Swing Set

Well we bought Maddie (and Ella) a swing set a few weeks ago...some assembly required :)
The box said that 2 people could put it together in 5-7 hours. Eric and a friend worked all afternoon a few Saturdays ago...but it is still a work in progress. Eric is hoping to get it done this weekend (as long as it doesn't snow again like last weekend). We will keep you posted (ha ha..get it posted :)

Softball

Softball season is officially here and I am so excited! This year, I hooked up with a city team and will be playing more competitive ball. We played in a tournament yesterday and lost all 3 games. However, it was our fist time playing together and at least we got to play. We were supposed to play on Friday night but got snowed out (at the end of April :-)). I played a little outfield but mostly first base. My ankle is still bothering me from when I sprained it almost 2 months ago. I went to a chiropractor from our church 3 days last week and have an appointment on Wednesday. Hopefully I can be back in the outfield when city league starts in 2 weeks.

Who's Who

Ok which one is Maddie's baby picture and which is Ella's???

Final 4 Finish

Unfortunately for me, Eric picked Kansas to win the entire tournament and out of 64 teams they actually won! It came down to the final game for us. I was in the lead by a few points, but both of the teams I picked (UNC and Duke) were out of the final game...So it came down to Kansas. The victory meant that Eric got more points to finish as the winner.
Last Monday when they played he was cheering them on like it was the Broncos in the Super Bowl or something...I told him he was being annoying and then I went to bed.
So now he gets a Saturday morning to sleep in with no interruptions. Man I could almost feel that soft pillow under my head without the sounds of crying and "Mam ma come here" in the background...back to reality :) Hey at least their is always next year...Maybe IU came make is past the first round next year too!

Total Opposites!

The more that Ella grows, the more different she looks from her sister...one is blond and petite and the other is brunette and chubby :) Ella is well over 14 pounds now and is doing great! She loves to smile and "talk" to us. Maddie likes to make Ella laugh by dancing and acting silly.

Fun Week

My parents (Gram and Gramps) and my sister Sarah were here this past week to spend some time with us here in Iowa. Dad and Sarah hadn't met Ella yet so it was fun to have them here. We spent lots of time playing with the girls and Dad took Sarah and I shopping one day (I love the GAP!!). It is always sad when they leave but Maddie and Ella and I are excited to be going to see them in Indiana for 2 weeks in July while Eric is on a mission trip in New Mexico. Here are a few pictures of our weekend!

The Fam

I was noticing that the last picture we have of the whole family on our blog is from Easter last year! So here we are...

Now who's winning!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am now beating Eric by 2 games!!! Unfortunately I have Duke and UNC in the final game and since Duke lost last weekend I am hoping UNC can pull it out...after all the winner gets a "morning off". Which means that when I win, I will be getting to SLEEP IN on a Saturday morning while Eric deals with the girls!! Wish me luck!!

Bracket busters

How is your bracket doing? I went 22 for 32 in the first round (yikes!). In the ESPN tourney challenge, I am near 1,600,000th place. However, as poorly as I did, I am still beating Kate by 1! I also did a bracket with the other pastors at church. I'm not sure where I rank there. Hopefully things get better for me.

MEGA-Surge

Last night we had our city-wide middle school event - MEGA-Surge. We had somewhere around 400 middle school students and 75-100 adults. We had 5 bouncy blow-up games, 2 courts of dodge ball, swimming, pizza and pop. Unfortunately I couldn't do anything but walk around because my stupid ankle is still pretty sore. We brought in Seth Franco, a former Harlem Globetrotter, to perform, share his story and the message of Jesus. We had several students indicate a decision to give their lives to Jesus. We'll be following up with them in the coming days. Overall, it was a great night!!