Special Guest and Cupcakes

We had a special guest at our house for a week.  Meet Compass, the best parakeet ever!

The girls liked him quite a bit.  Since Compass liked to use James's head for a landing pad, James stayed away from the bird. 

In the beginning Compass was only allowed out of the cage if he was in the bathroom, because he was a bit tricky to recapture.

Edwin is thinking about becoming a peg-legged pirate with a parakeet.  What do you think?

Anne is much braver than her sister, and her mother for that fact.  Most of us enjoyed Compass more in the cage, but Anne liked everything about Compass, especially his little tickly nibble-like kisses.

I preferred Compass in the cage singing in the morning with the birds outside, and chatting with us during meal time. 

The girls wanted to have a surprise partry for their dad with special cupcakes.

They spent the day planning and drawing their cupcake plans.  Anne wanted a spider cake.

James wanted frosting, candy and more frosting, please.

Edwin made a spider cake which he promptly gobbled up.

Grace made a beach.  Water with stepping stones and islands.  Sand with buckets, shovels, and rocks.

It was quite a week indeed.

Daddy Daughter Date

While I was home sick in bed and James was napping,

Edwin took the girls on a daddy-daughter date. 

Home Projects

The weather is cold again and the snow is falling.  We are trying to stay happy and busy in the house here are a few things we have been doing.

Edwin finished his quilt.

I think it's lovely and I can't wait to make some pillow shams to match.

I've been making baby blankets for charities, bibs for gifts, and these adorable diapers for the girls' dolls.

The kids have been home sick a whole lot lately.  Many days have been spent on the sofa with drippy noses, coughs, and high fevers.  I'm sure looking forward to spring and good health.

Grace and Anne have been busy on the Barbie house.  We have a few final touches and then I think it will be complete...stay tooned.

Night Shift

Photo by Anne

Anne: Daddy, wake up.
Edwin: I am awake.
Anne: Your mouth is awake. Your eyes not awake.

Preparing to Move

May 1st we moving to a house just down the block from where we currently live.  For a family who can't stand moving we sure have moved a ton lately and we are ready to settle in for a while.  We found a yellow house that matches our Grandmas' and Grandpas' yellow houses.  The neighborhood is nice and super friendly.  We live four houses down from another family with girls the same ages as our family.  Although we can't move in until May we have been busy with yard work and cleaning things up outside. 

Edwin planted the strawberries for summer.

Grace loves sticks and our new place has a yard full of them.

James enjoys being outside and now that it's warm enough to play, he's mobile enough to eat everything he touches.  Alas, his outdoor yard days are currently spent strapped into the carseat.

Anne's favoite spot is in the leaf pile.  She likes to carry the piles all over the yard so we just keep raking and raking and raking.

Grace is responsible for smashing the leaves. 

The proud doctor planted approximately 24 raspberry bushes and four blueberry bushes. 

More pictures will come as we get complete the moving process and settle in.  For now we are excited to have signed a 3-year lease agreement to lock in the rent payments.  We will be painting in May and we will certainly spend most of our leisurely activities learning to cultivate a garden.  Ah, a place to meet our needs and a yard to play in.....it will be a glorious summer!

Snow Days

My recent hiatus from blogging is due in part from computer complications, obessessive house hunting, and pure laziness.  I am trying to get back on track....Enjoy!

Iowa snow is occassionally good for snow forts.

Always good for playing outside and getting in to things.

Princess Leia Snow Ladies are the best though!

Before we had a sled the girls used a plastic storage tub. 

"That's some hard work, mom."

Day Trip to Nauvoo

Before we arrived in Nauvoo, we stopped at a little orchard and found some goats and a few horses to pet. Anne and Edwin fed the horses and goats.

Grace gets so excited about horses but she’s nervous to pet them. She wants her own....maybe one day.

With our shoes covered in mud we clamoured back into Millie Van and headed down the road to Nauvoo.

The most anticipated activity of the day was the ox drawn wagon ride. Grace watched those oxen walk, and walk, and walk. There were several people in front of us so the poor kid had to eat lunch before she could get a ride. It was an agonizingly painful meal for a three-year-old. However, with a belly half full she ran through the grass and waited.

And waited.

And waited in the empty wagon.

While Grace waited, Anne and I enjoyed meeting Gary, the ox.

We tried to get a family photo, but Grace was.....waiting. There was no moving that kid until she had a ride in the wagon.

No more waiting!!! For a few minutes she was just like Mary and Laura Ingalls (we read the Little House on the Prairie series this spring) and rode in a wagon. Simply delightful!

We only saw a few sites on our first journey to Nauvoo. The ox ride, the blacksmith's shop and the brick making were the family favorites. We also stopped at the visitor's center and viewed some beautiful artwork. The shoe maker and the red brick store were also on our agenda. We played in the grass, watched a barge move down the mighty Mississippi River, and enjoyed the day together. Part two of our Nauvoo travels is scheduled for September before baby arrives. I am hoping to see the general store and bakery, however, I feel like the girls are going to want to go for another wagon ride! Ah, beautiful Nauvoo!

County Fair

The county fair was GREAT!!

The girls were impressed with the glass beehive where we watched the bees make honey.

The animals were entertaining as usual.

Unfortunately the girls wanted to ride the merry-go-round, and we didn't do that.

(No pregnant women allowed. Besides that the ride was quite fast for little people and just looking at it made both Edwin and I nauseous. No vomiting tonight please!)

So we found these fun rides instead! Hold on tight! Anne likes to go fast.

Grace knows what she is doing....she drives a tractor like this with Grandpa B!

(his is blue though) These country girls need a farm!

We love the fair...especially small town fairs.

Daddy

This happy (and handsome) man recently had a birthday!

We Love you! Have a great night and hopefully we will see you soon!

The Good Dr.'s Notes

One morning Edwin was walking down the hall with his single, male, upper level resident. They were on their way to report on their patients when a younger female walked out of a room and said, "Thank you for last night. You were wonderful!"

Nothing more was said until the door closed and the two doctors were away from the patient's room. It was then the other doctor glanced over towards Edwin and asked "Dr. B, what DO YOU DO during cross-cover at night?!?" They both had a good laugh....then Edwin explained what really happened last night.

THE REAL STORY...

The hospital was EXTREMELY busy and around 1 am Edwin was walking the halls when a patient's daughter stopped him. She explained that her father was disoriented and kept asking to talk to a doctor. He said he would stop in and help comfort her dad. So like any good doctor he visited the sick elderly gentleman and chatted for a bit. He told a few jokes and calmed the man down and relax. It was a fine night for everyone. The patient was reassured that all was well. His daughter was able to rest until morning. And Edwin did a fine job helping both individuals.

Moral of the Story: Never tell your doctor he was "wonderful last night" unless you are married to him!

Five Years and Counting

DECEMBER 30, 2008

We Celebrated Our 5th Anniversary!

The past 5 years we have... Moved across the country twice Graduated medical school Had two babies Lived in five different locations (Elva, Cambridge, The Boulevard, Meadowlark, and Riverstone) Purchased a vehicle Currently we are... Learning to sew Learning to quilt Planning to move across the country again Working Visiting our elderly neighbors and baking bread In the next 5 years we hope to... Have more babies Move a couple more times Buy another car Finish Residency Complete the quilt Sew some fabulous clothes I love you Sweetie!

Thanks for a great life together! It's been a wonderful five years. The next five years are looking good too!