Easter Festivities

long post ahead!!





Easter lasted over a week for us. It began with an Easter egg hunt at our church a week before Easter Sunday. Reagan was definitely into it and surprisingly, Abbi got the hang of it as well. It was cute to watch her drop her eggs in her bucket. It was COLD out! I thought the hunt would be inside since they were calling for rain, so the kids weren't dressed appropriately. Oops!!




Abbi was so mad that Reagan was eating candy and she wasn't, so we gave her a candy necklace to gnaw on....it kept her happy for an hour!!!






My grandparents came to visit Easter weekend. They stayed at our house the first night, then with my mom the rest of the weekend. We spent a lot of time at my parent's house that weekend. It was fun since we don't get over there that much. We colored eggs, Abbi ate them instead.










Easter Day!!!





Sunday after church Nathan hid eggs for Reagan in my mom's yard, Abbi was sleeping so she missed out. =( Reagan had a lot of fun. Nate made the mistake of telling her that only the big eggs had candy in them, therefore Reagan flew past the smaller ones and didn't even bother to pick them up! We finally convinced her it was still fun to pick up the small ones too.



I love this picture of Abbi: what a face!



We taught Reagan that Easter means "Jesus is alive!" so she would know it wasn't about eggs and bunnies. She still tells us, "Jesus is alive!"

Time to Catch Up

It's been almost two weeks since i've written anything - we have had a busy couple of weeks! Easter came and went with no posting, how did that happen?? It will have to wait still...i have something else fresh on my mind i am excited to post.



Nate and I just returned from NYC!!! We left on Friday morning with our friends, Tim & Jess Neiger, and returned Saturday evening. Tim and I were close most of my teenage years, he went to my youth group. Jess was my best friend from camp since i was 16. My two best friends married eachother! They have 3 beautiful girls who's ages are stairsteps with my own girls. it's always adorable when all 5 are together. Anyway, we got a hotel for one night, something we don't usually do when Nate and I go to NYC, but wanted to this time. We got an awesome hotel in a great location for a suprisingly good price.





Friday we spent the day around rockefeller center and times square taking it all in. we watched the ice skaters at rockefeller, made plans to try to be on t.v. during the early show the next day(we vetoed that saturday morning), took pictures, went in fun stores, all the usual stuff one does there.



We went to the world trade center site...construction is still going on, we looked at the "future" pictures of it. It brought back a lot of memories of my time at NYSUM (the internship i did in NYC for six weeks during the 9/11 attacks).
We had pizza in times square, went to toy's r us, a few other stores, wondered why armored cops were standing around, turned down many offers to attend a live taping of some comedy show, etc...







We also rode the staten island ferry there and back just for kicks. We were scared of rain all day since the weather was calling for thunderstorms, but it held off all day!!





Saturday was a beautiful day....the sun was shining, it wasn't too cold. We went to the empire state building, decided it wasn't worth the money, took some pitures anyway, then headed to the central park area. We went to FAO Schwartz (the toy store on home alone), the MAC/Apple store, and best of all, took a carriage ride through central park. Sounds cheesy, i know, but it was so relaxing and pretty out - it was great! Then we went to queens to get some pizza from one of our favorite places there, after that we headed back to delaware.







it was a full, fun, great weekend; can't wait to see them again! Thanks so much Tim & Jess, we had an awesome time with you guys!!! double bean dip! =)

A Princess and a Monkey

My little princess



my silly monkey


Reagan has been very "girlie" lately. God definitely has a sense of humor. Those of you who know me well, know that i am not a "girlie" girl. i grew up with two brothers and loved getting dirty and playing sports. Anyway, Reagan is all girl. She is into skirts and dresses right now, won't wear much else unless we have a fight. She is also very much into mommy's makeup, and i mean "into" in the literal sense. Nathan took a nap with her when i was gone last saturday. She got out of bed, he figured she went to watch t.v. in the living room or something. He later woke up to the smell of nail polish. Reagan was standing by him with RED nail polish painted halfway up to each knuckle on each finger. Although very upset with her, Nate was also impressed with her nail painting skills at the age of two (almost 3). She told one of her teachers in class today at church that she was naughty after the teacher commented on her pretty nails.






Abbi never ceases to make us smile these days. We have always called her "monkey." She came out looking just like one with cute spikey hair all over her head. I bought her a monkey backpack at a school swap shop a few weeks ago. She let me put it on her and walked and crawled around with it on. She kept looking over her shoulder to make sure her "buddy" was still with her. She really loves to kiss and cuddle stuffed animals, it's so precious. She will crawl up on Nathan's lap if he's sitting on the floor and give him kisses. Cute! We're sad she's getting bigger, but she is so much fun. She is into regular cups at dinner and will kind of freak until we give her one. She also bit a chunck out of her crib the other day. I'm not kidding either, we need to tape it so she won't get splinters in her mouth! Maybe we should call her "woodchuck" instead of "monkey!"

Visit from Jodi

Jodi Otto, one of our friends from Michigan, came to visit us last weekend!



We were really looking forward to her visit since she was a "taste of home" for us. We had a great weekend, despite the rainy, dreary weather that threatened to ruin it! We spent Friday showing Jodi Philly (in the van because of the rain), and of course getting Philly cheesesteaks! She was definitely a fan!



(isn't everyone???) Even Abbi enjoyed it, although there's not much food she doesn't enjoy! =)







After Philly we decided to go to IKEA since it was still raining and we didn't want to go home yet. IKEA is always a good idea, even if you aren't going for any particular thing. We each bought a couple of things then headed home. We spent the rest of the day vegging out and playing cards.

I had planned to hang out at the beach on Saturday if it was nice out, but the weather had other plans. it was a yucky rainy day again. jodi and i went shopping, she got her first Rita's water ice (there aren't any in Michigan), and played some more cards.

Sunday...THE BEACH!!! it was a beautiful day, although cold and windy. Nate and Abbi headed to church; Jodi, Reagan and I to for the beach! We walked on the shore for a little, admired the beautiful sun shining on the water, then hit a couple of outlets! It was a great day. We went to youth group that night, afterwards Jodi had to borrow a suitcase to pack all the stuff she bought! tax free shopping, gotta love it!





We're so glad she came, and can't wait for her next visit! Thanks for a great weekend Jodi!

Visits from Friends

*****Pictures added!!!*****

One thing Nate and i really miss is our friends!!! We literally have friends who live all over the country, and some out of it too! We have had a FULL, busy life since moving here, but have definitely missed our "old" friends. Speaking of...






Nate and i had a fun day last saturday. Three of our friends from Elim (the Bible college we both attended) who all live over an hour away in different directions, came to visit for the day! Lisa Brown, Krista Richardson, and Jess Smith all came to see us and the girls. we had a great day: went to philly where they had their first authentic philly cheesesteaks, drank coffee and ate oreos, and played some crazy card games. we had a ton of fun and can't wait for the next mini-reunion!




speaking of friends coming to visit, we're picking up our friend Jodi from the airport tomorrow. She is a taste of home for us, she's coming from MIchigan! we are so excited to see her! i'll write about our visit next week. have a great weekend!

ps: we'd love to see more of our friends sometime soon.......hint, hint!!! =)

shout out to a best friend

Happy Birthday Gooch!!! i love you!