Swing Set!

After what seems like two years, we finally have something for the kids to play with in the backyard. This past week Jess' dad and I took a day to make a swing set for the kids, and I've got to admit that we did a pretty decent job for an accountant and a pastor. The kids absolutely love the swing set, and we're enjoying having something in our backyard to distract the kids on a daily basis. It's great to have them using the backyard. Now - if only we could figure out how to get the grass to survive in the South!

Elliot's Baptism

To say that May has been full of good things would be an understatement. Yesterday was Annika's birthday, and today we celebrated the baptism of Elliot James Hauser Brydon. Of all the kids, he was the only one who was calm through the whole thing. We invited the children of the church forward to watch this because we wanted them to remember their baptisms, and I think they really got a kick out of being a part of the service. We're so proud to be Elliot's parents, and we look forward to his becoming a faithful follower of Jesus Christ!

Bowling!

We thought you might like to see a few pics of our bowling adventure today. Below you can see one of the few moments that Annika actually enjoyed below. You can see Sam's dead-eye for bowling. You can also get a general feel for how all of our family photos look now. It's a good thing there won't be a church directory for a couple of years.

Happy Birthday, Annika!

Our beautiful, creative daughter, Annika, turned six today. It seems like she's been a part of our lives forever, but we're so proud to be her parents. We had a small kids' party on Thursday with pizza and treats, and Annika enjoyed holding court for her friends. Today, her actual birthday, we made heart-shaped pancakes, went bowling (which we discovered Same LOVES - he actually kicks the ball down the lane), bought swings for our new swing set, and opened more presents. We even had a turtle come up and greet us in our driveway. It's been a good day.

Brothers

Sam and Elliot have begun interacting a little bit of late. Sam's really kind of funny because he doesn't quite know what he can and can't do with Elliot, so half the stuff he does is sweet and the other half puts Elliot in tears. They'll figure it out some day. And when that day comes, Annika had better watch out. They'll be coming after her!

Half a Year

Hard to believe, but Elliot's been here for over 6 months now. His personality is still emerging, but he's generally a pretty happy kid. He spends a good deal of his day jumping in his Jumperoo, and he's even reacting to his sister and brother when they try to play with him. Life is full. Life is good.

Tiny Dancer 2: Tappin' Up a Storm

Tiny Dancer

First Dance Recital

Annika had her first dance recital today, and she did a wonderful job! (I'll be uploading videos in a later post.) She did both ballet and tap, and we were so proud to watch her enjoy being on the stage. Several of her friends from the church were also in the program - two of whom are pictured below. Annika also entered a coloring contest and won second place in her category. She didn't actually color so much as draw more characters on the sheet of paper. She's pretty proud that a real art teacher judged the contest and that she won $25 towards her dancing.

So...She's Her Own Stylist Now

Jess woke up this morning, saw Annika, and thought, "She looks a little different." After blaming it on lack of sleep, we found some of Annika's hair in her desk drawer next to a pair of scissors. Last night, instead of sleeping, Annika decided to give herself a bang trim. Amazingly, she did a great job. It was pretty straight and not too short. She just saved us $15 from a trim, but we're hoping this is a one-time burst of hair creativity. Of course, with her, we just never know! (She wasn't too thrilled about getting her picture taken - I had to bribe her with chocolate!)

Daddy's Little Helpers

It been a LONG time since I washed the cars. Even though we pretty much always have good weather for washing cars around here, with three months of pollen blooms, it seems kind of a like a lost cause. Well, I decided to wash them on Saturday, and to my happy surprise, Annika and Sam wanted to help and were generally helpful. We cleaned the minivan and car in about an hour and had a pretty good time doing so. We even waxed them. (Grandpa Jim is smiling as he reads this!) It's nice to have the kids at a point where they are at least mildly interested in helping out with gardening, yard work, cleaning, etc. Maybe we'll be able to get them into good work shape yet! (The last picture is of Elliot being too lazy to wash the car. He owes me. Can't believe he chose playing over cleaning...)

May Day

Jess likes May Day, and so for the past two years, she and Annika have given flowers to our neighbors on May 1. It's fun for a couple of reasons. First, the neighbors get a kick out of getting the flowers, and, second, we have so many things in bloom around here from March through May that we don't have a hard time picking out blooms. The first picture below is from May Day 2008. The bottom picture is from this year. Kids grow too stinkin' fast.

The Great Outdoors

We had a quick family visit from Trevor, Daphne, and Quentin this past week. We took them to the driftwood beach on Jekyll Island one morning, and we all enjoyed hanging out on the beach, climbing the wood, and marveling at how stunning the scenery is. The kids enjoyed seeing enjoyed each other, and we had a great time seeing family.

Annika and the Woods

As usual, we have some catching up to do. I'm hoping to put up a new post each day for the next few days to give you a sense of what we've been up to - so stay tuned!

Annika and Troy went on a family retreat with the church last weekend. It was Annika's first time "camping out" - and by camping out I mean staying in an air conditioned cabin with showers. She loved it all. She loved hiking through the woods - we probably put in 4-5 miles of hiking on Saturday morning. She loved playing games. She loved seeing wildlife. The only thing we didn't really like were the millions of mosquitoes that were enjoying the wet and warm weather of southeastern Georgia. The pictures below are from one of our hikes. The first is at the low ropes course, and the second is by a lake that is really close to the Savannah River.