April 2019

What makes a happy road trip? Technology

We loved Shane's Rib Shack

Boys made a stingray

Beach time

Shrimp Basket for the win!

Nate and his girls

Sibling love

Lexi and Asha

Kai and Stephen

Isaac on his french horn

Ouch

School spring program

Lexi is 5 years old!

Roller skates 

New roof, house is looking good

Cousin fun- Ashley, Abby, Kate and Lexi

Julia, Lexi and Abby

Caleb and Jacob- Lecrae concert!

Isaac pitching

-We planned an impromptu spring break road trip to Panama City Beach, FL. The Petersons have camped down there for a couple years and originally we were going to pull our pop-up camper and camp with them.  But, there were no camping vacancies. Guess you can't make last minute spring break camping reservations in FL! We did find a nice condo at the Majestic Resort, right on the beach. The weather was a little chilly, but the resort had indoor pools and in the afternoon we could enjoy the beach. The kids spent one afternoon with Grandpa DeMaster and Miss Kathryn at the beach. Our family enjoyed spending a couple days with the Petersons. It was nice for our family to have some down time together- swimming, playing games, enjoying the beach, eating good food. And the kids did amazing on the drive- because they are older but mostly because of screens! We told them this trip was a trial run for our big drive out west this summer.
-Nate, Caleb, Isaac and the Gabrielse men went to a Lecrae concert- and it was awesome.
-Isaac's school had Fine Arts Night. He performed 2 songs with 3 other boys- 2 on French horn, 1 trumpet, and 1 trombone. They did very well.  The band teacher is pleased with how well Isaac plays.
-The house projects continue. Our roof was replaced- the company got the job done in one day and it looks great. No more mossy, streaked roof.
-We are replacing the master bathroom shower- it was tile from the 1960's and so dirty looking. Nate decided to move the glass shower door from the master bath down to the main floor shower. He was doing a last tweak- and the glass shattered all over him. Thankfully he only got surface cuts, but it was a huge mess. Ah, home ownership.
-Colleen's family visited us for an evening. The cousins had great fun together and we all enjoyed catching up.
-Easter Sunday we spent at our church and then we had lunch in Hastings with Grandpa/Grandma. Later that afternoon we got together with the Winebrenner family to celebrate Cardale's adoption day. We are grateful for these opportunities to spend time with Cardale, how is he 11 already?
-Isaac is playing Little League baseball again this spring and Caleb is playing lacrosse.
-We celebrated Lexi's 5th Birthday! She requested birthday donuts for breakfast and supper's menu was chicken nuggets with Kraft mac and cheese. She also wanted a panda cake (again.) She still loves pandas! When asked what presents she wanted for her birthday Lexi would say- a (real) baby, a puppy or a (real) baby panda. Ha!! What she received was a scooter, roller skates, a book, and a superhero puzzle (she still loves Batman.) Lexi's favorite school friends are Adeline and Savannah. Lexi is thriving at school and she is a master at the monkey bars- she has calluses on her hands because she does them so often. Lexi still likes to take a nap on her days at home- we joke it's because her motor runs non-stop during the day! Lexi is funny, smart, independent, strong and loving. But do not call her cute or you will feel her wrath- she wants to be called cool or shiny or strong. We are grateful for our little girl and we love her very much.