40 Years and Counting

We celebrated Nedra's parents' 40th anniversary this past weekend. The actual date was February 15, but with Mom right smack in the middle of tax season, we postponed the celebration until now. Nedra and Martha planned the day to be a surprise, but Mom just couldn't handle the thought that we might be planning some kind of party (even though we assured her that was not part of the plan), so to set her mind at ease, we told her the plan the night before.

We decided to keep the daytime activities kid-friendly so we visited the Sertoma Butterfly House in Sioux Falls and had lunch at Chuck E. Cheese's. Family photos followed - quite an adventure...we'll leave it at that. Then we left the kiddos with a babysitter while the adults went for ballroom dance lessons. This is something we remember Mom and Dad doing regularly when we were children so we decided to join them this time. The dance lessons were definitely the highlight for everyone! Mom and Dad are still as smooth as ever. They even had a couple of moves to show the instructor! We box waltzed, fox trotted, and swung our way around the dance floor - Mom and Dad looking like pros (sore knees and all) while the rest of us tried to keep up. Lots of laughter and tons of fun.

We closed the evening with dinner at Michaels, a fine-dining restaurant that used to be located in Worthington, but has moved to Sioux Falls. It was complete with Larry filling our water glasses every 5 minutes :o) (Those of you who have ever been to Michaels know EXACTLY what I mean.) Sad that the Pink Squirrel is no longer on the menu though... They were especially busy (it was prom night) so we had to wait quite awhile for our food, but it was perfect. In proper pastor's wife fashion, Martha kept the conversation going with questions for Mom and Dad like, "What were the best and worst years of your marriage?" and "What is the key to a successful marriage?" and "Is there anything you regret or would do differently?" It turns out intentional communication is key and they have no regrets - mistakes along the way just make for greater intimacy and dependence on the Lord.

All in all, it was a wonderful day of celebration. Congratulations Mom and Dad! Here's to many more years together. Looking forward to the day when we make it to 40 years - may our marriage be as communication-rich and regret-free as yours!

Scrapbook Getaway

3 days of vacation

250 miles traveled

too many great meals

18 pages completed

6 pages posted

1 lonely husband

1 caring grandma

3 content children

2 friends catching up

1 HAPPY MAMA!!

Can't Wait for Summer (literally)

In response to this beautiful (70 degree) weather we've had...

"It's so hot I REALLY need to put some short shorts on!" Sarah
"Can we get out the slip and slide or run through the sprinkler?" Ethan
"I'm HOT! Can we go to the grocery store to get popsicles?" Hannah

Ethan and Hannah ended up having a "warm water" squirt gun battle. In order to prepare the battlefield, Ethan picked up dog poop, "Mommy, you really gotta see how much Rudy pooped these last few days!" Meanwhile Hannah is donning her swimsuit and thinking of an appropriate hairdo for the event. Sarah didn't want to participate so in response to Ethan and Hannah's suggestion of how she could still be involved she said, "I don't wanna be the Official Filler-Upper!"

"Try not to hit my head because I really don't wanna get my hair wet." Hannah

"Ok, I'll try. But if I do it still counts." Ethan

"I gotta see this!" Sarah

"Mommy, don't take my picture 'cuz then he'll know where I am!" Hannah

Afterward Ethan said, "It was fun. It was fun hiding. The best part was when I came out of the garage and saw Hannah hiding by the wood pile."

Sarah is happy to just be watching. She's riding her bike, playing with the cat, and doing a little jig. She's extremely proud of her own hairdo calling it "a perfect way to have your hair when it's so hot." Some random thoughts from Sarah as she plays and watches the other two...

"If you broke your finger, would there be a finger cast?"
"Mommy, do I look cute?"
"Oh, I'm glad that wasn't me!"
"They can't get me 'cuz I don't have my swimsuit on."
"Selah really likes it outside Mama."
"Oh look how she cuddles with me. She's so cuuute." (said in her sing-song voice reserved only for animals and babies)

All of that lasted a good twenty minutes. Now to get them to clean it all up..."Mom, I'm still wondering why we can have the water guns out but not run through the sprinkler." Ethan
It'll have to wait for another day :o)

Family Picture Day

We did one of those picture fundraisers yesterday. You know, the ones where you pay $15 and get a free 10'x13' and they try to get you to buy more. Since we were all dressed up, Nedra thought to set up our tripod and take a picture on our front steps. It was kind of cold in the shade, but we told the kids we'd only try a couple of pictures. Miracle of all miracles, they actually turned up pretty good. There are no 'Patenaude Smiles' and Ethan didn't make one of his patented goofy faces. I took this in RAW and then played around with it a little bit in Photoshop. I didn't have to do much, but did like it in black and white.

The WOW Zone

We added the first piece to our family room in the basement today...a foosball table! We have some church friends who are moving to Missouri, and didn't have room in the house they'll be renting in the short term. It seems to be a really nice table, though I'm no foos conisieur. The next things will be to add a ping pong table and home theater area. Who knows when that will materialize, but we're excited to play some games together down stairs. It comes just in time for Easter for me and Brian (my brother-in-law) to dual it out!