The Crafts

Nearly two years ago to date I was semi-mego prego (read pregnant and feeling like I swallowed a basketball) when I pitched an idea to Matt. "Hey, let's go on vacation. Just the two of us." After Matt lovingly pointed out the obvious road block to my plan I suggested we wait til the spring of 2014. Through 2013, between not sleeping at night and chasing kids by day, we unsuccessfully debated on where to vacation. Matt would rather take up smoking than leave the country so we were limited to the 48 continental States. (He is terrified of being falsely accused and subsequently imprisoned in a foreign country. That is the lawyer in him. And I get it, but I'm also willing to risk it.) After a year we realized the debate may never end. Then Matt asked if he could just book the vacation and surprise me. Sidenote: Matt independently planned our honeymoon and did a super job. Based on past success I agreed to his idea. Shortly thereafter I received a letter with a clue to whe

This past weekend my mom and I, along with several relatives, took shelter in a church basement while gray clouds swirled and sirens blared loud. Nearly everyone was on their smart phone closely watching radar and texting loved ones. Three young sisters sang "Do Ray Me Fa So La Te Do" from The Sound of Music and between peeking up the basement stairs and finding folding chairs to rest on, we clapped wildly for those talented little ladies. Believe it or not we were all gathered for my cousin's wife's baby shower. They are about to welcome their first baby; a little boy. That first baby brings joy and excitement and lots of worry. Funny how a little time and two more babies put those first days with a newborn into perspective. How easy those days were compared to the busyness of a day with three. Still one baby is plenty of work. And having only one baby leads to lots of extra time for one-on-one snuggles. My oldest baby isn't really all that babyish anymore. She

Our Easter weekend was really great. Everyone here is exhausted from a lack of sleep overnight and missed naps during the day but it was fun. We traveled hundreds of miles and ate thousands of chocolates. Well, maybe not thousands but close, and they were all delicious. I do not regret a single piece. This picture is completely unrelated to Easter but it is cute. Oh, and this one too.  The girls and I read the Easter story from their kids Bible. And I think they kind of get it.  Our house is kind of a wreck and I have piles of laundry and ironing waiting for me but it was a wonderful feeling to put it all on the back burner. We spent lots of quality time together. Again, I don't regret a bit of it. Easter morning we were all up e-a-r-l-y!!! Here the girls indulged in a little Easter candy at 6 a.m. (These photos were before hair was combed.) Three beautiful girls. We are very blessed parents.

Monday night we attended the theatre. Three of us wore our finest blue jeans, two donned fancy dresses and one wore spaghetti sauce like it was a medal of honor. (In case you are doing the math we did not add a child. Matt's mom joined us for the concert and no, she was not the one in spaghetti sauce.) Long periods of sitting still often turns a sane child crazy. And while our wait was not necessarily all that long Matt had to find ways to entertain himself. I mean, he found ways to entertain Natalie. She was the antsy one. Yes, it was her.  Matt filled the time with selfies. He is not one to take a selfie...ever. But when you have a cute baby on your lap how can you not take a selfie; even if she looks like she'd rather be sleeping. Like McKayla Maroney, Natalie was not amused... I'm sorry you didn't get in on the selfie LeAnn. Next time! So, several selfies later the concert began with a promenade of dozens of 4 to 5 year old kids waving

Whomever said, "The days are long but the years are short," was so incredibly wise. Natalie is officially 18 months old today. A year and a half. Just a few short months ago I took her  sixth month pictures.   And yet so many things have happened between then and now.  Today. Just yesterday? No surprise to you, I have not kept up with my blog like I did in years past. The other day I sorted through a variety of old posts reading about events I did not remember happening. Yet there were pictures and stories and blog comments to back it all up. This was motivation enough. I can't tell 15 year old Natalie, "Oh sorry. I just ran out of steam. I kind of remember things about you from your early days." That would probably go over as well as offering her a quilt for her first prom dress.    So Natalie on this day, the day you are officially a year and a half, let me tell you this... You do not say any words except "Done" fr

With a large helping of good fortune and small dash of craziness Matt and I found ourselves in New York City this past weekend. I should also give credit to the ball skills of the Iowa State men's basketball team and the extreme kindness of two sets of grandparents. Without these two vital ingredients our excursion across country could never have been. Yes, Matt and I followed the ISU men's team to Madison Square Garden, the most famous arena in the country. Iowa State lost the game after a near comeback unfortunately but that doesn't mean we sulked around one of the greatest cities in America. We found a way to enjoy ourselves. Pregame warm-ups... The gorgeous ceiling of Madison Square Garden. Oh, and I cannot forget the pep rally before the game. There were so many Cyclone fans in attendance that the fire department was called and we were politely escorted to the streets. It was quite the scene to watch the sea of red take over a couple of streets on Ma