Bransen's Kindergarten Graduation

 Bransen did so well in Kindergarten and we are so proud of him.  He was super cute in his graduation ceremony and sang all the songs...even if he had no interest in doing most of the motions.

Marching in with his class

Getting his diploma

The song in this video is Bransen's favorite because "it wasn't very long"  :-)

He also read his page from a class book they made and did a really great job.

After the ceremony, hanging out with his sister and brother and enjoying some snacks!

Thank you to St. Joe's Catholic School for all of their hard work, and especially to Mrs. Foit.  Bransen had a great year!

May Candids

And now for our post that encompasses all the pictures that aren't enough to make a post of their own...

Our studious children reading together

Brynn and Bransen crossing the creek on their tree bridge

Jonas in a soccer action shot

Bransen crashing his bike over the hill

Jonas and the girls meeting a dog and musher from the Iditarod

Brynn and Bransen helping Aunt Deanne and me in the gardens

The cousins watching a movie

Trinity's annual Walk-a-thon...cold this year!

Now looking forward to the summer months!

Sibling Camping Weekend

Every year we have a sibling camping weekend for Memorial Day.  This year we went to Four Mile Creek Park for the first time.  The view of Lake Ontario was beautiful, and a lot of time was spent down on the little beach skipping and throwing rocks and chasing sea gulls.  Unfortunately, we didn't have our kids this weekend, until Jonas could come meet up with us Sunday night.  It was nice for Duane and I to be able to go on a couple walks and relax without having to worry about the kids, though.

We always forget something on our camping trips, and quite often it is a can opener.  Luckily Mike and Duane are pretty handy with a hammer.

The sunset was a nightly event for most of the campers.  Some even brought chairs to sit and have a drink while they watched the sun go down.  Pretty!

We hiked a trail near Niagara Falls that was really neat.  We saw the Niagara Jet Boats, and some cool whirlpools.  Duane is pretty strong holding up that huge rock :-)

When Jonas came with Grandma and Papa Sunday night, his favorites were the playground and wading in the lake with his cousins.

Mmmm....s'mores!

Another successful camping trip...can't wait till next year!

Barbecue Reception

A couple months after we got married and settled in, we had a backyard barbecue "reception" to celebrate with many of our friends and family.  

We set up tables and food in the warehouse...we could fit over 100 people in there!  

Lots of time to enjoy the sunshine, even if it was a little chilly.

Mmmm, ice cream...

And Duane's pride and joy...the bonfire.  This is one of the only pictures of it standing; it fell pretty quick.  It was still fun to sit around, though.

The Lafferty's stayed overnight instead of driving home to Depew, so the kids had some fun playing Foosball in the morning.

Mother's Day

I haven't posted on here in about a month and a half.  There are several reasons why, not the least of which is that I am now a mother of 3 instead of 1.  Who knew how much extra work that is?  And here's where all of you other mothers say "We did!"  Even though it obviously does take more of my time, I couldn't have ever imagined that it would be so awesome to add to my family.  We were missing Brynn and Bransen on Mother's Day since we they were at their mother's house, but it was special nonetheless since it was my first year as a mom and a step-mom.

We spent the afternoon having a cookout at Grandma Jane's.  The kids enjoyed a walk around the block, and some ice cream (free for moms)!  After that we enjoyed a super yummy dinner at Grandma Gabel's house.

Jonas and his Godmother, Aunt Lisa.

I am so thankful for my kids, and for my mom and mother-in-law!

Plow Festival

Last weekend we went to the Horse Plow Festival...an event I didn't even know existed until a few weeks ago.  Jonas and I are practicing our country skills, and the kids all had a great time!  

Corny photo opps

Petting and feeding animals

The part where we were supposed to watch the horses plowing really turned into a game of jumping on hay bales.  Whatever makes them happy :-)

We got to watch Grandpa play with the band, too.  By that time I had a kid in my lap, so no pictures!  We did enjoy a giant bag of kettle corn while we relaxed, though.

Happy Easter! (Just a little late...)

We had kind of a crazy Easter.  We couldn't seem to schedule anything super exciting because of the kid's schedules and everything.  We did fit in a few things though.

The kids got Easter baskets from Grandma Jane.

And on the Tuesday after Easter finally had a chance to find their Easter baskets from the Easter bunny at our house.

Jonas had an Easter egg hunt at school, too.

One thing we are realizing quickly is that it is CRAZY juggling our schedules and the different schedules of our kids.  I think that just makes us even more thankful for the time we do have together as a family.  Crazy schedules or not, we were happy to be a family this Easter!