Leaf Pile

Kind of a weird time to be raking leaves, but we moved in to our home in December and didn't get to rake the fall leaves after they fell. So, we had to wait till spring and find all the dead leaves that had fallen in to the plants.

Memaw raked the leaves and let Jaxon jump in them over and over again!

New Swing Set

Memaw bought the kiddos a new swing set for their birthdays. Two gigantic (and extremely heavy) boxes have been sitting in our garage, waiting for a nice day so they could be nailed together to become a swing set. The Saturday before Easter, Jason and I spent the entire day (and I mean ENTIRE) outside assembling the swing set. It was quite a job, but we enjoyed working together and the look on the kiddos face when it was done was priceless.

Once we got the clubhouse portion complete, Jaxon enjoyed drinks and snacks at the little table.



Jason's number one assistant!



Slide complete - wheeee!



Sissy LOVES to swing!



He was very proud of himself for being able to swing the glider himself.



The final product!

Easter Egg Hunt

The kiddos hunting Easter Eggs...

Happy Easter

We were so excited to have Memaw come up to Illinois for Easter this past weekend. We had a great weekend and enjoyed a wonderful Sunday morning at church, then beautiful weather outside all afternoon. And as always, I didn't manage to get pictures of my kids in their cute Easter clothes. Why can't I remember to do this?!? Of course Dakota spit some mushed crackers all over her dress, so I need to wash it before I can get some pictures of them. Pictures will happen soon though!!!



Opening gifts. My spoiled kiddos had Easter baskets from; Aunt Ninny, Uncle Austin and Page, Grandma and Grandpa Hager, Ouma and Oupa, Memaw and Papa Schu, and of course, yours truly.


Sissy LOVED searching for Easter eggs. She loved the game of finding them and then putting them in her bucket.


My sweet family at the all-church breakfast.


...Running to find more eggs.



Beautiful Dakota.



Happy Easter Daddy! We're always excited when Jason's schedule allows him time at home with us, but when we get him for holidays - super bonus!



Sissy got new sippy cups! No more drinking out of cups covered in cars and trucks that have been chewed to beyond recognition.



A butterfly net - let's go catch butterflies!


A new headlamp with Lightning McQueen on it! Sissy might like this more than Jax.

Skating Birthday Party

While the Riggs family was up here visiting, Jaxon was invited to his friend, Brieg's, birthday party. We decided to leave Dakota at home with Jason's family, so Jason and I could spend some 1-on-1 time with Jaxon (or 2-on-1 I guess). It was nice to have a few hours with our little man and see him roller skate for the first time.

Let me just brag about this little roller rink for one minute; Morton Roller Rink is in Morton, IL, just about 15 minutes from where we live. The rink is just a simple, rectangle building. Inside is a small area with picnic tables and then the rink is an old wooden floor. I loved that we were allowed to bring our own in-line skates to use. I also loved that they let parents walk (no skates on) around the rink, holding their little one's hands while they skated. What I loved about this little rink the most is that they played Christian music the entire time we were there. It was such a nice environment to be in for a few hours.




My sweetie getting ready to head out on to the floor for the first time.



How cute is that little guy?! I just had to get a picture of his tiny skates.



Daddy and Jax taking a break from skating.



Jaxon and Brieg's big sister, Sage. I didn't get a picture of the birthday boy - oops!



Jax and Daddy skating. Jax was pretty unsure at first and wanted to hold our hands (tightly) the entire time. Then Jason encouraged him to skate around the carpeted area for awhile and that really helped him gain his confidence. By the time we were ready to leave, Jax was skating by himself!

Peoria Chiefs Flyover

While the Riggs cousins and Jason's parents were in town, we went to the home-opener of the Peoria Chiefs baseball game. The Chiefs are a minor league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The coolest part of the game was a C-130 (Herk) flyover, by Jason of course!

So here's the deal: apparently the National Anthem takes an average of 1 minute and 40 seconds. The group singing at the home-opener was an elementary choir and they had practiced the anthem at a minute and 28 seconds. So, Jason and our friend, Scott (the Aircraft Commander or AC) practiced for 1:28. Well, nerves must have taken over because the kids sang it in less than 50 seconds. There's not a whole lot a C-130 can do to make up that kind of time, so the fly-over itself was a bit delayed. I had my video camera ready, but I started getting impatient waiting for it to happen. Once it finally happened, I wasn't ready and caught just the tail end of it. Still a really cool video.

If you listen carefully, you can hear Jaxon and his friend, Ali (whose dad was the AC) shouting back and forth: "That's MY Daddy!" "That's MY Daddy!" "Hi Daddy!"

Riggs Cousin Visit

The Riggs cousins came up for a visit. We celebrated Dakota's first birthday, played A LOT, and Uncle Jason got to meet Caleb for the first time.

My kids love their baby cousin, Caleb.



She wanted to hold him every chance she could.



I bought these matching jammies for the boys. So cute!



When it was time for them to leave, Dakota could not stop loving on Caleb.



She kept laying on him and kissing him.

Our Little Cupcake is One!

We had a cupcake-themed birthday party for sweet Dakota. Jason's parents, his sister and her boys, and some of our good friends up here helped us celebrate!




Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Dakota, Happy birthday to you!

(She was trying to sing with us).


Mmmm...why have you been holding out on me for so long Mom and Dad? Sugar rocks!









PRESENTS:

Daddy helping open gifts.


A new swimming suit for the Frickleton's pool.


And a hat to go with it.


Our sweet friend, Jessica, made this adorable outfit for Dakota. What talent!


I guess all the kids were losing their patience with Dakota's lack of speed while unwrapping gifts.


A little hat for out little Diva. Still trying to convince Jaxon to stop putting on the Tinkerbell hat with sliver glitter. He doesn't care what it looks like, he just LOVES hats!

Thanks everyone for the sweet wishes, gifts and prayers as our "little cupcake" turned one this week.

Happy First Birthday Dakota!

It seems impossible that a year has passed since our little girl looked like this:



What a beautiful little blessing she is to us! We are all head-over-heels in love with her.

Happy First Birthday Dakota!



Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Hager for the gifts!


Look Mom! My very own PINK jeep.


Of course she had a little helper, who informed me that she was a little too slow at opening her gifts, so he jumped in to speed things up a bit.


Cannot wait to get this outfit on her!



Thanks Memaw and Papa Schu for the gifts!


"Way to go Idaho!" Who can name that movie? By the way, I'm still talking to Jaxon about Mr. Potato Head, he is just certain this gift was for him.





After opening the presents that were shipped in the mail, we decided to take Dakota to Culver's for her first cheeseburger and ice cream (frozen custard).

See that ice cream right there Mom? I'd like to try it please!


First bite of sugar ever...


I think Mama has a partner to feed her sweet tooth with!