used!  It had stopped raining in this picture but he was still having fun. :)  Oh, yes that is a truck in his other hand...another passion of his!

Why is it that even when it is wet and rainy ice cream still tastes so good?!

We had to use the baby carriers on this walk because the trails were too rough for the stroller.  I always enjoy using the baby carrier and Ava is always up for it too.  She is so sweet.   

Can you tell it was close to bedtime? Isabella, your eye's are getting very tired! 

We always have fun on our walks finding things...Isaac is the collector of rocks, sticks and other things.  The other day I counted 20 rocks in his pockets...love it!!

Isaac loves to pick flowers and give them to you.

This is the view coming upon the backside of our house.  The views don't get old...it is beautiful here!

Happy Birthday Grandma Nadine!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday Grandma Nadine

Happy Birthday to you!
Hope you are having a wonderful day! We love you!

Making ice cream...

We had a great time with Grandma & Grandpa and one of the many fun things we did was make ice cream. They had given us this cool ice cream making ball at Christmas and while they were here we pulled it out and tried it.  It was so easy and fun that we are excited to try it again.

Isaac was excited to help, but we had to convince him to wait...he just wanted to eat the ingredients :) 

The trick with the ball is that you get to roll it back and forth for about 20 min.

After rolling and rolling some more it was ready and YUMMY!  Thanks for the super cool gift!!!

Brugge, Belgium part 2

Brugge was much more fun in the sun!  The last time we were there is was rainy and cold.  We took Grandpa & Grandma on a day trip there and had so much fun! The highlight of the trip was the boat ride on the canal. 

Isaac was so excited to be on the boat.  Who know's what is on his face!? 

There's Grandpa! 

The canals in Brugge are beautiful!  They call it "The Venice of the North". 

I think this dog in the window has a very good life. :) 

Isaac LOVES tunnels!  We went under this bridge and it was wide enough that it felt like a "tunnel" and Isaac was thrilled!

Happy Birthday to you...

Both our older brothers have birthdays exactly one month apart.  My brother, Doug's was on June 22nd and Marc's brother, Jon's is TODAY July 22nd!  They are both the same age and this one was a BIG year from both of them!

The kids wanted to show a little birthday love! Hope you had a very Happy Birthday Uncle Doug! We hope today is a great day for you Uncle Jon!  We love you guys! 

Isaac was very excited and the kids were having a great time with all their toys!  They love these toys  (the ones the girls are holding) that Aunt Brenda sent...thank you! Isaac still loves to wear his watch Auntie Linnea. :) 

Doesn't Isaac look chill with his sisters? 

Isabella likes to do this nose thing. :)

 They all had a sweet time passing the Happy Birthday balloon card around!!!

Happy Birthday! Love, Marc, Kelly, Isaac, Ava, and Isabella 

Random shots and 4th of July...

We went to Amsterdam with Grandma & Grandpa and this is the ONLY picture we got the entire day!  Hopefully Grandma & Grandpa got a few more pictures.  This one is from the Heineken museum. 

We went to a religious relics parade in Maastricht that they have once every 7 years....kinda interesting.   

Here are the girls at the parade.  We are enjoying their new stroller...it's looks like they do too! 

Our landlords put in a gate in our backyard and we are loving it...our yard is now completely closed in.   Although it looks like Isaac is trying to get out...he can't because we added a lock. :)

Now, a little 4th of July fun. Yes, I am proud that I am actually showing these pictures in July. :)  Marc had a little photo shot with the kids in the back yard.  3 kids can be hard to all get a good picture at once....is that Ava back there? 

Yep, there she is! 

It was a fun 4th of July.

That evening we went to a local snack shop and got fries.  French fries are huge here and eaten with almost every meal. 

I love these little outfits that I found for the girls!!

Preschool Picnic

We went to Isaac's preschool end of the year picnic a few weeks ago and it was fun to see all his little classmates.  We had a good time watching Isaac and the girls play too.  Grandma June came with us and got to meet some of the fellow parents and teachers.  Isabella always enjoys riding on Daddy's shoulders and you can tell Daddy was on leave by the beard that was beginning to show. :)

Isaac was showing us some of the toys they get to play with at recess. 

This picture makes me laugh because Ava is pretty happy 95% of the time but the girl can turn it on.  She gets the saddest looking faces and she knows how to work the crowd.

She was much happier when Isaac was pushing her in the doll stroller.  It was a fun day and we are really happy with Isaac's preschool.  He is now out for the summer and we are missing our Tues./Thurs. routine a bit.

Monschau

 We are now catching up on our wonderful time with Grandpa & Grandma Shafer.  One of the fun days that we had with them was in Monschau, Germany. It is a sweet medieval town and although the day started off with some drizzle it ended being a nice day! 

After touring the mustard shop (they are known for their great mustard) and glass shop we had a little snack at a riverside cafe. 

Oh, what fun a little hot chocolate is!  

We had a great time walking around the cute town. 

Isaac and I are prepared for the rain with our hats. 

The German architecture. 

Isaac loves bridges and always announces them as we are going over them. 

Just CHILLIN'...

This picture is from one of the days that Grandpa and Grandma were here.  We were able to enjoy a little down time and a drink in a COOL atmosphere.  Is was hot outside but not where we were....any guesses where we are?  

The local indoor ski slope of course!  Skiing in July...how about it?!

Ava loves her yogurt...

Do you think Ava was excited to get her hands on that yogurt container when Daddy turned his back and treat herself to the whole thing?! 

Yes, she was a very happy girl!