Briella is 6

 Briella has been excited for first grade for weeks and even though it was early, she was happy to head off to school Tuesday morning.  She came home telling me that her teacher was a nice lady and she thinks first grade will be fun.  Oh and she only has one naughty boy in her class this year . . .

We celebrated her 6th birthday with G & G P in town :)  I think Briella enjoyed the extra attention and excitement on her birthday.  Here is her purple sprinkle cake.  (Two cakes in 8 days is a bit much, but I'm off until March!!)  She brought party popcorn (with almond bark and sprinkles on it) for a birthday treat, she said everyone said thank you and they liked it, except A(the naughty boy)...

It is hard to imagine we have a 6 year old now!!  She is so happy to be 6, to have her own Polly Pockets and a watch!!  Briella is a blessing to our family, a great big sister and helper.  She loves her family and friends and is very thoughtful at times.  She loves her dolls (and now Pollys) and enjoys pushing Asher around in a stroller outside.  We enjoy listening to her read, watching her grow in kindness and understanding of God and His creation.

It's About Time

 Our family on Christmas morning

 Gideon was pumped to get a couple of new hotwheels

 Asher resting on his new moose pillow

 Sunday we took family pictures of each family and I thought Asher looks so cute in this picture :)  I'm not sure what Uncle Dan was doing to make him laugh?!?!

 Postma Grandkids

 This shot totally cracks me up.  Asher is giggling and then there is Landon playing with his lips . . . taking pictures of lots of kids is always so fun :)

 Briella got this weaving kit and we made a potholder; so fun!

We decided to move the high chair out of the kitchen so we are all sitting by the table now!  It is nice and cozy with a family of five :)

Grandparents . . .

We always appreciate the time we spend with our parents and siblings, since most of them are out of state.  The kids had a blast playing with aunts and uncles and grandparents.  Gideon enjoyed the wrestling, cars, and throwing of balls.  Briella enjoyed the sitting on various laps, playing dress up, and extra books being read to her.

 The best gift opening this year was not any of the kids, it was my Mom  . . . when she saw we (as in the siblings) got her and Dad a Kindle Fire and a few books for their trip to Alaska in August.  priceless.

 Briella loves to visit Great Grandma Miersma and play with all her dolls.  While Grandma was holding Asher and Gideon was playing on the floor, Asher started giggling--it was so cute!

 Evidently our kids were the most excited to help Great Grandma VM open her gifts.  She didn't seem to mind ;)


I have to include this one because I'm sure Brynn wants to see how it turned out:

 Here is our section of the VM party crowd.  It was a fun party, even though I am sure we maxed out the capacity in that place.
Later in the night, Asher was cracking up while Great Grandma was holding him.  So fun to see him enjoying his big happy family :)

Our trip to Iowa also included seeing Stephan's parents and sister, but we missed getting pictures of them.  We had a wonderful time in Iowa, including our first ever Chili Bash at Casey's Bakery (highly recommended!!), the typical stop at the candy store, and lots of food, games, and books at G & G Buys' house!

20 hour Chicago trip

 Thursday night Stephan was talking to his dad . . . and asked if we'd be interested in coming to Chicago Friday to hang out with them.  They had meetings on Saturday, but would be arriving at 2:30 on Friday.  Stephan had the day off, so we decided to go for it.  
We met them at Vito and Nick's a major dive with delicious, unique pizza.  We tried the Italian shredded beef in the video.
Next we headed to Chick fil A for the best shakes EVER!  Peppermint chocolate chip--YUM!  Believe it or not we found a way to eat two shakes in our 20 hour stay :)
Grandpa and Grandma had lots of fun holding Asher and getting him to smile.  Briella and Gideon thought the pool was awesome.

 

Briella and Gideon got to open presents from G & G --so exciting!!

 

 Gideon was thrilled with his new truck, a car carrier, and a hot wheels track that attaches to the wall--his dad thinks it's very cool, too.
Miss Briella was SO happy to see her princess things and thinks her cute rug is cozy, too.

 It was fun to take a little trip and the kids LOVED it!!  I know Chicago has more to offer than pizza and shakes, but the family time was worth the trip!

Gideon's Genes

 

Gideon may have inherited some genes from Grandpa Buys and his distaste for having pictures taken of him . . . some typical symptoms include looking the wrong way or sticking your tongue out*!  Thankfully Jen took lots of shots so we still have several good ones :)

*I have no proof of my dad actually sticking his tongue out for a picture, but I'm sure he agrees with Gideon's sentiments here ;)

Asher's Baptism

 We were blessed to have both sets of our parents at the baptism.

 Briella and Gideon really wanted in on the picture taking this morning when I was trying to get a few pictures of Asher in his baptism outfit.

 My mom made his outfit -- so special.

Whirlwind trip to Iowa

It is hard to believe it has been 2 weeks since we were in Iowa . . . the calendar tells me it has been that long.  Stephan drove a charter bus filled with kids from area youth groups and some sponsors to Dordt for the RYS convention.  Gideon and I rode along (Briella rode with my parents the same day).  Gideon kept saying "My daddy's bus" and "BIG bus"--he loved being on the bus.  
Most of the days we were there were too hot to really be outside, but Thursday they predicted rain and clouds, so we went to the Boyden splash pad.  Thankfully it was free, since the picture below shows about how wet Briella wanted to get.  Gideon was more daring and got his suit and head wet . . .

Gideon loves to see motorcycles when we are out and about.  In fact on the bus he told Stephan to go fast when a motorcycle passed us.  My dad was going to give Gideon a little ride on his Harley, but once he started the beast Gideon started shaking his head and covering his ears.  Then Gideon declared he didn't like Grandpa's motorcycle because it was noisy.  Grandma convinced him to sit on it for a picture, and he was a bit hesitant for even this.  Maybe next summer?!?!

One reason we love to visit Iowa is to see Great-Grandmas.  We went to Rock Valley to visit Stephan's Grandma M and to Sioux Center to see my Grandma VM.  Both Grandma's had candy and that's about all it takes to make friends with Briella and Gideon.  What a blessing it is to visit them!

 My best friend from high school is back in the states after 4 years in Germany and was with her parents in Sioux Center, so we were excited to catch up for a few hours!  (I know it isn't a profile, but that's 34 weeks . . .)

Friday afternoon we hit the road again with both kiddos . . . Gideon enjoyed a little nap, but Briella was  little excited to learn that busses don't have seat belts, people can stand while we move, and there were a lot of kids to watch . . .  We enjoyed the time we could spend at my parents and Stephan enjoyed the time at convention.  We were thankful to arrive back in MI safely and sleep in our own beds again!!